Guildford Quaker Meeting House

The Guildford Quaker Meeting House was built between 1804 and 1806 to a design by John Bevans, a Quaker architect from Plaistow, with subsequent additions. It is of group value, contributing to the character and significance of the local area.

The main building is constructed of red brick in a Flemish bond pattern, topped with a hipped slate roof. The porch is similarly built but uses a stretcher bond brick pattern. A red brick extension to the south mirrors the main building’s design, also with a hipped slate roof. The building's layout is oblong, with a porch facing west and a lower extension to the south, also with a porch.

The main building’s west-facing elevation has dentilated eaves. It features two large sash windows with 24 panes set within segmental brick arches on the north side of the porch. Below the porch, single-pane sash windows with 16 panes are visible on both the ground and first floors. The north elevation has a single sash window with 20 panes. A brick chimney is situated at the north-east corner, while the south elevation has a single arched metal casement window serving the upper room.

The south extension has a metal ventilator flue on its roof and a 16-pane sash window facing west. A small brick lean-to porch with a window next to a part-glazed door connects the main building to the extension.

Inside the main porch, inscribed bricks bear the date 1805 and the initials of the founding individuals. The main meeting room is ceiled and features timber dado panelling and a carpeted timber floor. A two-tier stand is positioned on the north wall, adorned with turned end pillars on the two flights of steps. A built-in cupboard is located in the north-west corner, while a folding partition with glazed panels and further panelling runs along the south wall. A large chimneybreast is sited against the east wall, and the room is lit by two small, high-level metal windows. An adjoining, smaller meeting room has a folding partition to divide it into two spaces, and a large chimneybreast against the east wall.

A staircase with a square newel and square balusters leads to a first-floor room, which also contains a blocked chimneybreast to the east. The south extension includes a children’s room with vertical dado panelling and a blocked chimneybreast; it is adjacent to a small kitchen and toilets.