Old North Church - Crypt

Crypt

In 2009 an archeologist began examining the estimated 1,100 bodies buried in 37 tombs in the basement. The crypt was in use between 1732 and 1853, and each tomb is sealed with a wooden or slate door, with many doors covered over by plaster as ordered by the city of Boston in the 1850s.

Founding Rector Timothy Cutler and his wife were buried under the alter together. Other notable figures buried under the church include British Marine Major John Pitcairn, who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill and was entombed along with many other soldiers killed in this battle, and Captain Samuel Nicholson of the U.S.S. Constitution. A Behind the Scenes tour run by the church takes tourists down into the crypt, as well as up to the steeple.