First Parish Church in Plymouth facts for kids

Quick facts for kids First Parish Church in Plymouth
The current First Parish Church building, built in 1899, in Plymouth is located downtown on Town Square at the base of Burial Hill (on the right)
Location	12 Church St., Plymouth, Massachusetts
Country	USA
Denomination	Unitarian Universalist
Membership	64 (2016)
History
Status	Active
Founded	1606
Architecture
Heritage designation	National Register of Historic Places
Designated	2014
Architectural type	Neo-Romanesque
Years built	1899

The First Parish Church in Plymouth is a very old and important church located in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It sits at the bottom of Burial Hill in the town square. This church is special because its group of followers was started by the Pilgrims way back in 1620. The building you see today was finished in 1899.

History of the First Parish Church

The Church Community's Journey

The story of this church community began in England, in a village called Scrooby, around 1607. It was started by a group known as the Pilgrim Fathers. These Pilgrims were English people who had different religious beliefs from the main church in England. They moved to the Dutch Republic for a while.

In 1620, the Pilgrims sailed to America on the Mayflower. Once they arrived in Plymouth, they built a simple chapel. This chapel became a main church for the Massachusetts colony. Over time, some members of the church started to have different ideas about their faith. In 1801, a split happened. Many people in the church became Unitarians. The members who wanted to keep the older ways formed a new church called the Church of the Pilgrimage. By 1834, all churches in Massachusetts became separate from the government.

Today, the First Parish Church is part of the Unitarian Universalist Association. In 2016, it had 64 members.

The Church Buildings Over Time

When the Pilgrims first arrived, they held their Christian services on the ship, the Mayflower. From 1621 to 1648, they met in a fort on Burial Hill. This fort was also used for important meetings of the Plymouth colony's government.

In 1648, the first actual church building was constructed in the town square. After that, new church buildings were built in the same spot in 1684, 1744, and 1831. The current church building, which was finished in 1899, replaced the one from 1831. It was designed by a team of architects named Hartwell, Richardson & Driver. The building has a special style called Romanesque.

In 2014, the 1899 building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's recognized as an important historical site. Inside, the church has beautiful stained glass windows made by Tiffany. These windows show scenes from the Pilgrim story. The main worship area, called the sanctuary, has amazing carved oak wood. Its ceiling is a great example of a "hammer beam" design, which is a very strong and beautiful way to build a roof without needing many columns.

Gallery

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  Burial Hill Fort, around 1621, was where the first church meetings in Plymouth took place.

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  William Harlow House, built in 1677, used wood from the old Burial Hill Fort.

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  The First Parish Meeting House from 1683.

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  The First Parish Meeting House from 1744.

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  The First Parish Meeting House from 1831.

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  The First Parish Meeting House from 1899.

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  First Parish Church in Town Square, around 1905.

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  First Parish is at the back, and the white church on the right is the Church of the Pilgrimage.

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  Inside the First Parish Church.

See also

In Spanish: Primera iglesia parroquial en Plymouth para niños

• First Parish Church (Duxbury, Massachusetts)
• Oldest churches in the United States
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Plymouth County, Massachusetts