Building record MLI94262 - Friends Meeting House, 53 Westlode Street, Spalding

Summary

A meeting house of the Society of Friends, at 53 Westlode Street, Spalding. The current building dates to 1805, and replaced an earlier meeting house of 1698.

Type and Period (2)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

The Friends' Meeting House was originally built in 1805 and completely restored in 1965. It is of two storeys and is constructed in brick with a modern roof. There is a small burial ground in front of the building (see MLI116258) and contemporary railings to the street. For the full description and the legal address of this listed building please refer to the appropriate List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. {1} The Society of Friends bought two cottages in 1698, using their gardens as a burial ground and altering the buildings into a meeting house. In 1706 the meeting house became licensed. This building was demolished in about 1805 and a new meeting house was built in its place. This building was extensively restored in 1969 and a flat and social room was erected beside it in 1966. {2}{3} The site was visited in 2010. The present building of 1805 is constructed of red brick and has a hipped roof with overhanging eaves. It was refronted and the slate roof was replaced by tiles in 1965. The main façade faces Double Street, and is of two storeys with three bays. The central doorway has an open pediment resting on brackets and paired doors. Above the door are two date stones. One oval tablet, with a beaded frame, bears the original date of 1805 and another records the restoration of 1965 when the building was refronted but following the original plan. The doorway is flanked by two tiers of segmental-arched sash windows. The rear end wall, facing Westlode Street, has a single wide lunette and in each side wall is a segmental-arched sash window. The interior is divided into two principal rooms separated by shutters. The fittings are said to include early 19th century open-backed benches and a table with turned legs of the early 18th century. {4}{5}{6}{7}{8}{9} The Friends Meeting House was the subject of a programme of building recording, conducted in January 2016 to inform its future conservation. The history and development of the site was summarised in the project report, which included floor plans and several photographs of the structures. {10} The 1960s refurbishment to the building was conducted by the renowned Quaker architect, Hubert Lidbetter. The refurbishment saw the roof replaced, the windows renewed and the south elevation of the building re-faced in brick, removing the earlier render. A two-storey extension to the south-west was erected in 1966, intended to house a community room at ground floor with accommodation for a warden at first floor. This extension was altered in the early 21st century to create two self-contained flats. The interior of the 1806 building has also been modernised, possibly in a second phase of renovation subsequent to the mid-1960s work. This has included the removal of a panelled timber screen and some shutters within the former meeting room. {11}

Sources/Archives (11)

  •  Index: Department of the Environment. 1975. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. 1/70.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: David M. Butler. 1999. The Quaker Meeting Houses of Britain. vol.1, pp.368-9.
  •  Report: South Holland District Council. 2007. Spalding Conservation Area Appraisal. Riverside character area.
  •  Digital Archive: Lincolnshire County Council. 2004-2009. GIS layer depicting locations and survival of nonconformist chapels. 25121.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Nikolaus Pevsner and John Harris, with Nicholas Antram. 1989. Buildings of England: Lincolnshire (Second Edition). p.677.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Christopher Stell. 2002. Inventory of Nonconformist Chapels and Meeting Houses in Eastern England. p.223, no.233.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: R.W. Ambler. 1979. Lincolnshire Returns of the Census of Religious Worship, 1851. p.23.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: William White. 1856. History, Gazetteer and Directory of Lincolnshire (Second Edition). p.846.
  •  Map: Ordnance Survey. 1907-1950. 25 Inch County Series Map - Third Edition. 1:2500. 134/14.
  •  Report: Architectural History Practice Ltd. 2016. Friends Meeting House, 53 Westlode Street, Spalding. -.
  •  Website: Historic England (formerly English Heritage). 2011->. The National Heritage List for England. http://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/. 1063972.

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Grid reference Centred TF 25050 22888 (18m by 23m) Surveyed
Civil Parish SPALDING, SOUTH HOLLAND, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

Jun 2 2023 2:26PM

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