The Quaker Meeting Houses Of Northamptonshire

This book provides a fascinating account of the architecture and historical development of the Quaker meeting house from the foundation of the movement to the twenty-first century. The Quaker meeting house is a distinctive building type used as a place of worship by members of the Society of Friends (Quakers). Starting with buildings of the late-seventeenth century, the book maps how the changing beliefs and practices of Quakers over the last 350 years have affected the architecture of the meeting house. The buildings considered are illustrated, predominantly in colour, and are from England, Scotland and Wales, with some consideration of colonial American examples. The book commences with an introduction which provides an accessible account of the early history of Quakerism and it concludes with a consideration of whether there is a Quaker architectural style and of what it might consist.

Protestant Nonconformity, the umbrella term for Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists and Unitarians, belongs specifically to the religious history of England and Wales. Initially the result of both unwillingness to submit to the State's interference in Christian life and a dissatisfaction with the progress of reform in the English Church, Nonconformity has been primarily motivated by theological concern, ecclesial polity, devotion and the nurture of godliness among the members of the church. Alongside such churchly interests, Nonconformity has also made a profound contribution to debates about the role of the State, to family life and education, culture in general, trade and industry, the development of philanthropy and charity, and the development of pacifism. In this volume, for the first time, Nonconformity and the breadth of its activity come under the expert scrutiny of a host of recognised scholars. The result is a detailed and fascinating account of a movement in church history that, while currently in decline, has made an indelible mark on social, political, economic and religious life of the two nations.

Some of England's grandest country houses are to be found in this prosperous rural midland county with its excellent local building stone from the limestone belt. The Elizabethan Renaissance Kirby Hall, the late seventeenth century French-inspired Boughton, Hawksmoor's stately Baroque Easton Neston and the interiors of Althorp provide a fascinating survey of changing taste through the centuries. The great houses are complemented by smaller buildings of great character, supreme among them Sir Thomas Tresham's eccentric and ingenious Triangular Lodge at Rushton. Of no less interest in this county of "spires and squires" are the fine village churches, from Early Saxon Brixworth to the noble early Gothic buildings which so inspired the Victorians.

This book is a Quaker memorial marking the centenary of the First World War. We have researched the impact of the War on the Northamptonshire Quaker Meetings and reflected upon its varied consequences for our own families. We have thought about how the long shadow of war extends down through the generations. We have also been reminded that opposition to war is never straightforward, even within a historic peace church. The dilemmas and the suffering of World War I remain sadly relevant today.