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

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Imposing, two storey rock-faced stone building with stepped red brick dressings to jambs, located within the Derrymore Demense with access via gravel drive from Derrymore Road to the north. Footprint of meeting house “T” shaped with gable ends and having inset hipped roof to north elevation. Located within a wooded enclave and containing burial plots to the East and South.

Principal elevation, containing main entrance north facing which is asymmetrically arranged with gable front to left and having two equally arranged windows at ground and first floor. Hipped roof portion to right with projecting stone eaves and centrally located entrance door flanked with windows either side and three at first floor. Natural slate roof with flush gable verges and plain corbelled chimney at apex. Rock faced stone to walls with raised stone quoins at outer corners and projecting stone plinth to base of walls. Elliptic headed windows with dressed red brick surrounds with two over two painted timber framed windows, externally fixed protective mesh screens and stone cills. Panelled double entrance door with fanlight over. Cast iron rainwater goods throughout.

Rear, south facing elevation, with external finishes as described above and having projecting gable to RHS with flush verges. Dressed brick surround to high level bulls eye window located below apex of gable and having two equally arranged elliptic, rectangular windows at ground and first floor. To left, first floor flat roof extension, having small rectangular windows and covered, external tiled porch beneath, with simple Doric stone column support which connects projecting gable with remainder of façade. Remainder of elevation consists of two equally arranged windows at both ground and first floor. Rock faced stone to walls with raised stone quoins at outer corners and projecting stone plinth to base of walls and with projecting stone eaves. Cast iron rainwater goods as described before.

East elevation, gable ended with projecting stone eaves and containing three double height six paned timber windows, spaced equidistant across façade. Window surrounds with projecting quoins, stone plinth and rainwater goods as before. Small window to RHS at first floor.

West elevation, with external finishes as described above and having projecting gable to RHS with flush verge. Dressed brick surround to high level bulls eye window located below apex of gable. Projecting stone eaves extends across projecting gable with two equally arranged elliptic arch, rectangular windows at ground and first floor. Recessed portion of elevation to left with hipped roof above stone eaves and with two windows, centrally position above each other. Rock faced stone to walls with raised stone quoins at outer corners and projecting stone plinth to base of walls.

The Meeting House is set within Derrymore Demesne (Historic Parks, Gardens and Demesnes ref A-013/024) and the mature
setting contains burial areas to the East and South. Vehicular/pedestrian access from Derrymore Road to the north via ascending gravel laneway. The heavily wooded environment which surrounds the Meeting House enhances the attractiveness and inherent appeal of the setting.

Roofing: Natural slate.
Walling: Random rubblestone.
Windows: Timber frame.
RWG: Metal

Historical information

The Friends’ Meeting House at Bessbrook was constructed in 1864, and was formally opened on the 16th September of that year. The somewhat austere building reflects the Quaker faith of its builder John Grubb Richardson, founder of Bessbrook model village, and remains much as originally constructed, with a particularly fine original interior.

The settlement now known as Bessbrook was initially the location of a bleach green and linen business established in 1761 by John Pollock who is thought to have named the settlement ‘Bessbrook’ after his wife, Elizabeth. Joseph Nicholson & Sons subsequently leased the property from William Pollock in 1802 followed by John Grubb Richardson, a prominent Quaker and head of a linen bleaching and warehousing firm, who had family connections to the Nicholsons. Richardson took over Bessbrook in 1845, with the intention of establishing a model village along the lines of a William Penn (founder of Pennsylvania) settlement. Richardson had been influenced by a visit to the US in 1841 and was motivated by industrial ambitions but also social concerns for the welfare of his workers, arising from his Quaker beliefs. A Quaker meeting was established at Bessbrook in 1858, meeting initially in a private room and then in a room over the village co-operative shop.

Having sold an inherited estate in Co Tyrone, in 1863 Richardson became the sole owner of the entire business, works and village of Bessbrook. Building works at the village accelerated after this time and included the construction of the Friends’ Meeting House, built by John Grubb Richardson on land beside his newly constructed home ‘The Woodhouse’. Prior to the construction of the Meeting House the only dedicated place of worship in the village was a Presbyterian church which had opened in 1856, but subsequently churches were built for all denominations. The Friends’ Meeting House was added to valuation records in 1868, the building being valued at £30.

The architect of the meeting house is unknown, but the Richardsons are known to have employed civil engineers for constructing mill buildings and at least one engineer designed buildings elsewhere in the village in 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, and the plain appearance, together with the open interiors supported by beams and columns, are somewhat suggestive of industrial architecture. However, the lack of adornment is principally an expression of the puritan roots of Quakerism, ‘which is nourished by an inward faith and shuns elaborate symbolism’.

