North Church (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)
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| North Church | |
|---|---|
 Front Entrance of North Church | |
| Location | Portsmouth, New Hampshire |
| Coordinates | 43°04′36″N 70°45′28″W / 43.07667°N 70.75778°W |
| Built | 1657 |
| Rebuilt | 1854 |
| Restored | 1978 |
  Location of North Church in New Hampshire | |
The North Church of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States, is a historic Congregational church located in Market Square. Sited directly across from the Portsmouth Athenæum, it features an Italianate edifice and a steeple visible from most of the city, the Piscataqua River, and communities on its western bank in Maine. Its spire has been referred to as Portsmouth's "landmark of record".[1] The church is home to Portsmouth's United Church of Christ congregation.
Recent developments
The first church built in Portsmouth was constructed in 1657 near a milldam. Another church building was built on a corner of the same 50-acre (0.20 km2) glebe at the corner of Congress Street and Pleasant Street roughly fifty years later.[2][3] A large clock and bell were added in 1749.[4] The church kept extensive records of baptisms, marriages, and funerals of members.[5] Prominent members included William Whipple, John Langdon, and Daniel Webster. President George Washington attended a service during his visit to New Hampshire in 1789.[6]
Members of the church were required to purchase pews.[7] Slave owners had to purchase extra pews for their slaves, which were on the top corner of the balcony.[7][8] A majority of the black people in Portsmouth attended North Church, which appointed an overseer to ensure that they paid proper attention during the sermon.[9][10] The church often paid indigent members of the community small sums of money to do menial tasks.[11]
The second church was replaced by a new building in 1835, although the same clock, bell, and furnishings were used.[12] The church was a three-story wooden building that featured two tiers of balconies. The pulpit and the main entrance were located at different sides of the building. It had a 150-foot (46 m) steeple.[6]
In 1854 the church building was demolished[13] and a new building by Towle & Foster of Boston[14] was erected at a cost of $30,000.[6] In 1856 a more modern clock was installed. The congregation planned to have the bell recast in England, but it was lost in a shipwreck.[12] A new organ was added in 1890.[6] A bell on the church was used to signal the community's 9 P.M. curfew from the 1700s into the 1900s.[15]
The church was renovated in 1978, as part of efforts to enhance the beauty of Market Square. In 2005 a vandal struck the church and caused $26,000 worth of damage. The case remained unsolved for four years until blood used to write a message at the scene was matched to a man from Maine.[16] In May 2006 the building's roof and steeple underwent a major renovation and a new spire was installed. Two months later the new spire was damaged by strong winds during a thunderstorm.[17] In addition to hosting the services of the North Church congregation, the building is also rented out for concerts and worship services held by congregations that lack their own building.[18][19]