Friends Meeting House Stramongate
On the south side of Stramongate, adjacent to 53 Stramongate, it also has a face on to New Road. NGR: 351776 492806 Lat/Long: 54.328580, -2.743005 LA9 4BH)
Curwen, 1900
Those who are fortunate enough to possess a copy of John Todd's plan will there see a goof plan of the original Friends' Meeting House, constructed about 1688, and which, when taken down, was found to have been built with clay, instead of lime mortar. On the door was discovered the date 1688, and it is probable that the Society was introduced into the town by George Fox about 1645. As confirmatory to this date of building, I would refer to the inscription which was scratched upon a cottage window pane in refernce to the height of the flood, as given on page 22.
The illustration on next page, shows the steps that led up from Yard 59 to the gallery of the chapel over a portion of the caretaker's house.
The burial ground must also have been in use in these early days, as we find that one of the preachers is recorded to have been buried here on the 24th day of September, 1743. As I have just intimated, the ground was enclosed on the Stramongate side be a high wall and large folding gates, over which a few aged trees reared their heads as guardians of the portal.
The present building was erected in the year 1815, nearly on the same site, to accommodate 1,200 people.
The Sunday School was first started in the Meeting House about the year 1830, but the classes became discontinued in 1839. Soon after another attempt was made, with little better success, for we find that the school again dwindled away about 1856. However, in February, 1859, the scheme was resuscitated, the boys meeting in a room in Black Hall Croft, and the girls in the Meeting House. Two years later the boys moved to a room on the New Road apposite to J Ireland & Co's works, and from this time the classes seemed gradually to grow, insomuch that in the year 1869 and 1875 more rooms in the same building had to be added. At last Stramongate Hall was built in 1880 to accommodate both sexes, and the school has ever since increased in usefulness.
