Center Meeting House

Photo by Maureen Rosen

Welcome to the Center Meeting House

The "Jewel in the Town" of Newbury

Our doors are open for one and all to enter.
Grand Opening occurred June 18, 2011

The reupholstering of the pews in the CMH has been completed.  We celebrated an afternoon ceremony at 2 pm on June 18th, with dignitaries such as NH Sen. Bob Odell, Newbury Selectman Jim Powell, and CMH Chairman Dan Wolf to officially declare the project completed.  At 7 pm that evening, Elisabeth von Trapp headlined our celebrations with a concert, inside the meeting house.  The concert was free of charge and was our way of saying "Thanks" to all who supported us. Please go to the NEWS section for more information about the Center Meeting House and the Dedication Celebration.

Peruse the site for all kinds of fascinating information. 

But for the very latest in what is happening, go directly to the "NEWS" button above this article.  

We hope that you will find interesting information about this grand old building which sits in the center of our town.  Over the past more than five years it has seen many interesting events as we work to restore it and make it useful for our community again.

It is once again the heart and soul of our town, Newbury, New Hampshire.

The Center Meeting House restoration brings back a building which has been the architectural focus of Newbury for 178 years.  James L. Garvin, the State of NH's Architectural Historian has said the following about the building, "Newbury Center Meeting House retains great integrity of frame and finish, and exhibits the competence and skill of its builders.  Despite some changes carried out in the late nineteenth century when the church found renewed use as a summer chapel, the building exhibits much of its original interior and exterior joinery, which represents an excellent example of late federal-period design.  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the meeting house is one of New Hampshire's most significant small religious buildings"

The current restoration of the Center Meeting House which is a 501(c)3 charity registered with the IRS offers an exciting opportunity for anyone who is interested in playing a part in one of the town's historic moments. This glorious building is a showcase of our town's history, and serves as a grand location for a variety of town-wide events, or intimate family, cultural or civic gatherings.

The Center Meeting House Architecture & Restoration Committee has moved slowly in its efforts to carefully ensure that each and every step of the restoration process is as true to the building's history as possible, to preserve the building for another 175 years.  An Historic Architect, as well as the state itself, keeps a watchful eye to insure that it retains it's 1832 flavor to the fullest extent possible.

2012

We have two strategies to fulfill.  First, we want the building to be useable by the community for events, large and small, that will unite us as a community and enrich our lives. Second, we still have four pews left to be sold which would go a long way to decreasing our $100,000 mortgage. (Learn more about this by viewing our Frequently Asked Questions page).

• Great towns do great projects!  And this is a momentous event for Newbury, NH and one that will be remembered for generations as another defining moment in our history.  It is a moment when everyone in town pulled together and got a major project completed!