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Photo by Westwood Minute/Darlene Wong Cancell. A steeplejack climbs the spire of First Parish of Westwood to make repairs on April 22, 2025.
5-04-2025 12:21am
Repair and Restoration Begins for an Iconic Westwood Structure
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Repairs are currently underway for one of the Town of Westwood's most iconic building structures - the spire atop the 200-year old First Parish of Westwood meeting house. The church itself sits on a high point of Westwood, at the intersection of Nahatan and Clapboardtree streets, and its spire extends the gaze of passersbys even farther upwards. Nowadays, when people look up, they may find a steeplejack or two, continuing the work of repairs and restoration which begun around late March/early April this year.
In February 2025, First Parish of Westwood announced a successful conclusion to its capital campaign to raise funds for the costs of repairing and restoring its physical building and facilities. Part of the campaign included outreach to the larger community for assistance in restoring the belfry, bell, and steeple. Fundraising organizers characterized the church and its architectural details as among Westwood's most recognizable landmarks.
However, the bell has not been rung for about five years, due to deterioration in the belfry area. September 27, 2020 may have been one of the last times the church rang its bell. On that day, it rang twenty times at 10 a.m., the first instance the same pattern of ringing over ten successive days, in remembrance of lives lost during the COVID pandemic.
In describing areas of the church in need of repair during the capital campaign, church Council member Mary Masi-Phelps said in a church campaign video, "Many of these areas, particularly the bell and the steeple, are of historic, architectural and cultural significance in town and all of these areas are really integral to the functioning of the parish."
The church has raised approximately $65,000 with help from the larger community to be applied to restoring the church's bell, belfry and steeple. In total, First Parish of Westwood's capital campaign raised a total of approximately $327,000, surpassing its $300,000 fundraising goal. Organizers have noted that additional projects may arise as repairs begin and potentially unearth other, unknown issues and problems.
Funds will be applied to projects that include exterior painting and repair ($45,000), replacing/repairing the front steps ($25,000), interior work on a peeling ceiling and paint ($120,000), and upgrades to the church's sound system and parsonage electrical system, among other items.
In the church's video produced to educate the community about the capital campaign and need to raise funds, campaign co-chair Bob Deininger said, "There's a quote that our greatest responsibility is to be a good ancestor. So it's our responsibility to take care of this building for future generations," he said.
Updated 5/4/2025 at 5:55 p.m.
