Old Ship Church
| Old Ship Church | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| National Register of Historic Places | |||
| National Historic Landmark | |||
| Historic District Contributing Property | |||
 The building in 2008 |
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| location | Hingham , Massachusetts , United States | ||
| Coordinates | 42 ° 14 '28.3 " N , 70 ° 53' 21" W | ||
| surface | 2,475 ft² (229.9 m² ) | ||
| Built | 1681 | ||
| NRHP number | 66000777 | ||
| Data | |||
| The NRHP added | October 15, 1966 | ||
| Declared as an NHL | October 9, 1960 | ||
| Declared as CP | January 7, 1991 | ||
The Old Ship Church is a historic, Puritan church building in Hingham in the state of Massachusetts of the United States . It was built in 1681 and has been used as a meeting place by the First Parish community in Hingham, which was founded in 1635 . The building is the only remaining Puritan church building in the USA and at the same time the oldest in an English-speaking congregation that is used for church purposes without interruption. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 . Since 1991 the building has also been a contributing property to the Lincoln Historic District .
architecture
The core of the two-story building has an almost square floor area of around 230 m². At the highest point of the steep hipped roof is a belfry , which is surrounded by a balustrade and closed off by a pointed tower. The two entrances on the east and south sides are in front of the building and are completely enclosed, with the latter having a gable triangle with a tooth cut that rests on pilasters in the Doric order .
The structure supporting the roof consists of timber beams connected like a framework, reminiscent of an upside-down shell of a ship; this is the reason for the name of the building.
In 1729 the church was expanded by approx. 4.3 m in the northeast and in 1755 additionally in the southwest. A few more renovations followed, but these were removed as part of a restoration in the 1930s in order to return the building to its original condition.
Historical meaning
The Old Ship Church is the only surviving example of a traditional Puritan prayer house from the 17th century, typical of its time, and probably the oldest building in an English-speaking congregation that is used continuously for church purposes. The lack of external ornamentation suggests the Puritans' aversion to the Gothic architecture of the Church of England buildings.
It was customary for Puritans during the service for women to sit on one side of the building and men to sit on the other. Instead of the altar, the focus was on the pulpit , which is why all pews were aligned with it. Due to this peculiarity, Puritan prayer houses were designed square or round from the middle of the 17th century.
The construction of the Old Ship Church was financed by collecting a levy from the 143 parishioners and cost a total of 430 pounds sterling (today about 77,000 pounds or 85,900 euros).
Old Ship Burying Ground
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Around located around the church building in the cemetery Hingham Cemetery , the but better than Old Ship Burying Ground is known, even though he does not belong to this church. Many prominent figures from American history are buried there; Among other things, there is also the grave of Benjamin Lincoln .
See also
- List of entries on the National Register of Historic Places in Plymouth County
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts
literature
- Patricia Heintzelman, Charles Snell: National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form. (PDF) United States Department of the Interior , National Park Service , August 1975, accessed January 27, 2018 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Massachusetts. National Park Service , accessed August 12, 2019.
- ↑ a b c cf. Heintzelman / Snell, p. 2.
- ↑ a b c cf. Heintzelman / Snell, p. 3.