Episcopal Church steeple grounded

SHARON — Passersby gazed toward the sky on Tuesday, Nov. 23. Cars stopped. Fingers were pointed. Photos were snapped. And the steeple of Christ Church on South Main Street floated through the air, attached to a crane by a sturdy harness.

The steeple, which has been at the top of the Episcopal church since the building was consecrated in 1819, had begun to lean, said William Trowbridge, who is the junior warden of the church.

“The posts holding it up were rotten. It looked dangerous,� he said.

The roof of the church has been sealed to protect the building from the impending winter weather. The bell that once hung inside the steeple is now resting near the front steps of the church, and the steeple itself has found a new home on the lawn of the church.

“We’re trying to decide whether we should repair the existing steeple or duplicate it,� Trowbridge said.

Later that evening, at the regular monthly meeting of the Historic District Commission, Trowbridge, who is the commission’s chairman, had to  explain that the application for taking down the steeple was filed after the steeple had been taken down.

“It was an emergency,� he explained.