Quaker Meeting Houses of the Lake Counties

David M. Butler

Published by Friends Historical Society, 1978

Uncommon, with fine detailed appealing line drawings and maps, and masses of detailed information, right down to the fashion for sash windows, the distribution of porches, and the installation of iron stoves. Subtitled as "A history and description of all the Quaker meeting houses in the former counties of Cumberland and Westmorland and in the Furness and Sedbergh districts; now the county of Cumbria." Eight chapters cover monthly meetings around Carlisle, Holm, Pardshaw, Caldbeck, Strickland, Kendal, Swarthmore and Sedbergh, with individual entries for 50 or so different places, across about 2500 square miles. Tucked in to the book is the original press release for this book from the Friends Historical Society: "This copy is sent for favour of review in your pages". So it feels remiss not to quote it: "This book describes the Quaker meeting houses of Cumbria, dealing with all 74 that were built or adapted for this purpose, and includes the ones now gone as well as those still standing, the plain as well as the picturesque. Each one is described - history, appearance, present state, location. Almost all are illustrated by the author's sketches and surveys. Inevitably, more is mentioned than meeting houses and the book touches, for instance, on Quaker education and business meetings (whose records provide much of the material for the histories). An introductory chapter examines the historical and geographical setting and considers the buildings within the local and national trends of Quaker history. The author is an architect with a long-standing interest in Quaker meeting houses throughout Britain. This book is the first definitive account of all the meeting houses within a particular area." The book itself is in good condition, printed on good quality paper, still well-bound, with no markings to the text, a little bit of creasing here and there, but hardly any spotting. There's some browning to the book's nicely tactile cover: that is its only really notable defect, and one easily forgotten when looking through the book itself. Please take a look at the photos supplied. Seller Inventory # 000925

Bibliographic Details

Title: Quaker Meeting Houses of the Lake Counties
Publisher: Friends Historical Society
Publication Date: 1978
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Good
Edition: 1st Edition