St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Epping, New Hampshire, was built in the late 1800’s.
Here in my hometown, there is one priest and four Catholic Churches that were merged into one Parish.
St. Charles built in 1893 has been on the market for several years now. They hope to sell it, tear it down and build workforce housing.
Catholic churches have had to evolve since reaching the point where there are not have enough priests to staff all available churches.
Over 100 years after St. Joseph’s Church was built, it was reborn into a very popular seacoast Irish pub restaurant, Holy Grail, by David and Maureen Kennedy.
The stained glass windows, hanging light fixtures, pews, and even the baptismal font are still intact. Seeing a baptismal font next to a hostess stand was a little unnerving the first time. 🙂
The beautiful stairs ascending to the previous choir loft are in the background.
The restaurant has a very large menu including typical pub fare right down to original Irish bangers and mash and a large selection of draft beer and other beverages. The menu headings include virtuous soups, sanctified salads, ordained burgers, sinless sandwiches, saintly seafood, papal pasta, canonized coffee drinks or divine desserts.
We’ve eaten there twice this summer and the secret is to ask for a to-go-box as soon as the meal arrives because portions are large.
This Thursday door changed from serving the soul of the community to feeding the local community – not a bad transition. 🙂
Note: The Kennedys tried to buy St. Charles Church as well as a church in Methuen, MA, to create restaurants but were turned down by the Diocese. They were able to buy St. Joseph’s Church in Epping because it had been originally sold to a buyer with a business plan that was approved by the Diocese and then resold. This summer, the Kennedys opened the Holy Grail of the Lakes in the former Evangelical Baptist Church of Laconia. They have decided to pursue non-Catholic churches as they expand their business.
Linked to Norm Frampton’s Thursday Doors September 10, 2015.
NewEnglandGardenAndThread 
I really enjoyed this post, Judy. The door was so warm and inviting. I like arched doors with panels. It creates a nice “pattern.”
The idea of making a church into a restaurant called “Holy Grail” is so clever! Enjoy a heavenly dat, Judy. 🙂
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All of the doors inside were original so there were many more the same size and shape. Thanks for the good wishes. 🙂
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Dat=day on cell phone “morph talk,” Judy!
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Pretty interesting story. Didn’t know it was so hard to buy holy land. 😉
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I love how these churches are being recycled. Better than being torn down. And the menu you described just makes me smile. But yes, a baptismal font inside the front door of a restaurant? I’d pause at that too! 🙂 You really discover some neat places to eat – and some lovely doors as you travel between them!
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I would think recycling would beat tearing down every time. 🙂
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Judy, I love the names they’ve given to meals in the menu so that it resonates with the premises! Lovely door as well 😊
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What a lovely use of the former church, but it’s sad that there aren’t enough people to fill it as a church. Where we used to live, a church had been turned into a fire department and another into a restaurant. Pretty sure the former didn’t have any pews or a font left. 😀. Oh, yes. The door here is lovely as well.
Have a heavenly day.
janet
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It’s a sad fate for such a majestic building, but it’s so much better than having it be torn down. I like that they left so much of the interior in tact, maybe that helps the spirit of the founding congregation to live on. The door itself is a fine bit of craftsmanship. I love the curves and, especially they way they worked the corner detail into the curbed upper panels. Nice door, great photo and it sounds like pretty good food. Good job!
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It certainly is a complex situation. I have to think that people enjoying a lunch looking at the names on the stained glass windows is better than all that history being in a dumpster. St. Charles here in town is a massive stone church. It is gorgeous and to think it will be reduced to a pile of rubble seems unbelievable. Progress?
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Not progress. That is very sad.
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Around here, we’ve seen an awful lot of old catholic churches sold, torn down, repurposed or otherwise converted. There’s a huge old cathedral in Montreal’s Little Italy that was turned into condos a few years ago. Even though the did a good job of preserving the exterior, it was still kinda sad – and I’m not even catholic.
Great post Judy!
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I am always in favor of recycling/repurposing versus tearing down, but it is sad that these gorgeous buildings built by our forefathers hands and intended as houses of worship are now condos and restaurants.
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Clever name — great sense of humor on those Kennedys. Pretty, pretty door!
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Great Story! If I’m ever there, and it’s still there I will definitely make a point of eating at the Holy Grail!
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Hope all your indoor and outdoor projects are progressing. 🙂
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What beautuful woodwork on the doors and throughout! I have a new appreciation for doormaking after Dan’s recent post about his unique cliset doors. I love the pub conversion. In another life (with my first husband) I owned and operated an Irish pub. It was a good life 😉
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Yes, Dan certainly makes you look at wood differently. 🙂 Oh, I bet you have some stories to tell about owning an Irish pub. 🙂
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Good times for sure! The pub worked but not the marriage. It’s all ale under the bridge 😊
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The door is nice and I like the stained glass windows.
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Nice to see what is behind the door!
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Fascinating Judy! Not sure what our French cousins would make of this! 🙂 Still, better that it be used for a communal activity than being pulled down.
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Converting the church to a restaurant is better than tearing it down, and the atmosphere would be great with all the original features, but I do feel a pang of sadness that churches are not used for their original purpose. The meal looks wonderful!
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I love that they’ve converted it and I love that you share it with the rest of us. What a great place to visit! Maybe someday…
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What a story…from church to pub! Well Jesus DID say “feed my sheep” 🙂
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Yes, and he turned water into wine. 🙂
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