Originally built as a barn, purchased in 1686, south of the present meeting house, the current building was rebuilt here in 1718. Then again in 1768. In 1798 the meeting house was rebuilt yet again incorporating the 1718 date stone. On the day of my visit the builders were in yet again, relaying the flagstone path and re-pointing the walls.
The meeting house is a typical Dales building made of local sandstone, weathered with age, flagstone roof with wooden gutters, probably lead lined.
Inside the meeting house is a simple design with cushioned benches with back rests on a wooden floor. To the left of the porch is a concession to modernism, a toilet and kitchen in what may have been the women's meeting area or stable. Above these two rooms is another floor used for storage, possibly a hay loft. The stairs are stone.
The surrounding grass area is used as an active burial ground and a list of those there are listed at Lancashire Family History and Heraldry Society (
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Some history from a talk given. "By 1680 Friends in Bentham had grown sufficiently strong to embark on establishing a meeting house. A barn and land were bought at Town Head, Low Bentham, for £11 plus 3s 4d for solicitor's fees (at 1.5% less excessive than those today), by a trust consisting of four Friends—Thomas Shirrow, grocer of Wray; John Carr, husbandman of Bentham; John Tatham, joiner of Tatham and Elizabeth Moore, widow of Ousegill. The money was raised by subscriptions and 60 Friends contributed to the cost, amongst whom the names of Tennant, Kendal, Wildman and Cumberland were prominent.
Meanwhile Friends were still unpopular with the establishment and in 1670, under the Conventicle Act of 1664, Sam Watson was fined £15 for holding a Quaker Meeting at Eldroth Hall and in 1682 Giles Moore of Overgails was fined £20 for having "a peaceable meeting" in his house, both excessive sums in those days.
By 1692, in Bentham, more land was bought to enlarge the burial ground at Town Head, the old ground being recorded as quite full. This was walled in 1703, a workman being engaged to do so. The burial ground was further enlarged in 1710 when an adjacent close called "Wiggonber" was acquired for this purpose. At the same time the accommodation for the living in Meetings must have been getting quite tight as steps were taken to acquire Calf Cop. On the 2nd day of 3rd month, 1718, (Friends originally rejected the widely accepted names of the days and months as being derived, as they were, from the names of pagan gods), John Moore reported that he had purchased the estate of Calf Cop from Thomas Gibson and his mother, in the names of himself, Stephen Sedgewick, James Tatham and John Kendal "to accommodate us with better convenience than we have had hitherto".
It seems to have taken Friends a long time to collect the necessary funds to get on with building their new Meeting House for it was not until 1760 that the original house was demolished and the materials used to build the new Meeting House which is still in use at Calf Cop. This was completed in 1768, the stone over the doorway, dated 1718, having come from the earlier building. Over this period the number of members in Bentham remained fairly constant at between 50 and 60. In a letter dated 28th 6th month 1817, from John Yeardly to his wife he wrote about their contemplated move to Bentham to take up employment in the new Flax Mills that "It is a small meeting indeed; there are only about two female Friends", who were Mary Townson and Grace Bellman who died in 1855 and 1867 respectively.
After the fall in numbers in the early eighteen hundreds Quakerism in Bentham evidently recovered for in 1864 a new and much larger Meeting House in High Bentham was commenced on land adjoining what is now Tweed Street. Much of the cost was borne by the Rice family of Grove Hill whose house is now the Freemasons Hall—and (along with John Rowntree of York) one of the main contributors was John Thomas Rice who was also a director of Bentham Mills Ltd. The new Meeting House was completed two years later. John Thomas Rice died in 1872 leaving £500 in trust to his widow who died in 1910 and Friends still benefit from this trust today. In 1877 the old Flax Mills in Low Bentham were bought by the firm of Benson Ford & Co. and the 100 years association of Quakers, the spinning of natural silk and Low Bentham commenced."
from Quakerism in Bentham (
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References
Donald A Rooksby - And sometime Upon the hills
Links
Lancashire Family History and Heraldry Society (
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Quakerism in Bentham (
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Streetmap (
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