Belleville Congregational Church Meeting Hall

Newburyport Choral Society and Belleville Congregational Church have a long history of collaboration in bringing music to our community. NCS has had the pleasure of singing in the beautiful meeting hall for decades with its wonderful acoustics, simple elegant architecture and traditional New England ambience.  We wanted to share with you a little of the history of the church that we have come to appreciate.

The church had its beginnings in June of 1761 in Newbury, MA but was not named Belleville Congregational Church until 1851. During the church’s 250 years it has been destroyed repeatedly by storm and fire.  Each time the Meeting Hall has been rebuilt by a dedicated congregation.

The church bell also had an interesting journey through the years, which is as much a part of the rich history of our community as it is of the church itself. On October 14, 1839, a bell was left on the steps of the Belleville Church Meeting-house with a letter:

“Know all men, to whom these presents shall come.

I was born in the year—-, in London, England, was soon after transported to this country and presented to Queen Anne’s Chapel in Newbury, state of Massachusetts, (as my label shows) by the lord bishop of London. After remaining quietly in the belfry of said chapel for many years I was taken by force and secretly buried. After the lapse of a few years I reappeared and was placed in the belfry of a schoolhouse in this vicinity. Soon after I was taken down and placed in the belfry of this church, where I called together the congregation for many years — but in the year 1838 I was taken down to make room for a larger personage — in a few moments after reaching the ground I was stolen — by whom no one knows —and placed in the belfry of the same school house now in another street, where I remained until last Saturday evening when I received a call from some friends, which I gladly accepted, and have treated me so well and placed me where you now find me.

Restore me to my lawful owners or beware!”

For a more detailed  history go to Belleville Congregational Church.

 

Author: ncsadmin

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