First Parish Church of Plymouth · Parish Church sits on a gently sloping parcel located at the “top,” or western end, of Town Square, the highest part of the square (Photo 1)

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Property Name First Parish Church of Plymouth State: __Massachusetts _______________________________________________ County: __Plymouth_____________________________________________ Reference Number: __14000973____________________________________ Multiple Context (if applicable): ___________

WARNING This file may contain material that must be withheld because it is

._restricted under one or more Federal laws and regulations. All or

some ofthose noted below may apply. Ad~_itionally, other federal ' ., . .,' , '-· '-., \

laws and program requirements may U-mit public access to ' '

information. in these files.

f .

1) The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as aJhended, Section 304[16

U.S.C. 470w-3(a), confidentiality of the location ofhensitive historic

resources; 16 U.S.C. 470w-3(b), Access Determination; 16 U.S.C. 470w-3(c),

Consultation with the Advisory Council];

2) The Archae<?lo·gical Res~urces-Protection Act of 1979, as amended [Public

Law 96-95; 16 U.S.C. 470aa-mm; with special attention to Section 9

subsections a and b in their entirety];

3) The National Parks Omn·ibus Act of 1988, Secti~n 207 (1 and 2);

4) 36 CFR 800~(5) and 36 CFR800.1:~.(c);

SJ Department of the Interior Departmental Manual (519 DM 2);

6} Natio.nal Park Service Management Policies 2006, ~ection 5.1.1;

7) Director's Order 28; Section Sa; ,.-'

Information in these files that ,:nay be restricted can include, but is not limited to, such things as: locations of

archeological sites; locations of features within archeological sites; types of artifacts and their recovered locations; the existence of and/or the locations of excavated and unexcavated human remains; photos, maps and text that incudes sensitive archeological or cultural information; specific or general informati?n of a sensitive cultural nature such as information about religious ceremonies; rock art or other cultural items; creation stories; or properties associated with such things.

Please note that Section 304 Cc), (16 U.S.C. 470w-3(c)], 36 CFR 800.6(5), and 36 ~R 800.11 (cl require

consultation with the Advise Council on Historic Preservation on reachin determinations of withholdin .

Further. 36 CFR 800.6(5). and 36 CFR 800.11 {c) specify including the views of th SHPO/THPO, lndia·n tribes • <

and Native Hawaiian organizations, related to the confidenti~lity concern mrea'ching determinations of

withholding.

/

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NPS Fonn 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form Titis form is for use in nominating or requesting detenninations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "NIA" for "not ·applicable." For funct.ions, architecturnl classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter ""'" categories and subcategories from the instructions.

1. Name of Property Historic name: First Parish Church of Plymouth Other names/site number: NI A Name of related multiple property listing: NIA (Enter "NI A II if property is not part of a multiple property listing

2. Location Street & number: 19 Town Square City or town: Plymouth State: Massachusetts County: Plymouth Not For Publication: o Vicinity: D 3. State/Federal Agency Certification

As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended,

I hereby certify that this ..:{_ nomination _ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60.

In my opinion, the property -/ meets _ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance:

~_local _national _statewide Applicable National Register Criteria:

_LA _B /C _D

Signature of certifying officialffitle: Bron a Simon, SHPO Date

State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government

In my opinion, the property _meets_ does not meet the National Register criteria.

Signature of commenting official:

Title:

1

Date

State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018

First Parish Church of Plymouth Name of Property

4. National Park Service Certification

I hereby certify that this property is:

_ entered in the National Register

_ determined eligible for the National Register

_ determined not eligible for the National Register

_ removed from the National Register

_ other (explain:)

Signature of the Keeper

5. Classification

Ownership of Property

(Check as many boxes as apply.) Private: 0 Public - Local D Public - State D Public - Federal D Category of Property

(Check only one box.)

Building(s)

District

Site

Structure Object

0 D D D D

Sections 1-6 page 2

Plymouth, MA County and State

Date of Action

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 First Parish Church of Plymouth Plymouth, MA Name of Property County and State

Sections 1-6 page 3

Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count)

Contributing Noncontributing ___1_________ _____ 0_______ buildings

___0_________ ______0_______ sites ___2_________ ______0_______ structures ___0____ ____ ______1_______ objects ___3___ _____ ______1_______ Total

Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register ____0_____ ____________________________________________________________________________

6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions.)

RELIGION: religious facility RECREATION AND CULTURE: commemorative monument ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.)

RELIGION: religious facility RECREATION AND CULTURE: commemorative monument ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ __________________


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_____________________________________________________________________________ 7. Description

Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions.) LATE VICTORIAN: Romanesque Revival ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

Materials: (enter categories from instructions.) Principal exterior materials of the property: ____GRANITE

foundation GRANITE

walls GRANITE

roof SLATE

Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance and condition of the property. Describe contributing and noncontributing resources if applicable. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, type, style, method of construction, setting, size, and significant features. Indicate whether the property has historic integrity.) ______________________________________________________________________________ Summary Paragraph The First Parish Church of Plymouth, a Unitarian Universalist church, is located at the western end of Town Square in Plymouth Center, on a small parcel that was the site of three prior meetinghouses. The church was built in 1899 by the notable Boston architecture firm Hartwell and Richardson. It is constructed of Quincy granite with Ohio sandstone trim, and consists of an approximately 62 x 96-foot rectangular, gable-front form, with a large tower centered on the east elevation, facing Town Square. The building is a well-preserved example of a Romanesque Revival-style church, and the only known example of this style in Plymouth. The First Parish Church retains its exterior character-defining features, including the prominent, Norman-inspired tower and the round-arched, recessed entrance with layered molding (the archivolt). The building also retains important interior features, including a heavy oak, hammer-beam roof truss and memorial stained-glass windows, including some made by Tiffany Studios, illustrating the Pilgrim story. The property includes three contributing resources: in addition to the building, there are two granite retaining walls––one along the west and part of the north property lines, and one along the south property line. There is one noncontributing resource––a modern signboard. The First Parish Church retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.

Portions redacted


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_____________________________________________________________________________ Narrative Description Setting Plymouth is located south of Boston near the Cape Cod Canal. It is bounded by Plymouth Harbor and Cape Cod Bay to the east, Duxbury to the north, Carver to the west, and Bourne to the south. The First Parish Church sits on a gently sloping parcel located at the “top,” or western end, of Town Square, the highest part of the square (Photo 1). Town Square is a small public square, with a landscaped park in the center and prominent public and institutional buildings on the north, south, and west sides. In addition to the First Parish Church, which frames the west end of the square, the Church of the Pilgrimage (1840) is located on the north side of the square and the Old Town House (1749) is located on the south side of the square. Town Square connects to Leyden Street, which runs east to Plymouth Harbor, creating a direct visual link between the First Parish Church and the harbor. The First Parish Church (Photo 2) occupies most of its 0.165-acre parcel. The parcel was created in part by excavating a portion of Old Burial Hill (NR 2013), which rises behind the church on the west and north sides. The excavated portion of the parcel is stabilized by a five-foot-high granite block retaining wall (DS 1, Photo 29), which is located four feet from the rear (west) elevation of the church and wraps partially along the right (north) side elevation. The south side of the parcel borders a private road. A second granite retaining wall with a pipe railing is located along this street edge (DS 2, Photo 30). The church is oriented east towards Town Square and Plymouth Harbor. In addition to the retaining walls, the only other resource not directly connected to the building is a large, modern signboard to the right of the front entrance (DS 3, Photo 4). Exterior General Massing and Materials The First Parish Church, completed in 1899, is the fifth meetinghouse for its congregation, and the fourth built in the current location. The church is rectangular in form, measures approximately 62 x 96 feet and occupies most of the 70 x 100-foot lot. The roof form consists of a gable on the main front block, with shed roofs on the ells. A prominent 38 x 38-square-foot belltower is centered at the front (east) end of the main block and extends nine feet from the front elevation. The Norman-inspired tower is slightly flared, has faux buttresses, and rises to a height of 88 feet. The main gable block has three small ells. Two shed-roofed ells, approximately eighteen feet wide, extend approximately four feet from the front portion of the north and south side elevations of the main block. The side elevations of these ells are demarcated by short parapets with sandstone caps (Photos 3, 4). A second shallow ell (4 x 16 feet) with a steeply pitched, hipped roof is located at the rear (west) end of the south elevation (Photo 5). The building rests on a granite-block foundation. Exterior walls are of yellowish-gray Quincy granite laid in quarry-faced random ashlar, with trim details in gray granite and Ohio sandstone. The ashlar blocks are laid with thin mortar joints. The mortar joints have been repointed on numerous occasions, most recently in the 1980s using a light gray mortar with a beaded joint profile. According to a report prepared in 1996 by Arris Design, Inc., the original mortar may have had a flat profile and consisted of a softer mortar in a buff to orange color. A bevel-topped sandstone beltcourse located between the sanctuary and lower levels extends across all elevations, below which the building extends slightly forward to meet the lower edge of the beltcourse. A second bevel-topped beltcourse, located just below the above-mentioned beltcourse, extends across the front elevation of the main block, the two front ells, and the exposed elevations of the tower, below which the building again extends slightly forward. The roof is clad with gray-green Vermont slate and has copper ridge flashing, gutters, and square copper downspouts secured by


