King's Chapel is an American independent

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

unitarian congregation affiliated with the

Unitarian Universalist Association Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations. It was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America, both P ...

that is "unitarian Christian in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

in worship, and

congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

in governance." It is housed in what was for a time after the Revolution called the "Stone Chapel", an 18th-century structure at the corner of

Tremont Street Tremont Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts. Tremont Street begins at Government Center in Boston's city center as a continuation of Cambridge Street, and forms the eastern edge of Boston Common. Continuing in a roughly so ...

and

School Street School Street is a short but significant street in the center of Boston, Massachusetts. It is so named for being the site of the first public school in the United States (the Boston Latin School, since relocated). The school operated at various ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts. The chapel building, completed in 1754, is one of the finest designs of the noted colonial architect Peter Harrison, and was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1960 for its architectural significance. Despite its name, the adjacent

King's Chapel Burying Ground King's Chapel Burying Ground is a historic graveyard on Tremont Street, near its intersection with School Street, in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1630, it is the oldest graveyard in the city and is a site on the Freedom Trail. Despite ...

is not affiliated with the chapel or any other church; it pre-dates the present church by over a century.

History

The King's Chapel congregation was founded by Royal Governor

Sir Edmund Andros Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714) was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other times, Andros served ...

in 1686 as the first Anglican Church in colonial

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

during the reign of

King James II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

. 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, now

, because no resident would sell land for a church that was not Congregationalist (at the time, the Congregational church was the

official religion A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

of Massachusetts). In 1749, construction began on the current stone structure, which was designed by Peter Harrison and completed in 1754. The stone church was built around the wooden church. When the stone church was complete, the wooden church was disassembled and removed through the windows of the new church. The wood was then shipped to

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia Lunenburg is a port town on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1753, the town was one of the first British attempts to settle Protestants in Nova Scotia. The economy was traditionally based on the offshore fishery and today L ...

, where it was used to construct St. John's Anglican Church. That church was destroyed by fire on Halloween night, 2001. It has since been rebuilt. Originally, there were plans to add a steeple, although funding shortfalls prevented this from happening.

During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, the chapel sat vacant and was referred to as the "Stone Chapel". The Loyalist families left for

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

and England, and those who remained reopened the church in 1782. It became Unitarian under the ministry of James Freeman, who revised the 1662 English edition of the ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

'' along Unitarian lines in 1785. Although Freeman still considered King's Chapel to be

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

, the Episcopal Church's first bishop

Samuel Seabury Samuel Seabury (November 30, 1729February 25, 1796) was the first American Episcopal bishop, the second Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and the first Bishop of Connecticut. He was a leading Loyalist ...

refused to ordain him. The church still follows its own Anglican-style hybrid

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

. It is a member congregation of the

. Inside, the church is characterized by wooden columns with Corinthian capitals that were hand-carved by William Burbeck and his apprentices in 1758. Seating is accommodated by

box pew A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in chu ...

s, most of which were originally owned by the member families who paid pew rent and decorated the pews to their personal tastes. The coveted Pew No. 30 is the Governor's Pew (reserved for

Jonathan Belcher Jonathan Belcher (8 January 1681/8231 August 1757) was a merchant, politician, and slave trader from colonial Massachusetts who served as both governor of Massachusetts Bay and governor of New Hampshire from 1730 to 1741 and governor of New J ...

, the Royal Governor) was, on October 27, 1789, occupied by

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

. Belcher's son, Jonathan Jr., was wed in the chapel in 1756. The current uniform appearance of the pews dates from the 1920s. Music has long been an important part of King's Chapel, which acquired its first organ in 1713, bequeathed to the congregation by Puritan minister Thomas Brattle. Other organs that followed were built by Richard Bridge, Hook & Hastings, and Simmons & Willcox. The fifth organ installed in the chapel was a large 1909

E.M. Skinner Ernest Martin Skinner (January 15, 1866 – November 26/27, 1960) was an American pipe organ builder. His electro-pneumatic switching systems advanced the technology of organ building in the first part of the 20th century. Biography Skinner ...

organ. It had been a gift from Frank E. Peabody in memory of his deceased son Everett. The present organ, the sixth installed in King's Chapel, was built by

C.B. Fisk C. B. Fisk, Inc. is a company in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Gloucester in the U.S. state of Massachusetts that designs and builds mechanical action pipe organs. It was founded in Gloucester in 1960 by Charles Brenton Fisk (1925–1983) and Thomas ...

in 1964. It is decorated with miters and carvings from the Bridge organ of 1756, and it is slightly below average in size compared with most mid-1900s European chapel organs. For forty-two years starting in 1958, the eminent American composer

Daniel Pinkham Daniel Rogers Pinkham Jr. (June 5, 1923 – December 18, 2006) was an American composer, organist, and harpsichordist. Early life and education Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, into a prominent family engaged in the manufacture of patent medicines ( ...

was the organist and music director at King's Chapel. He was succeeded by Heinrich Christensen. King's Chapel, interior - DPLA - 75e61baf2b6dbf97e6f4107ed6e5c9f7

King's Chapel, interior - DPLA - 75e61baf2b6dbf97e6f4107ed6e5c9f7

The King's Chapel bell, cast in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, was hung in 1772. In 1814 it cracked, was recast by

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to ale ...

and Sons, and was rehung. It is the largest bell cast by the Revere foundry, and the last one cast during Paul Revere's lifetime. It has been rung at services ever since. Within King's Chapel is a monument to

Samuel Vassall Samuel Vassall (baptised 1586 – 1667) was an English merchant, politician, and slave trader who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1648. Vassall financed slave ships in the 1640s and was the majority shareholder of the Guinea Company, fo ...

