North Church (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)
Encyclopedia
The North Church of Portsmouth
, New Hampshire
, United States
is a historic church. It is located in Market Square across from the Portsmouth Athenæum
. The church features an Italianate edifice and a steeple which can be seen from most of the city. The spire of North Church has been referred to as Portsmouth's "landmark of record".
. Another church building was built on a corner of the same 50 acre glebe
at the corner of Congress Street and Pleasant Street roughly fifty years later. A large clock and bell were placed upon the church in 1749. The church kept extensive records of baptisms, marriages, and funerals of members.
The second church was replaced by a new building in 1835, although the same clock, bell, and furnishings were used. 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 feet (45.7 m) steeple. Members of the church were required to purchase pews. Prominent members included William Whipple
, John Langdon
, and Daniel Webster
. President George Washington
attended a service during his visit to New Hampshire in 1789.
Slave owners had to purchase extra pews for their slaves. The slave pews were on the top corner of the balcony and had a clear view out the window to the town's whipping post. A majority of the black people in Portsmouth attended North Church, and the church appointed an overseer to ensure that they paid proper attention during the sermon. The church often paid indigent members of the community small sums of money to do menial tasks.
In 1854 the church building was demolished and there was an extensive Victorian style renovation and rebuilding project on the same site. The new building cost $30,000 to construct. 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. A new organ was added in 1890. A bell on the church was used to signal the community's 9 P.M. curfew
from the 1700s into the 1900s.
In 2005 a vandal struck the church and caused $26,000 worth of damage. The case remained unsolved for four years until blood that was used to write a message at the scene was matched to a man from Maine.
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.
, and encountered persecution after Charles II of England
passed the Act of Uniformity
in 1662. By the early 1800s North Church was considered to be much more conservative than the other large Congregational church in Portsmouth, which had become Unitarian
. In the 1840s the minister of North Church, Edwin Holt, began vocally espousing abolitionism
. This position upset many members of the church, and the uproar led to Holt leaving the church.
North Church is now a member of the United Church of Christ
denomination.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is a historic church. It is located in Market Square across from the Portsmouth Athenæum
Portsmouth Athenæum
The Portsmouth Athenæum is an independent membership library, gallery and museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States. It preserves material relevant to local history, and sponsors exhibitions, concerts and lectures for its proprietors, scholars and the general public...
. The church features an Italianate edifice and a steeple which can be seen from most of the city. The spire of North Church has been referred to as Portsmouth's "landmark of record".
History
The first church built in Portsmouth was constructed in 1657 near a milldamMilldam
A milldam is a dam constructed on a waterway to create a mill pond.Water passing through a dam's spillway is used to turn a water wheel and provide energy to the many varieties of watermill...
. Another church building was built on a corner of the same 50 acre glebe
Glebe
Glebe Glebe Glebe (also known as Church furlong or parson's closes is an area of land within a manor and parish used to support a parish priest.-Medieval origins:...
at the corner of Congress Street and Pleasant Street roughly fifty years later. A large clock and bell were placed upon the church in 1749. The church kept extensive records of baptisms, marriages, and funerals of members.
The second church was replaced by a new building in 1835, although the same clock, bell, and furnishings were used. 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 feet (45.7 m) steeple. Members of the church were required to purchase pews. Prominent members included William Whipple
William Whipple
William Whipple, Jr. was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Hampshire....
, John Langdon
John Langdon
John Langdon was a politician from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and one of the first two United States senators from that state. Langdon was an early supporter of the Revolutionary War and later served in the Continental Congress...
, and Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
. President George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
attended a service during his visit to New Hampshire in 1789.
Slave owners had to purchase extra pews for their slaves. The slave pews were on the top corner of the balcony and had a clear view out the window to the town's whipping post. A majority of the black people in Portsmouth attended North Church, and the church appointed an overseer to ensure that they paid proper attention during the sermon. The church often paid indigent members of the community small sums of money to do menial tasks.
In 1854 the church building was demolished and there was an extensive Victorian style renovation and rebuilding project on the same site. The new building cost $30,000 to construct. 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. A new organ was added in 1890. A bell on the church was used to signal the community's 9 P.M. curfew
Curfew
A curfew is an order specifying a time after which certain regulations apply. Examples:# An order by a government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time...
from the 1700s into the 1900s.
Recent history
The church was renovated in 1978, as part of efforts to enhance the beauty of Market Square. In May 2006 the roof of the building underwent a major renovation project and a new spire was installed. Two months later, however, the new spire of the church was knocked by strong winds during a thunderstorm.In 2005 a vandal struck the church and caused $26,000 worth of damage. The case remained unsolved for four years until blood that was used to write a message at the scene was matched to a man from Maine.
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.
Theology
North Church has always been a Congregational churchCongregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
, and encountered persecution after Charles II of England
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
passed the Act of Uniformity
Act of Uniformity 1662
The Act of Uniformity was an Act of the Parliament of England, 13&14 Ch.2 c. 4 ,The '16 Charles II c. 2' nomenclature is reference to the statute book of the numbered year of the reign of the named King in the stated chapter...
in 1662. By the early 1800s North Church was considered to be much more conservative than the other large Congregational church in Portsmouth, which had become Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
. In the 1840s the minister of North Church, Edwin Holt, began vocally espousing abolitionism
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
. This position upset many members of the church, and the uproar led to Holt leaving the church.
North Church is now a member of the United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
denomination.