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
- Restoring the Crypt
- Restoring Gruchy’s Angels
- Restoring the Bust of George Washington
- Restoring the Avery-Bennett Clock
- Restoring the Brass Chandelier
- Restoring the Washington Garden & Courtyard
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, a congregant and an accomplished painter. Between 1727 and the 1730s, Gibbs painted a series of beautiful angels in the balcony arches of the sanctuary. Gibbs’s stunning artwork was covered over with white paint during a 1912 renovation and has been hidden for more than a century…until now. Beginning in the fall of 2024 and wrapping in the summer of 2025, Old North Illuminated completed an ambitious restoration project to uncover the angels that Gibbs painted nearly three centuries ago.
It was unclear whether the church’s 18th-century artwork still survived under the white paint. However, a paint study conducted in 2017 revealed that the lost angels still exist. Conservators painstakingly removed layers of white paint to partially uncover one of the angels painted in 1727. Old North’s team nicknamed this angel “Howard” in honor of a beloved advocate and supporter of the church who had recently passed away.
In the fall of 2024, a new team of preservation experts picked up where the 2017 paint study left off. Led by Gianfranco Pocobene, an expert conservator, the team set out to fully restore Howard and 19 more angels in the arches of Old North’s gallery, along with the decorative festoons between each angel. Pocobene said that the first step of the project was carefully testing materials and methods to remove the paint. Through testing, Pocobene and his colleagues determined exactly how long to leave solvent gels, which swell and soften the layers of white overpaint that cover the angels. Next, the conservators used soft spatula-like scrapers and hand-rolled cotton swabs to delicately remove the white paint and reveal Gibbs’s angel paintings. After each angel was revealed, an isolating layer of varnish was applied before artists retouched the paintings to improve areas where there were losses or damage.
A wonderful surprise was that each angel was painted with a unique face and personality. “They all have their own character — they’re not copies,” said Pocobene. “The artist, John Gibbs, painted them individually, and they’re all in different poses, which gives them a really wonderful rhythmic kind of pattern across the surface of the church.”
The restoration work was supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, a program of MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Cultural Council; The Freedom Trail® Foundation Preservation Fund; and two anonymous funders.
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.
For an in-depth look at the restoration process, check out this piece from Holliston Cable Access Television:
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.
