The last bell to leave the Revere Foundry leaves its perch. Photo by Scott Lewis
It is never a pleasure to break the news that a steeple should be removed to ground. It usually indicates a catastrophic level of deterioration and a total budget in six figures. We only make the recommendation when it is the best approach and the most economical. We remove a steeple when it is the most assured path to its restoration. These steeples define Maine’s skyline. They are one of the most important characteristics of New England’s shared architectural heritage. Every time, we worry that the steeple won’t be returned to its perch, but frequently, removal is one of the best fundraising motivators. Removing a steeple to the ground makes the job safer, it reduces staging costs. It allows us to preserve more original material. Usually, due to underlying frame damage, it isn’t just the best option, its the only option.
It’s a sad day when a steeple is removed, but it’s exciting too. The whole crew is on site, along with a big crane. The rigging is a fascinating geometric puzzle and the removal sequence is a high-wire choreographed dance. This summer, we removed two such steeples, at Benton Falls and West Auburn.
Benton Falls Congregational Church
During my first assessment visit to Benton Falls, I squeezed through a hatch in the tower roof and emerged beneath the bell cradle, banging my helmet on the last bell ever to leave the Revere Bell Foundry. On my second visit, a few months later, no amount of beating would open that hatch. The tower plates were nearly non-existent, and Paul Revere’s last bell was slowly crushing through the roof.
In the architectural glossary of my mind, Benton Falls illustrates “adorable”. This is from our original existing conditions assessment:
Built in 1828, the Benton Falls Church is understated and intimate; it is embellished just enough to fit in with its surroundings, but not make a statement of its austerity. An archetypal rural Maine church, the gable-roofed main building is 38’ x 42’, with a 12’ x 12’ tower resting on the front gable wall and first interior bent. The tower is topped by an open, octagonal colonnade, notable for containing the last bell cast by the (Paul) Revere Bell Foundry in Canton, MA. The belfry is topped by a simple lantern and well-proportioned, eight-sided spire.
Overall, the building is showing its age, alongside a history of committed Yankee maintenance.
Belfry columns, stacked on ground. Photo by Scott Lewis
A few of the turned belfry columns were rotting, and would need to be extracted from the building. The turned portion of the column was only about half its length. The bottom half is a timber blank that telescopes deeply into the building and lands on a catty corner crab 8 feet below.
Rigging stack and crab hashtag.
We were not able to access the lantern and spire framing on our assessment visits, but the witch’s hat needed to be removed based on the condition of the belfry posts and tower roof alone. Standing on the tower roof, and tied into the framing, the crew re-enforced the lantern crab with a triple-stacked grid of KD (kiln-dried 2×10). Then they assembled rigging timbers by laminating together four layers of 2×12. The rigging timbers were stacked on edge, and crossed like a hashtag. They extended past the lantern by half its width. Eight rigging straps choked the ends of the rigging timbers, and were hung from a square steeple cage.
Lantern crab center
The local CBS station, WABI 5, caught the crew rigging the steeple on crane day. The tv crew interviewed members of the congregation and neighbors about the importance of the church in their community. Congregants expressed their commitment to preserve the building with traditional in-kind repairs alongside the challenges of fundraising. By partnering with local craftspeople, we are able to cut costs, increase efficiency and share our knowledge, but these projects are expensive, especially for a small congregation. There are those who will promise they can do the job more cheaply. Unfortunately, it is cheap repairs, devoid of joinery and overly reliant on steel, that we are most frequently called upon to re-repair, twenty years later. There’s no fiberglass steeple that has lasted as long as a timber one.
Lantern crab, mast and strap
On the ground, we’ll be able to repair the belfry posts, and document the beautifully crafted spire. It has not one, but two gods-eye shaped crabs, one for the lantern, and another for the steeple, which is supported by a central mast. The crab and mast are secured with a wrought iron stirrup, pinned and wedged. Consistent with its age, the builders used a little bit of iron in the right places: to reinforce joinery at the crab’s center and at the ends of the trusses, preventing the rafter heels from blowing out their mortises.
Spire crab and mast
Benton Falls is currently raising money to restore their steeple, you can reach them on Facebook, where they also have a video of the steeple flying.
West Auburn’s steeple was also removed this summer, using a similar rigging system. Both churches accessed the Maine Steeples Fund to help with assessment and repair costs. West Auburn got attention from the Sun Journal and NBC’s NewsCenter Maine. You can visit them on Facebook, too, where you can see photos of their steeple flying.
