Tilton, Moultonborough, Gilmanton also receive LCHIP grants

CONCORD — The Land and Community Heritage Investment Program grants announced on Wednesday included the Tilton Town Hall Planning Study, the North Tower of Castle in the Clouds in Moultonborough, and the First Baptist Church of Gilmanton, as well as those previously announced: the Belmont Public Library and the Lakes Region Conservation Trust.

In all, 33 projects received a total of $3.5 million in matching grants this year.

Officials in Tilton are looking to use their $19,350 grant to address problems with the Victorian-style Tilton Town Hall, built in 1879. The grant will help to ensure that they set the correct priorities and spend their money efficiently through a building assessment.

Gilmanton’s First Baptist Church needs a replacement of its leaking roof, and the $81,600 LCHIP matching grant also will strengthen the bell tower.

The Castle Preservation Society in Moultonborough received $51,828 to repoint the unusual stone exterior, repair wooden trim, and recreate a historic balcony on the North Tower of Lucknow, a 1914 Arts-and-Crafts-style building known as Castle in the Clouds.

“We are very appreciative of LCHIP’s investment in the ongoing restoration projects at Castle in the Clouds,” said Charles Clark, executive director of the nonprofit Castle Preservation Society. “The LCHIP award, combined with funding from several other foundations, will allow us to start this project — one of the last major exterior restoration projects on the Lucknow mansion.”

Don Berry, president of the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, said the $75,000 matching grant from LCHIP will help to permanently protect 132 acres in Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro, on Mount Pleasant and improve the trail to a prominent open ledge where visitors will be able to enjoy expansive views extending to Lake Winnipesaukee, Red Hill, the Belknap, Sandwich, and Ossipee Mountain ranges, and points beyond.

“We are very grateful for LCHIP’s investment in conserving the Mount Pleasant Property,” he said. “The LCHIP award will help to ensure that the property’s scenic value, wildlife habitat, and public access opportunities are preserved for future generations.”

The project also will protect the historic Mount Pleasant-Haley-Walker cemetery, which served the farming settlement known as Brighton and is believed to contain the grave of a Revolutionary War soldier.