King's Chapel In Boston
King's Chapel in Boston is a granite church at 58 Tremont Street, at the corner of School Street in downtown Boston. Its congregation was founded in 1686 as the first Anglican church in Boston, and the building you see today was finished in 1754 to a design by Peter Harrison. It is now home to a Unitarian Universalist congregation, and it is a stop on the Freedom Trail. Visitors can walk through the sanctuary, join a guided tour of the crypt and gallery, or attend a Sunday service. This page covers King's Chapel history, what is inside, tickets and tours, and how to fit the church into a day on our hop-on hop-off bus. The older burying ground next door is a separate site, and it has its own page, King's Chapel Burying Ground.
History Of King's Chapel
The church has been rebuilt, renamed and reinterpreted more than once. Its history falls into three chapters: how an Anglican congregation found a home in a Puritan town, how the granite church replaced a wooden one, and how the congregation became Unitarian.
An Anglican Church In A Puritan Town
King's Chapel history starts in 1686, when Boston's Anglican congregation was founded. Most colonists were Puritans, who worshipped in Congregational churches and had little use for the Church of England, so the new congregation had a hard time finding land. A small wooden chapel opened on part of the town's burying ground in the late 1680s, which is why the church and the burying ground now share a block. King's Chapel was an Anglican church, not a Puritan one, even though the Puritans shaped the city around it.
The Granite Church, 1749 To 1754
In 1749, the architect Peter Harrison sent plans from Newport, Rhode Island, for a new church in the Georgian style. Builders raised the granite walls around the wooden chapel so the congregation could keep worshipping, and the old building was taken apart once the new one was finished in 1754. The tower never received the steeple Harrison planned, which is why it has no spire.
From Anglican To Unitarian
The American Revolution changed the congregation. Many members were Loyalists, and most of them left in 1776 for England and Nova Scotia. During those years, the building was known as the Stone Chapel. In the 1780s, the congregation that stayed took a new direction under its minister, James Freeman, who revised the Book of Common Prayer along Unitarian lines. The National Park Service calls it the nation's first Unitarian congregation. Today the church is part of the Unitarian Universalist Association, and its services still draw on the older prayer book. The building is a National Historic Landmark.
Exploring King's Chapel Today
King's Chapel is a working church first and a historic site second, so what you see depends on the day. The sanctuary is the main attraction, and the tours add the parts of the building that visitors cannot reach on their own.
Inside The Sanctuary
The interior is often praised as one of the most elegant Georgian church interiors of the colonial era. Look for the Corinthian columns, the enclosed box pews and the pulpit, which dates to the early 1700s and came from the earlier wooden chapel. The altar panels are older still, from the late 1600s. The current organ was built by C.B. Fisk in 1964. Stories say that George Washington sat in one of the box pews during a visit in 1789, but the account is not well documented, so treat it as local lore.
The Bell And Paul Revere
The church's bell was cast in England and hung in 1772. It cracked in 1814, and Paul Revere and Sons recast it in 1816. The bell still rings for worship. If you care about Revolutionary Boston, it is a good link between this church and the other sites on the trail.
The King's Chapel Crypt And The Stranger's Tomb
Beneath the church is a crypt with twenty tombs owned by families in the congregation. At the back lies the Stranger's Tomb, where church records say roughly 30 to 50 people were buried, including travelers, sailors and others who had no family plot. One of them was the Chevalier de Saint-Sauveur, a young French naval officer who died in 1778 after being struck during a riot over food shortages. Because Catholicism was banned in Boston at the time, his funeral was a rare Catholic service. The crypt is inside the church, not in the burying ground, and you reach it through the chapel's guided tours.
Sunday Services And Music
The chapel's website lists Sunday services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. It also lists a Tuesday midday recital series, so check the chapel's calendar or call before you plan a weekday visit. If you want to hear the church at its best, a service or recital is the way to do it.
Visiting King's Chapel
King's Chapel sets its own hours and prices, and they change with the season, so treat this section as a guide and confirm with the church. These details were checked in October 2026.
