History of Old Ship
The Old Ship Church is the oldest meetinghouse in continuous ecclesiastical use in the United States. It is a free church sheltering persons of very diverse points of view. Its tradition in liberal theology began with the distinguished 18th Century ministry of Ebenezer Gay.
It has a strong emphasis of concern for social problems and individual religious development.
The First Church in Hingham was gathered in 1635. Its congregation largely drawn from the Parish Church in Hingham, England. Peter Hobart was the first minister. Ebenezer Gay, whose ministry at Old Ship spanned much of the 18th Century, led the church to take a distinctly liberal position in theology, laying the foundation of its future Unitarianism.
This liberalism was espoused and augmented by Dr. Gay's successor, Henry Ware. In 1805, Dr. Ware was called from the Hingham pulpit to the Hollis professorship of Divinity at Harvard. This occurrence precipitated the controversy which split New England Puritism into its Unitarian and Congregational wings.
In 1681 the first rude meetinghouse, close to the site of Old Derby Academy, was replaced with a rather imposing Gothic structure -the central portion of the building as you now see it. Between 1729 and 1734 a wing was added, the walls plastered, and a ceiling installed to hide the magnificent beams of the roof. In 1755 a second wing was added, bringing the building to its present shape, and the present pulpit was constructed. The box pews luxurious replacements for rough benches -were built gradually over time, beginning in 1755. In 1869 -shortly after the completion of the final pew they were all torn out and replaced with curved and cushioned benches. The whole interior was redecorated in ornate Victorian style. In 1930 through the generosity of Eban Gay -a descendant of the 18th century Minister -the Old Ship was "restored" to a pleasing combination of 17th and 18th century elements. Extensive sections of the old pews had been saved and were returned to the meetinghouse. Many of the meetinghouse furnishings are very old and have long been in use here. The Christening Bowl, for example, was made before 1600 and probably came to the New World with the first Hinghamites.
For more than a century music at Old Ship was made without instrumental accompaniment in the old style. A precentor, or leader, would "line out" a phrase of music that was then repeated by the congregation. In 1755 a committee waited upon Dr. Gay to request that he appoint a group of able singers to "strike first" in the singing -that is, to lead Our choir dates from that time. In 1807 the first musical instrument was introduced in Old Ship to accompany the singing -a bass viol that can still be seen in the balcony. A flute and tenor viol, which three instruments served until 1867, followed it. The custom of facing the rear of the church for the final hymn was adopted in 1855 when the congregation (after a long period of leaving the singing to the choir) requested that it be allowed to join in this hymn -and turned to face the choir leader in the rear gallery for direction.
The history and structure of the meetinghouse are supported by the non-sectarian, tax-exempt charitable trust formed in 1971, Friends of the Old Ship Meetinghouse. For more information about the Friends, write or contact them care of the Old Ship church office, 107 Main Street, Hingham, MA 02043, 781-749-1679 or
by e-mail: oldshipfriends@gmail.com.
Also, they have their own website oldshipfriends.org.
This website is a redesign of our former site. If you find things are missing, or have suggestions for additions or improvements, please email the webmaster at webmaster@oldshipchurch.org.
