Farfield Friends Meeting House, West Yorkshire

The Quaker movement (also known as the Society of Friends) emerged in the North of England in the years after the English Civil War. The burial ground at Farfield was gifted to the fledgling Quaker community there in 1666 by the then Lord of the tiny manor — leading local Quaker, Anthony Myers.

Following the passing of the Act of Toleration in 1689, which allowed most Protestant dissenters to worship publicly in England, Myers gave further land, adjacent to the burial ground, and built a meeting house.

The building now standing is very much that original structure. All is in a vernacular style similar to a Yorkshire stone cottage of the late 17th century. It is largely rubble-built, with a flagstone floor. The stone roof is open to the rafters with no ceiling. The windows might once have had lattice leadwork, if they were glazed at all.

Inside, the simple interior has retained its original furnishings, including oak benches running along two walls and an oak ministers’ stand under the west window. This is of an unusual design and, in contrast to the plainness of the rest of the building, has turned balusters in the central section – a little touch of domestic decoration. Its remarkable preservation is due to this group of Friends having moved their meetings to nearby Addingham by the early 19th century, with the building continuing in Quaker ownership.

The burial ground is unusual in that it contains several gravestones and a group of chest tombs, the latter to the Myers family. Quakers were not usually permitted to have grave markers prior to the mid 19th century.

The building was put up for sale in 1954. Shortly after, the meeting house was listed at Grade II* and the walls and chest tombs at Grade II. An offer was made for £150, which would have led to ‘improvements’, but it was outbid by four influential Friends, and put to use as an artist’s studio. From 1994 until 2024 it was cared for by the Historic Chapels Trust, and is now in the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.

In 2017, the tremendous historical significance of Farfield Meeting House was highlighted when it became the only Nonconformist building to be included in the Faith and Belief category of the Historic England project, Irreplaceable: A History of England in 100 Places.