Hours
The chapel's own pages list seasonal hours and some closed days, and they differ from page to page. Plan ahead and confirm the current schedule before you walk over.
Tickets And Admission
The chapel's own pages list historic site entry at $5 and guided tours from about $5, and the price depends on the tour and on which page you read. They also list discounts that you can claim on site, and they say tickets are sold in person. Some guides list entry as free, so the chapel's pages are the better source. These are the chapel's tickets, not Boston Sightseeing bus tickets, and you buy them at the church.
Guided Tours
The church's website lists several guided tours, and the list changes by season, so check which ones are running:
- Bells and Bones Tour: about 45 to 55 minutes. It covers the crypt and a climb to the tower to see the 1816 bell. The church recommends it for ages 10 and up, and visitors must be able to climb steep stairs and sign a waiver.
- Express crypt tour: about 20 to 25 minutes, a shorter visit to the crypt.
- Other tours: the church has also listed tours of the sanctuary's art and architecture, so ask what is offered on the day.
Accessibility
The Freedom Trail lists King's Chapel as wheelchair accessible, but the church says the crypt and gallery parts of its tours are not fully accessible. It cites steep, narrow stairs and low clearances. Ask the church about tour accommodations before you go.
How To Get There
The address is 58 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02108. The church says it is about a three-minute walk from Park Street station, and Government Center is the other nearby T stop. By bus, our Stop 3 is in Downtown Boston on Tremont Street, and Stop 2 is at the Old State House, a short walk along School Street.
Nearby Attractions
The church sits in the middle of a tight cluster of Freedom Trail sites, so the next stop is easy.
Right beside the church, King's Chapel Burying Ground is older than the church and is owned by the City of Boston, not the congregation. Our page on it covers who is buried there and what to look for. Just a short walk away, the Old South Meeting House is another important stop on the Freedom Trail, and the Granary Burying Ground is where Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and John Hancock are buried.
If you turn down School Street, the trail passes the Boston Latin School site within a few steps, then the Old Corner Bookstore and, a little farther on, the Old State House, where our bus stops. If you head the other way along Tremont Street, Park Street Church and Boston Common mark where the trail begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is King's Chapel in Boston a church or a museum?
It is an active church. A Unitarian Universalist congregation worships there, and the building is also open to visitors as a historic site.
Was King's Chapel a Puritan church?
No. It was founded in 1686 as an Anglican church, the first in Boston. The Puritans ran the city's Congregational churches and had little use for it.
Who built King's Chapel?
Peter Harrison designed the granite church. Plans arrived from Newport, Rhode Island, in 1749, and the building was finished in 1754 around the earlier wooden chapel.
How much are tickets to King's Chapel?
The chapel's own pages list historic site entry at $5 and guided tours from about $5, with discounts on site. Prices differ between pages, so confirm with the church. These are not Boston Sightseeing tickets.
Can you go inside King's Chapel?
Yes, during its visiting hours. You can enter the sanctuary on a self-guided visit or join a guided tour. Hours change by season, so check the chapel's website first.
Is there a crypt at King's Chapel?
Yes. The crypt holds twenty family tombs, and the Stranger's Tomb at the back holds roughly 30 to 50 people. You reach the crypt on a guided tour.
What is the difference between King's Chapel and King's Chapel Burying Ground?
King's Chapel is the church. The burying ground next door is older, and the City of Boston owns it. See our page on King's Chapel Burying Ground for who is buried there.
Are there services at King's Chapel on Sunday?
The chapel's website lists Sunday services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Check the church's calendar for changes.
Is King's Chapel on the Freedom Trail?
Yes. It is one of the 16 sites on the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail, near the Old South Meeting House and the Granary Burying Ground.
How do I get to King's Chapel on the Boston Sightseeing bus?
Stop 3 in Downtown Boston is the closest of our stops, and Stop 2 at the Old State House is a short walk along School Street. Any ticket that lets you hop off includes both, while the Single Ride Pass is one loop, so check its ticket page first.
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