ing gentlemen remaining outside until time for the sermon and then marching
in to their pews; the liturgy radically stripped down, read in a monotone, and
responded to only by the few who possessed prayer books; and the sermon
similarly read quietly, even haltingly, and without inflection. Hence for most
it would have been a spiritually lifeless service. Surviving vestry records for
the half-century before the Revolution demonstrate that parishes purchased,
regularly cleaned, and replaced surplices for their parsons. Some anecdotal
evidence suggests that gentlemen, at least in several Tidewater parishes, ha-
bitually waited until the service began before entering the building, but the
suggestion that they waited until the time of the sermon is not supported by
the evidence. Fithian, for one, observed gentlemen remaining in the church-
yard until the service was beginning, at which point they would   enter in a
Body, in the same manner as they come out; I have known the Clerk to come
out and call them in to prayers.  10 No congregation in the colony presum-
ably matched the Christ Church (Lancaster) protocol:   Tradition says that
the church remained locked every Sunday until [Col. Robert  King ] Carter s
arrival. When hoof beats sounded on the short road from  Corotoman to
Christ Church the congregation, white and black, line up on either side of the
door. Soon a great coach enveloped in a cloud of dust rushed into view, and
swept to a stop before the assembled spectators. The  King dismounted and
marched between the silent files. A huge brass key was turned in the lock, the
massive doors swung open and Carter entered.  11
On the more fundamental issue of the content and spiritual import of
Divine Service, Upton rehearses the attacks by the church s evangelical and
rationalist enemies. This seems to run counter to his sensitive description of
the buildings and their furnishings that underscore the care and faithfulness
of Virginia s Anglican religious expression and practice.12
Public worship centered on a single Sunday morning service.13 Distance and
custom weighed against more frequent services. As for the time of Sunday ser-
vice, there is only scattered and circumstantial information. Convenience and
tradition early established eleven o clock as normative, but undoubtedly local
preferences meant some variations, especially seasonal adjustment. In 1754 the
vestry of St. George s Parish (Spotsylvania) ordered services from 10 March to
10 September to begin at 11:00 a.m. and at 11:30 a.m. during the balance of the
year.14 In 1767 St. Patrick s Parish (Prince Edward) determined that services
would begin at11:00 a.m. from the first of April until the end of October and at
12:00 thereafter.15 Lynnhaven vestry in 1772 ordered that services would begin
at 11:00 a.m. throughout the year.16 Thomas Smith, minister of Cople Parish,
.
The D ivine Service 189