Located within NRHP Colonial Annapolis Historic District this historic cemetery occurs between Duke of Gloucester Street and scenic Spa Creek; adjacent to circa 1858 St. Mary’s Parish Church (whose cornerstone and bell were blessed by the sole US priest canonized a saint,  Fr. John Newman).  On grounds (which combine religious and secular history) dating back to 1825, commissioned by the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, a private mission-church was built adjacent to the residence of Charles Carroll. Its cemetery,  with austere headstones flanking the river bank, retains those tenets.  This historic cemetery serves as the final resting place for the religious institution’s clergy and a reliquary; where the relic of St. Justin (deceased circa 300) are entombed beneath the marble garden pieta statue. Additionally, the church grounds include a courtyard garden with statuary and stone benches within the campus of church, school and house museum.

Worcester Eisenbrandt provided conservation services to clean 112 individual, historic marble headstones, two stone benches, and four statues at various, tree-canopied locations on the expansive historic grounds. The headstones, including marble bases, were manually sprayed with non-toxic restoration detergent. Once all sides of the headstones were saturated with the solution, WEI conservation staff scrubbed the surfaces per restoration best-practices, to remove all biological growth and deep stains. The headstones were then rinsed with low-pressure warm water. This process was repeated as necessary until WEI determined that the headstones were completely cleaned. Several headstones were not firmly attached to their marble bases. WEI conservation staff made detailed notes and recommended treatment strategies to repair their condition. Two detailed marble statues were cleaned, using the same treatment as the headstones. Additionally, two stone benches, in the church garden, with thick biological growth were also cleaned. The cleaning project at St. Mary’s Parish Church was completed on schedule to the satisfaction of the church staff.