| Summary: | The quaker meeting house, situated on farm of lee hill, part of manor of membury belonging to dean and chapter of exeter. Present building of 1815, replacing original house of 1670. A small plain oblong building of stone and cob; the gallery extending over about a third of the floor space. The front of the gallery was formed of balusters of jacobean oak. Some watercolours by newberry show the meeting house as it was in 1850 (owned by miss reynolds of bridport). Entrance to the gallery was by an outside staircase in an annexe at w end but this was pulled-down in or after 1886. Original doorway remains, and the end of the building - once a blacksmith's forge - is now a rough storeroom. The roof is very dilapidated: thatched on n side and iron on s. A brick partition wall has been erected and w half of the building is now a cottage. A second doorway was made where there was a window in middle of s wall in 1886 to give access to the cottage. Of no architectural merit. Old oak chair in meeting house had 't. S. ' and 'may 19 anno 1618' on the back, but is now in meeting house in exeter. The old oak door has been preserved inside membury churchtower. Vis=est=-/-/1906 (unknown) the chair is now in the friends meeting house at exeter. Vis=-/-/1926 the church register records on 16/4/1686 the burial of robert smith, who probably belonged to the quaker family who held leahill for so long. Now used as a barn but the gallery still remains.(anon psanhs). The quaker's meeting house was found on the 1903 visit to have been converted in to a cottage and blacksmith's forge.(anon psanhs 1903). |
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