Preserving Old North
In a world that can feel increasingly virtual, standing in the light-filled, 300-year-old church where Patriots and Loyalists once worshipped is to make a powerful connection to the past. But historic buildings don’t survive on their own. Old North Illuminated works in collaboration with the National Parks of Boston, the Freedom Trail Foundation, the congregation of Old North Church, and other partners to preserve and protect this iconic landmark and its campus. Read on to learn about some of the important preservation projects at Old North.
Mural Restoration Project
Did you know that Old North Church’s sanctuary didn’t always have a white interior? For much of its history, the church boasted a rich color scheme with ornate and intricate designs. A highlight of Old North’s early decor was artwork from John Gibbs, an accomplished painter and congregation member. Between 1727 and the 1730s, Gibbs painted a series of beautiful angels in the balcony arches of the sanctuary. Gibb’s stunning artwork was covered over with white paint during a 1912 renovation and has been hidden for more than a century…until now.
We are thrilled to share that a 6-month restoration project is now underway to uncover the angels that Gibbs painted in the 18th century. An initial paint study in 2017 partially restored one of Gibbs’s angels, and now expert craftspeople are painstakingly removing layers of white overpaint to reveal the rest of the angel, 15 additional angels, and the festoons between them.
In late 2024 and early 2025, visitors to Old North Church will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch long-hidden history being revealed. This sort of paint restoration is rare in the United States; you would typically have to go to Europe to see a similar project. We invite you to visit us to watch the conservation team in action.
Week Eight Update:
This video with Gianfranco Pocobene, lead conservator for the mural restoration project, was filmed on November 21, 2024. Six of the cherubs have been uncovered so far, and each one has its own unique face and expression. Restoration work has begun on some of the cherubs that have been uncovered. First, an isolating layer of varnish is applied over the original artwork. Then, the team uses synthetic, conservation-grade paints to do retouching in areas where there were losses or damage. Two more cherubs will be revealed before the scaffolding comes down for Christmas, and eight more will be uncovered and restored in 2025 before Easter.
Week Five Update:
The original plan for the paint restoration project was to uncover four of the original cherubs hidden underneath layers of white overpaint and then paint replicas of the remaining cherubs on removable veneers, which would be affixed to the arches. At the time, the paint conservation team believed that it would be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming to uncover all 16 angels. However, now that we are five weeks in, we are excited to share that lead conservator Gianfranco Pocobene has deemed that it is possible to reveal all 16 of the original angels, without changing the budget or the timeframe for the project. Gianfranco and his team were able to quickly identify the right solvents and techniques for removing the layers of white overpaint, which has allowed the project to progress faster than expected.
Now that three cherub faces have been exposed it is clear that each cherub was painted with different characteristics, and that the artist John Gibbs was very playful with his variations in facial expression and style for each cherub.
Week Three Update:
This video with Gianfranco Pocobene, lead conservator for the paint project, was filmed on October 18, 2024. Gianfranco reports that the project is going well. The first cherub, which was partially exposed in 2017, is now 85 – 90% revealed. The festoon next to the cherub is in remarkably good condition. While the cherub was painted on plaster, the festoon was painted on a wood plank that was set into the molding. It is possible that the festoons were painted offsite and then applied to the balcony. Gianfranco has started revealing another angel, adjacent to the first one.
Week One Update:
This photo was taken on October 2, 2024 by the lead conservator for the paint project, Gianfranco Pocobene. In an attached note, he wrote, “I am having success with the removal of overpaint from the cherub that was partially revealed in 2017. In this photo, you can see the 13″ high x 3″ wide exposure. I am using different solvent gel and free solvent combinations from what the original team used in 2017, and so far I’m very pleased that I’m able to completely remove the overpaint without damaging the original paint surface. The lowermost overpaint layer is pretty tenacious and requires the most time to get off. Note also the teal pigment layer under the wing!”
Restoring the Crypt
Beneath the floor of Old North’s sanctuary is the church’s historic crypt — the final resting place of more than 1,100 individuals. When visitors explore this unique space they learn about burial practices in colonial Boston; our founding rector’s deep ties to enslavement and colonialism; and the stories of some of the crypt’s notable occupants, like Major John Pitcairn and Captain Samuel Nicholson.
In 2022, we launched a nine-month major restoration project, in partnership with the National Park Service and Knollmeyer Building Corp, to help preserve the crypt for generations to come. The restoration work provided a unique opportunity to see inside some of the crypt’s 37 tombs. When the original wooden doors were removed for restoration, archaeologists created 3D renderings of the tombs without disturbing the burials. This information is critical to the ongoing preservation of this sacred space as both temperatures and sea levels rise.
The restoration of the wooden tomb doors, which had been hidden behind a layer of bricks since the 1800s, was conducted by Richard Leiter of Revived Furniture & Home Decor. Richard explained his process in this video:
Another important aspect of the restoration work was the repointing of the bricks surrounding the tombs. Since bricks expand in the summer and contract in the winter, the mortar around the bricks can break down and crumble. To repair this damage, Murray Masonry & More, who specialize in historic masonry work, scraped out and replaced the damaged mortar. The process is called “repointing” because a pointed trowel is used to carve out the old mortar.
Finally, the floor on the south side of the crypt was lowered to install a ramp. This will allow visitors with mobility challenges to enter and explore the crypt for the first time in the space’s history. The restoration project wrapped up in late summer of 2023 and the crypt is once again open to visitors.
The $1.2 million crypt restoration project was managed by Knollmeyer Building Corp., who hired all of the subcontractors and oversaw all of the preservation work. The restoration was made possible with funding from the National Park Service, the Freedom Trail Foundation Preservation Fund, and many other generous supporters.
