Malton Meeting celebrates 200 years
Friends celebrated the 200th anniversary of Malton Meeting House on 12 October
Friends celebrated the 200th anniversary of Malton Meeting House this month by welcoming local residents to share stories of their town.
Speaking in The Malton Gazette and Herald, Chris Newsam, from Malton Meeting, said: ‘We want to use this milestone of the 200th anniversary of the opening of our Quaker Meeting – which replaced the previous one in Spital Street built in 1677 – to tell the story of the women, men and children for whom this quiet nook in Greengate was so important. If you are a long term resident of Ryedale we’ll be relating the lives of families you’ll no doubt recognise because our Quaker stories are integral to the very fabric of our area.’
The event on 12 October was also to welcome the public to view the refurbishment of the Meeting house. This was to create an energy-efficient building, including a new heating system.
The project, launched ahead of the anniversary, aimed to raise £115,000 to replace the broken heating system; insulate the ceiling and floor; and install two air-source heat pumps, photovoltaic panels, and underfloor heating.
Original features of the Grade II*- listed building include panelling, benches, ceiling mouldings and Georgian sash windows.
Opened in 1824, the Meeting house in Greengate was ‘built in the time of ‘extravagant and flamboyant’ George IV, through to Charles III, said Chris Newsam. The building had ‘seen many changes’, he added.
‘Those who have attended and worshipped in our Meeting house have lived through many upheavals and changes since 1824, and have held a wide variety of world views. In 1824 it was still nearly ten years before Charles Darwin set sail in The Beagle and three decades before he published On the Origin of Species, which dramatically opened up new perspectives on our human beginnings. Here the fabric and design of our building tells the story of changing trends with, for example, clear evidence from the era when men and women met separately in different parts of the building.’
