The Old Ship Church in Hingham, Mass., is the oldest continuous Puritan meetinghouse/church in the United States, dating from 1681.
Hingham, located about 17 miles southeast of Boston, lies on the southwestern side of Boston Harbor. In 1633 Puritan settlers called it “Bare Cove,” but then incorporated it as the town of Hingham two years later. In 1665 the Wampanoag tribe finally sold the land to the town.
Hingham distance marker
English Puritans led by the Rev. Peter Hobart (1604-1679) established the First Parish Church in Hingham in September 1635. They then quickly built a meetinghouse. This early meetinghouse, a small rudimentary structure , easily accommodated its families of farmers and skilled workers for worship. They also used it to conduct town business and elections.
Building Old Ship Church
As the population of Hingham grew from about 130 in 1635 to 750 in 1680, voters at a town meeting agreed to an assessment of 437 pounds to erect a new meetinghouse. Built in 1681 in a traditional English Gothic style, on land donated by Capt. Joshua Hobart (brother of Peter), it had a length of 35 feet and a breadth of 45 feet. Its posts were 20 feet high. Its main feature consisted of a vaulted ceiling made with curved oak beams that were light, but strong. Hewn by an ax, no two beams were alike.
After installation, the entire upper structure resembled an upside-down hull of a ship, which supported the weight of the roof. The plain interior of the meetinghouse had several unique characteristics. The wooden pulpit customarily faced eastward, toward Jerusalem; wooden benches were backless; large windows were square-shaped; two doors were constructed; the walls, both inside and outside, were clapboard ; and the belfry had a “lookout” facing the Atlantic Ocean.
The Old Ship Church in Hingham, Mass., didn’t have a stove until 1822. Photo courtesy Library of Congress.
When entering for worship, the parishioners had to adhere to a rigid seating arrangement based on gender and social status. Next to the pulpit were seats for the wife of the minister and the widow of Rev. Peter Hobart, who had died in 1679. Town leaders and elders sat in front; men and women were separated from each other; while younger members, “men servants, Negroes, and Indians” were relegated to the rear or the balconies. Heating or lighting did not exist.
The First Ministers
The Rev. John Norton (1650-1716) gave the first sermon on Jan. 8, 1682. When Rev. Norton died in 1716, Dr. Ebenezer Gay (1696-1787) became the third minister. He held unorthodox views of Arminianism, where people would achieve salvation through free will, not predestination. Eventually that led to the church embracing Unitarianism by the end of the 18th century. At some point in the late 19th century, the church became known as Old Ship.
The Old Ship Church in 1933.
Major renovations to the church occurred in 1731, 1755, 1869, 1930 and from 2007-2013. In 1731 the walls were plastered and a new wing was added, while in 1755 the first box pews and two windows were built. Two stoves were finally installed in 1822. Between 2007 and 2013, the exterior of the building and steeple were restored, the first “privy” was put in place, security systems were modernized and beams were reinforced.
Entrance to the Old Ship Church
The First Parish Church has been listed as a National Historic Landmark since 1960. Subsequently, the National Register of Historic Places added it in 1966. Since 1961 it has been formally known as the First Parish of Hingham Unitarian Universalist.
Edward T. Howe, Ph.D., is Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at Siena College near Albany, N.Y.
Images: Hingham distance marker: By Timothy Valentine – https://www.flickr.com/photos/el_ramon/2308339263/in/set-72157604041449617/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5748674. Old Ship Church in 1933 Historic American Buildings Survey, C. (1933) Old Ship Church, 88 Main Street, Hingham, Plymouth County, MA. Massachusetts Hingham Plymouth County, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/ma0440/. Interior of the Old Ship Church By Michael Carter – https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelcarter/269096379/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6286653. Entrance to Old Ship Church By Timothy Valentine – https://www.flickr.com/photos/el_ramon/3859250195/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7665228.