The meeting house is constructed of granite from the Bessbrook quarries. The existence of granite quarries was one of the reasons why Bessbrook was chosen as the site for the model village – the first edition map shows an ‘old quarry’ in Carrickbrackan townland, and by the third edition this area is captioned ‘Quarries’ with workers housed in the adjacent ‘Rock Row’.
The large meeting room (seating 250) contains pews and a raised row for the seating of elders with two stepped side lofts (seating 120, with room for 150 in an adjoining loft space). A women’s meeting room (although men and women worshipped together, women’s meetings for church affairs were held separately) below has a small gallery for ministers and seats 100, the two rooms being separated by sliding shutters. The upper floor also contained accommodation for a caretaker. The meeting house was provided with ducted warm air heating and gas for lighting from the mill gasworks after 1870. Electric light was installed c1932.

The adjoining burial ground was first used in 1865 and has c300 recorded burials, although only about 50 of these bear grave markers. Headstones are of a uniform height, with simple inscriptions, according to the regulations of the Society of Friends, and often include the Quaker terms for days of the week and months of the year e.g. First Day, First Month etc. The uniformity in burial markers is intended to discourage social differences and is intended to serve as a reminder that, ‘God is no respecter of persons’.
The setting of the meeting house, within the oak wood of Derrymore, was chosen as a secluded place beyond the bustle of the village itself. Silence being a key element of Quaker services, the tranquillity of the location was thought to be an aid to worship.

The model village at Bessbrook attracted Quakers from further afield and by 1884, there were 236 members and 110 attenders of Bessbrook meeting. However, the average Sunday attendance had dropped to 20-30 by the 1930s. The First General Revaluation of 1933 states that the meeting house was ‘well-constructed’ with a ‘very good repair and finish’. The caretaker’s accommodation comprised a kitchen, scullery bedroom and WC/bathroom and M Honeyford was the live-in caretaker at this time.

The meeting house and burial ground continue in use (2023) and externally and internally there have been few changes since the meeting house was first built. The former women’s cloakroom is now a kitchen and the caretaker’s quarters are no longer occupied.

References:

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/2/26/1 – First Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1834-35)
2. PRONI OS/6/2/26/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1861)
3. PRONI OS/6/2/26/3 – Third Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1906)
4. PRONI OS/6/2/26/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1956)
5. Newry Herald, 17th September 1864
6. PRONI VAL/12/B/15/1A-K – Annual Revisions (1866-1929)
7. PRONI VAL/3/C/2/13 – First General Revaluation NI (1936-1957)
8. PRONI VAL/3/D/2/6/L/3 – Valuer’s Binder (1933-1957)
9. Large scale Ordnance Survey maps 1906, 1956, 1971 (www.centremapslive.co.uk)

Secondary Sources:

1. Bessbrook: The Model Village 1845-1995 (Anniversary Publication)
2. Butler, David M. (2004) The Quaker Meeting Houses of Ireland. Dublin: Irish Friends Historical Committee
3. Harrison, R. S. (2008) The Richardsons of Bessbrook: Ulster Quakers in the Linen Industry (1845-1921) Dublin: Original Writing
4. The History of Bessbrook Meeting (www.bessbrookmeeting.org)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
D. Plan Form
I. Quality and survival of Interior
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
U. Historic Associations
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
Z. Rarity
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

A well-preserved Quaker Meeting House constructed in 1864 within Derrymore Demesne. The somewhat austere building reflects the Quaker faith of its builder John Grubb Richardson, founder of Bessbrook model village, and remains much as originally constructed, with a particularly fine original interior. While the architect of the meeting house 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 in 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, and the plain appearance constructed in local Carrickbrackan granite, together with the open interiors supported by beams and columns, with purposeful lack of adornment is principally an expression of the puritan roots of Quakerism, ‘which is nourished by an inward faith and shuns elaborate symbolism’. The building is surrounded by adjoining burial ground which was first used in 1865 and has c300 recorded burials, although only about 50 of these bear grave markers. Headstones are of a uniform height, with simple inscriptions, according to the regulations of the Society of Friends, and often include the Quaker terms for days of the week and months of the year e.g. First Day, First Month etc. The uniformity in burial markers is intended to discourage social differences and is intended to serve as a reminder that, ‘God is no respecter of persons’.

The setting of the meeting house, within the oak wood of Derrymore, was chosen as a secluded place beyond the bustle of the village itself. Silence being a key element of Quaker services, the tranquillity of the location was thought to be an aid to worship. The meeting house and burial ground continue in use (2023) and externally and internally there have been few changes since the Meeting House was first conceived.