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decorative fasteners with a quatrefoil detail. A large, tapered, granite ashlar chimney rises from the rear of the south gable of the main block. Belltower The main entrance is centered on the front (east) elevation of the tower and is accessed by a set of broad granite steps (Photo 6). The recessed entry is marked by a series of receding sandstone arches on shortened columns with cushion capitals. The arches have bands of carved molding, known as archivolts, with zig-zag and abstract vegetal motifs. The entrance consists of paired vertical board wood doors with elaborately detailed iron hardware. Above the doors is a semicircular arch, infilled with a modest stained- glass window composed of clear and blue glass with a vegetal border and three crosses. Large bronze tablets are attached to buttresses on the front elevation of the tower on either side of the entrance; the left tablet has the name of the church and the right tablet has a brief history of the congregation. A second, deeply recessed, side entrance is located on the south side of the tower, where it projects forward from the main block. This entrance has a pedimented sandstone cornice and a paneled oak door with a single light. Above the main entrance in the tower is a centered, round-headed, stained-glass window flanked by smaller stained-glass windows, also round-headed. These windows are joined by a broad, molded- sandstone lintel that follows each round-headed profile, and the broad sandstone sill below these windows slopes forward to meet the outside edge of the entrance below. Centered above these three windows is a deeply recessed oculus window with a similar broad, molded-sandstone lintel. This window has a fixed sash with mottled glazing. At the top of all four sides of the tower are double round-headed openings, with smaller double round-headed openings inside. The outside openings are articulated with engaged colonettes, while the interior openings are supported by columns. Wood louvers are located inside these openings. Early 20th-century photos show there were once been fewer and broader louvers; it is unknown when those louvers were replaced with the current ones. A narrow sandstone beltcourse connects the openings across all four elevations. Each corner of the tower above this beltcourse is articulated with an engaged column that rises up to the roof cornice. At the base of the tower is a molded sandstone cornice with modillion blocks. The shallow-pitched tower roof is pyramidal in shape and crowned with a copper lightning rod. Front (East) Elevation While symmetrical in massing, the symmetry of the front gable of the main block on either side of the tower is partially disguised, perhaps to create the asymmetry typically found with Romanesque Revival churches of the period. A narrow, octagonal shaft housing the belltower stair rises along the north face of the tower, partially obscuring the right side of the front elevation (Photo 7). The stair shaft has two narrow rectangular windows, and at the top of the stairtower each of the exposed elevations has a narrow, rectangular window; these are connected by a continuous sill with dentils. The octagonal roof of the stairtower is composed of a series of sandstone courses rising to a simple sandstone finial. Asymmetry is further suggested by the fenestration on the front elevation of the main block. To the left of the tower on the front elevation are four round-headed, stained-glass windows at the narthex level, set within a shared, simple sandstone surround, and a deeply set, narrow, rectangular window in the gable peak with a sandstone surround that has a half-round recess (Photo 3). To the right of the tower on the front elevation of the main block are two rectangular, stained-glass windows at the narthex level, set within a shared sandstone surround that has a trefoil-shaped recess above each window (Photo 4).


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South and North Side Elevations The front ell on the south elevation has three round-headed windows at the narthex level, set within a shared, simple sandstone surround similar to those found on the front elevation of this ell. The main block of the church on the south elevation has five sets of recessed, paired windows at both the lower level and the sanctuary level (Photo 8). The paired windows at the lower level are deeply set, 1/1, wood, double-hung sash with mottled glazing and individual granite sills. These windows abut the first beltcourse, described above, in place of lintels. The paired windows at the sanctuary level are stained-glass windows with shared sandstone sills. Like the lower windows, instead of individual lintels, a broad sandstone band runs the length of this elevation above these windows and below the roof eave. The second ell on this elevation has an entrance at the sanctuary level, located on the east-facing elevation, which is accessed by an exterior stairway with a granite-ashlar side wall with sandstone cap (Photo 5). The entrance has a modern, wood, tongue-in-groove exterior storm door, and a wood, five-panel door with a narrow molded surround. An additional entrance is located at the lower level within the side wall of this exterior stair. This entrance has a modern, flush metal door. The south elevation of the rear ell has three recessed, 1/1, wood, double-hung sash with broad sandstone sills and lintels. The main block of the north elevation has the same fenestration pattern and details as the south elevation (Photo 9). The front ell on this elevation has three rectangular stained-glass windows set in a sandstone surround with a slightly recessed trefoil pattern above each sash, similar to those on the front elevation of this ell. Rear (West) Elevation Centered on the rear (west) elevation facing Old Burial Hill is a round-headed, stained-glass window flanked by smaller, round-headed, stained-glass windows. The surrounds of these windows consist of granite ashlar blocks following the profile of the windows (Photo 10). A handicap-accessible entrance was added in the late 20th century by enlarging an existing window opening. Remaining fenestration on this elevation includes two different-sized windows to the left of the handicap entrance, with 1/1, wood, double-hung sash, a single rectangular window with 1/1, wood, double-hung sash at sanctuary level on the left side of the elevation, and a narrow, rectangular window in the gable peak. A series of windows are located along the grade level including two 3/3, wood, double-hung sash, one 1/1, wood, double-hung sash, and five windows that are boarded up, all with sandstone lintels and granite sills. Interior Vestibule The front entrance doors open onto a small outer landing, ten-by-four feet, with a barrel-vaulted ceiling finished with small mosaic tiles. An interior set of oak doors opens into the vestibule. Above these interior doors is a semicircular arch with a stained-glass window, similar in design to the outside entrance window, using clear and yellow glass. The vestibule consists of a rectangular space approximately ten by twenty-one feet with a vaulted ceiling (Photo 11). The ceiling is covered in mosaic tiles with geometric patterns in red, green, and dark slate on a white background. The floors are covered with beige and Tennessee pink marble tiles. The walls up to the arched ceiling are clad in the same pale-rose marble, and include four marble tablets: one on each side of the entrance into the vestibule on the east wall, and one on each side of a centered opening on the west wall. The tablets on the east wall list three of the early “Elders of the First Church,” and list the congregations that grew from the First Parish in the surrounding communities from the 17th to the 19th centuries; the tablets on the west wall have an inscription of the Covenant of the First Church, and list the Ministers of the First Church from 1606 in Scrooby, England, to 1922 in Plymouth. On the east wall of the vestibule on either side of the tablets are oak doors. The door on the left side leads to the belltower stair, and the door on the right side leads to the small entrance on the


