Spalding Quaker Meeting House

An early-C19 Quaker meeting house altered and extended in the 1960s.

MATERIALS: the 1806 building and later extension are both constructed of brick with a tiled roof.

PLAN: the building is oriented north-west to south-east, with the mid-C20 block located to the south-west. The building is rectangular on plan with the mid-C20 square addition attached to the south-west.

EXTERIOR: the meeting house is accessed via Double Street to the south. This principal façade is of three bays with central pedimented doorway and a window to either side on each floor, with hipped roof and sweeping eaves above. The windows are six-over-six pane sashes with segmental arches and date to the building’s refurbishment in 1965. A date stone of 1806 is located centrally above the entrance doorway with a further stone above reading: ‘RESTORED 1965’. A projecting block to the left (south-west) dates to the mid-C20 and features three further sashes on its east elevation, one at ground floor and two above. This arrangement is also in place on the southern elevation of this projecting block.

The northern elevation is now used as the principal entrance to the newly created flats with the rear of the 1806 range to the left (east). This range fronts directly onto Westlode Street and has a semi-circular window at first-floor level but is otherwise blind. The western elevation of this range has a further sash window with segmental arch. To the right (west) is the 1966 extension of five bays, with three sash windows at ground floor and five above. A small, single-storey flat-roof extension sits at the corner joining the original building and the extension.

INTERIOR: the main meeting house is divided into two spaces, a meeting room to the rear (north) and a space to the front which houses a gallery above and stair hall below. The walls of the meeting room are half clad with vertical timber boards, with a central doorway linking the two principal spaces. The gallery stair to the south is mid-C20.

The 1966 extension is understood to now house two self-contained flats and is of lesser interest.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: there is a small burial ground to the south of the meeting house, with a series of iron railings, likely to date from the C19, fronting Double Street. Beneath the railings are C20 brick walls.