To spot St. John’s Church, look for a stately, two-story brick building with a tall, square tower peeking above the rooftops, an arched doorway, and graceful round windows-standing proudly right in front of you on Chapel Street.
Now, as you stand here on this historic ground, imagine the echoes of footsteps crunching on gravel in the early 1800s. Back then, this very spot was buzzing with excitement-and maybe a little bit of panic! In 1806, Portsmouth suffered a mighty fire that swallowed up over 300 buildings, including the original wooden church right here. Ashes in the wind, hopes nearly dashed! But, as you can see, the story didn’t end there. The congregation, made of hearty souls with soot on their cheeks and determination in their hearts, rolled up their sleeves and decided: no more timber, let's build a brick church tough enough to outlast trouble.
They found themselves a young architect named Alexander Parris-who, at the time, was just starting out (imagine asking a rookie for your city’s most important building…talk about a leap of faith!). Parris designed this beautiful brick church, making it the very first of its kind in New Hampshire-quite the trailblazer! Its tall tower, elegant Palladian windows, and the detailed lunette window in the top gable make it a real eye-catcher, especially on a sunny afternoon just like this. Step inside, if you get a chance, and you’ll find unusual slip pews (not your grandmother’s church seat!) and a ceiling painted to trick your eye with its illusions-created back in 1848. Now that’s heavenly mischief.
But here’s the kicker: this congregation goes way, way back, all the way to 1638, when Portsmouth was just a patch of Strawbery Banke-and the first minister was shown the door by stern Puritans from Massachusetts. Clearly, perseverance runs deep here, maybe even deeper than those old brick foundations. Today, St. John’s Church stands as a reminder that Portsmouth folks have always been pretty tough - and maybe just a little stubborn about making their mark on history.