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south elevation of the tower. Opposite the interior entrance doors is a similar-sized opening that leads to a small landing, from which stairs descend on either side to the lower level of the building. Above the opening is a cross-vault of mosaic tiles with a cross and the Greek letters Alpha and Omega. The inside wall of this inner landing has three square, stained-glass sash with yellow and gold-toned glass (Photo 12). Broad stairs of pink marble lead up from the north and south ends of the vestibule to narthexes. Narthexes Narthexes form the northeast and southeast corners of the building, and lead into the sanctuary. The narthexes have marble floors and heavy marble balustrades with carved newel posts along the stairwell. The walls are finished with pink marble wainscoting and plaster above. The ceiling of each narthex is heavily coffered and has a centered, raised-rib, vaulted component (Photo 13). Brass chandeliers hang from the center of the vaulted ceiling in each narthex. Both narthexes have a series of stained-glass windows––five in the northeast narthex and seven in the southeast narthex (Photos 14, 15). According to The Mayflower Quarterly, all of the narthex windows were designed by Edward Speck Perry, a designer with the Tiffany Glass Company (which became Tiffany Studios in 1902). Perry was also the designer and principal of the Church Glass and Decorating Company, and was considered “one of the most well-known opalescent glass artists of the period.”1 In the northeast narthex are two windows listing the names of the 41 signers of Mayflower Compact, two depicting the allegorical figures of Truth and Light, and a window depicting the destruction of William Brewster’s printing press in Leyden. On the front wall of this narthex, to the right of the two stained-glass windows, is a third, similar-sized, recessed panel, which holds a metal plate with an inscription of the Mayflower Compact. In the southeast narthex are four windows depicting the allegorical figures of Courage, Peace, Justice, and Faith. In addition, there are three windows entitled Landing in Plymouth, The Treaty with Massasoit, and Bradford’s Rebuke to Oldham and Lyford, commemorating the “first jury trial in the Western hemisphere” in 1624. Double oak doors with swing hinges open into the sanctuary from each narthex. Sanctuary The sanctuary is basilican in form with a gable-roofed, rectangular central nave, approximately 55 by 50 feet, a small rectangular chancel with a barrel-vaulted ceiling at the west end of the sanctuary, and a barrel-vaulted gallery rising from the east end of the sanctuary (Photos 16, 17). The floors are laid with quarter-sawn oak. The walls have oak paneled wainscoting with plaster walls above. The front and rear walls of the sanctuary and the chancel walls have a second upper tier of wainscoting with a carved scroll detail inside each panel. One of the most prominent features in the sanctuary is the heavy, hand-carved, hammer-beam roof truss (Photo 18). According to one report, this structure was intended to evoke the upturned hull of the Mayflower.2 The plaster walls and ceiling are painted a pale gray-green with decorative painted borders in a mixture of organic patterns, religious symbols, and, to the left of the chancel, text attributed to Rev. John Robinson. The decorative painting employs darker green, russet, gold (gilt), and blue colors. The front walls of the sanctuary on either side of the arched chancel opening have smaller arched recesses, perhaps intended to echo the three-part composition of the stained-glass windows in the chancel and gallery. The sanctuary has two rows of pews constructed primarily of oak with pine seats. The ends of the pews along the aisles have two carved arched panels with a shell detail (Photo 19). The detail was chosen, according to a church pamphlet, because it was “suggestive of the Pilgrim idea, being the badge of pilgrims in the time of the crusades.” 1 Petrangelo, Donna, “The Pilgrims in Stained Glass Windows of the First Parish Church,” The Mayflower Quarterly, Vol. 77 No. 4, December 2011, p. 342. 2 “The Pilgrim Fathers’ Church,” The New England Unitarian, Mid-winter, Vol. II, No. 1, 1947.


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The chancel is accessed by a full-width set of four stairs. The front two rows of pews in the sanctuary were removed ca. 1940 and placed in the chancel to serve as choir pews. The original George S. Hutchings tracker organ was removed ca. 1960, but the original organ pipes remain housed behind the wall to the right of the chancel. A modern electric organ is centered within the chancel, and the wainscoting behind the electric organ was raised in the mid 20th century. The side walls of the chancel have large arched recesses. The right side recess is open to the organ pipes. A large painted cross is centered on the ceiling of the chancel. The gallery rises from the east end of the sanctuary between the two narthexes, and has seven rows of pews. The front of the gallery has a balcony composed of wood screens with turned posts and two bronze panels given in memory of Rev. Chandler Robbins and Rev. James Kendall (Photo 20). The gallery has a barrel-vaulted ceiling. Centered within the ceiling is a large recessed coffer finished with paneled oak. The sanctuary is lit with brass wall sconces on the rear wall of the sanctuary and in the gallery, and eight brass chandeliers, which hang from the roof truss. These fixtures were outfitted for both gas and electricity, and are all original to the sanctuary. The rectangular windows on the side walls of the sanctuary are located within recessed, round-headed openings, and contain modest stained-glass windows with predominantly clear mottled glass, with a border employing a vegetal motif in brown tones (Photo 21). A small, narrow interior window is centered in the front gable roof above the chancel. Above each door opening from the narthexes into the sanctuary are half-round, denticulated oak cornices. In addition to the two entrances into the sanctuary from the narthexes, a third entrance is located at the front of the sanctuary on the left side. This entrance is detailed to blend into the oak wainscoting and opens into a hallway, which leads to the south elevation entrance, the handicap entrance on the rear (west) elevation, and interior stairs to the lower level. The sanctuary includes two sets of three stained-glass windows––one set in the chancel and one set in the gallery (Photos 22, 23). The most significant window is the center round-headed window in the chancel, designed by Sperry and made by Tiffany Studios. The window is called Signing of the Compact and depicts four Pilgrims standing below deck aboard the Mayflower, signing the Mayflower Compact, and one woman seated. The four men have been identified as William Bradford, William Brewster, Edward Winslow, and John Carver, and the woman seated is believed to be either Susanna White or Catherine Carver. Smaller, round-headed, stained-glass windows flank this central window. These windows were also designed by Edward Peck Sperry, and were made by the Church Glass and Decorating Company. These windows portray two kinds of liberty in the forms of a Pilgrim soldier, entitled Civil Liberty, on the left, and a Pilgrim minister, entitled Religious Liberty, on the right. The three round-headed, stained-glass windows at the east end of the gallery are entitled John Robinson Blessing the Pilgrims on Their Departure from Delftshaven, and depict the Separatist minister in the larger center window, extending his arms to Pilgrims in the left window, who are kneeling on board the Speedwell prior to departure. The window on the right portrays the sorrow of those of the congregation who remained in Delftshaven, Holland. One of the more unusual interior resources in the sanctuary is a piece of the step of the Pilgrims church in Delftshaven, Holland, which was donated in 1896 by Senator George F. Hoar and laid into the floor of the sanctuary in front of the gallery balcony (Photo 24). A letter that accompanied the gift stated that it was part of “(t)he stone sill or threshold of the church of Delft-Haven, where Robinson prayed with his flock


