King's Chapel

Politics, Religion, Dissent, and Rebirth

First, the Politics

King's Chapel had a bumpy beginning.

Remember how Boston's Puritan founders fled England to escape religious persecution by the Church of Engand and the Anglican king?

Not surprisingly, Anglican religious services were banned in Boston.

In fact, the Puritans designed their places of worship to be as unlike Anglican churches as possible.

Unadorned, simple, and steeple-less, they weren't even called "churches."  That's why they called their Old South Meeting House a "meeting house" and not a "church."

But not everyone in Boston was a Puritan. And those who weren't Puritans also wanted to worship.

In particular, the Royalists - often appointees of the English king - tended to be Anglicans, members of the Church of England.  And they wanted to worship in a church.

By 1685, decades of tension between various English kings and the Massachusetts Puritans erupted.  King James II revoked the colony's self-governance charter, and in 1686 appointed Sir Edmond Andros as Royal Governor, giving him a mandate to maintain control over the colony.

Religion and steeples

To make matters even worse from the Puritans' perspective, Royal Governor Andros was a devout Anglican who demanded that Anglican services be held in the city. He organized a congregation as soon as he arrived in Boston in 1686. In 1688, he demanded that the Boston Puritans sell land to the Anglican congregation for an Anglican church.

When they refused, Royal Governor Andros responded by using eminent domain to sieze land from a corner of the town's first burying ground, considered sacred because it contained the remains of the first generation of Puritans.   His own wife, Lady Andros, had also recently been buried there.

Gov. Andros had those unfortunate enough to be buried in "his" corner disinterred and reburied elsewhere.  His wife's grave, like many others, is now unmarked, so we don't know whether her remains joined others in the move.

On this "repurposed" land, he built a small wooden chapel with a steeple.

The presence of King's Chapel, as the Puritans called it, felt like an in-your-face affront by Governor Andros.  However, it was just one tyrannical episode of many during his time in Boston. 

After the colonists learned in early 1689 that James II had been overthrown a couple of months earlier, they had the pleasure of imprisoning Andros and finally sending him back to England.  No doubt they also enjoyed knowing that he never got to set foot in his chapel.

But King's Chapel remained.  Throughout the next half century, Royal officials continued to worship there.  King's, queens, dukes, and earls showered it with opulent gifts - silver services, chancel tables, vestments, more silver. In 1713, the chapel became the first church in New England to acquire an organ.

In 1748, the old wooden chapel - too small, too shabby, too plain - was torn down and construction began on its much grander replacement.

Peter Harrison of Newport, Rhode Island designed the building to be constructed from Quincy granite.

As Royal Governor William Shirley laid the cornerstone on August 11, 1749, angry Puritans pelted him with garbage.  But since he wisely gave the workmen 20 pounds to drink to his health, construction proceeded.

Finally, in 1753, builders completed part of what you can still see today - the Georgian-style stone building almost hidden behind the columns.  A bell forged in England was hung in 1772.  However, plans for a tall steeple fell victim to lack of funds - much to the delight of the Puritans.

Dental Forensics

(Yes, another Boston "first"!)

British military officers and Royal government appointees worshipped at King's Chapel throughout the seige of Boston.  When the seige ended in March of 1776, the rector fled with rest of the Royalists to Halifax, carrying the silver communion services with him.  After being closed for a few months, the Chapel reopened for the funeral of devout Patriot General Joseph Warren, killed during the Battle of Bunker Hill almost a year earlier in June 1775.

Initially, Warren's body had to be buried at the Bunker Hill battle site because the British had won the battle and wouldn't release his body.  But after General Washington forced them to evacuate the city in March, Warren's friends and family rowed to Charlestown to exhume his partially decomposed body.

General Warren's friend Paul Revere identified him by two silver artificial teeth that he had crafted and fastened in with silver wire.  (Incidentally, this is believed to be the documented occurance of dental forensics.)

Dissent and Rebirth

During the Revolution, Bostonians tried to rename King's Chapel the Stone Chapel . . . but that name didn't stick.

A significant change came when the congregation hired James Freeman in 1782, first as lay reader and later as minister. He introduced Unitarian ideas and revised the Anglican Book of Common Prayer to embrace Unitarian principles. In 1785, the congregation accepted the changes.  However, even though Reverand Freeman still considered the church to be Episcopalian, the Anglican bishop refused to ordain him.

So in 1787, the Senior Warden of King's Chapel ordained him in the name of the congregation.  At this moment, New England's first Anglican/ Episcopalian church became reborn as the first Unitarian church in the United States.  The current congregation in this active and vibrant Boston church still uses the 9th edition of James Freeman's revised Book of Common Prayer.

The new Unitarians transformed King's Chapel's appearance in 1790 by adding the portico with Ionic columns that you can see today.  Although the portico's columns are designed to look like granite, they're actually made from wood.

In contrast to the chapel's beginning 40 years earlier, the reconstruction effort of the newly Unitarian church received broad community support.  Even George Washington joined to the portico funding effort, when he attended a musical performance/fundraiser in 1789 and contributed 5 pounds.  

After the chapel's English bell cracked, Paul Revere recast it in his foundry in 1814. When it was rehung in 1816, he called it "the sweetest bell I ever made."

This same bell tolled for Paul Revere when he died two years later.

And Paul Revere's bell continues to call the congregation to worship each Sunday morning. You'll hear its sweet tones if you're nearby.

Insider Tips

You can tour King's Chapel during the week. A small donation is requested, although not required, to help support on-going maintenance related to the wear and tear of tourist traffic. 

Be sure to check out the magnificant C.B. Fisk organ, the Chapel's 6th and a copy of the 1756 organ.

The world-renowned King's Chapel music program fills an important position in Boston's incredibly rich music landscape. The program includes worship service music, a Sunday concert series, and a Tuesday recital series. The late Music Director Daniel Pinkham earned star status in Boston's Early Music community. King's Chapel also belongs to the famed Boston Choral Consortium.

If you love music, you may be more interested in visiting this Freedom Trail site for the music than for a tour.

A 5-10 minute organ prelude is performed each Wednesday before midweek prayer services at 12:15 pm.  For more information about music at King's Chapel, call 617-227-2155.

Details and Directions

Open: Hours when King's Chapel is open for tours change based on seasons and other events, such as the Chapel's current major restoration project.  Call 617-227-2155 or check their website (below) for hours and other information, including the concert schedule.
Location: Corner of School and Tremont Streets, Downtown Boston
Closest T stations: Red and Green Lines/Park Street; Blue and Green Lines/Government Center
For more information: Call 617-227-2155; website

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