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The First Parish in Bedford Unitarian Universalist 75 The Great Road, Bedford, Massachusetts 01730 On the Common 781-275-7994 |
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The First Parish in Bedford Unitarian Universalist 75 The Great Road, Bedford, Massachusetts 01730 On the Common 781-275-7994 |
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The pair of pews in the rear of the sanctuary are said to have been used
in the first meetinghouse. One has 1728 carved on its back.
The present pews are numbered ones installed in 1848. An auction was held to sell the earlier pews as a way of paying for the meetinghouse. The people divided the building's cost into relative prices for the pews and raised more than the total expenses of $5,595 at the sale.
Though the church is carpeted, it is possible to see the wide floorboards in the pews. Small oblong holes in pews 45 and 47 mark the places where the old pews were removed. Gates probably hung across the ends of the pews in the original meetinghouse.
The plaque on the right-hand wall of the sanctuary tells of the Flemish chandelier,
a gift in 1950 of Miss Abigail and Mr. Charles Bacon, descendants of one of
the church's original members, Jonathan Bacon. The chandelier, minus its
present globe shades, had hung for many years at the Boston Architectural Club.
Wall sconces on the rear wall match the chandelier and were also Bacon gifts.
In the left front corner of the church, mounted on a triangular platform,
is a three-string bass viol, an unusual instrument made by Abraham Prescott of
Concord, NH. Early records mention it having been "put in the care of the elder
deacon" around 1810. Another record refers to the bass viol being purchased about
1840 by a member of the parish. It was used for many years as accompaniment to
singers and has been recently (1980) renovated and played as a part of regular
Sunday services. Some theorize that, while a more traditional four-string
instrument was considered too worldly for sacred music in 1840, the three-string
viol with its echo of the trinity, was acceptable.
According to Till Shafer, the antique bass needs some repair to cracks in the back. It is not a joy to play, though playable. It is a 3-string bass, tuned in fifths. unlike the basses all contemporary bassists are trained to play, which are 4-stringed, tuned in fourths. Also, it is larger than the instruments most bassists play today, which requires a major adjustment in our fingering.
Till has played it in the Sanctuary several times over the years. "If music of symphonic difficulty is to be played, I always bring in my own bass. I think it is fair to characterize it as a museum piece."
The Hook Hastings pipe organ was added in 1898, it is a fine example of area
pipe organs and one that accomplished musicians praise, whether playing it or
hearing it! Chief contributor for the organ purchase was Mr. George Hosmer,
relative of a Parish Committee member of the period.
In 1848 the original high pulpit was removed during a remodeling of the
interior (probably inspired by the installation of a furnace, along with
sealing off the entire second story). Sometime between 1884 and 1898, the
low ceiling was taken down and the gallery was separated from the lower floor
by a wide ribbon of amber French glass windows. A high pulpit was given to
the parish in 1943 by the American Unitarian Association, after it had been
removed from a razed church in Ayer. Mr. George Champney, an architect and
church member, redesigned the rostrum for the use of a desk and the pulpit,
and the area around the organ and pulpit were then paneled to form a harmonious
whole. The sounding board above the pulpit is reminiscent of the earlier
ornate canopies, and the entire unit looks as if it had always been there.
The high pulpit was removed as part of the remodeling in 1999. It now resides
in Plano, TX, under the loving care of Douglas Morgan Strong (our previous interim minister) and his congregation.
Our agreement includes a "right of first refusal", should the Plano church cease to need it. We can rest assured it will be in good hands!
The silver communion service, usually on loan to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston,
is periodically back on view. The pieces from left to right: 2 beakers dated 1738,
a flagon dated 1811 and two beakers dated 1806. The first communion service of
pewter is not known to be in existence, though records of 11/12/1730, speak of
contributions used toward the purchase of "1 tablecloth, 2 dishes, 2 pewter tankards,
1 napkin, 1 flagon, and 1 basin."
On the rear wall, hanging where a long-winded minister might view it and where the
congregation might hear it "ping" the hour, is the Aaron Willard gallery clock
presented to the church by Jeremiah Fitch on the completion of the new meetinghouse.
A twin of this clock hangs in the Harvard Club of Boston on State Street.
The old bell wheel from the tower is currently hanging above the elevator door at
the Elm Street entrance. Upon deterioration, it was replaced with a different
mechanism. For years it served as a coat rack with pegs and a mirror. When the
new meetinghouse opened, rules for the use of the building decreed that
"no person shall hang his hat .. on any post or wall .. above the railings of the pews."
The Howard clock was presented by Dudley L Pickman in 1906.
Both the bell and the tower clock are hand-wound and are built into the same frame. The bell is wound twice weekly, and the clock once.