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just before they embarked and which was undoubtedly pressed by his feet and theirs, and was I suppose the last object now remaining which their feet touched before they were on board.” Lower Level The central feature of the lower level is Kendall Hall, a large, high-ceilinged space named after Rev. James Kendall, who was the first Unitarian minister to serve the First Parish Church (Photo 25). This hall includes a raised stage at the west end, flanked by large interior, double-hung, 3/3 leaded-glass windows, which are in turn flanked by doors with leaded-glass transoms, accessed by short sets of stairs from the floor of the hall. The walls of the Kendall Room have oak tongue-in-groove wainscoting. Additional rooms in the lower level include a small library, kitchen, and choir room. Belltower The bell tower is accessed by a narrow, circular stair in a small landing off the vestibule. The middle level of the tower houses the operating mechanism for a ten-bell carillon that was installed in 1920 (Photo 26). The bells are located in the belfry (Photo 27). The bells were cast in Troy, NY, by the Meneely Co. In the southeast corner of the belfry, in addition to the ten bells, a separate bell was installed that was and remains controlled and operated by the town. This bell was recast from the fragments of the bell cast by Paul Revere in 1801, which was located in the fourth meetinghouse and had been damaged when that building was destroyed by fire. Furnishings Services were originally conducted from a tall pulpit centered on the sanctuary floor in front of the raised chancel. The pulpit was divided, ca. 1940, into three pieces: the two quarter-round components were joined to form a lectern located in front of the chancel to the right, for use by the congregation, and the center rectangular component was relocated to the left for use by the minister (Photo 28). Additional historic furnishings include a series of oak carved objects, including a baptismal pedestal, three low-backed carved chairs (two in the vestibule and one in the northeast narthex), two high-backed chairs in the chancel, and a large table in the chancel. Alterations There have been few alterations to the church since it was completed. In addition to the splitting of the original pulpit, the only significant interior change to the church was the removal of the organ keyboard ca. 1960, although the pipes remain in place. There have been only minor alterations to the exterior. The most significant alterations were the enlarging of a window opening to create a handicap-accessible entrance on the rear elevation, and the replacement of the broader louvers in the belltower with narrow louvers. Archaeological Description While no ancient Native American sites are known on the church property, it is possible that sites are present. Nineteen ancient sites are recorded in the general area (within one mile), In general, however, the potential for locating significant ancient Native American or Contact-period resources on the church property is low. Excavation and/or grading of most of the nominated property prior to construction of the fifth


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meetinghouse in 1899, combined with construction impacts resulting from building four churches on the small lot (0.165 acres), would have destroyed any Native American resources that may have potentially been located on this property. A moderate to high probability exists for locating significant historic archaeological resources on the First Parish Church property. The existing church is the fourth meetinghouse built for the congregation on this site. The first meetinghouse was built in 1637 or 1648––accounts differ among historians––on common land on the north side of Town Square, at a different location from the subsequent four meetinghouses. The first meetinghouse burned shortly after it was built. The second meetinghouse was built in 1683 at a new location, on the site of the present First Parish Church at the west end of Town Square. The second meetinghouse was the first of four meetinghouses built at this location. The third meetinghouse was built in 1744 on the same site, replacing the second meetinghouse that had fallen into disrepair. In 1831, an increase in the congregation and a desire for a larger and more contemporary church resulted in a vote to replace the third meetinghouse with a fourth structure. The fourth meetinghouse burned in 1892. The First Parish Church, completed in 1899, is the fifth meetinghouse built for its congregation, and the fourth built at the current location. Structural evidence of the second, third, and fourth meetinghouses may exist in the nominated area. Archaeological evidence of stables, carriage sheds, and occupational-related features (trash pits, privies, wells, artifact scatters) associated with each of the meetinghouse sites may also survive at this location. Construction of the fifth meetinghouse may have destroyed any evidence of pre-1899 historic and ancient Native American cultural activity on the site. The First Parish Church occupies most of its 0.165-acre parcel. The parcel was created in part by excavating a portion of Old Burial Hill (NR 2013), which rises behind the church on the west and north sides, where retaining walls are located. Grading or excavation of part of Burial Hill preceded the construction of the fifth meetinghouse, as indicated by the presence of retaining walls along the north and west elevations of the meetinghouse. Site preparation and construction of the fifth meetinghouse likely destroyed any potential cultural resources that may have been present on the property. Remote sensing and comparisons of surviving ground elevations with elevations surrounding the church may indicate the potential for survival of truncated archaeological features, including cellar holes, and post holes. Potential archaeological features associated with the current meetinghouse may also exist in the area surrounding the structure. Construction features, including builder’s trenches and evidence of renovations to the present structure, may be present.


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8. Statement of Significance

Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register Listing.)

A. Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the

broad patterns of our history.

B. Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.

C. Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction.

D. Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

Criteria Considerations (Mark “x” in all the boxes that apply.)

A. Owned by a religious institution or used for religious purposes

B. Removed from its original location

C. A birthplace or grave

D. A cemetery

E. A reconstructed building, object, or structure

F. A commemorative property

G. Less than 50 years old or achieving significance within the past 50 years

X

X

X

X


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Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions.) COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ARCHITECTURE RELIGION EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

Period of Significance 1896-1964 _________ ___________________ ___________________

Significant Dates 1896 – Cornerstone laid 1899 – Completion of church construction

Significant Person (Complete only if Criterion B is marked above.) ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

Cultural Affiliation ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

Architect/Builder Hartwell and Richardson, Architects John Y. Mainland, Builder ___________________


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Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph (Provide a summary paragraph that includes level of significance, applicable criteria, justification for the period of significance, and any applicable criteria considerations.) Designed by the notable Boston architecture firm of Hartwell and Richardson, the First Parish Church, completed in 1899, meets criterion C at the local level as a well-preserved example of a Romanesque Revival-style church. The church is the only known example of this style in Plymouth, and the building retains its exterior character-defining features, including the prominent Norman-inspired tower and the recessed, round-arched entrance with layered molding. The building also retains important interior features, including a heavy hammer-beam roof truss and stained-glass windows, some of which were designed by Tiffany Studios, illustrating the Pilgrim story. The design and many interior features of the First Parish Church were intended to establish it as a memorial church to the Pilgrims. The church meets Criterion A at the local level for its association with the history of Plymouth, the development of the town center, and for its contribution to the setting of Town Square. It is the fourth meetinghouse built for its congregation on this site. While the congregation traces its roots to the Pilgrim settlers starting in 1620, the period of significance for the present building begins with the commencement of its construction in 1896. As a property used for religious purposes, the First Parish Church meets both Criterion Consideration A as a religious property that derives its primary significance from its architectural distinction and its historical importance in the development of Plymouth, and Criterion Consideration F as a property that derives its primary significance as a commemorative property memorializing the arrival of the Pilgrims. ______________________________________________________________________________ Narrative Statement of Significance (Provide at least one paragraph for each area of significance.) History of the Congregation The First Parish Church traces its history to a Separatist congregation that formed in Scrooby, England, in the early 17th century, members of which later sailed to Plymouth aboard the Mayflower. Meetings of the Scrooby congregation first took place in a manor house owned by the Archbishop of York and occupied by William Brewster (ca. 1560-1644), a former diplomat who served as postmaster for the village and bailiff to the archbishop. In 1606 and 1607, Brewster convened a series of meetings for those who were seeking to practice a more liberal expression of Protestantism, free from the creed and ritual of the Church of England. They formed their own congregation with Richard Clyfton as its first minster and John Robinson (ca. 1576-1625) as their assistant pastor. Due to continued persecution in England, the congregation fled to Amsterdam in 1608 and from there to Leyden (Leiden) in southern Holland in 1609. John Robinson was chosen to be their minister in Leyden (Clyfton had remained in England), and William Brewster was chosen to be their Elder. William Bradford, who would later become the second Governor of the Plymouth Colony, was another prominent member of the Separatist congregation. Bradford is credited with giving them the name “Pilgrims,” although that term would not be commonly applied to the Separatist emigrants until the late 18th century. Upon leaving Leyden, Bradford had written in his journal that “they knew they were pilgrims, & looked not much on those things, but lift up their eyes to ye heavens, their dearest countrie, and quieted their spirits.”3 Bradford’s use of the term “pilgrim” was a reference to a biblical passage, Hebrews 11:13-16:

3 William Bradford, Of Plimoth Plantation, ch. 7.

Portions redacted


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These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.4

