Historic New England: Rocky Hill Meeting House

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A black, white, and dark blue striped header with text reading Historic New England Rocky Hill Meeting House

In September 2023, I went on another long weekend adventure to northeastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. My first major stop was Rocky Hill Meeting House, a church turned museum owned by Historic New England (HNE) This is the only building out of the thirty-eight HNE properties that was never residential.

Close-Up of Rocky Hill Meeting House; The rectangular, whitewashed building is two stories with fifteen-foot plus an attic. The massive casement windows are eight panes high by four panes wide. Rocky Hill Meeting House from Across the Lawn; the build sits atop a short, grassy hill Rocky Hill Meeting House Sign; a black and blue Historic New England sign with the words Rocky Hill Meeting House 1785 and the HNE logo
Massive Tree on the Front Lawn of Rocky Hill Meeting House The Parsonage Viewed from the Window Behind the Pulpit of Rocky Hill Meeting House; a two-story whitewashed Georgian style home Rocky Hill Honor Roll for the World Wars; a metal plaque with names of veterans affixed to a rock

Rocky Hill Meeting House was built with a vision in mind: creating a Congregationalist church in preparation for the population boom that was sure to come. A smaller meeting house had stood near the site since 1716, but the parishioners wanted bigger and better things. Reverend Samuel Webster had pastored the church since 1741 and dedicated his entire career to this one church community. He had already led the church for forty-four years when he proposed a new building for the coming revival. During construction in 1785, only two years after the end of the American Revolutionary War, this property was part of Salisbury, MA, as modern Amesbury would not form for another 100 years in 1886. Regardless of address, box pews in the enormous sanctuary began selling in December 1785.

Interior of Rocky Hill Meeting House as Viewed from the Pulpit; looking across at the balcony and down at the floor Rocky Hill Meeting House Floor and Pulpit; viewed from the floor Rocky Hill Meeting House Floor and Pulpit Viewed from the Side Door; many wooden box pews

While Rev. Webster had a long, successful career at the church until his death in 1796, subsequent pastors did not have this luck (or divine providence, as they would have said). A Rev. Beattie lasted three years before dying in 1801, while a Rev. Balch stirred up controversy and was dismissed by 1816. All during this time, the box pews were not selling as the congregation had hoped. For nineteen years, the church had no minister and tried to find ways to attract new members. The church began to schism with members joining new churches in 1827 and 1835.

Pew Number 50; the black number 50 painted on a white oval. The name Capt. Israel Morrill is penciled in cursive in the oval above the number Built-In Note-Taking Desk in a Box Pew; the desk is hinged to swing flat against the side of the box Pew Seat Swung Down for More Space

After the brief yet disastrous tenure of a Rev. Gunnison, who left after a few months and with a good portion of the members, Rev. Benjamin Sawyer arrived in a final attempt to restore the popularity of the oversized meeting house. Rev. Sawyer led the congregation for nearly 35 years, from 1835 to 1870. Matching portraits of this pastor and his wife still hang in the atrium. Despite his time as pastor being the height of the abolitionist movement and the Civil War, Rev. Gunnison refused to discuss these issues, driving away even more members. Upon his death, the congregation dispersed for good. From 1886 to 1942, a group known as the West Parish Society sporadically used the building for its own services and never renovated the property. When they gifted the building and its contents, including a fancy communion set made of silver, to HNE in 1942, the building had not been touched except for over 150 years of scratched graffiti on its walls.

Rocky Hill Meeting House Floor Viewed from the Balcony Mason & Hamlin Organ in the Balcony at Rocky Hill Meeting House Serif E Graffiti Carved into a Door Frame at Rocky Hill Meeting House Blueprints created by the Works Progress Administration lined up on a table in the balcony at Rocky Hill Meeting House

Because of the aspirations of the congregation, the church was designed differently from most meeting houses. The rectangular, whitewashed building has a twenty foot high ceiling in the main room and has an additional attic space. The massive casement windows are eight panes high by four panes wide. Once inside the building, the pulpit stands high above the floor and is backlit by the largest window, which measures an incredible seven panes high and five panes wide with a semicircular top. Columns were painted with a faux marble pattern. Each box on the floor retains its original number. Names of box owners were posthumously stenciled in pencil on top of their number. Some boxes contain built-in desks, which are hinged to the side of the box to be put up or down as needed. The seats of some pews can be folded down to allow for more space.

Organ and Window-Filled Backwall Viewed from the Doorway Leading to the Balcony at Rocky Hill Meeting House Stern Oil Portrait of Rev. Benjamin Sawyer; a White man wearing a mid 19th century suit and frowning Stern Oil Portrait of the Wife of Rev. Benjamin Sawyer; frowning woman wearing a mid-19th century white lacy bonnet and black dress

In the balcony, visitors can view the historic Mason & Hamlin organ, a company that has built musical instruments in Haverhill, MA since 1854. On a nearby table are copies of blueprints drawn up by members of the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal Agency created by the United States government from 1935 through 1943. The corners of the building are supported by gunstock timber frames, where the top of the beam is thicker than the bottom. This rare architecture is also found at Pierce House in Dorchester, MA and Cooper-Frost-Austin House in Cambridge, MA.

Blueprint for Hardware at Rocky Hill Meeting House Created by the Works Progress Administration Longitudinal Blueprint of Rocky Hill Meeting House Created by the Works Progress Administration Interior Cross Section Blueprint of Rocky Hill Meeting House Created by the Works Progress Administration
First Floor Plan of Rocky Hill Meeting House Created by the Works Progress Administration Wooden Ladder Leading Up to the Dark Attic at Rocky Hill Meeting House Black Painted Gunstock Timber Frame in the Corner of Rocky Hill Meeting House

Rocky Hill Meeting House is open on the second and fourth Fridays during the regular season, June through October. Tours are on the hour from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and last about an hour. Tickets are standard HNE small house pricing at $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $5 for students and children, and $0 for Amesbury residents and HNE members (like me!). Plenty of parking space is available along the driveway. Be sure to leave room for other visitors and the renters who live in the parsonage. Like most historic houses, Rocky Hill Meeting House is not accessible for those with limited mobility or using a wheelchair. The steps leading up to the balcony are steep. However, HNE does have a 3D virtual tour powered by Matterport available online. While this tour is not the best choice for young children or those who prefer house museums with beautiful furniture and decor, the meeting house is a unique opportunity to see an unchanged place of worship from the late 18th century.


Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 8/10

Accessibility: 7/10



Location: 4 Old Portsmouth Rd, Amesbury, MA 01913, USA