New Night Lights Illumine Meeting House Steeple

By Dottie Evans

One of the town’s oldest and most beloved buildings, the Newtown Meeting House, has recently been given a total facelift. The process began with repair and renovation of all the windows, repair and repainting of the shutters, and complete repainting of the exterior, front to back.

The final touch completed last week was the installation of eight “environmentally friendly” low-light fixtures to illuminate the steeple from all four sides. The lights were set at two levels — four at the steeple base, and four higher up where the steeple begins to narrow.

The overall effect is a soft, cool glow that enhances the architectural details but does not spread glare into the surrounding area.

“We’re not going to be accused of causing light pollution, and we’re not going to be using too much juice either,” said Sherry Paisley, who is longtime events manager for the public facility that is administered by the not-for-profit Heritage Preservation Trust of Newtown, Inc.

“Every evening from dusk to 11 pm, the new lights will be turned on. Now you can actually make out the details of the woodwork,” said Ms Paisley.

The exterior of the building has been lit before, but according to Ms Paisley, “the old fixtures were not functioning well.”

The electrical work was done by Newtown contractor Stanley Perrone of Kesco Electric. The job was not an easy one, as it involved going from the inside of the steeple to the outside while reaching out through the shutter openings, Ms Paisley said.

Exterior painting was completed on Friday, October 21, when the painters replaced the rotten woodwork around the window frames and added primer and new paint.

“There was rot on the south side where the sun shines all the time,” Ms Paisley remarked.

The Newtown Meeting House has stood at that location since 1792. It originally stood in the middle of Main Street where the flagpole now stands, and it was moved to its present location in 1792. In 1808, the front door was relocated from facing south toward Long Island Sound to facing east down Church Hill Road.

The massive stone steps at the entrance were quarried by slaves in Monroe and put in place in 1720 when the building was first put up. This meant they had to be moved three times.

The window restoration, exterior repainting, and electrical work has been paid for by the Heritage Preservation Trust and by occasional bequests.

“We’ve never had a nickel of federal or state funds. Everyone seems to be very, very proud of this building. I’ve never seen it look better,” Ms Paisley noted.