1: Who is buried under Saint James Church?

His name is Elijah Bosley, and here’s the story.

Elijah Bosley died in 1841, and his grave and those of his family were just outside the wall of the church behind where the altar is today. In 1905, that wall had begun to show serious signs of weakening and needed to be strengthened by adding buttresses or supporting walls. The decision was made to construct an apse (a receding chancel), and during the construction the contractors disturbed Mr. Bosley’s grave. When construction was complete, a marble slab was placed in the floor of the chancel to mark the grave. It reads: “In Memory of Elijah Bosley who Departed this Life August 29th 1841 Aged 101 Years, 5 Months & 1 Day.” In the records of the St. James Church cemetery, Elijah Bosley’s grave is recorded as being under the chancel.

Acknowledgements to St. James of My Lady’s Manor 1750-1950 and St. James Episcopal Church of My Lady’s Manor 1750-2000.

2: Why is the lectern in the shape of the eagle and how old is it?

The Eagle is the symbol of St. John the Evangelist, and the eagle is often incorporated into the design of lecterns because its outstretched wings represent the spread of the Gospel.

An early example is a lectern that was made around the middle of the twelfth century by Abbott Sugar at Abbey Church, St. Denis near Paris. That lectern was made of bronze in the shape of an eagle with outspread wings to hold the book. Eagle-shaped lecterns were common in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in England.

Our lectern was presented to Saint James Church near the end of the 19th century in memory of Miss Mary Louisa Pearce, who died in 1889.