St Helens Quaker Meeting House

St Helens Quaker Meeting House

This is a Quaker meeting house, converted from a former house of late 16th or early 17th century date. The building has undergone later alterations, including a rear extension added in 1965-1966.

The structure is built in coursed sandstone with stone dressings and a roof of stone slate.

The meeting house is L-shaped in plan, consisting of the principal range running east-west as a single-storey gabled meeting house, with a north-south wing to the rear built in 1965-1966.

The building is set back from the road, facing south onto a garden. The south-facing main elevation comprises four bays. From left to right, these include a five-light window with double-chamfered mullions, followed by a three-light window with double-chamfered mullions, then the entrance doorway, and a further five-light window at ground floor level. All windows feature diamond leaded glazing. The doorway surround is embellished with quoins and a segmental arch with a keystone. A continuous drip mould runs above the ground-floor windows and doorway. Above the door hangs a sundial dated 1753. The upper level includes a six-light chamfered mullion window to the left and a similar three-light window to the right.

The west gable contains a large, deep, projecting stepped chimney stack with a small red brick lean-to to its left. The east gable features a seven-light transom window with a label mould, lighting the main meeting room at ground floor level. The rear north elevation includes, from left to right, the link to the 1960s extension, a three-light mullioned stone window, and two six-over-six sash windows set under the eaves. To the far right of this elevation is a built-up ground-floor doorway with a stone lintel. The gabled roof is covered with stone slate and has stone coped gables, with two copper vents to the ridge.

The extension built in 1965-1966 extends from the east end of the meeting house's north elevation. It comprises a flat-roofed linking section that is fully glazed to the west, and a taller single-storey unit serving as a children's room or library, lit by three uPVC windows. The children's room is built in coursed stone reclaimed from a former lean-to that had been attached to the meeting house's north elevation, and has a shed roof with slate coverings.

Interior

The main entrance door opens into a small timber vestibule leading to the principal meeting room. The meeting room occupies the full height of the principal range, with a late 19th century roof exposed, displaying king-post trusses. Rebates in the oak lintel to the eastern window in the front elevation may suggest the former presence of joists for an upper floor or gallery. The room features a tongue and groove panelled dado, ramped up to the Elders' stand, with plain plaster and paint finish. The 18th century stand extends across the full length of the west wall and comprises two raked fixed benches, each approached by short flights of steps. A balustrade of pierced splat balusters carries a handrail to the rear bench. A full-height sliding timber and glazed partition is installed on the north wall, dating to the early 20th century. This can be drawn into the meeting room to divide it into western and eastern spaces. A doorway in the north wall leads into the north-south corridor of the 20th century extension, off which a kitchen and toilets open to the eastern side, with the children's room to the north.