Friends Meeting House

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Single-storey corrugated metal hall set at N end of an earlier churchyard on S side of Newry Street. It is aligned N-S and is five openings wide. To S end of churchyard is the Old Quaker Meeting House (HB16/08/020).

Green painted pitched corrugated metal roof with two ventilation pipes breaking ridge, and a flue pipe rising from centre of E pitch near the ridge. Flat timber skews to projecting plain bargeboards each with timber finial. Matching eaves boards support half-rounded plastic rainwater goods. Walls are of unpainted galvanised corrugated metal on a concrete plinth with decorative ventilation grilles visible to W side.

S gable is blank. There are five windows to the W elevation and two to the N gable. All are 1/1 top-hung timber with timber cills, and external grilles.

E elevation is the mirror of the W but has a projecting porch where the fourth window from left should be. Porch has a pitched corrugated metal roof with leaded ridge and plain timber bargeboard. Plastic rainwater goods on plain eaves boards. Its E gable has a timber entrance door with modern light fitted above. Each cheek has narrow fixed timber window with timber cill and external grille.

Historical information

Built as a large wooden hall during a revival in Quakerism in the 1898 when the rubble granite stone Quaker meeting house was closed following the death of the last Quaker, Mr Joseph Murphy. The building was originally timber sheeted but a local resident states that it was reclad after WW2.

Primary Source:
1. C. Cartmill, “Reminisence in and around Rathfriland” in Public Library John Street Rathfriland.
2. Local resident, Mr Sandy (Alexander) McCauley.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

Timber framed buildings of the late 19thC are now uncommon, and although this one has been re-clad and its windows replaced, it still retains its original interior.