Hertford Quaker Meeting House

Hertford Quaker Meeting House

This is a Grade I listed Quaker meeting house dating to 1670. The building is constructed of red brick in irregular bond with a plain-tiled roof, supported internally by a steel framework.

The building is near square in plan, with a roof composed of one main pitch and two axial wings projecting towards the north. The principal elevation faces north and features large twin gable heads facing the street, with moulded coping. A single-leaf timber door to the right serves as the main entrance. There are four high-level windows on this elevation; the one to the far left has been formed by partial bricking up of a former doorway. The other windows are now casements, created by partial blocking of larger window openings that were formerly sashes. The window to the right has a later stone inserted above dated 1670. Two tripartite windows are positioned above, set within the gable heads. A cast-iron downpipe in the centre of the elevation collects water from the roof valley between the two pitches and delivers it to the rainwater head through an opening in the brickwork at the meeting point of the two gables.

The east elevation contains two further high-level windows in partially blocked openings. The south elevation has larger windows with timber mullion and transom, and a timber boarded door to the left. The window to the right is a blocked-up doorway, mirroring that on the north elevation; this indicates there were originally four doorways into the meeting house. A small gabled dormer is set just above the wallhead to the left. The west elevation is partially obscured by adjacent buildings and contains a shouldered chimney stack that rises at the ridge.

The interior contains a lobby extending the full width of the building, which features a large brick-lined fireplace with a heavy bressumer. Between the fireplace and rear door is a timber stair to the gallery above, with square newel posts topped by ball finials and a chamfered handrail. The meeting house occupies the remainder of the space and is accessed through a panelled door set within a timber screen. The screen has panels that slide vertically into a lower dado partition, allowing the screen to open and the lobby to be used as overflow space.

The meeting hall is full height, with exposed timber roof structure visible to the collar beams. A tall chamfered pillar with angled bracing supports the main tie beam. The hall retains many historic features including the Travellers bench—used by Quakers who travelled in the ministry—with dado panelling ramping up to the highest bench, and two plainer benches below. Hooks behind the bench are where visitors hung their hats during meetings. The gallery contains two small chambers separated by a timber partition with a historic plank door. The meeting hall can be viewed through removable timber panels within the screen. The screen bears historic graffiti, some dating to the early 19th century. Graffiti is also etched into the glass of one of the windows; this was replicated in the 1980s to commemorate structural repairs to the building. The original roof structure remains in situ, although some timbers have been replaced.