Norwich bulletin., 1918-03-09
PAPER ON NEW es
 ENGLAND MEETING HOUSE
Read by Mrs. Bela P. Learned at the March Session of Parish House As sociation,

The Parish House Association of Park church held their March meeting in the Hugh Henry Osgood Memorial Friday afternoon. Mrs. Buuneli pres ident, conducted the meeting. The usual reports were given and it was announced that the meeting of the as- sociation held at the Red Cross room for work will be on Saturday, the 18th, instead of on Thurday.. On vote the chair appointed nominating com mfttee composed of MT. Hugh H. Os- good, chairman. Mrs. ". Tyler Browne land Mrs, Henry Arnold.
 The women's chorus led by Mrs Charles T. Bard, repeated .seme of the trench songs, sung at the last meet ing. Mrs Charles! Haskell accompan- jed them at the piano. Smile. Smile, Smile, The Whole World is. Calling You and Over There were very much enjoyed by the audience and Mrs Bard's singing of Joan of Arc, might we'll have expressed the yearning cry from devastated France Mrs. Bun nell spoke of sthe wonderful cheering effect the singing the trench songs have on the boys at the camps
 The audience was greatly favored by a most delightful paper on The 1 New England Westinghouse, by Mrs. [ Bella P. Learneds
 Mrs. Isearned's paper was enriched with many a persS-a1 reminiscence and remembered. story which brought l the times of which she spoke very near and close. to us.
 l The New England meeting houses around which have been built much of the history and romance of our coun- | try, are veritable treasure troves to the seeker after knowledge. @
 1 When the Pilgrim Fathers landed at
 Plymouth they at once assigned a l Lords Day Meeting House for the Separatist church, a fort in, strength and construction and to this fort they I went every Sabbath, the men fully
 armed with gun and sword until iii 1648 they built themselves a trNe meeting house for public worship. The
 Puritan was bitterly opposed to call ing his meeting house a church, while the Church of England Episcopalian,
 was as bitterly opposed to calling it
 the House of God.
 The early settlers were eager to
 build their meeting houses and for fear future settlements should be in-
 different, they made a law in 1875
 that every town in the colony should
 build one and by law. within half a
 mile of their houses. If. not so built
 the magistrate was to build one and
 charge the expense to the town. As
 the towns grew, this became inprac-
 ticable, so the law became a dead let
 ter. Often the meeting house, to ac-
 commodate a whole township, was placed in a most remote situation, per haps hill so steep as to be very in- convenient for travel.
 The first meeting houses were very simple, square log houses with clay
 filled chinks, and often only the beat
 en earth for the floor. They were sell dom painted. Perish the thought lSuch outward show was vain and ex-
 travagant! But in the middle of the
 eighteenth century. paint became cheaper and more plentiful and a riv- alty in church decoration sprang up For instance the new meeting house I in Fomfret. Conn, the same dignifiee building which stands near the Der tirosyei1or Inn today, vas painted
 bright yellow. and it proved a veri. table golden apple of discord al through the county, all the other
 towns wanting to follow suit, and
 each have their meeting house ,"cul. l lured" like the Pomfret meeting house The body of the church was painted bright orange. the doors and bottom I pOoLOo ClOColdtG dHu IIlS ITlulmlQSS- 0i
 White. Inside it was all very simple
 raftered walls and sanded floors, the rafters often hung profusely with spi i der webs to the great edification of the tired children forced to sit through
 long hours of public worship.
 The second and more dignified form I of New England meeting house wal 1 usually a. square wooden buildins with pyrami6lal roof, with belfr5 which served as a lookout station. ana held a bell from which, the bell1rop<
 hung down to the floor in the centre Of the church aisle There is an ole church at HiEgham, Mass. which i.
 a fine example Of this form, knowr
 as the Old Ship. It was built in 16S1
 and is still in use. l AS the houses became more elegant and costly, so did the meeting houses and the third form, with lofty wooder steeple at one end, in the style of ar. Iehitecture invented by Sir Christopher When, after the great f1re.of London increased so rapidly that every towr iI had one. The builders and congre. l cations gave no thought to anythins but the steeples, and these became varied and of great beauty. The OIf lSonth church of Boston is a good ex. ample of this type and is also perhap. the most famous of all histnri, Ichurches in our country, being tht centre of the most ardent patriotism lin Colonial and Revolutionary times
 The steeple on this building is 1Sl
 feet high