Due to a variety of factors, including difficulty finding work in Leyden and the challenge of living in a non-English speaking country, some members of the Leyden congregation decided to obtain a charter from England to establish a colony in America. By congregational vote, only a minority had decided to emigrate, and Robinson remained in Leyden as minister to those who chose to stay. After securing a patent from the London Company (later replaced by a charter from the Plymouth Council for New England), the Leyden Separatists (hereinafter referred to as the “Pilgrims”) were among the passengers aboard the Mayflower as it departed for the American colonies from Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620. After a brief stay in Provincetown in November, the Mayflower landed in Plymouth in late December, where the Pilgrims established the Plymouth Colony. The head of their congregation at that time was William Brewster. John Carver became the first governor of the Plymouth Colony for a short time, followed by William Bradford, who remained Governor from 1621 to 1657. According to John Cuckson’s A Brief History of the First Church in Plymouth, the first meetings of the congregation in Plymouth were held in a common house built ca. 1621 and located on the south side of Leyden Street, the first street laid out in Plymouth, which runs between the harbor and what is now known as Town Square. This building consisted of a twenty-foot-square form that burned shortly after it was built. Worship services were then held in a fort, built ca. 1621, on what is now known as Old Burial Hill (NR 2013). The fort was located directly behind the current First Parish Church. According to Isaak de Rasiers, who visited Plymouth in 1627, the building consisted of “a large square house with a flat roof made of sawn planks set on oak beams, upon the top of which they have six cannon…. . The lower part they use for their church, where they preach on Sundays and the usual holidays.”5 The first meetinghouse was built in either 1637 or 1648––accounts differ. According to Plymouth historian Fred A. Jenks, worship services were conducted in the fort “until 1637 when the first meetinghouse was built on common land on the north side of Town Square.”6 However, according to John Cuckson, Minister of First Parish from 1901-1910, the first meetinghouse was not built until 1648 on the north side of Town Square. All of the land between Burial Hill and Main Street, which included present-day Town Square, originally belonged to William Bradford and John Alden. The land on which the First Parish Church now stands was likely given up by John Alden when he left Plymouth in 1627, after which the land became known as the Town Commons. Town Square was the center of religious and civic life in Plymouth from the mid 17th to the mid 20th century. The square currently contains three resources that contributed to that history––the First Parish Church, The Church of the Pilgrimage, built in 1840 by the Congregational Parish that had separated from the First Parish Church, and the Town House, built in 1749 on the site of the colony’s Government

4 The Holy Bible, King James Version. 5 John Cuckson, A Brief History of the First Church in Plymouth, from 1606 to 1901, p. 9. 6 George Marshall, ed., The Church of the Pilgrim Fathers, p. 90.


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House. The Town House served both town and county functions until 1820, when a separate county courthouse was built on Court Square to the north, in Plymouth Center. The second meetinghouse was built in 1683 on the site of the present First Parish Church, at the west end of Town Square. This building consisted of a two-story, side-gabled building with a center entrance and cupola. Cuckson quotes an unnamed source who described this building as having an “unceiled Gothic roof, diamond glass, with a small cupola and bell.”7 The third meetinghouse was constructed in 1744 on the same site, replacing the prior building that had fallen into disrepair. The building was described as “an attempted copy of a Boston church building. A graceful structure, it was the first real church, architecturally speaking.”8 Theological divisions had long existed within the Congregational sect between the Calvinistic and more liberal church pastors and members. In Plymouth, these divisions were intensified during the ministry of Chandler Robbins, from 1760 to 1799. Robbins insisted that the church adopt a creed, a Calvinistic Confession of Faith, replacing the broader covenant that had been in place since 1676. Many in the church were opposed to the idea of subscribing to any sort of creed, but the church remained united. Following Robbins’ death in 1799, however, those holding a more liberal view prevailed in choosing James Kendall as the next minister. Kendall reflected the majority of church members in his resistance to Calvinism and embrace of Unitarian principles. Kendall was minister from 1800 to 1869. The minority who supported the Calvinistic theology of Robbins left the First Parish in 1801, and incorporated as the Third Congregational Society in Plymouth. They built their first church, the Third Church of Christ, on the west side of Training Green, west of Town Square on Sandwich Street (no longer extant). They relocated back to Town Square and built the existing Greek Revival church on the north side of the square in 1840, and renamed their church the Church of the Pilgrimage. The earliest record of the First Parish’s connection to Unitarianism is found in an 1828 church record of an invitation to participate in the installation of a Unitarian minister in New York City. The First Unitarian Society was formed in Plymouth in 1831, and was separate from the First Parish. In 1838, the First Parish voted unanimously to call Rev. George W. Briggs, who was the minister of the First Unitarian Society in Fall River, to be an associate minister under Rev. Kendall at the First Parish. The Unitarian Society had ceased to exist in Plymouth by this time. James Thacher, a contemporary of the period, noted in his book, History of the Town of Plymouth, from its First Settlement in 1620, to the year 1832, that “the worshippers in this house are Unitarians.”9 In 1824, the First Universalist Society of Plymouth had formed with 33 charter members. They built a meetinghouse on the north side of Leyden Street, and later met in a building on Carver Street on Cole’s Hill. Their services were discontinued in 1934, at which time the Universalist congregation voted to join the First Parish. In 1831, as membership grew at the First Parish Church, the congregation voted to replace the third meetinghouse with another that would be “larger and more in keeping with the improved taste and broader outlook of the times.”10 The Gothic Revival-style fourth meetinghouse was a wood-frame

7 Cuckson, p. 60. 8 Petrangelo, Donna, “First Parish Church in Plymouth Massachusetts,” The Mayflower Quarterly, Vol. 77. No. 2, June 2011, p. 121. 9 James Thacher, History of the Town of Plymouth, from its First Settlement in 1620, to the year 1832, p. 325. 10 Historical Committee of the Parish, A Brief History of the First Parish Church in Plymouth, p. 11.


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building designed by George W. Brimmer of Boston and included a bell, cast by Paul Revere in 1801, which was controlled and used by the town to mark the time and as an alarm for emergencies. The fourth meetinghouse was destroyed by fire in 1892. Other denominations in Plymouth offered the temporary use of their churches for worship by the First Parish members. The first service after the fire was held at the Universalist Church on December 4, 1892. On December 19, 1892, a Parish Committee meeting of the First Parish Church was held, and the initial $5,000 was raised towards the building of a new church. At that meeting, according to committee member Arthur Lord’s report, it was decided that they should “secure in the church to be built a fitting memorial to that spirit of religious liberty and tolerance which characterized the Pilgrims.” He went on to say that, “The subject cannot be treated as if the church was purely local or denominational.” A building committee was appointed soon after the fire to oversee the design and construction of the new church. They developed a program for the church that would affect how the building would be designed. The committee decided that the church should have a central front door; there should be a central tower facing Town Square; there should be rooms for Sunday School, parish, and social functions in the basement; the pulpit should be placed at the rear of the auditorium; the auditorium should have a central aisle seating a capacity of 400 people; the organ should be placed to the side of the pulpit; and the building should be made of stone and “be somewhat monumental in its character permitting some fitting memorial of the Pilgrim name.” Starting on June 19, 1893, the building committee held a series of meetings to review proposed plans for the new church. The committee had been directed to engage the services of an “eminent” architect. They began receiving plans by architects at no cost and also sought plans from prominent architects, including McKim, Mead & White of New York, who declined because they were busy with “construction of buildings at the World’s Fair.” According to building committee records, they hired William R. Ware to serve as a “disinterested architectural adviser.” Ware was formerly a partner of Ware & Van Brunt in Boston, and by 1893 was serving as president of what became the School of Architecture at Columbia University. There are no records, however, indicating whether or to what degree he was involved in the review of plans. It is also unclear when Hartwell and Richardson first became involved, but on June 15, 1893, William Cummings Richardson sent a letter to the First Parish, in which he recommended against two designs they were considering. One was a Gothic Revival design by “Messrs. Walker and Kimball.” Richardson noted that their Gothic design was not monumental enough and that the historical associations were inappropriate, saying, “The Pilgrims fled to Plymouth from the tyranny which was housed in Gothic Cathedrals and Churches.” He went on to recommend the “Italian Renaissance” style, which he described as “a style the characteristic of which are quiet refinement and well studied balance of parts.” He argued that the style was appropriate because “Old Colonial detail, used with so much effect in the earliest houses of the Colony…, was derived, however indirectly, from the Italian Renaissance.” Richardson also noted that an excellent example of an ecclesiastical building employing the style had recently been built in New York City (“one of the best”), and another was under construction. According to records of the building committee, the choice of what is now referred to as the Romanesque Revival style also provided the opportunity to incorporate features of the English Norman churches of the Pilgrims. At least one specific architectural reference was incorporated into the design: the arched front entrance is said to have been modeled on the entrance to St. Helen’s Church in Austerfield, England, where William Bradford was baptized in 1590.


