Quaker Meeting House
Friends Meeting House, Howard Street South, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR30 1LN
This simple but imposing building, reconstructed c.1807, is typical of a Georgian nonconformist chapel or meeting house. Its history stretches back to at least the beginning of the 14th century when the Augustinian Friars from the Priory in Gorleston built a cell here, the remains of which can be seen in the Undercroft. The Friars left in 1536-1539 when the Priory church in Gorleston was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
The Quakers were much in evidence in Great Yarmouth from the middle of the 17th century and acquired this site in 1694. Ground levels have changed over the centuries and at first the floor of the Meeting House was below ground and had to be accessed by means of a stepladder.
The connection with Anna Sewell (author of Black Beauty) is worth mentioning. Anna’s parents probably met at this Meeting House. Her father, Isaac, came from an established Great Yarmouth Quaker family and his wife, Mary, moved here from Norwich with her parents in 1810. Soon after Anna’s birth in 1820 the family moved from Yarmouth to London and, subsequently, to many other areas of England.
Timings & Tours
- Saturday 07 September:
- 1000-1600
Location & directions
Friends Meeting House, Howard Street South, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR30 1LN
- Directions:
- 100 yards from Yarmouth Market Place, at the bottom of Row 60 (Austin Row), in the SW corner of Palmers’ Car Park.
- Contact on day:
- Great Yarmouth Quakers
Booking information
- Pre-booking requirement:
- Pre-booking not required
Accessibility details
Steep steps up into the Meeting House and down into the 14th Century undercroft.
Additional information
- Est. tour duration:
- 10 hour(s)
