Information for record number MWA2110:
Friends' Meeting House, Church Street, Shipston on Stour

Summary A Quaker Friends' Meeting House dating to the Post Medieval period. It is now used as a public library and is located in Church Street, Shipston on Stour.
What Is It?  
Type: House, Friends Meeting House, Public Library, Friends Burial Ground
Period: Post-medieval - Modern (1540 AD - 1986 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Shipston on Stour
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 25 40
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Friends' Meeting House. Stone. Modern tile roof. Stone mullions and dripmould.
2 S of the church near the S end of church St. Of c1689, an adapted cottage with one mullioned window to the street.
3 Built c1690 and now used as a public library. Roof reconstructed c1887. Interior 7.9m by 9.1m.
4 A building survey took place in 2015 as part of a national programme funded by Historic England. This included a detailed architectural recording, photographs, sketch plans and an assessment of heritage value. Friends began to meet in Shipston-on-Stour during the seventeenth century, possibly as early as 1655, and by 1682 the membership was recorded as being at seventyeight. As a result of increasing members a cottage was leased and converted for use as a meeting House from the Dean and Chapter of Worcester Cathedral from 1685. By 1690, the cottages were demolished and a purpose built meeting House was built in 1690-92. The meeting House remained largely unaltered until the nineteenth century when work was undertaken to insert a room over the meeting House for an Adult School in 1887/8. The gabled roof was removed and the eaves raised allowing for the upper room to be constructed. Internally, a new staircase was introduced to the north west, a new stand was built on the south side of the meeting room and two timber columns, which were no longer needed to support the loft and roof structure, were relocated to the east side of the meeting room. During the First World War membership numbers of both the meeting and Adult School declined. During the 1920s the meeting House became an important venue for vocational training for young men. By 1956, the Shipston Meeting had ceased and the building was leased to Warwickshire County Council as a public library from 1995-6. Permission was granted by Stratford-on-Avon District Council in October 1993 for the construction of an extension to the meeting House to provide additional space for the county library service. The work was undertaken at the expense of the Friends, at a cost of £65,000, and was designed by Warwickshire County Council.
5
6 A burial ground is marked on the OS 1st and 2nd edition behind the meeting House.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: LBL
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1960
Page Number: 5
Volume/Sheet: Stratford-on-Avon Ru
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: The Buildings of England: Warwickshire
Author/originator: Pevsner N and Wedgwood A
Date: 1966
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Warwicks
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Map
Title: 1st edition 1:2500
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1882-1889
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Map
Title: 2nd edition 1:2500
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1900-1905
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Monograph
Title: Nonconformist Chapels and Meeting-houses: Herefordshire, Worcestershire & Warwickshire
Author/originator: C F Stell
Date: 1986
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Friends Meeting House, Shipston-on-Stour, Historic Building Record
Author/originator: Neil, E.
Date: 2015
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source LBL Listed Building List. Buildings and structures, such as bridges, that are of architectural or historical importance are placed on a list. Buildings placed on the list are protected through various planning and conservation acts which ensure that their special features of interest are considered before any alterations are made to them. The Listed Buildings List is compiled and maintained by English Heritage. It includes details of where the building is, when it was built, a description of its appearance, and any other special features. back
period Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		back
period Medieval 1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)

The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.

The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.

The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
more -> 		back
period Post Medieval About 1540 AD to 1750 AD (the 16th century AD to the 18th century AD)

The Post Medieval period comes after the medieval period and before the Imperial period.

This period covers the second half of the reign of the Tudors (1485 – 1603), the reign of the Stuarts (1603 – 1702) and the beginning of the reign of the Hannoverians (1714 – 1836).
more -> 		back
period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument LIBRARY * A building, room or suite of rooms where books, or other materials, are classified by subject and stored for use by the library's members. back
monument SCHOOL * An establishment in which people, usually children, are taught. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE * A place of worship for members of the Religious Society of Friends, often known as Quakers. The Religious Society of Friends is a denomination founded by George Fox in c.1650 who believed in passivist principles and a rejection of the sacrament. back
monument PUBLIC LIBRARY * A library for use of the public. back
monument NONCONFORMIST CHAPEL * A place of worship for members of Protestant sects dissenting from the established Church. back
monument BURIAL * An interment of human or animal remains. Use specific type where known. If component use with wider site type. Use FUNERARY SITE for optimum retrieval in searches. back
monument COLUMN * Use for free standing column. back
monument FRIENDS BURIAL GROUND * A place of burial for members of the Religious Society of Friends, often known as Quakers. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument CATHEDRAL * The principal church of a diocese in which the cathedra or bishop's throne is to be found. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record