Heritage Open Day: Exhibition showing how the changing outlook of Quakers through the ages manifested itself through the architectural style of their Meeting Houses.
The whole Meeting House is open to the public. Quaker architecture is not particularly famous but it may be said to reflect the outlook of the Society of Friends over the years.
At the beginning of the movement, in 1652, Friends met first on the moors in Lancashire and then in a barn or each other’s houses. Meetings were liable to be broken up by law enforcement officers or people unfriendly to non-conformists, so a familiar house provided some protection. As Quakers became more established they built Meeting Houses.