Quaker News Archive: July 2007

29th July 2007

Jordans Meeting House

Jordans Meeting House - a Grade 1 listed building dating from 1688, with an adjoining Stable Block added and enlarged through the 18th-19th centuries, and a modern rear extension constructed in 1958 - was badly damaged by fire in 2005. The fire burnt out the roof of the 1688 building and of the Stable Block, and left smoke and water damage inside. Most of the furniture, pictures and historic documents survived and have been conserved, but much of the extension - including the library of modern books and the warden's flat - was destroyed.

Today the Meeting House is rising from the ashes, and will take its place again as an outstanding example of an early Quaker building, simple but beautiful, in a peaceful rural setting in attractive wooded countryside just south of Jordans village and east of Beaconsfield town. Its original architectural features and historic links - William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, and other 17th century Quakers are buried in its grounds - make it an important centre of pilgrimage as well as a place of religious worship.

The 1688 building has been carefully restored under the guidance of English Heritage and Chiltern District Council's historic buildings conservation officer. It has a new roof, using new timbers to supplement and strengthen the original ones which survived the fire, covered by hand-fired clay tiles. Inside, the walls, ceilings, panelling, doors and windows have been patched and restored, using 17th century materials and techniques. This part of the project was completed in Spring 2007, apart from final redecoration and connection of heating and lighting.

We have planning permission and listed building consent to demolish the 1958 extension and build a slightly larger replacement, in a design more sympathetic to the style of the 17th century building, and linked to it via a refurbished Stable Block. The new extension and refurbished Stable Block will provide a more attractive sheltered entrance area, a new library and resource centre, heritage display space and other visitor facilities, more flexible additional meeting rooms, better kitchen and lavatories, and a residential flat. There will be a wheelchair-accessible lift linking different levels throughout the buildings, and improved car-parking and visitor access. These parts of the project started in Summer 2007 and should be completed early in 2008. Then the whole site will be reopened for regular Quaker worship and other activities, and for visitors.

The whole project will cost about £1.25 million. Most of this will be covered by fire insurance, but we have to meet the cost of the "improvements" ourselves. We have launched a public appeal to raise funds for this. [See article on Jordans Meeting House Fundraising Appeal ]

Our vision is to create a restored and enhanced Meeting House with better adjacent facilities, enabling it again to be a vibrant place of Quaker worship, witness, outreach and pilgrimage. For "New Jordans", we have exciting plans to work among Quakers and with the local community - including our neighbouring YHA Youth Hostel - to develop programmes (some of them residential) for new educational, peace and reconciliation, arts and cultural activities. These will be rooted in our Quaker values of respect for "that of God" in other people, equality, simplicity, truth and integrity, peace and care for the environment. And we will continue to welcome thousands of students and visitors every year who come to experience this historic Meeting House in its beautiful setting, many as part of a tour of Quaker centres across Britain.

Watch this space for more news!

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