Horsham Quaker Meeting House

The Horsham Quaker Meeting House, with an attached cottage, was built in 1786. A small extension was added to the rear in 1939.

The meeting house and cottage are constructed of red brick laid in Flemish bond. The base of the external walls, along with the rear and side elevations, feature burnt headers and bricks laid in English bond. The hipped roof has a central flat section and is covered in handmade tiles; the rear extension has a similar roof.

The building consists of an oblong meeting house and a north-western extension, with a narrower, shorter cottage attached to the north-east.

The meeting house and north-western extension are single-storey. The main elevation faces south-east and includes a porch on that elevation. A cornice of three courses of moulded brick runs below the eaves. The main entrance is through a gabled porch featuring a rubbed and gauged brick archway with two six-panelled doors leading directly into the meeting room. Tall arched windows with metal glazing bars are positioned on either side of the entrance, each set under a comparable brick arch. The south-west elevation has a single sash window with eight-over-eight panes, topped with a fanlight of similar glazing bars. An external square brick chimney stack stands adjacent to the window. Above the roofline of the rear north-western extension are two blocked windows set within segmental brick arches. The extension has a door and a window at each end, with a rear elevation featuring a four-light small-paned central window flanked by two smaller windows.

The attached cottage is two storeys high and has a separate hipped and tiled roof, with one chimney stack near the east corner. Its front elevation contains two eight-over-eight sash windows and a four-panelled front door with a later canopy over it. The rear elevation has been altered; ground-floor windows and a door have concrete lintels, while upper-floor metal windows have brick lintels constructed of soldier courses.

The meeting room inside is square, with a suspended timber floor and a suspended ceiling incorporating new acoustic panels. Dado panelling curves upwards behind the former elders’ and ministers’ stand, which is opposite the entrance. A dais runs around three sides of the room, with fixed benches in place. Four Tobin’s Tubes, short metal ventilation flues with external grilles that draw in fresh air, are located in the corners. The room is lit by three windows and new pendant lights. The extension provides a kitchen, a smaller meeting room, and toilet facilities.