A New Look for St. Peter’s

by Alan Bisbort

Just in time for Spring, St. Peter’s is getting an upgrade that will give the Cheshire community a closer look at our beloved church. The upgrade will reshape and refashion the area facing Main Street, incorporating a plaza that will extend 30 feet from the front entrance, along with a gentle sloping regrade of the property and a wide set of stairs leading down to the sidewalk. 

For years, the front area has ended abruptly at a crumbling wall and narrow, somewhat cumbersome stairs. The wall, installed by the state DOT years ago as part of a widening of Route 10, was never part of the church’s original design. Likewise, the current stairwell, added to allow some way to approach the church from the sidewalk, is merely functional and has blocked the view from Main Street. As part of the upgrade, both the wall and stairwell will be removed.

The new design was created by landscape architect John Clarke, a St. Peter’s parishioner, and the project itself has been facilitated by the tireless patience of Sam Dunlop, the church’s junior warden. Much like the renovated sanctuary inside the church, the idea all along has been to make the outside of the church more open and welcoming without compromising its original architectural elements. 

“I see the design as an invitation to notice the beauty of St. Peter’s, to draw the eye in toward the church we love,” said Clarke, husband of St. Peter’s senior warden Kim Clarke. “It’s a relatively simple design in keeping with the character and simple elegance of the church. The steps will be wide and gentle, to open up the visual field to the community. Right now, if you’re driving or walking past, you don’t fully see the church because the wall and steps block the view.” 

A Certificate of Appropriateness for the project was approved by the Cheshire Historic District Commission on April 14, with the enthusiastic backing of commission chairman Joseph Dattilo, who said, “This will be more like the original look of the church and is actually an improvement for the whole historic district.”

A contract has been signed with New Britain-based Custom Renovations, LLC, and the work will begin in May. The upgrade should take about six weeks to complete, weather permitting. Some preliminary work has already been done, such as the removal of a tree whose roots had breached the sewer line and had to be removed, and an official survey of St. Peter’s property necessitated by the church’s location at the edge of a state right-of-way (Route 10 and the sidewalk).

The main part of the new design will consist of an attractive plaza that extends from the church entrance, topped by flagstones and brick inlays that emulate the pattern of the round rose window above the front door. The plaza will end at a wider, less intimidating set of steps and a smaller, less obstructive wall. The rest of the front area will be landscaped to taper down to the sidewalk and allow passersby a more inviting aspect of St. Peter’s. The overall look will be more eye-catching and outreaching to the community.

“Who knows what kind of events can be held on the patio,” said Clarke. “Wedding parties will certainly want to gather for photographs there. People notice the church when groups are congregating in front of it.”

This project has been a long time coming. It was originally part of the St. Peter’s capital campaign that began about ten years ago, which included several high-priority components like the renovation of the sanctuary, extensive roofing work, and replacing and updating windows (including the stained-glass windows). While all of those things were accomplished, the renovation of the front area of the church was, by necessity, a lower priority.

Consider it a high-priority now and a welcome new addition to St. Peter’s.