, brother of the colonist William Vassall, a patentee of the

Massachusetts Bay Company Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, and an early deputy of the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

. Samuel Vassall of London was also named a member of the Company in its 1629 Royal Charter but never sailed for

, instead remaining in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to tend to business affairs; his brother William frequently clashed with

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led t ...

, and eventually removed himself to

Scituate, Massachusetts Scituate () is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 19,063 at the 2020 census. History The Wampanoag and their neighbors have inhabited ...

. The monument to Vassall, London merchant, mentions his resistance to King Charles's taxes imposed on

Tonnage and Poundage Tonnage and poundage were duties and taxes first levied in Edward II's reign on every tun (cask) of imported wine, which came mostly from Spain and Portugal, and on every pound weight of merchandise exported or imported. Traditionally tonnage an ...

, especially as Parliament had refused the King's request for a lifetime extension. Vassall subsequently represented the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(1640–1641), which restored some of Vassall's estate. Later Vassalls in Massachusetts, including William Vassall for whom

Vassalboro, Maine Vassalboro (originally Vassalborough) is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,520 at the 2020 census. Vassalboro includes the villages of Riverside, Getchell's Corner, North Vassalboro, and East Vassalboro, home t ...

was named, were

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

and fled to England during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Ministers

* Robert Ratcliff, rector 1686–1689 * Samuel Myles, rector 1689–1728 (d. 1728) * Roger Price, rector 1729–1746 * Henry Caner, rector 1747–1776 * James Freeman, rector 1787–1836 (d.1836) * Samuel Cary, minister 1809–1815 (d.1815) *

F.W.P. Greenwood __NOTOC__ Francis William Pitt Greenwood (February 5, 1797 - August 2, 1843) was a Unitarian minister of King's Chapel in Boston, Massachusetts. Born in Boston, Greenwood graduated from Harvard College in 1814, and after studying theology under H ...

, minister 1824–1843 (d. 1843) *

Ephraim Peabody Ephraim Peabody (22 March 1807 – 28 November 1856) was a Unitarian clergyman from the United States. Biography He was born in Wilton, New Hampshire. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1827, studied theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and beg ...

, minister 1845–1856 (d. 1856) * ''no regular minister'' 1856–1861 * Henry Wilder Foote, minister 1861–1889 (d. 1889) * ''no regular minister'' 1889–1895 * Howard Nicholson Brown, minister 1895–1921 * Harold Edwin Balme Speight, minister 1921–1927 * John Carroll Perkins, minister in charge 1927–1931, minister 1931–1933 (guardian of

Emily Hale Emily Hale (27 October 1891 – 12 October 1969) was an American speech and drama teacher, who was the longtime muse and confidante of the poet T. S. Eliot. Exactly 1,131 letters from Eliot to Hale were deposited in Princeton University Libra ...

) * Palfrey Perkins, minister 1933–1953 * Joseph Barth, minister 1953–1965 (d. 1988) * ''no regular minister'' 1965–1967 * Carl R. Scovel, senior minister 1967–1999 * Charles C. Forman, affiliate minister 1980–1998 (d. 1998) * Matthew M. McNaught, interim minister 1999–2001 * Earl K. Holt, minister 2001–2009 * Dianne E. Arakawa, interim minister 2009–2013 * Joy Fallon, minister 2013–present

Gallery

File:King's Chapel at Tremont Street and School Street, Boston, Mass. - DPLA - 2c1cc36667ddb5c0a10c3391c97bec06.jpg, King's Chapel at Tremont Street and School Street, Boston, Mass., June 1920. Leon Abdalian Collection. File:Kings Chapel 01 - Boston, MA.jpg, Kings Chapel at night, 2015 File:Kings Chapel 03 - Boston, MA.jpg, Original bell cast by Paul Revere, 2015 File:Kings Chapel 02 - Boston, MA.jpg, Kings Chapel Organ, 2015 File:Kings Chapel 04 - Boston, MA.jpg, Boston Subway ventilation shaft in the Kings Chapel Burying Ground File:Kings Chapel 05 - Boston, MA.jpg, Kings Chapel Burying Ground, 2015

References

Notes Further reading
A History of King's Chapel, in Boston: The First Episcopal Church in New England
By Francis William Pitt Greenwood (1833) at

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

* Annals of King's Chapel from the Puritan age of New England to the present day. Boston: Little, Brown, 1882, 1896
vol.1vol.2
*
The Organs and Music of King's Chapel, 1713-1991
by Barbara Owen (1993: King's Chapel, Boston MA)

External links

* * Th
Boston Athenaeum
"houses the King’s Chapel Collection of mostly 17th century theological works"
Boston National Historical Park Official Website
{{Authority control 1686 establishments in Massachusetts 18th-century churches in the United States Bell towers in the United States Chapels in the United States Churches completed in 1754 Churches in Boston Former Episcopal church buildings in the United States Libraries in British North America National Historic Landmarks in Boston National Register of Historic Places in Boston Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Religious organizations established in the 1680s Stone churches in Massachusetts Towers in Massachusetts Unitarian Universalist churches in Massachusetts

History

Ministers

Gallery

See also

References

External links