There’s a light that is shining

13 Nov 2014 | by Anne van Staveren

Anne van Staveren tells the story of the refurbishment

Left is a doorkeeper’s seat before work began in May 2013; above a dismantled seat on 31 January 2014 and right, now restored in November 2014. | Photo: Centre: Anne van Staveren, Quaker Communications. Other two: Trish Carn.

The Large Meeting House is open. The extensive renovation is finished. A massive project, completed on time.

Traditionally the venue for Yearly Meeting, which determines the work and witness of Quakers, one thousand Friends are expected there in May 2015. Already, photographs on Twitter and Facebook of the stunning double-height vaulted conical ceiling and fixed roof light have generated interest – with Friends tweeting ‘can’t wait to be in there for Yearly Meeting’!

Marketed as a major London conference centre, opposite Euston Station, under the name The Light, it has already attracted bookings for 2015 in excess of what it used to earn. Lettings generate income to fund Quaker work in the world.

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