King's Chapel

Infobox_nrhp | name =King's Chapel
nrhp_type = nhl

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caption =
location= Tremont and School Streets, Boston, MA
lat_degrees = 42 | lat_minutes = 21 | lat_seconds = 28.81 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 71 | long_minutes = 3 | long_seconds = 35.98 | long_direction = W
area =
built =1749
architect= Peter Harrison
architecture= Georgian
designated=October 9, 1960
added = May 2, 1974
governing_body = Private
refnum=74002045cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

King's Chapel is a Christian Unitarian church in Boston, Massachusetts, located at the corner of Tremont Street and School Street. Organized in 1686, it is among the oldest member churches of the Unitarian Universalist Association and the first Anglican church in Boston.

The original King's Chapel was a wooden church built in 1688 at the corner of Tremont and School Streets, where the church stands today. It was situated on the public burying ground since no resident would sell land for a non-Puritan church. That building was replaced by the current stone structure, begun in 1749 and completed in 1754. The current bell, cast in England, was hung in 1772. In 1814 it cracked, was recast by Paul Revere, and was rehung. It has been rung at services ever since.

During the American Revolution, the chapel sat vacant and was referred to as the "Stone Chapel." It was reopened in 1782 and became Unitarian under the ministry of James Freeman, who revised the Book of Common Prayer along Unitarian lines. Although Freeman still considered King's Chapel to be Episcopalian, the Anglican Church refused to ordain him. The church still follows its own Anglican/Unitarian hybrid liturgy today.

Burying ground

The burying ground at King's Chapel is the site of the graves of many historical figures. It was Boston's only burial site for 30 years, and is a stop on the Freedom Trail.

Notable burials

* John Winthrop, first Puritan governor of Massachusetts
* William Dawes (disputedcite web
url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/02/25/whos_buried_in_dawess_tomb/
title=Who's buried in Dawes's tomb?
first=Ron
last=Fletcher
publisher=Boston Globe
date=2005-02-25] ), American Revolution hero
* Mary Chilton, Plymouth Pilgrim, first European woman to step ashore in New England
* William Emerson (father of Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Image gallery

See also

* Central burying ground
* Granary Burying Ground

External links

* [http://www.kings-chapel.org King's Chapel] website
* [http://www.nps.gov/bost/ Boston National Historical Park Official Website]
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=1xZ2I9cNnY8C A History of King's Chapel, in Boston: The First Episcopal Church in New England] By Francis William Pitt Greenwood (1833) at Google Books

References