Rochester Congregational Church
“Contractors from Fisher & Rocha of Mattapoisett are working on replacing some of the church's distinctive trim work, including the lower portion of the steeple and the points at the corners of the building. Several contractors are working on the roof, removing the old wood and installing a frame in the steeple. “The steeple was self-supporting,” explained Fisher and Rocha owner Bruce Rocha. “But on the project, we’re using man-made materials and cement boards; we’ll need a frame now.”
In Fisher and Rocha’s building—formerly a 19th-century barrel-making factory on Route 6 in Mattapoisett—master craftsmen worked on restoring the clover-shaped “medallions,” which feature prominently on the bottom portion of the steeple.
Project overseer Gerry Lawrence explained the new medallions. “The edge used to be all wood,” he said. “Each inside board needs to be cut individually to fit. I can just imagine guys in the nineteenth century, up on the roof with their handsaws and wood shavers, cutting everything individually.” The outlines of the clovers are now more of a particle board, a PVC-style plastic that looks like wood. “This should hold up to the weather longer,” Lawrence said.”
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