Friends Meeting House - history
Percy St (image courtesy of Chris Ketchell)
Lowgate Meeting House
Friends initially met in individual homes, but in 1678 William Garbutt (a prominent Quaker) sold a property in Lowgate to six other members of the Meeting, and quite probably this was used as a Meeting House. After the Toleration Act of 1689 (when having a Meeting House was legally possible), a new deed was drawn up conveying this property to twelve new Trustees. This occurred in 1709 and the premises were registered as a Meeting House. In 1780, a larger Meeting House was built in the garden of this property. This building appears on the Ordnance Survey of 1856, although by that time it had passed out of the ownership of Friends, having been sold to the Odd fellows in 1853. There are no known illustrations of this building, although the property on Lowgate behind which it is situated, is shown in an F.S. Smith drawing of c. 1895. The Meeting's archives contain some accounts showing repairs and refurbishment of this property. None of these buildings now exist. The site is opposite the eastern end of the Guildhall, behind the City Hotel. In 1851, it was felt larger premises were needed and so the Meeting moved to Mason Street. Click here to continue the story.
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