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By a Parish Committee vote of 11 to 3 on November 6, 1893, Hartwell and Richardson was chosen as the architect for the new church. The reasons they gave for choosing Hartwell and Richardson were twofold:

1. They may fairly be considered as among the leading architects of New England and eminent in their profession. 2. Because the testimony which the committee have is that they are pre-eminently safe…. They are cautious and conservative. There are architects in the profession who are eminent but not safe, and whose finished work is largely in excess of any estimate which was submitted before the work was undertaken. There are other architects who are safe but not eminent. The committee feel that so far as it is possible to secure it, the architects for this structure should be both eminent and safe.

The design of the new church received attention by those in the architectural profession. Edward C. Cabot, then President of the Boston Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, wrote to the First Parish that, “I am of the opinion that the style you have adopted, is decidedly better adapted to a simple modern church than either what is called Old Colonial… or the Gothic.”11 Professor F. W. Chandler of MIT’s Department of Architecture wrote to the First Parish, “I have examined with much care the design made…for the proposed church in Plymouth.… I believe…that the Italian Renaissance is the style to be used.”12 The loss of the fourth meetinghouse was viewed throughout New England and beyond as a great loss. At the National Conference of Unitarian and other Christian Churches in Saratoga, NY, in September of 1894, a resolution was adopted appointing a committee to raise funds for a new church. The New England Society, located in New York, also supported the effort to build a new church. In forming the committee to oversee their efforts, its president, Elihu Root, echoed the sentiments of many in believing that the new church would serve as a memorial to the Pilgrims. He stated in a December, 1894 address:

We have set our hands to another and somewhat different work, somewhat graver in its responsibility and more lasting in its results, than words which vanish into air. As you all know, in the winter before the last, the First Parish in Plymouth was destroyed by fire, the church of the first congregation in New England, of the society which was organized in Holland, and gathered in the cabin of the Mayflower, and with prayer and faith endured the hardships of that first cold long winter – the church of Brewster and Bradford, and Winslow and Carver. A new building is to be erected. It will stand where the old one stood, on the slope of Burial Hill. Faithful sons of New England have resolved, that the new edifice shall be a fitting memorial, of the noble hearts, and great events, for which it will stand; that it shall be shaped by that perfect art, which best comports with grave simplicity, and that it shall express, in form more enduring than the words of countless banquets, the fidelity of the sons of the Pilgrims to the memory of their fathers.13

11 Marshall, p. 91. 12 Ibid., p. 90. 13 Cuckson, p. 105.


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Construction of the First Parish Church On April 4, 1896, the building committee voted to hire John Y. Mainland of Boston as the contractor for construction of the church. Mainland was born in Scotland in 1849, learned the building trade in Nova Scotia in 1866-1867, and moved to Boston in 1868. According to an 1892 book, Boston of To-day, among other notable buildings for which he was contracted were the Athletic Club Building in Boston (perhaps referring to the clubhouse built for the Boston Athletic Association in 1888, site of the current Boston Public Library Johnson addition), Felton Hall in Cambridge (demolished in 1956), and J. Pierpont Morgan’s house in New York City.14 The cornerstone was laid on Monday, June 29, 1896. Once again, the perceived importance of this church as a memorial to the Pilgrims was reflected in the address given by Arthur Lord, Parish Committee member and President of the Pilgrim Society:

On this hill-side, rich in memories, associations and history, we meet today, to lay the corner stone of the First Church in Plymouth, and the first church in America. Behind us, rises the hill, where rest in peace the dead of by-gone generations; before us stretches, the first street of the Pilgrims, once bordered by their simple dwellings, once echoing to the tread of their weary feet; and beyond, lies the sea, now sparkling in the sunlight of June, but whose dark waters in that stormy December reflects the white sail of the Mayflower. All around us is historic ground. It witnessed the humble beginnings of a great people. It was the cradle of a mighty nation; the rude yet tender home of religious and civil liberty, which elsewhere, seemed but a scholar’s idle dream. …To this generation, came the duty and the opportunity to erect upon the ruins of the old church, a memorial, simple yet enduring, to the religious life of its founders, the last and best of the great memorials to the Pilgrims of Plymouth. Built of granite from the rocky hillsides of Massachusetts, of stone from the quarries of that other Massachusetts on the banks of the Ohio, it is no less firm and enduing than they. In its stately tower shall hang the bell which Paul Revere cast, whose tones, as on other days, again will mark the fleeting hour, will call to duty, and will sound the dread alarm. The carved tablets in its open vestibule shall tell the Pilgrim names and story to the thousands as they pass. The rays of the setting sun falling softly through its stained glass, shall gild with a new radiance the pictured forms and faces of the leaders of the Pilgrim band.15

The tablets referred to in the quote, located in the vestibule, include one proclaiming the 1676 covenant of the congregation, another listing the parishes that were established as the colony grew, including Duxbury, Marshfield, Eastham, and Plympton, and two additional tablets, which list the ministers and Elders who served the First Parish (Photo 11). The vestibule and narthexes were intended to serve a memorial role and be open to the public at all times, although that is no longer the case. It was understood by the building committee when construction commenced that they did not have adequate funds to complete the auditorium level, having raised only $40,000 of the anticipated $55,000 cost. John Mainland was instructed to complete the other components of the building as they continued to fundraise. The first service was held in Kendall Hall on April 25, 1897, before the sanctuary level had

14 Bacon, Edwin Monroe, ed., Boston of To-day: A Glance at its Architecture and Characteristics (Boston: Post Publishing Company, 1892), p. 300. 15 Cuckson, p. 106-107.


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been completed, and continued to be held there until the church dedication on Thursday, December 21, 1899. In 1898 and 1899, they successfully raised the additional $15,000 needed to complete the church. Fundraising letters from the First Parish referred to the new church as the Memorial Church to the Pilgrims of Plymouth, although that name was not formally adopted by the First Parish. The “Paul Revere” bell (Photo 27) that had been cast in 1801 and installed in the fourth meetinghouse had fallen and cracked during the fire that destroyed the building in 1892. Town Meeting voted in 1893 to have the town bell recast and to make arrangements for it to be hung in the new Unitarian Church. The bell was recast in 1896 and located in the belltower of the First Parish Church. The design of the new church included a separate entrance, the deeply recessed entrance on the south elevation of the projecting bell tower, for public access to operate the bell. The bell was rung at noon, 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., and curfew (10:00 p.m.), and for emergencies. It continues to be controlled and operated by the town of Plymouth. An automatic ringer was installed by the town approximately three years ago, and the bell continues to be rung at regular intervals through the day and evening. The church was dedicated on December 21, 1899. Among the many noteworthy people who spoke, Massachusetts Governor Roger Wolcott addressed the role of the church as a memorial to the Pilgrims with, perhaps, a degree of hyperbole: “This church will add one more permanent, tangible memorial to the others already existing, which make the shore, the streets and its sloping hill of Plymouth the most deeply significant and interesting spot in the western hemisphere.” As with the design and construction of the church itself, the designs and funding sources of the interior decorative objects and furnishings reflected the belief by those involved that the First Parish Church would serve an important role as a memorial church to the Pilgrim story. Many of the interior decorative objects and furnishings were not in place at the time church construction was completed in 1899; the majority were funded, designed, and incorporated into the church between 1899 and ca. 1920. The center chancel window, presented by the Society of Mayflower Descendants of New York, was in place by 1899, but the flanking windows, presented by the New England Society of Brooklyn, New York, were not installed until December 21, 1902, during the celebration of Forefather’s Day. The gallery stained-glass windows, given by Frances Walker Ladd, a sister of Rev. Edward Johnson Walker (1832-1894), were installed in 1902, by which time only eight of the twenty stained-glass windows on the side walls of the sanctuary had been completed. The narthex windows were not fully completed until ca. 1909, all of which were a gift of Mayflower descendant Mrs. Caleb Brewster Hackley of New York. The oak carved pulpit was given by descendants of John Howland. The carving was executed by Evans & Co., who was responsible for most of the carved elements of the church interior, including the hammer beams and paneling. The pulpit was originally centered on the sanctuary floor in front of the raised chancel. The pulpit was divided, ca. 1940, into three pieces: the two quarter-round components were joined to form a lectern located in front of the chancel to the right, for use by the congregation, and the center component was relocated to the left for use by the minister (Photo 28). Five oak carved chairs, still present in the chancel and vestibule, were donated: two high-backed chairs donated by Sarah Brewster Reed, a descendant of William Brewster, and three low-backed chairs donated by Laura Russell. A large oak table to match the chairs was also donated to the church soon after construction by George P. Hayward, a descendant of White and Winslow. The wood carved baptismal pedestal, designed by William Richardson of Hartwell and Richardson, was donated in 1917 by the New Jersey State Mayflower Society. The carillon, made by Meneely Co. of Troy, NY, was installed in 1920, following a national fundraising campaign. In addition, one bell was paid for by people of Plymouth,


