The Church of Christ Congregational has closed its doors indefinitely because of safety concerns. Significant cracks have been observed in its barrel ceiling, leading to fears of a collapse into the sanctuary.
Worship and all other activities have been moved to the adjacent Battell Chapel, while a capital campaign gets underway to repair the 1813 ceiling. Even the historic bells that have only recently chimed out again from the restored church steeple have been stilled to prevent vibration that could precipitate a collapse.
Marie Civco, co-chair of the Steeple Committee and chair of the Windows Project committee overseeing restoration of stained-glass windows in the chapel and church, said the cracks were first noticed when preparing for the years-long restoration of the church’s iconic steeple. With the steeple restored, attention had shifted back to the preservation of windows until alarming news about an August 4 ceiling collapse in the Congregational Church in Putnam, Conn., was received.
Civco promptly scheduled an inspection of the Norfolk church by Paul Bastiaanse, president of Valley Restoration Inc., who oversaw the restoration of the steeple. He found that deterioration of the plaster ceiling had increased dramatically since last surveyed three years ago.
Civco said “keys” are formed when plaster is applied over lath. The plaster presses up between the boards and laps over the top of them, creating tabs that hold it in place. As plaster ages over centuries these weaken and break, causing additional stress on those still in place.
Civco, who was seeking a $200,000 grant from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to finish the window project, quickly contacted the office to see if the grant application could be altered to focus on the ceiling. SHPO approved the change.
The $200,000 is a matching grant, so if parishioners and townspeople fully support the effort, $400,000 could be realized. With an estimate of $300,000 to repair the ceiling and additional costs to protect the altar window and organ, the grant could see the project through to fruition. It will be January before the church hears if it will receive the money.
Church leaders hope that people who admire the iconic New England church will donate toward its preservation, but Civco said they should not start writing checks yet. She explained that donations cannot be counted as matching funds until the grant is received.