Countersett Quaker Meeting House is a historic building in

Countersett Countersett is the largest of the three settlements in Raydale, around Semerwater in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is in the Yorkshire Dales to the north of the lake. The Boar East and West were once one farm, and before that a pub ...

, a village in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, in England.

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

met in

Countersett Hall Countersett Hall is a Grade II* listed historic building in Countersett, a hamlet in North Yorkshire, in England. The house dates back to the twelfth century in parts – artefacts were discovered during renovations in the 1980s. Richard Robin ...

from the 1650s, initially illegally. From 1710, they instead met in a nearby barn which perhaps dated from the late 16th century. It was altered to make it suitable for worship, and was again altered in 1778, when it passed into the ownership of the Quakers. They used it until 1872, when they moved to a purpose-built structure. The meeting house was purchased by the

Primitive Methodists The Primitive Methodist Church is a Christian denomination within the holiness movement. Originating in early 19th-century England as a revivalist movement within Methodism, it was heavily influenced by American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–18 ...

, who used it until the 1970s. In the 1980s, the Quakers again began meeting in their old building, which they restored in the 1990s. In 2011, a small outbuilding was converted to provide a kitchen and toilet. The building was

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 1986. The single-storey building is constructed of rubble, with a stone slate roof. It has three 12-pane

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...

s, all on the main front, and dating from 1778. The entrance is to the right, and has a plank door. The rear elevation has two infilled windows and a blocked door, which are believed to date from the building's time in use as a barn. Inside, there is a panelled dado and an elders' gallery. Seating is provided by two types of simple bench. The floor has mostly broad floorboards, but there is also a stone slab which previously provided support for a stove, for heating.

References

{{coord, 54.28702, -2.12548, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Bainbridge, North Yorkshire Grade II listed buildings in North Yorkshire Buildings and structures completed in 1710 Quaker meeting houses in North Yorkshire

See also

References