Created in 1651 out of Northumberland and York counties, Lancaster County originally included lands on both the north and south sides of the Rappahannock River. From 1651-1654, it is likely that the whole county formed one parish. In 1654, an order of the county court divided Lancaster County into two parishes, the Upper Parish and the Lower Parish. In December of 1656, the Assembly used the boundaries of this Upper Parish to create the new county of Rappahannock, which, like Lancaster, included lands on both the north and south sides of the river.

In April of 1657, the Lancaster County court again divided the county into two parishes, this time creating one parish on the north side and one on the south side of the Rappahannock River. By 1661, each of these parishes had divided, so there were now two parishes on the north side and two parishes on the south side of the river. The upper parish on the north side eventually became known as St. Mary’s White Chapel. The lower parish took the name Christ Church Parish. On the south side of the river, the upper parish became known as Lancaster Parish, while the lower was called Piankatank Parish. In 1666, Lancaster and Piankatank parishes reunited as one parish called Christ Church Parish. When in 1669 Middlesex County formed from that part of Lancaster County on the south side of the Rappahannock, this parish was now referred to as Christ Church Parish, Middlesex County. This left Lancaster County, now only encompassing lands on the north side of the Rappahannock, with two parishes—Christ Church and St. Mary's White Chapel.

Though Christ Church and St. Mary’s White Chapel shared the same minister and a glebe, they considered themselves separate parishes. Each had its own vestry and churchwardens, but they met as a general vestry to consider issues related to both parishes, such as the minister, the glebe, and the glebe house.

In 1752, residents of Lancaster County petitioned the Assembly to unite as one parish. Though it came to its conclusion through an erroneous reading of the records, the Assembly decided that no act of the legislature or order from the county court had ever created St. Mary’s White Chapel or legally divided Christ Church Parish and thus the whole of Lancaster County was included in one parish--Christ Church Parish. A general vestry held on November 17, 1752 accepted the Assembly’s report and formally united the two parishes as Christ Church Parish. St. Mary’s became the upper precinct of the parish, and Christ Church served as the lower precinct. The vestry book recorded this action as follows:

General Vestry Held at the Court House in Lancaster County on Fryday the 17th Day of November 1752

Whereas it appears by the Journal of the House of Burgesses, bearing Date the 8th Day of April 1752 that all that part of the County of Lancaster, Call’d White Chapple Parish is included in the parish of Christ Church; and Whereas there has never been any Other Glebe in the said County, than the Glebe the Minister Now lives on it is Agreed by us the Subscribers that the Styles of the Vestries be hereafter Enter’d in Manner following (Vizt)

Although Christ Church and St. Mary’s White Chapel were now united as Christ Church Parish, the 12 vestrymen of each church (or precinct) continued to meet independently, giving the parish a total of 24 vestrymen. In February of 1759, residents from both the upper and lower precincts petitioned the Assembly over this arrangement, arguing that the vestry of “each Precinct of the said Parish, though but one, has hitherto acted separate from the other...which frequently occasions Disputes and Controversies.” Moreover, some of the vestrymen had dissented from the Church of England. The Assembly subsequently dissolved the vestry because it had 24 members, called for a new election of 12 vestrymen for the whole parish, and forbade dissenters from serving on vestries throughout the colony. From this point forward, Christ Church Parish had one vestry, and it governed the affairs of both churches.

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