[4] Construction of the building was begun in around 1675, pursuant to a bequest of David Fox, a planter who owned land surrounding the original parish.

Population growth in the area led to expansion, transforming the original rectangular design to a cruciform shape in 1741, as both the building's north and south sides had wings added.

Inside the church, the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments plaque, dates from a David Fox bequest recorded in 1702.

In 1973 the Diocese of Virginia recognized St. Mary's Whitechapel and Trinity Episcopal in Lancaster jointly as an independent parish, and both churches have continued to share a rector since.

[4] Among notable burials are the physician George H. Steuart, his son George H. Steuart (one of the last consuls of the United States at Liverpool, England), the actress Margaret Sullavan and former state Delegate Robert O. Norris Jr.