Oct.12-Nov.6 2022
6-8pm daily












This project began as Nicole Piepenbrink’s thesis research, in the Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Critical Conservation program. Nicole collaborated with members of the Racial Justice Group at Christ Church Cambridge during the Spring 2022 semester. In May, Nicole submitted her thesis paper along with a public art proposal.



The research and development process was guided, informed, and enriched by:



HERE LIES DARBY VASSALL builds on the work of many local churches, institutions, and organizations researching and sharing the history of slavery:

Cambridge Historical Commission︎︎︎
Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts︎︎︎
First Church in Cambridge Congregational, UCC︎︎︎
History Cambridge︎︎︎
King’s Chapel︎︎︎
Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters︎︎︎
Museum of African American History︎︎︎
Old North Church︎︎︎
Presidential Initiative on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery︎︎︎
The Royall House and Slave Quarters︎︎︎
Trinity Church Boston︎︎︎


In October 2021, Alden Fossett (Kellogg Fellow at the Harvard Episcopal Chaplaincy) gave a sermon about Darby Vassall at Christ Church, informing most parishioners for the first time about his presence in the Vassall Tomb. Alden followed with another sermon in March 2022 focusing on Darby Vassall’s mother, Cuba.