Parish Photo

First Parish Church

A Unitarian-Universalist Congregation

19 Town Square Plymouth, MA 02360 USA  |  508-747-1606  |  fpplymouth@comcast.net

History of First Parish in Plymouth

Brief History of First Parish

First Parish Church in Plymouth is the oldest continuous church in New England. We trace our origin back to the year 1606 when a group of dissenters from the Church of England banded together in Scrooby.
Persecution forced the Scrooby congregation to flee England and, in 1608, the group settled in Leyden, Holland, under the leadership of their pastor, John Robinson.

In 1620 part of the Leyden congregation set sail aboard the Mayflower, seeking a permanent home in the New World. These pilgrims were seeking the freedom to worship according to the dictates of their own conscience.

In 1800 this church became Unitarian and is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Association formed in 1961.

 

Cleaned up meeting house circa 1907
Cleaned up meeting house circa 1907