KING'S CHAPEL
  • Home
    • About Us >
      • Welcome
      • Calendar
      • Clergy & Staff
      • Contact Us & Directions >
        • Send A Message
      • Employment Opportunities >
        • Church Sexton Position
        • Assistant Minister Position
  • Worship
    • Holy Week 2023
    • Sunday at 9 AM
    • Sunday at 11 AM
    • Lent 2023
    • Sermons
    • Special Annual Services
    • Book of Common Prayer
  • Music
    • Tuesday Recitals
    • Concert Series
    • Musical Inquiries
  • History & Tours
    • Plan Your Visit >
      • 2023 At A Glance
      • Guided Tour Offerings >
        • Group Tours
    • Explore Our History >
      • A Brief History
      • The Stone Chapel: Art & Architecture >
        • The Wooden Chapel
        • Georgian Architecture
        • Box Pews
        • Interior Colors
        • Memorials
        • The Chancel Windows
        • The Last Supper Painting
      • Crypt and Burying Ground >
        • Crypt >
          • Crypt Highlights: Crypt Entrance
          • Crypt Highlights: Tomb Structure
          • Crypt Highlights: The Stranger's Tomb
          • Crypt Highlights: Research and Family Connections
          • Crypt Highlights: Remaining Memorials
          • Crypt Highlights: Hand-Hewn Beams
        • Burying Ground
      • Religious History >
        • Online Exhibit: Independent Country, Independent Church
        • 334 Years of Ministry
      • Slavery at King's Chapel
    • Online Exhibits >
      • Queen's Chapel: Women's History at King's Chapel
      • Revolutionary King's Chapel: Online Exhibit
      • Literary King's Chapel
      • Uncovering the Past: Exploring Black History Through Primary Sources
    • History Events & Programs >
      • Past Events & Programs
      • Recorded History Programs
    • Christmas History at King's Chapel >
      • Decking the Halls: The History of Decorating with Greens
      • Christmas Lights: Then and Now
      • 18th & 19th Century Christmas Services & Music
      • Christmas Feasts & Treats Throughout History
      • Holiday History Trivia
    • History Program Blog
    • About Us >
      • History Program Staff
      • Contact Us
    • Support the History Program
  • Community
    • News & Updates >
      • Parish Community News
      • Between Sundays Archive
    • Community from Home
    • Community Action Committee >
      • Anti-Racism Resources
    • Memorial to Enslaved Persons
    • Environmental Action Initiative
    • Join King's Chapel
    • For Members >
      • Budget Meeting 2023
      • Partner Church Sunday 2022
      • KC Bylaws
      • 2022- 2023 Church Leadership
  • Giving
    • Why Give
    • Ways to Give
    • Stewardship >
      • Pledge
  • Weddings & Baptisms
    • Weddings >
      • Dear Prospective Couple
      • Wedding Inquiry
      • Wedding Service
    • Baptisms
  • Space Rentals
  • Member Action Initiative
Stop 1: Front Entrance to the King's Chapel Burying Ground
The King’s Chapel Burying Ground, though located next to King's Chapel, belongs to the City of Boston, which has maintained the space for nearly 400 years.
​
Picture
King's Chapel and the Burying Ground ca. 1833
Brief History of the Burying Ground
Established in 1630, this Burying Ground was the first Puritan burial space in the area. English colonists had been using the space for burials for over fifty years before King's Chapel was established as the first official Anglican congregation in New England. Many of the earliest white European colonizers of the New England area are buried there, such as John Winthrop, the first Puritan Governor of Massachusetts.  Despite this history, it is important to acknowledge that this land has not always belonged to the city; like the rest of Boston, the land the Burying Ground and Chapel occupy was taken from the indigenous Massachusett people.  ​
Did you know King’s Chapel was built on a part of the original Burying Ground?
King’s Chapel was founded in 1686 after King James II reorganized the government into the Dominion of New England. This act also brought an Anglican church to Puritan Boston, despite local resistance. After two years of worshipping in temporary locations, the Royal Governor Edmund Andros seized a portion of the Burying Ground, since the property was considered town land. The bodies of those buried on that portion of land were exhumed and relocated, a common practice throughout Europe, and the first wooden King’s Chapel was built on the site.

​Learn more about King's Chapel's early history and the Burying Bround here. 
Picture
Etching of the original wooden chapel with Beacon Hill in the background
Next: Step inside the Burying Ground and check out some of the tombstones.
Back
Next
King's Chapel
Est. 1686
​
In the love of truth, and the spirit of Jesus Christ, we unite for the worship of God
​and the service of all​.
Vertical Divider
​Follow Us On Social Media
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Vertical Divider
​Join Our Email List
Subscribe
 www.kings-chapel.org |  58 Tremont St. Boston, MA 02108  |  617-227-2155 
Picture
  • Home
    • About Us >
      • Welcome
      • Calendar
      • Clergy & Staff
      • Contact Us & Directions >
        • Send A Message
      • Employment Opportunities >
        • Church Sexton Position
        • Assistant Minister Position
  • Worship
    • Holy Week 2023
    • Sunday at 9 AM
    • Sunday at 11 AM
    • Lent 2023
    • Sermons
    • Special Annual Services
    • Book of Common Prayer
  • Music
    • Tuesday Recitals
    • Concert Series
    • Musical Inquiries
  • History & Tours
    • Plan Your Visit >
      • 2023 At A Glance
      • Guided Tour Offerings >
        • Group Tours
    • Explore Our History >
      • A Brief History
      • The Stone Chapel: Art & Architecture >
        • The Wooden Chapel
        • Georgian Architecture
        • Box Pews
        • Interior Colors
        • Memorials
        • The Chancel Windows
        • The Last Supper Painting
      • Crypt and Burying Ground >
        • Crypt >
          • Crypt Highlights: Crypt Entrance
          • Crypt Highlights: Tomb Structure
          • Crypt Highlights: The Stranger's Tomb
          • Crypt Highlights: Research and Family Connections
          • Crypt Highlights: Remaining Memorials
          • Crypt Highlights: Hand-Hewn Beams
        • Burying Ground
      • Religious History >
        • Online Exhibit: Independent Country, Independent Church
        • 334 Years of Ministry
      • Slavery at King's Chapel
    • Online Exhibits >
      • Queen's Chapel: Women's History at King's Chapel
      • Revolutionary King's Chapel: Online Exhibit
      • Literary King's Chapel
      • Uncovering the Past: Exploring Black History Through Primary Sources
    • History Events & Programs >
      • Past Events & Programs
      • Recorded History Programs
    • Christmas History at King's Chapel >
      • Decking the Halls: The History of Decorating with Greens
      • Christmas Lights: Then and Now
      • 18th & 19th Century Christmas Services & Music
      • Christmas Feasts & Treats Throughout History
      • Holiday History Trivia
    • History Program Blog
    • About Us >
      • History Program Staff
      • Contact Us
    • Support the History Program
  • Community
    • News & Updates >
      • Parish Community News
      • Between Sundays Archive
    • Community from Home
    • Community Action Committee >
      • Anti-Racism Resources
    • Memorial to Enslaved Persons
    • Environmental Action Initiative
    • Join King's Chapel
    • For Members >
      • Budget Meeting 2023
      • Partner Church Sunday 2022
      • KC Bylaws
      • 2022- 2023 Church Leadership
  • Giving
    • Why Give
    • Ways to Give
    • Stewardship >
      • Pledge
  • Weddings & Baptisms
    • Weddings >
      • Dear Prospective Couple
      • Wedding Inquiry
      • Wedding Service
    • Baptisms
  • Space Rentals
  • Member Action Initiative