King's Chapel - The Church That Ran Out of Money

Photo: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 (cropped)

A stop on Boston Freedom Trail, a free self-guided tour.

This squat granite building was a statement. King's Chapel began in 1686 as the first Anglican church in Puritan New England, set up under orders of the English crown, and many Puritan neighbors resented it. Officials took a corner of the town burying ground to build it.

The present stone church went up between 1749 and 1754. The plan called for a tall steeple, but the money ran out and it was never built. Take a closer look at the columns on the porch: they are wood, painted to look like stone.

The bell inside cracked in 1814, and Paul Revere's foundry recast it in 1816. It still rings today.

Next door, King's Chapel Burying Ground dates to 1630 and is the oldest in the city. Massachusetts Bay's first governor, John Winthrop, is buried there. Many visitors look for the stone of Elizabeth Pain, which local legend links to Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, a story that has never been proven.

Getting here: Continue north on Tremont Street about a block to the corner of School Street; King's Chapel is the dark granite church on your right.

Did you know?: The Ionic columns on the front porch are made of wood, painted to match the granite walls.

Photo op: Stand across Tremont Street to capture the whole granite front, porch columns and all, with the burying ground fence beside it.

More on Wikipedia: King's Chapel · King's Chapel Burying Ground · John Winthrop

Stops on this tour

1. Boston Common - Where Cows Grazed and Redcoats Camped
2. Massachusetts State House - The Golden Dome
3. Park Street Church - Brimstone Corner
4. Granary Burying Ground - Patriots at Rest
5. King's Chapel - The Church That Ran Out of Money
6. Boston Latin School Site - America's First Public School
7. Old Corner Bookstore - Where Books Changed America
8. Old South Meeting House - The Tea Party Starts Here
9. Old State House and Massacre Site - Shots on State Street
10. Faneuil Hall - The Cradle of Liberty
11. Paul Revere House - Home of a Busy Silversmith
12. Old North Church - Two Lanterns in the Steeple
13. Copp's Hill Burying Ground - A View Across the River
14. USS Constitution - Old Ironsides Still Afloat
15. Bunker Hill Monument - The Battle on Breed's Hill