First Parish Church of Derry, about to be raised for foundation repairs

The First Church of Derry, New Hampshire photographed 12 May 2016

The First Parish Church of Derry is undergoing extensive renovations in a major restoration before the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Nutfield settlement in 2019.  The congregation was founded in 1719 when Rev. James MacGregor of Aghadowey, Northern Ireland gathered his flock on the banks of Beaver Lake to found the Nutfield settlement.  The first meetinghouse was built in 1722. This current building was erected in 1769, and is much loved in the Derry community.

These huge steel beams were slid under the church, and will be raised up high

so contractors can build a new foundation. The church will be lowered back down and then extensive

repairs will take place to address structural issues.  This process will take about two years.

The actual lift will probably take place Monday, May 16th, starting in the morning and it will last for several hours.  It should be a fascinating sight to see this old church being lifted from her foundations.

In this photo you can see that the old granite foundation was no longer adequate

for the size and weight of the old church building.

First Parish Church of Derry, rear view, 12 May 2016

This photo was taken last September 2015 when the steeple tower was removed for restoration.

You can read more about this photo at this link:

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/09/steeple-renovations-for-first-parish.html

The congregation is still meeting in the church hall,
which is behind the old First Church building

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "First Parish Church of Derry, about to be raised for foundation repairs", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 13, 2016,  (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/05/first-church-of-derry-about-to-be.html:  accessed [access date]).