Aylesbury Society of Friends Meeting house
Posted by: Smithbats
N 51° 48.955 W 000° 48.890
30U E 650618 N 5742822
Aylesbury Quaker Meeting House
Waymark Code: WMAJP4
Location: Southern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/22/2011
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The town of Aylesbury is recorded as having a designated place of meeting for Quakers in 1686, there having been many homes in which meetings took place during a period of persecution.
By the start of the 18th century there was a need for a larger meeting place and in 1704 two cottages were purchased by Friends in Green End, later renamed Rickfords Hill after a resident MP of the 1830's. Friends raised funds and bought the land behind the cottages for a burial place and also built the current Meeting House in 1726.
In 1836 the Quaker Meeting stopped in Aylesbury as membership of the Society declined with the rise of the evangelical churches. The Meeting House was used over the next century for a variety of purposes including a school, commercial premises and a YMCA. In 1878 it was a Baptist Chapel.
On 31st October 1933 the Meeting House was again registered as a place of worship. Renovation of the Meeting House was needed as it had been unused for many years. Since then the site has been a place of worship for Aylesbury Quakers and a focus of service to the community.