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England. During the tercentenary, the owner of the Meneely Co., Chester Meneely, who was considered one of the best chime masters in the country, conducted a chime concert on August 7, 1920. The church remains open to tours, which highlight the architecture, commemorative tablets and windows, and other decorative elements that highlight the First Parish’s role in the settlement of the Plymouth colony. Architectural Significance Designed in 1899 by the notable architecture firm of Hartwell and Richardson, the church is a well-preserved example of a Romanesque Revival-style church, and the only known example of the style in Plymouth. The building retains its exterior character-defining features, including the Norman-inspired tower and the round-arched entrance with layered molding (the archivolt). The building also retains important interior features, including a heavy hammer-beam roof truss and stained-glass windows, some of which were designed by Tiffany Studios, illustrating the Pilgrim story. The Boston architecture firm of Hartwell and Richardson was established in 1881. Henry Walker Hartwell (1833-1919) was born in Boston and educated at Lawrence Academy in Groton. He had no further formal education, but received architectural training from Boston architects Joseph E. and C. H. Hammatt Billings starting in 1851. By 1856 he had his own architectural practice. He is noted as being one of the founding members of the Boston Society of Architects. In 1881, Hartwell joined with William Cummings Richardson to form Hartwell and Richardson, a partnership that lasted for almost 40 years. William Cummings Richardson (1854-1935) was almost twenty years younger than Hartwell. Richardson was born in Concord, NH, and studied architecture at MIT from 1873-1875. Richardson received the Boston Society of Architect’s prize in 1875 for best designs by a young architect. James Driver, an Englishman who had worked with the firm since the early 1890s, was made a partner in the firm in 1895. Hartwell died in 1919, and Driver left the firm ca. 1921, after which Richardson continued the firm until his death in 1935. The majority of the firm’s work was in the greater Boston area. Richardson was primarily responsible for design and Hartwell for oversight of construction. Their firm designed residential, commercial, and institutional buildings in the styles popular at the time, including Queen Anne, Shingle Style, and Colonial Revival. They were also known for designing a large number of public buildings and churches in the Richardsonian Romanesque and Romanesque Revival styles. Archaeological Significance Any ancient Native American and Contact-period resources located on the First Parish Church property could contribute further evidence of Wampanoag occupation of the Plymouth area prior to settlement by the Pilgrims in the early 17th century. Any evidence of Native occupation and/or land use of the Burial Hill locale could be especially important, since it would represent the first documented physical evidence of that use. Historic archaeological resources described above may contribute important information related to the history of Plymouth, and the importance of Town Square and the Old Burial Hill area to that history. Additional historical research, combined with archaeological survey and testing, may locate archaeological evidence of the second, third, and fourth meetinghouse sites, and other archaeological resources that helped to make the site of the First Parish Church and Burial Hill locale a focal point of the religious and civic life in the early Plymouth


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settlement, and later town of Plymouth, from the mid 17th to mid 20th centuries. Detailed analysis of the contents of archaeological features associated with the meetinghouse sites, the fort, may contribute important social, cultural, and economic information for a cross-section of most of Plymouth society, including many of its founding members. Potential structural evidence from the fort may contribute important information related to the military significance of the Town Square/Burial Hill locale, a precise location for the fort perimeter, and 17th-century military technology in general. Colonial-period unmarked graves may also appear anywhere in the Burial Hill locale, including on the First Parish Church property. Additional documentary research, combined with archaeological survey and testing within and around the current church property, may identify the full range of graves present at Burial Hill, and whether or not the cemetery extends onto the First Parish Church property. Unmarked graves may exist, and the current pattern of the gravestones may not, in every instance, reflect their actual placement. Gravestones were frequently removed from older cemeteries, then later replaced at more recently formed cemeteries. Gravestones were also erected as commemorative markers by descendants of individuals after their deaths. Archaeological research can help identify these graves, as well as later unmarked graves resulting from stolen, damaged, and overgrown stones. Seventeenth- through late 19th-century unmarked graves representing paupers and unknown persons may also be present. Archaeological research can also be used to help test the accuracy of existing boundaries of the Burial Hill Cemetery. Some burials, possibly those of unknown persons, paupers, or other indigent persons, may have occurred intentionally outside the cemetery boundary in areas such as the First Parish Church property. Artifact distributions associated with funerary or memorial services for specific individuals at their time of death, or individuals and groupings of individuals (possibly families) at a later date, may also be present. Much of the above information can be obtained through unobtrusive archaeological research. That is, information can be obtained by mapping artifact concentrations and the locations of features such as grave shafts and post molds without disturbing actual skeletal remains. Remote-sensing research techniques, combined with archaeological testing, might also contribute useful information. Unobtrusive archaeological research may contribute important social, cultural, and economic information relating to the 17th- through late19th-century Plymouth village settlement


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can be obtained in this manner; however, more detailed studies can be implemented through the actual excavation of burials and their analysis. Osteological studies of individuals interred at the cemetery have the potential to contribute a wealth of information relating to the overall physical appearance of the town’s inhabitants, as well as their occupations, nutrition, pathologies, and causes of death. Osteological information can provide detailed information about the inhabitants of a community during periods when written records are rare or nonexistent. The paucity of written records is especially true for minority members of the community, including Native Americans and African Americans. The overall context of the grave, including material- culture remains, can contribute information on burial practices, religious beliefs, economic status, family structure, and numerous other topics relating to the individual, his or her socioeconomic group, and the overall settlement. Archaeological research may be our only source of evidence for the investigation of certain aspects and areas of interest for the First Parish Church, particularly those topics that deal with the early meetinghouse structures for which few, if any, records survive.


Sections 9-end page 24

______________________________________________________________________________ 9. Major Bibliographical References

Bibliography (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form.)

Books and Pamphlets Bacon, Edwin Monroe, ed. Boston of To-day: A Glance at its History and Characteristics. Boston: Post Publishing Company, 1892. Baker, James W. Images of America, Plymouth. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2002. Bittinger, Frederick W. The Story of the Pilgrim Tercentenary Celebration at Plymouth. Plymouth, MA: The Memorial Press, Plymouth, 1923. Bradford, William. William Bradford Manuscript, Of Plimoth Plantation. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co., 1898. Cuckson, John. A Brief History of the First Church in Plymouth, from 1606 to 1901. Geo. H. Ellis Co.: Boston, 1902. Historical Committee of the Parish. A Brief History of the First Parish Church in Plymouth. Leyden Press: Plymouth, MA, 1973. Hurd, D.H. History of Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis & Co., 1884. Marshall, George N., ed. The Church of the Pilgrim Fathers. The Beacon Press: Boston, 1950. Massachusetts Historical Commission. “MHC Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Plymouth.” Boston: Massachusetts Historical Commission, 1981. Thacher, James. History of the Town of Plymouth, from its First Settlement in 1620, to the Year 1832. Boston: Marsh, Capen & Lyon, 1832. Wright, Conrad, ed. A Stream of Light, A Sesquicentennial History of American Unitarianism. Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 1975. Articles and Manuscripts ________. “The Pilgrim Fathers’ Church,” The New England Unitarian Vol. II, No. 1 (Mid-winter 1947). Petrangelo, Donna. “First Parish Church in Plymouth Massachusetts.” The Mayflower Quarterly Vol. 77, No. 2 (June 2011). Petrangelo, Donna. “The Pilgrims in Stained Glass Windows of the First Parish Church.” The Mayflower Quarterly Vol. 77, No. 4 (December 2011).



