Friend’s Meeting House, Brigflatts

Description

Friend’s Meeting House, Brigflatts
MYD3625 (c) YDNPA, 2023

When George Fox preached in Sedbergh in 1652 he introduced a religious movement which rapidly swept through the surrounding dales. The Friends’ Meeting House at Brigflatts is the third oldest Quaker meeting house in the country. It was built in 1675 and is still used for worship by the local Quaker congregation.

The meeting house is built of mixed random stone rubble, mostly whitewashed with a graduated stone slate roof. It is single storied and has a simple rectangular plan with an integral stone cottage at the west end and a two-storey porch where the two buildings meet. The date stone over the outer doorway is a 20th century replica of the original and reads “Anno/ Do/ 1675”.

Inside, the meeting house has panelled walls and plain benches. The gallery to the north side and both ends was added in 1711. At the base of the gallery staircase, wooden gates form an enclosure for sheepdogs. The adjoining cottage is a low two-storied structure and is used as the Warden’s house.

Source:

Hartley, Marie & Ingilby, Joan (1991) The Yorkshire Dales. Otley: Smith Settle

Rooksby, Donald A (1994) The Man in Leather Breeches. The Quakers in North-west England:1. Colwyn Bay: The Author