By Amelia Nugent
Beacon Hill Residents attending a King’s Chapel Garden and Parish House recent event.
King’s Chapel has stood at the foot of Beacon Hill since the 1600s. Its parishioners have participated in the Beacon Hill Civic Association’s Fall HillFest, with a table offering face painting, bubble jars and King’s Chapel crowns for the young and young at heart, as long as it has been going on.
This year, for the first time, King’s Chapel will open its parish house and garden to the public during HillFest this coming Sunday, September 24, from noon to 4 p.m.
The parish house, at 64 Beacon Street, is one of the Hill’s historic properties, rebuilt after a fire in 1824 that consumed several houses on Beacon Street. The first floor will be open, allowing visitors to view the Little Chapel and the downstairs library. That floor also offers a view to the outside through purple window panes. The purple glass, created by a flaw in its European manufacture, is visible on only a few Beacon Hill houses and is now prized for providing evidence of the building’s early construction.
The parish house garden is one of the largest privately owned green spaces on the hill and is maintained with help from the Beacon Hill Garden Club. Members of King’s Chapel will be on hand to answer questions about this neighborhood church as well as offering such family friendly activities as giant bubble blowing, cookie decorating, parlor games, and a sing-along led by the church’s music teacher, Skip, a recent Berklee graduate. Parents are welcome to use the Kings Chapel nursery for their young ones who need a break from the festivities.
To enter the garden, follow the signs to the 55 Branch Street entrance.