Friends Meeting House 17 Derrymore Road Bessbrook Co. Down BT35 7DN

Friends Meeting House, Bessbrook, County Down

Built in 1864 and formally opened on 16th September of that year, this is a well-preserved Quaker Meeting House constructed within Derrymore Demesne for John Grubb Richardson, founder of the Bessbrook model village. It remains much as originally built, with a particularly fine original interior, and both the building and its adjoining burial ground continue in use as of 2023.

Historical Background

The settlement now known as Bessbrook originated as a bleach green and linen business established in 1761 by John Pollock, who is thought to have named it after his wife, Elizabeth. Joseph Nicholson and Sons subsequently leased the property from William Pollock in 1802. John Grubb Richardson — a prominent Quaker and head of a linen bleaching and warehousing firm with family connections to the Nicholsons — took over Bessbrook in 1845, intending to establish a model village along the lines of a William Penn settlement. Richardson had been influenced by a visit to the United States in 1841, motivated both by industrial ambitions and by social concern for his workers' welfare arising from his Quaker beliefs. A Quaker meeting was established at Bessbrook in 1858, initially meeting in a private room and later in a room above the village co-operative shop. Having sold an inherited estate in County Tyrone, Richardson became sole owner of the entire business, works and village in 1863, after which building works accelerated. The Meeting House was built on land beside his newly constructed home, The Woodhouse.

Prior to its construction, the only dedicated place of worship in the village was a Presbyterian church opened in 1856, though churches for all denominations were subsequently built. The Meeting House was added to valuation records in 1868, assessed at £30. The model village attracted Quakers from further afield and by 1884 there were 236 members and 110 attenders of Bessbrook meeting, though average Sunday attendance had fallen to between 20 and 30 by the 1930s. The First General Revaluation of 1933 described the building as well-constructed and in very good repair and finish.

Architect and Construction

The architect is unknown. The Richardsons are known to have employed civil engineers for constructing mill buildings, and at least one engineer designed buildings elsewhere in the village during the closing decades of the 19th century. It is possible, therefore, that an engineering employee of the spinning firm drew up the designs for the Meeting House. The scale and mass of the building, its open interiors supported by beams and columns, and its plain appearance are somewhat suggestive of industrial architecture — though the lack of adornment is principally an expression of the puritan roots of Quakerism, which, as has been observed, is nourished by an inward faith and shuns elaborate symbolism.

The building is constructed of rock-faced granite from the Bessbrook quarries, the existence of which was one of the reasons Bessbrook was chosen as the site for the model village. The first edition Ordnance Survey map shows an old quarry in Carrickbrackan townland; by the third edition this area is captioned Quarries, with workers housed in the adjacent Rock Row.

Exterior

The Meeting House is an imposing two-storey rock-faced stone building with a T-shaped footprint, gable ends, and an inset hipped roof to the north elevation. The walls throughout are of random rubblestone with raised stone quoins at the outer corners, a projecting stone plinth at the base, and stepped red brick dressings to the jambs of the openings. The roof is natural slate with flush gable verges, projecting stone eaves, and a plain corbelled chimney at the apex. Cast iron rainwater goods are used throughout.

The principal, north-facing elevation contains the main entrance and is asymmetrically arranged. To the left is a gable front with two equally spaced windows at ground and first floor. To the right, the hipped roof portion has a centrally placed entrance door flanked by windows on either side and three windows at first floor level. The entrance is formed by a panelled double door with a fanlight above. Windows throughout are elliptically headed with dressed red brick surrounds, two-over-two painted timber frames, externally fixed protective mesh screens, and stone cills.

The south-facing rear elevation shares the same materials and detailing. To the right is a projecting gable with flush verges, a dressed brick surround to a bullseye window high up below the apex, and two equally arranged elliptical rectangular windows at ground and first floor. To the left is a first-floor flat-roof extension with small rectangular windows and, beneath it, a covered external tiled porch supported by a simple Doric stone column, which connects the projecting gable with the remainder of the façade. The remainder of this elevation has two equally arranged windows at both ground and first floor.

The east elevation is gable-ended with projecting stone eaves and contains three double-height, six-paned timber windows spaced equidistantly across the façade, with a small additional window to the right at first floor level. The west elevation mirrors the general character of the building, with a projecting gable to the right having flush verges and a dressed brick surround to a bullseye window below the apex. The projecting stone eaves extend across this gable, with two equally arranged elliptical arch rectangular windows at ground and first floor. The recessed portion to the left has a hipped roof above the stone eaves and two windows positioned centrally above each other.

Interior

The large meeting room seats 250 and contains pews and a raised row for the seating of elders, along with two stepped side lofts seating 120, with room for a further 150 in an adjoining loft space. Below is a women's meeting room — used for women's meetings for church affairs, though men and women worshipped together — which has a small gallery for ministers and seats 100. The two rooms are separated by sliding shutters. The upper floor originally also contained caretaker's accommodation, comprising a kitchen, scullery, bedroom and WC/bathroom. After 1870 the building was provided with ducted warm-air heating and gas lighting supplied from the mill gasworks. Electric light was installed around 1932.

Alterations and Current Condition

There have been few changes since the Meeting House was first built. The former women's cloakroom has been converted to a kitchen, and the caretaker's quarters are no longer occupied.

Setting and Burial Ground

The Meeting House is set within the oak wood of Derrymore Demesne (Historic Parks, Gardens and Demesnes reference A-013/024), approached from Derrymore Road to the north via an ascending gravel laneway. Burial areas lie to the east and south. The wooded setting was deliberately chosen as a secluded place beyond the bustle of the village, silence being a key element of Quaker worship and the tranquillity of the location being considered an aid to it.

The adjoining burial ground was first used in 1865 and has approximately 300 recorded burials, of which only around 50 bear grave markers. Headstones are of uniform height with simple inscriptions in accordance with the regulations of the Society of Friends, and frequently use Quaker terms for days of the week and months of the year — for example, First Day and First Month. This uniformity is intended to discourage social distinction and to serve as a reminder that God is no respecter of persons.