Building record 0430900000 - RICKFORD'S HILL MEETING HOUSE

Dimensions - Length 12m, Width 5m.
Plan Form - Rectangular.
Plain, brick & tile. Last used by Friends, December 1841 (B1-2).
Re-opened by Quakers, 1933. At NGR (B3).
Begun 1703. Present meeting house erected 1727. Small brick building with hipped tile roof. SE end wall, now internal, is timber-framed. Plain panelled interior. Wall benches. (Ground plan, illustration, further detail)(B4).
Built 1727, small rectangular building of brick with a hipped tiled roof (further detail & ground plan) (B5).
Summary bibliography (B6).
In 1704 tenements on Rickfords Hill were acquired by the Quakers and in 1703 a newly erected meeting house in the yard behind the tenements was registered. In 1726 further land behind the tenements was acquired and the present meeting house built, opening in 1727. Access was via the passageway at the side of one of the frontage properties and the remainder of the site was used as a burial ground, and the frontage properties let. In 1810 a porch was added and the meeting room divided by shutters, possibly to create a second smaller room. A brick side extension and entrance was added sometime before 1878. The Meeting was discontinued in 1836 and the building let as a school from 1845, later becoming a Baptist chapel and then used by the YMCA. The Meeting revived in the 20th century and the meeting house was restored by Walter Rose and Sam North, re-opening in 1933. Further refurbishments by Malcolm Barnett were made in 2010. (See report for detailed description and photos)(B7).
Grade II. Quaker meeting house, built in 1726-27. An extension to the south-east was added, probably in the early C19. Refurbished in 1933 and 2010. Reasons for Designation: Architectural interest - as a well-preserved, early-C18 meeting house, typical of the vernacular architectural style associated with the Quaker movement; - for its characterful interior retaining its dado panelling; Historic interest - the discreet location and modest architectural style of the building are expressive of the early history of the Quaker movement (B8).