The graves from the original Horseneck Chapel burial ground were moved to the present Christ Church Greenwich Cemetery situated to the east of the Church, and the headstones and monuments bear further witness to the long history of the church and its relationship to the town of Greenwich. If you walk through the cemetery, you will find the graves of the Knapps, Meads, Close, Reynolds and of revolutionary and civil war soldiers. Many stones bear the names of some of the most illustrious families in the area, together with many of the townsfolk who chose this beautiful and historic site as their final resting place.
On display in Christ Church is a panel from one of the doors to the Horseneck Chapel, the first building to house the congregation of what is now Christ Church Greenwich. The land for the chapel, which was completed in 1749, was donated by Israel Knapp. Knapp’s tavern, where George Washington once lunched and from which General Putnam escaped the redcoats pursuing him, stands directly across East Putnam Avenue from the current church campus. Knapp’s descendant, William, and his son, William B., are both buried in the Christ Church cemetery.
The Christ Church Greenwich Cemetery was incorporated in 1842 on three acres of land, adjacent to the church, acquired from Abrem Mead. In 1870, an engineer was hired to re-survey and re-stake the cemetery of 122 lots. And in 1882, Mr. H. O. Havemeyer, a wealthy parishioner, bought two lots in the cemetery in order that the bodies and gravestones from the old cemetery on “Put’s Hill” could be moved to the new cemetery.
As the years went by the parish was faced with the fact that there was little or no space left for conventional burials in the cemetery. In 2016 it was ascertained that the wide rows between the original 122 Lots was clear and available for new burials.
A single plot will hold one casket and one urn. All plots may have a 4 foot by 2 foot in-ground tablet or stone. In accordance with the cemetery contract, all in-ground stones or tablets need to be approved by Christ Church Greenwich.
If you would like more information about our cemetery or would like to purchase a plot, please contact Susan Reed in the Parish Office, 203.869.6600, x17, or sreed@christchurchgreenwich.org.
