Crypt Restoration Underway at Old North Church

In partnership with the National Park Services, the Old North Church and Historic Site, has embarked on a major restoration and preservation project on its Crypt which contains 37 tombs, which were used for burials from 1782 to 1860.              

Many of the original wooden tomb doors were restored, extensive repointing and brick preservation and the addition of an accessibility ramp to allow more visitors the opportunity to visit the Crypt are part of the project. The doors were taken off the site for restoration work, with temporary doors which have been put in place. Archaeologists observed the restoration of each tomb and documented the findings without disturbing the burials. Constructed in 1723, the church didn’t have space for a graveyard, so after the church opened, nine years later, a single tomb was excavated under this sanctuary and additional tombs were added over time. Burials in the crypt took place between 1722 and 1860 when the church began complying with a city ordinance that banned indoor burials. Notable people interned in the crypt included the Rev. Timothy Culter the church’s first and longest standings serving minister, Captain Samuel Nicholson the first commander of the US S Constitution and Major John Pitcairn who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Renovations and restorations of the project will include repointing and replacing historic bricks, lowering the floor for accessibility and replacing tomb doors. As history reported, the Old North Church’s enduring fame began when two lanterns were held in the steeple as a signal that the British troops were heading to Lexington and Concord by sea across the Charles River. The message prompted Paul Revere’s ride and the start of the American Revolutionary war in 1860.