A Legacy in Puddingstone
First Parish in Brookline consists of three buildings, each built at different times, that connect together to create our home.
Our current sanctuary is the fourth to house the congregation. It was designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, the successor firm of H.H. Richardson and dedicated on April 10, 1893. The original landscaping was done by the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted. The exterior is framed in Roxbury Puddingstone, a rock formation found below Roxbury, MA extending to several local communities including Brookline. Puddingstone is approximately 570 to 595 million years old and is a conglomerate, sedimentary rock.
The original town hall was built in 1825. From 1843 to 1856 the lower floor served as Brookline’s first high school. In 1890, First Parish bought the building from the town and named it Pierce Hall, for Rev. John Pierce (1797-1849).
It now serves as a gathering space for the congregation, including meetings, hospitality, and special events.
Linking Pierce Hall and the sanctuary are two rooms each named for ministers, Lyon Chapel (Rev. William H. Lyon, 1896-1915) and the Peterson Room (Rev. Abbot Peterson, 1915-1942). Like Pierce Hall these spaces are used for gatherings, meals, events, and services.
Stained Glass
Stories in Color, Light, and Reflection
When newly built, presumably all the sanctuary windows had clear glass. On November 25, 1894, minister Howard Brown, reported to the Parish Committee “that he had some subscriptions and promises for funds to put three memorial windows in the chancel….” Thus began the transition to the historic stained glass in our sanctuary.
Over the years gifts from generous donors transformed all our clear glass sanctuary windows to spectacular stained glass created by some of the most renowned stained glass artists including the studio of Louis C. Tiffany and Sarah Wyman Whitman. Whitman was unique as a stained glass artist in 1899, another of her remarkable window’s graces Memorial Chapel at Harvard University.
The designs in our windows range from Sir Galahad and the Holy Grail to biblical characters, to the Angel of Peace and early colonists John and Hannah Goddard, members of our congregation. John Goddard was the wagon-master general during the Battle of Dorchester Heights, which led to the evacuation of the British from Boston, now known as Evacuation Day and celebrated on March 17th in Suffolk County each year.
In November of 1924, First Parish’s World War One Memorial Rose Window was dedicated, six years after Armistice Day. Presumably paid for by town-wide subscription, it is an all-Brookline memorial to eight men in particular who died of the one hundred twenty four men connected in some way with Brookline who served in World War One.
More detailed information, including photos, is gathered together in the writings, video, and references put together by Frank Hutchins, a former member of First Parish, entitled “Why We Have Stained Glass”.
