Rev. Nathaniel Chauncey Crypt

Rev. Chauncey Crypt, 1756, CT Valley Sandstone Old Buying Ground, Durham, CT. After. Rev. was first graduate of Collegiate School, renamed Yale in 1718.

Rev. Chauncey Crypt. Removing earth fill causing rising damp. Stone cleaned, consolidated filled.

Rev. Chauncey Crypt. During treatment front overview of top slab being picked from crypt.

Historical Significance

Reverend Nathaniel Chauncey, Jr.  was the first minister in Durham, CT and served the community from 1706 until his death in 1756.  He was born in Hatfield Massachusetts in 1681, to the parents of Reverend Nathaniel Chauncey Senior and Abigail Strong.  His grandfather, Reverend Charles Chauncey, was the second president of Harvard College from 1654-1672.   Reverend Nathaniel Chauncey, Jr. was the first student to graduate from  the Collegiate School in Saybrook, CT.  The Collegiate School was chartered in 1701 for youth to be educated for “employment in Church & Civil State.” The school relocated to New Haven, CT in 1716 and was renamed Yale College in 1718.

The Connecticut sandstone Crypt of Reverend Nathaniel Chauncey, Jr. suffered from years of weathering, organic growth, disaggregation of the stone, spalling and failure of the original stone foundation.  The presentation  outlines the conservation efforts by ConservArt LLC to preserve this historic monument.