Russell, Allen D. “Town Square and Its Environs.” Typescript, 1972. (Files of Plymouth Community Development Department.) Vogel, Susan Maycock. “Hartwell and Richardson: An Introduction to Their Work.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians Vol. 32, No. 2 (May, 1973). Reports “Exterior & Interior Report First Parish Church, Town Square Plymouth, Mass.” Arris Design, Inc., Providence, RI, 1996. Organizations/ Repositories Massachusetts Historical Society. First Parish in Plymouth records, 1620-2002. Massachusetts Historical Society. First Parish in Plymouth visual materials collection, 1846-1970. Plymouth Public Library, Plymouth, MA. Local history room. The Holy Bible, King James Version. www.biblia.com www.scrooby.net/page/scroobyManorHouse

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Previous documentation on file (NPS):

____ preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been requested ____ previously listed in the National Register ____ previously determined eligible by the National Register ____ designated a National Historic Landmark ____ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey #____________ ____ recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # __________ ____ recorded by Historic American Landscape Survey # ___________ Primary location of additional data:

____ State Historic Preservation Office ____ Other State agency ____ Federal agency X _ Local government ____ University _X__ Other Name of repositories: First Parish Church of Plymouth, Plymouth, MA Plymouth Public Library, Plymouth, MA Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA Historic Resources Survey Number (if assigned): PLY.91



_________________________________________________________________________ 10. Geographical Data

Acreage of Property: less than one acre Use either the UTM system or latitude/longitude coordinates Latitude/Longitude Coordinates Datum if other than WGS84:__________ (enter coordinates to 6 decimal places) 1. Latitude: 41.955522 Longitude: -70.664960

2. Latitude: Longitude:



Or UTM References Datum (indicated on USGS map):

NAD 1927 or NAD 1983

1. Zone: 19 Easting: 362014 Northing: 4646178

2. Zone: Easting: Northing:

3. Zone: Easting: Northing:

4. Zone: Easting : Northing:

Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property.)

The boundaries follow lot lines on Plymouth Assessors Map 19, Parcel 21.

Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected.) The boundaries include the entire parcel, as it is configured today, on which the First Parish Church of Plymouth sits.



_________________________________________________________________________

11. Form Prepared By

name/title: Eric Dray, Preservation Consultant, with Betsy Friedberg, MHC NR Director organization: Massachusetts Historical Commission street & number: 220 Morrissey Blvd. city or town: Boston state: MA zip code: 02125 e-mail: [email protected] telephone: 617-727-8470 date: September, 2014

___________________________________________________________________________

Additional Documentation

Submit the following items with the completed form:

Maps: A USGS map or equivalent (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location.

Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. Key all photographs to this map.

Additional items: (Check with the SHPO, TPO, or FPO for any additional items.)



SKETCH MAP Map Source: Plymouth GIS Map



Photographs Submit clear and descriptive photographs. The size of each image must be 1600x1200 pixels (minimum), 3000x2000 preferred, at 300 ppi (pixels per inch) or larger. Key all photographs to the sketch map. Each photograph must be numbered and that number must correspond to the photograph number on the photo log. For simplicity, the name of the photographer, photo date, etc. may be listed once on the photograph log and doesn’t need to be labeled on every photograph. Photo Log Name of Property: First Parish Church of Plymouth City or Vicinity: Plymouth County: Plymouth State: MA Photographer: Eric Dray Date Photographed: October 2013 to January 2014 Description of Photograph(s) and number, include description of view indicating direction of camera:

Photo# View__________ 1. Town Square from corner of Leyden and Market streets Looking west

2. View of church from Town Square Looking northwest 3. Southeast ell Looking northwest 4. Northeast ell Looking southwest 5. Side entrance ell on south elevation Looking northwest 6. Main Entrance Looking west 7 Stairtower Looking southwest 8. South elevation Looking northeast 9. North elevation Looking south 10. West elevation Looking southeast



11. Vestibule Looking north 12. Vestibule opening to lower level Looking west 13. Southeast narthex ceiling Looking southwest 14. Southeast narthex stained-glass windows Looking southeast 15. Northeast narthex stained-glass windows Looking northeast 16. Sanctuary and chancel Looking west 17. Sanctuary and gallery Looking east 18. Detail of roof truss Looking east 19. Detail of pews Looking south 20. View of gallery Looking east 21. Detail of sanctuary stained-glass windows Looking north 22. Chancel windows Looking west 23. Gallery windows Looking east 24. Delftshaven tile Looking east 25. Kendall Hall Looking west 26. Organ control in belltower Looking northwest 27. “Paul Revere” bell and chimes Looking northwest 28. View of split alter and baptismal pedestal Looking south 29-30 Retaining walls Looking north



PHOTOGRAPH LOCATOR MAP 1 Map Source: Google Earth

Key: Black numbers – exterior photographs

Red numbers – interior photographs



PHOTOGRAPH LOCATOR MAP 2 Vestibule and Lower Levels Source: Sketch, First Parish Church records



PHOTOGRAPH LOCATOR MAP 2 Sanctuary Level Source: Sketch, First Parish Church records



Photograph 1. Town Square from corner of Leyden and Market Streets, looking west.

Photograph 2. View from Town Square, looking northwest.



Photograph 3. Southeast ell, looking northwest.

Photograph 4. Northeast ell, looking southwest.



Photograph 5. Side entrance ell on south elevation, looking northwest.

Photograph 6. Main entrance, looking west.



Photograph 7. Stair tower, looking southwest.

Photograph 8. South elevation, looking northeast.



Photograph 9. North elevation, looking south.

Photograph 10. West elevation, looking southeast.



Photograph 11. Vestibule, looking north.

Photograph 12. Vestibule opening to lower level, looking west.



Photograph 13. Southeast narthex ceiling, looking southwest.

Photograph 14. Southeast narthex stained-glass windows.



Photograph 15. Northeast narthex stained-glass windows.

Photograph 16. Sanctuary and chancel, looking west.



Photograph 17. Sanctuary and gallery, looking east.

Photograph 18. Detail of roof truss, looking east.



Photograph 19. Detail of pews, looking south.

Photograph 20. Gallery, looking east.



Photograph 21. Detail of sanctuary stained-glass windows, looking north.

Photograph 22. Chancel stained-glass windows, looking west.



Photograph 23. Gallery stained-glass windows, looking east.

Photograph 24. Delft-Haven tile, looking east.



Photograph 25. Kendall Hall, looking west.

Photograph 26. Organ controls in bell tower, looking northwest.



Photograph 27. “Paul Revere” bell and chimes, looking northwest.

Photograph 28. View of split alter and baptismal pedestal, looking south.



Photograph 29. Retaining walls on west and north, looking north.

Photograph 30. Retaining wall on south boundary, looking east.



First Parish Church Data Sheet and Locator Map



Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C.460 et seq.). Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 100 hours per response including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Office of Planning and Performance Management. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1849 C. Street, NW, Washington, DC.

Documents

First Parish Church of Plymouth · Parish Church sits on a gently sloping parcel located at the “top,” or western end, of Town Square, the highest part of the square (Photo 1)