Hampstead Meetinghouse

Historic church in New Hampshire, United States

This article is about the meetinghouse in New Hampshire. For the similarly named meeting house in London, see Hampstead Meeting House.

United States historic place

Hampstead Meetinghouse

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

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Location| Emerson Ave., Hampstead, New Hampshire
Coordinates| 42°52′32″N 71°10′48″W﻿ / ﻿42.87556°N 71.18000°W﻿ / 42.87556; -71.18000
Area| less than one acre
Built| 1749 (1749)
NRHP reference No.| 80000301[1]
Added to NRHP| April 10, 1980

The Hampstead Meetinghouse, also once known as Hampstead Town Hall, is a historic meeting house at 20 Emerson Avenue in Hampstead, New Hampshire. The core of this dual-purpose (religious and civic) structure was begun in 1749, although its interior was not completely finished until about 1768. It is one of a number of fairly well-preserved 18th-century meeting houses in southeastern New Hampshire, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1]

## Description and history

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The Hampstead Meetinghouse stands in the village center of Hampstead, on the north side of Emerson Street east of its junction with Main Street (New Hampshire Route 121). It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof and clapboarded exterior. Unlike 19th-century churches, it has its original main entrance on the long side, at the center of a five-bay facade. The entrance is framed by pilasters and a triangular pediment. A bell tower rises just to the left of the main block, with a similarly styled second entrance at its base. It rises square to an open octagonal belfry and spire. The interior, originally a large chamber with a gallery around three sides, has had the upper level fully floored over. Its original configuration would also have had box pews on the main floor, and a raised pulpit with sounding board on the wall opposite the main entrance.[2]

Construction began on the meetinghouse in 1749, but it was not considered finished until 1768, when its interior walls were finally plastered. The tower was added during renovations in 1793, which also included the construction of a porch. The bell which hangs in the tower was added in 1809; it is the product of a short-lived partnership between Paul Revere, Jr. (son of the Revolutionary Paul Revere) and George Holbrook, and may be its only surviving casting. The building ceased to be used for Congregational services in 1837, and in 1856 the gallery level was enclosed, making a full second story, which was set up for theatrical productions.[2]

## See also

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* National Register of Historic Places listings in Rockingham County, New Hampshire
* New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 247: The Bell of Hampstead Meetinghouse

## References

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1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. ^ a b "NRHP nomination for Hampstead Meetinghouse". National Park Service. Retrieved June 18, 2014.

## External links

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Media related to Hampstead Meetinghouse at Wikimedia Commons

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National Register of Historic Places in Rockingham County, New Hampshire

Landmarks|

* Gov. John Langdon Mansion
* John Paul Jones House
* Josiah Bartlett House
* Ladd-Gilman House
* MacPheadris–Warner House
* Matthew Thornton House
* Moffatt-Ladd House
* Richard Jackson House
* Robert Frost Farm
* USS Albacore
* Wentworth–Coolidge Mansion
* Wentworth-Gardner House

Districts|

* Atlantic Heights Development
* Deerfield Center Historic District
* East Derry Historic District
* Exeter Waterfront Commercial Historic District
* Front Street Historic District
* Highland Road Historic District
* Isles of Shoals‡
* Jewell Town District
* Little Boar's Head Historic District
* Newington Center Historic District
* Newmarket Industrial and Commercial Historic District
* Old Deerfield Center Historic District
* Portsmouth Downtown Historic District
* Portsmouth Parade Historic District
* Richman Margeson Estate
* Salem Common Historic District
* Scammon Farm Historic District
* Smith's Corner Historic District
* Strawbery Banke Historic District
* Town Center Historic District
* Wentworth-Gardner and Tobias Lear Houses
* Woodman Road Historic District

Buildings|

| Education|

* Atkinson Academy School
* Centennial Hall
* Dame School
* Kensington Social Library
* Nichols Memorial Library
* North Hampton Library
* North School
* Portsmouth Public Library
* Portsmouth Athenæum
* Sanborn Seminary
* Searles School and Chapel
* Smyth Public Library
* Square Schoolhouse
* Stone School
* Watson Academy
* Wiggin Memorial Library

|

Religious|

* Chester Congregational Church
* Danville Meetinghouse
* First Church
* First Universalist Church
* Freewill Baptist Church-Peoples Baptist Church-New Hope Church
* Fremont Meeting House
* Hampstead Meetinghouse
* New Castle Congregational Church
* Northwood Congregational Church
* Sanborn Seminary
* Sandown Old Meetinghouse
* Searles School and Chapel
* South Parish
* St. Andrew's-by-the-Sea
* St. John's Church
* Union Meetinghouse-Universalist Church
* Unitarian Church

Residential|

* Bartlett-Cushman House
* Benedict House
* Benjamin Franklin Prescott House
* Benjamin James House
* Capt. Jonathan Currier House
* Cornet Thomas Wiggin House
* Daniel Pinkham House
* Deacon Samuel and Jabez Lane Homestead
* Drake Farm
* Dudley House
* Edward Sewall Garrison
* Elijah Locke House
* Elm Farm
* Emery Farm
* Gen. Mason J. Young House
* General Porter House
* George Rogers House
* Gilman Garrison House
* Gov. John Wentworth House
* Gov. Meshech Weare House
* Greeley House
* Hart-Rice House
* Haven-White House
* Henry Sherburne House
* James Neal House
* Jeremiah Hart House
* John Crockett House
* John Elkins Farmstead
* John Hart House
* Joshua Wentworth House †
* Larkin-Rice House
* Maj. John Gilman House
* Moses-Kent House
* Nutter-Rymes House
* Parsons Homestead
* Phoebe Hart House
* Reuben Lamprey Homestead
* Rundlet-May House
* Samuel Beck House
* Samuel Tenney House
* Scamman Farm
* Shapley Town House
* Simeon P. Smith House
* Weeks House
* Whidden-Ward House

Transportation|

* Newington Railroad Depot
* Raymond Boston and Maine Railroad Depot
* Sandown Depot, Boston and Maine Railroad

Other
buildings|

* Adams Memorial Building
* Armstrong Memorial Building
* The Beach Club
* Danville Town House
* Franklin Block
* Kensington Town House
* New Hampshire Bank Building
* North Hampton Town Hall
* Plaistow Carhouse
* Portsmouth Cottage Hospital
* Portsmouth Harbor Light
* Pulpit Rock Base-End Station (N. 142)
* Rockingham Hotel
* Rye Town Hall
* South Meetinghouse
* Stevens Memorial Hall
* Town House

Sites|

* Fort Constitution
* Old North Cemetery
* Plains Cemetery

Structures|

* Chester Village Cemetery

Footnotes|

‡ This entry also has portions in an adjacent state.
† This entry has been removed from the registry.

See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Rockingham County, New Hampshire and List of National Historic Landmarks in New Hampshire
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