Painswick Quaker Meeting House

The Painswick Quaker Meeting House was built in 1706 and modified in 1793-4. It is constructed of squared limestone ashlar with a steep slated roof, which likely replaced original stone slates.

The building has a rectangular plan, consisting of a single room on the ground floor, with additional rooms above used historically for a schoolroom, accommodation for travelling ministers, and women’s business meetings.

The original entrance was centrally located on the south elevation, and the date 1706 is inscribed in the cambered stone lintel above this blocked doorway. Since 1794, the main entrance is on the east gable end, featuring a moulded surround, a slightly peaked head, and a gabled hood supported by long wooden brackets. A pair of thick, ledged and boarded doors, with substantial iron strap hinges, lead into an entrance lobby. Above the entrance are two mullioned and transomed timber casement windows with rectangular panes, set high in the gable, and protected by a continuous drip moulding. Square chimney stacks with moulded cappings top the gables.

The south front incorporates the blocked central doorway and is flanked by two 18th-century sash windows, each with twelve panes over twelve, and timber lintels. The west elevation has two six-over-six sash windows on the first floor and a low WC addition built in 2013 at ground-floor level. The north elevation is plain and includes a store at its north-western corner.

Inside, the entrance lobby features a late 18th-century unpainted panelled partition with fixed shutters, and a staircase leading to the first floor. A modern kitchenette has been installed within the lobby. The main meeting room measures 9.06 by 7.16m and has heavy stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops to a six-compartment ceiling. A raised stand is situated at the west end, featuring a panelled front and a plain deal boarded dado. A painted vertical boarded dado runs around the remaining space, with ramps rising over the unpainted dado at the west end. The walls and ceiling are plastered, and the floor is finished with modern pine boarding. Above the stand, evidence of a previously blocked window is visible.

The late 18th-century staircase in the entrance lobby is constructed of unpainted timber with a closed string, stick balusters, turned newels, and moulded handrails. It ascends to the first floor, which includes a wide boarded floor, a fireplace, and two windows at each end. The first floor also contains a kitchen, WC, and a library/meeting room.