Restoring Gruchy’s Angels
In December of 2023, Manzi Appraisers & Restoration completed a three-month restoration of Old North Church’s approximately 400-year-old angel statues. The four Baroque angels date to the 1620s and were likely carved in what is now known as Belgium. It is unknown where they spent their first century. In 1746, however, they were on board a French ship en route to a Catholic Church in Quebec. During this time period, England and France were almost constantly at war, and one of the ways the war was waged was economic: ships, and their cargo, were fair game. Privateers were legally sanctioned to act like pirates and pillage the ships they captured. British privateer Captain Thomas Gruchy captured the French ship on its way to Quebec and seized its cargo, including these angels. He and his investors sold most of the goods, but Captain Gruchy, a North End resident, donated the four angels to Old North Church, where he worshiped. The story of Gruchy’s Angels is a favorite among Boston’s tour guides and guidebooks and draws visitors from around the world.
In September of 2023, Manzi Appraisers & Restoration took the two-foot-tall angel statues to their lab to complete restoration and repair work, which included cleaning, minor infill, and painting. While all four angels once held trumpets in their hands, over the decades, two of the angels lost their instruments. As part of the restoration, the Manzi team fabricated new trumpets for the angels with missing instruments and painted them to look timeworn like their historic counterparts.
“It’s been a very interesting journey looking through these pieces and looking at different aspects of the angels’ previous life,” said Chris Gutierrez of Manzi Appraisers. “There was evidence of previous damage that nearly split one of the angels in half, and you could see several cracks and fissures throughout the pieces that presented a challenge for the project. It’s important to make sure we don’t go too far with cleaning or restoration, therefore creating an irreversible situation for future preservationists. In this case, I think we got it just right.”
The restoration was made possible by The Society of Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and The General Society of Colonial Wars.
Restoring the Bust of George Washington
For more than 200 years, the Old North Church has displayed a bust of George Washington in our sanctuary. In January of 2024, the talented team at Mazni Appraisers & Restoration came to Old North to perform some much-needed cleaning and restoration work on the statue. President Washington is looking better than he has in decades!
Carved in 1790 either by or in the style of Christian Gullager, the bust was donated to Old North Church in 1815 by Shubael Bell, a very active and generous member of the congregation. Christian Gullager had painted Washington in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1789.
While the sculpture is immediately recognizable as George Washington, it’s also very different from how we usually see him portrayed. This Washington seems serious and careworn. He looks less like an idealized figure and more like a man whose strength endures regardless of the challenges he has faced. Is this a better representation of what Washington looked like than others? We will never know for sure, but when the Marquis de Lafayette visited Old North Church in 1824 and saw the statue, he is said to have remarked, “Yes, that is the man I knew, and more like him than any other portrait, bust, or picture.”
The restoration was made possible through the sponsorship of the Paul Revere Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
Restoring the Avery-Bennett Clock
How do you restore a nearly 300-year-old clock? You bring in an antique clock expert! Our Avery-Bennett Clock, built in 1726, was restored in 2024 by Richard Hills of Hills Antique Clocks in Holliston, MA. Built by Richard Avery, a clock maker in colonial Boston, and Thomas Bennett, a carpenter and a member of Old North’s congregation, the Avery-Bennett Clock is the oldest public clock in the city.
When Richard Hills received the clock, it was in rough shape. The glue in the case had dried out of it, and many of the pieces were starting to come apart. Additionally, the mechanism was dry and needed lubrication. Using traditional methods, Richard gave the clock a thorough cleaning, reassembled the case using the correct glues, fabricated a new molding and a new crutch, added a new cable, and made sure the clock was running on time.
The restoration was made possible through the sponsorship of the Paul Revere Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
Repairing the Brass Chandelier
Two ornate brass chandeliers hang in the center aisle of Old North Church’s sanctuary. Many are surprised to learn that after 300 years, these chandeliers and accompanying sconces are still the primary means of lighting the church at night.
For the first year of the church’s existence, Old North did not have a light source that we know of. That all changed in December of 1724, when Captain William Maxwell, one of Old North’s wealthiest congregants, donated a pair of brass chandeliers to the church. Maxwell made his fortune as a merchant acquiring antiques from around the globe, which is how he procured these stunning chandeliers from England.
Old North’s chandeliers were lit for the first time on Christmas Day in 1724, a simple act that was controversial in its day. While Anglican churches like Old North celebrated Christmas, the Puritans considered Christmas to be a false holiday with stronger ties to Paganism than Christianity. Local Puritans were aghast that their neighbors at Old North were celebrating an unsavory holiday and doing so with such gaudy and ornate decorations.
In early 2024, an arm broke off one of the chandeliers during a routine cleaning. With the support of an Americana Corner Preserving America Grant, both chandeliers were inspected, the damage was repaired with the insertion of a pin and some subtle soldering, and a coat of lacquer was applied to help mask two previous repairs.
This project was funded through a grant approved by the Americana Corner Preserving America Grant program. We are grateful for their help in preserving these precious historical artifacts that still provide both beauty and utility in the church.
Restoring the Washington Garden & Courtyard
Our Washington Garden & Courtyard underwent an extreme makeover in 2021 – 2022. Tucked between the Old North Church and the Parish House, this serene space was transformed into a popular respite spot for those walking the Freedom Trail. The restored space offers shade, seating, and a quiet place for relaxation.
Murray Masonry & More began repointing and restoring the garden walls in the fall of 2021. The next phase of renovation, which included installing new brick pavers, wrapped up in November of 2022. The final step was to update the garden with new trees and plantings. The Beacon Hill Garden Club was instrumental in beautifying the space with new greenery.
