Barrow Wife

Barrow Wife, formerly known as Friends' Meeting House, is a 17th-century building located on Upper Allithwaite Height Road. The datestone indicates it was built in 1677. Constructed from stone rubble with a slate roof, it stands two storeys high and features four bays, with the third bay showcasing a large two-storey gabled porch. The first two bays contain large windows with small-paned casements, which replaced sash windows added in 1772. The third bay has a small round-headed window on the first floor, while the fourth bay features windows with small-paned fixed glazing, including an opening light on the first floor. Above the round arch of the porch is the datestone, and the entrance has a wide-boarded door with a latch and strap hinges. There is a gable-end stack, and the left side has a 20th-century inserted window. The rear of the building includes a later outbuilding with a catslide roof.

Inside, the building retains 17th-century bolection-moulded panelling to the right of the entrance, with upper panels that are hinged and were formerly part of the gallery for the meeting house. There is a balcony over the entrance, and the staircase features turned balusters. Later panelling is found on the gable-end wall, and there are some two-panelled doors. The room under the gallery has additional panelling and a bench inscribed with "HBM 1714," along with a spice cupboard with a door. The high front garden wall includes an entrance in the porch, which has a gabled roof. This building is a rare early example of a Friends' Meeting House, with very few constructed before the Act of Toleration in 1689.