Foundation stone from the old rectory at Stamnes

In Alstahaug municipality, the old rectory in Sandnessjøen has recently been demolished. After receiving the invitation to contribute a stone to an art project in the Government Quarter, we contacted the developer, who had the contractor remove a large block of stone from the foundation wall.

We have not been able to confirm what type of rock it is, but it is quite likely that it is gneiss or granite, with iron, which was extracted locally here on Alstenøya.

Stamnes is the old municipal name of Alstahaug municipality. The first Stamnes church, now Alstahaug church (popularly called Sandnessjøen church), was built in 1768, burned down in 1775 and was rebuilt in 1778. Stamnes was made the main parish by royal decree on 11 December 1861. On the farm Stamnes, close to the trading post Sandnessjøen, a new residence was built for the parish priest, and the farm was renamed Stamnes rectory. The farmhouse, a Nordland house, was moved from Alstahaug in 1863. In 1865, the dean Wilhelm Anthon Fegth and his wife Trine Karine Sommerfeldt were able to move into the rectory. The rectory was originally a farmyard consisting of a farmhouse, barn and three other buildings. Originally, the rectory was one of a few farms in the area. The rectory was restored in about 1940-1950 and, among other things, a full-height second floor was built. In 1960, the old outhouse and woodshed were demolished, and a new outhouse with a garage was erected. There was originally an axis between the church and the rectory, and the road between them was built on this axis. The axis between the church and the rectory disappeared when a new road, Kirkeveien, was built around the year 1960, leading to new housing estates on the rectory lands. The stone was part of the north wall (foundation wall) in the oldest part of the basement of the rectory. That is, about 1860.