This book provides a fascinating account of the architecture and historical development of the Quaker meeting house from the foundation of the movement to the twenty-first century. The Quaker meeting house is a distinctive building type used as a place of worship by members of the Society of Friends (Quakers). Starting with buildings of the late-seventeenth century, the book maps how the changing beliefs and practices of Quakers over the last 350 years have affected the architecture of the meeting house. The buildings considered are illustrated, predominantly in colour, and are from England, Scotland and Wales, with some consideration of colonial American examples. The book commences with an introduction which provides an accessible account of the early history of Quakerism and it concludes with a consideration of whether there is a Quaker architectural style and of what it might consist.

About the Author
Chris Skidmore is a retired university lecturer who has been a member of the Religious Society of Friends for more than thirty years. His interest in Nonconformist architecture and history has grown over that time: he has been for the last 13 years the Hon. Editor of The Chapels Society. Despite long experience as an editor and publisher, this is his first book as an author.

Reviews
'The need for a separate up-to-date chronological account [of Quaker buildings] has at last been met by this new book by Chris Skidmore... The author has resisted just reshuffling buildings from the Meeting Houses Heritage Project into their chronological sequence. His book proudly transcends any paste-and-scissors ancestry.'
Hastings Quakers Newsletter
'With plentiful and splendid illustrations... Quakers now have their Historic England volume to go with Christopher Martin's work on Roman Catholic churches - if every denomination had an up to date volume of this sort and quality the library of non-conformist buildings would be well endowed indeed.'
Stuart Leadley, The Chapels Society Newsletter
'[Quakers and their Meeting Houses] is the most comprehensive account of the historical development of Quaker worship spaces and certainly the best illustrated. It deserves wide readership: reading it will pay great dividends. The book is like a fine meal which takes one at the right pace through a whole range of beautifully presented and arranged courses, with unexpected and delightful additions waiting to delight at each stage.'
Pink Dandelion, Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre
'Chris Skidmore provides a detailed history of the Quakers from their origins in the 17th century to the present day. This information provides a vital context to understanding the development of Quaker meeting houses... Nonconformist built heritage is receiving due attention as publications of this high quality emerge'.
Jennifer Freeman, SAVE Britain's Heritage
'[Quakers and their Meeting Houses] is admirable and satisfies its ambition to make meeting houses accessible in a quite literal way.'
Ann Marie Akehurst, Quaker Studies
'Chris Skidmore has provided a wide-ranging and thoughtful survey which at the same time succeeds in presenting a wealth of local detail.'
Angus Winchester, The Local Historian
'The book is beautifully and carefully produced, full of photographs and drawings, and supplied with a very helpful glossary of the many architectural terms used in the book.'
Brian Drayton, Friends Journal

'This is a slim, trim, but weighty contribution to three distinct yet overlapping aspects of architectural history... beautifully and relevantly illustrated... Skidmore's technical descriptions, worthy of Pevsner at his most austere, will be invaluable to all who decipher the layers of change complicating any working building.' Clyde Binfield, Ecclesiology Today

'Generously illustrated, well produced and written in an accessible style, the book is a pleasure to read.'
Marion Barter, Context



Book Information
ISBN 9781800857209
Author Chris Skidmore
Format Hardback
Page Count 176
Imprint Historic England
Publisher Liverpool University Press