A Tour of Four Meetinghouses
Four meetinghouses in Rockingham County opened their doors for a unique, behind-the-scenes tour of their historically significant interiors.
On a rainy October day in 2023, the stewards of historic Meetinghouses in Hampstead, Danville, Fremont, and Sandown provided a rare opportunity for visitors to tour the interiors of these buildings and provided insight into why these four structures in particular are an important part of New Hampshire’s history.
New Hampshire once had nearly 200 meetinghouses, or purpose-built buildings to house both religious and government business. Today, that number has shrunk to about 40, many of which have been renovated and altered to fit the needs of growing communities.
The stories of these meetinghouses feature citizens arguing for their creation (and central, accessible location) in the mid and late 18th century. It was often a meetinghouse's location or lack of one that drove towns to separate. Other stories include the talented and/or itinerant timber framers and joiners who were hired to construct these large spaces and how the Toleration Act of 1819 impacted religious organizations and also the built environment. As you’ll read in the following descriptions, towns and congregations made architectural adaptations after 1819 including insertion of floors between stories, erection of bell towers, and removal of box pews and pulpits.
More than most civic buildings, these Rockingham County examples clearly tell the story of their original designs, 19th century evolution, and 20th century restoration campaigns. Thanks to generations of thoughtful stewards, these special places continue to teach us about the lives of our predecessors.
Hampstead Meetinghouse, Built 1749
The Hampstead Meetinghouse’s frame and first floor was completed in c.1749, but interior finishes continued until 1768. Its 40x50’ frame is predominantly oak and pine, though the timber framer is unknown. Its interior was originally nearly identical to Sandown and Danville, including second story galleries, box pews, and a pulpit with arched window and sounding board at the north elevation.
In 1793 the tower and steeple were added, paid for by the Congregational Church. The steeple reaches a height of nearly 100 feet. A Revere bell was added in 1809. This early steeple with its octagonal design was imported from Massachusetts and only seen in other New Hampshire communities like Amherst (whose bell tower was also likely added in the 1790s).
Following the Toleration Act of 1819, which ceased the flow of public money to religious institutions and ministerial services, many meetinghouses in New Hampshire were bifurcated. Physically separating church and state affairs often took decades, but in 1856, the Hampstead Meetinghouse’s second story was floored over to create an auditorium with stage.
Other changes to the building include window casings and potentially the door surrounds, dating between the 1830s and 1850s. In 1856 the windows were replaced (only to be re-replaced to the original configuration in 1979). In 1936 a kitchen addition was added between the tower and the main body of the meetinghouse.
The Hampstead Meetinghouse was listed to the National Register in 1980.
Today, the building is used for town and private events and a midnight bell ringing at the 4th of July.
Danville (Hawke) Meetinghouse, Built 1755
This meetinghouse built in the western parish of Kingston in 1755 is the oldest unaltered meetinghouse frame in New Hampshire. When Danville (then Hawke) was incorporated as its own town in 1760, this existing space served both town government and religious needs — predominantly Freewill Baptists by the late 1700s.
The frame of the meetinghouse measures 37x49’ and is heavily braced on the second floor. Unusually, though, the attic is lightly framed. Originally, the attic frame consisted of only rafters and purlins with no king or queen post trusses. After construction, additional purlins and diagonal struts were added for support.
Its exterior and interior suggest only minor and early alterations over the years, including a renovation in the early 1800s (the doors and door surround) and a 1936 restoration resulting in skillful reconstruction of first floor box pews, which had been removed in 1860 to better serve town uses. Take a careful look at the pews and see if you can distinguish small differences between the eras of work.
This meetinghouse likely remained unusually unaltered because of Danville’s small population through the mid-20th century, the construction of a separate church in the 1830s, lack of a railroad through town, and the formation of the Old Meeting House Association in 1911.
The Danville Meetinghouse was listed to the National Register in 1981. The Danville Historic District Commission and Old Meetinghouse Association steward the building, which is used for occasional town and private events.
Also on site is the OId Meetinghouse Cemetery, which dates to 1817. Across the road is Tuckertown Road, an early town road, and the town forest — resources also protected by the historic district commission.
Fremont Meetinghouse, Built 1800
The youngest of the four meetinghouses, the Fremont Meetinghouse — or Poplin Meetinghouse — was built in 1800. Fremont holds the distinction of being the sole surviving twin porch meetinghouse design in New Hampshire, out of an estimated fifty that once stood.
Twin porches, or exterior stairwell additions, became popular for meetinghouse design, especially in western New Hampshire, as an effort to provide more floor space in the main volume. The town also allowed liquor to be sold from the twin porches at town meeting and during nearby military musters.
Its attic boasts queen post trusses, one of two known meetinghouses in Rockingham County with this structural design (the other being Chester).
Like the other meetinghouses on the tour, this building received a renovation in the early 1840s. Those changes included new window casings, some window sash, door surrounds, the addition of chimneys and stoves, and perhaps cornice alterations to modernize the building with Greek Revival details. The sounding board above the pulpit was also removed and purportedly used for firewood.
Later 19th century changes included the removal of the pulpit window, replacement of the front windows, and removal of the central box pews. The missing pulpit window was returned to the building in a 1992 restoration.
Since 1911, the meetinghouse was no longer used for town meetings or church services, limiting any 20th century changes. Today, the meetinghouse is owned by the town and cared for by the Fremont Historical Society.
Also on site is the hearse house (1849) which was relocated from the cemetery across the road in 1876. The hearse house even contains an 1861 horse drawn hearse. The town pound (1802) was reconstructed in 2011 by the Fremont 250th Anniversary Committee.
In 1993, the meetinghouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Sandown Meetinghouse, Built 1773
The Sandown Meetinghouse represents the highest style meetinghouse in the area, with its door surround of fluted pilasters and modillioned triangle pediment, its modillioned cornice, and arched pulpit window.
The lead contractor and joiner for the meetinghouse are unknown, but some have credited Timothy Palmer, the master builder who later was responsible for the Rocky Hill Meeting House in Amesbury, MA.
Unlike in Danville, the attic framing in Sandown is much more substantial and includes king posts and double rafters with braces. Local history states that the foreman for the frame raising was so loud during its raising that he remained hoarse for the remainder of his life. Another story says that carpenters, who were promised rum during construction, refused to work unless the rum barrels were bottomless.
The interior finish work is similar to Danville but slightly more sophisticated. Sandown’s pulpit is taller and its window has an arched upper sash. Pilasters and the gallery columns are differentiated with faux marbling, whereas Danville’s columns are painted with a floral motif.
Like in Danville, the preservation of this 18th century resource was made possible by an early departure of the Congregational Church in 1834, occasional town meeting use, and the formation of the Old Meeting House Historical Association in 1929. The association formed when town meetings were relocated to a new town hall in the village. No major changes were made to the building, though a chimney and stoves were added in c.1830 and some gallery pews were altered to accommodate the choir and an organ.
The Sandown meetinghouse was added to the National Register in 1978.
Also on site is the hearse house (built 1827, moved to this site in 1843, converted into the outhouse in the 1930s). Across the street is the town pound (1793).