After being restored this past winter the historic wooden sunburst window covering is back where it belongs, on the third story of the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church,
Rick Miller, vice-president of the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church, watched workers from Ironwood Restoration lift the massive fan-like covering back into place on Monday. It’s a final piece to several exterior touch-ups the church has been undertaking while preparing for the church’s 200th anniversary in 2025.
“It means everything,” Miller said, of seeing the sunburst being put back into place. “It was falling apart.”
The church applied for a grant from the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, or LCHIP, for $10,000 to repair the sunburst. The church matched the grant with another $10,000.
No one knows how old the window covering is, Miller said. It could be original to the structure, which was built in 1825.
Brian Gallien of Ironwood Restoration restored the vast majority of the slats and replaced the ones that were beyond repair.
“Hopefully it’s going to last a long, long time,” Miller said.
In the past year, the church has also refurbished the historic lanterns on the front door, repainted the steeple, and the town clock was re-gilded.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.