King’s Chapel Offers Glimpse into the Past
Bell and Bones Tours: see Paul Revere’s 200-year-old bell, Boston’s oldest crypt
Photos courtesy of King’s Chapel
Paul Revere may be best known today for his role as one of the nation’s founding patriots and for the Midnight Ride of April 18, 1775, when he rode on horseback to Lexington to alert its citizens of the impending arrival of British troops, but he was also one of the nation’s most accomplished silversmiths and bellfounders. Visitors can view the last bell he made just a few blocks from Faneuil Hall, where it has hung for two centuries.
Revere’s last and largest bell (2,437 pounds), and the one he allegedly called “the sweetest bell I ever made,” hangs from the uppermost reaches of Boston’s King’s Chapel and can be viewed during the chapel’s Bell and Bones Tour, which takes visitors from the bell tower, weather permitting, to the church’s 330-year-old crypt.
For less than the cost of a movie ticket, visitors can witness a fascinating chapter of colonial history. The tour is open to those 10 and older; children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. And everybody must be “physically able to climb steep stairs and navigate obstructions both overhead and underfoot,” according to the chapel’s website.
King’s Chapel is the first Anglican church built in New England. The congregation dates to 1686 and the current church, built in 1754, replaced a wooden frame structure on the same site. The crypt is the oldest in Boston, dating to 1687, and is the final resting place for many of the congregation’s earliest members. The tour offers fascinating tidbits about early American burial practices.
Today, King’s Chapel is an active Unitarian Universalist congregation and boasts the oldest pulpit still in use in America. It is one of 17 historic sights that make up the Freedom Trail.
King’s Chapel is at 58 Tremont St., Boston; 617-523-1749. The Bell and Bones Tour is offered at 11 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4 p.m. daily. Find admission prices and purchase tickets online here up to 24 hours before a tour, or in person. Find directions and parking info here.
Taylor Raglin can be reached at traglin@bu.edu.
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