The Third Fitzwilliam Meetinghouse is a historic

meeting house A meeting house (meetinghouse, meeting-house) is a building where religious and sometimes public meetings take place. Terminology Nonconformist Protestant denominations distinguish between a * church, which is a body of people who believe in Chr ...

on the village green in

Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire Fitzwilliam is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,351 at the 2020 census. Fitzwilliam is home to Rhododendron State Park, a grove of native rhododendrons that bloom in mid-July. History First granted a ...

. It presently serves as Fitzwilliam Town Hall. Built in 1817, it is a high-quality example of period church architecture, based closely on the work of regionally noted architect

Elias Carter Elias Carter (1781-1864) was an American architect whose first church design, at Brimfield, Massachusetts, was completed in 1805. He was born in 1781 to Timothy and Sarah (Walker) Carter in Ward, a village of Auburn, Massachusetts. His father, a ...

. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1977, and was included in the Fitzwilliam Common Historic District in 1997.

Description and history

The Third Fitzwilliam Meetinghouse occupies a prominent location in the town's village center, on the east side of the village green near its southern end. It is a two-story timber frame structure, with a gabled roof and clapboarded exterior. It is a rectangular structure with a projecting Greek Revival temple front with four columns and a triangular pediment. A four-stage tower rises above the front facade, with a clock (given in 1861) in the first stage, and a

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to ale ...

bell hangs in the second stage belfry, an open section with round arches on all four sides. Fitzwilliam's first meetinghouse was built in the early 1770s, and was replaced by its second one in 1816. That building was destroyed by fire after only nine weeks of use, resulting in the construction of this one the following year. Both the 1816 and 1817 buildings are believed to be faithful replicas of a church designed by

and built in

Templeton, Massachusetts Templeton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,149 at the 2020 census. The town comprises four main villages: Templeton Center, East Templeton, Baldwinville, and Otter River. Geography According to ...

. This church design was particularly influential in a series of church buildings erected in the early decades of the 19th century in southwestern New Hampshire, and the Fitzwilliam structure is believed to be the first of those to be built. Although it was built primarily as a church, it was converted to entirely secular uses in 1858, at which time the gallery level was converted into a full second story.

References

{{NRHP in Cheshire County, New Hampshire Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Churches completed in 1817 Churches in Cheshire County, New Hampshire City and town halls in New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places in Cheshire County, New Hampshire Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire

Description and history

See also

References