- Nprn: 11460
- Cadw Ref: 62/K/38(4)
- Cadw Record No: 8649
- Summary: Dolobran Meeting House is thought to be the first purpose-built Friends' Meeting House in Mid Wales. The chapel was built in 1700 on Dolobran Estate, owned by quaker Charles Lloyd. The chapel is built in the Vernacular style with bricks made in a nearby field. It has a large pane flat-headed windows. A caretaker's dwelling-cum-women's meeting adjoins to the left, with four removable wooden shutters were in the dividing wall between meeting house and cottage, on the ground and upper floors. The meeting was discontinued in 1780 and the building fell into decay. The carved oak gallery and panelling were removed c.1850 to Philadelphia, USA, and preserved as a valuable relic by William Penn's descendants. The building has been in re-use by the Friends since 1975, with the meeting house re-roofed in 1976 and the windows and walls restored by the estate during the 1990's. Dolobran is now Grade 2 Listed for its importance in the religious history of Wales.
RCAHMW, December 2010 - Description: Built in 1701, bacame a storehouse in 1878 but was returned to the Friends in the 1970's. Present status [1998]: Chapel. See entry in NMRW database.
Thought to be the first purpose-built Friends' Meeting House in Mid Wales (information from Welsh Office spot-list description of 21/11/1974).
Land on part of the Dolobran estate was offered as a meeting house and graveyard by Charles Lloyd, the Quaker owner, in 1695. Bricks were made in a nearby field. The building was first used on 20 April, 1701. The caretaker's dwelling-cum-women's meeting room, adjoined & adjoins to the left, for which 4 removable wooden shutters were built into the dividing wall between meeting house and cottage, at ground and upper floors. The meeting was discontinued in 1780 and the building fell into decay, its carved oak gallery & panelling removed ca. 1850 to Philadelphia, USA, and preserved as a valuable relic by William Penn's descendants. The building has been in re-use by Friends since 1975, the meeting house re-roofed in 1976 and windows and brick walls restored by the estate in the 1990s (David M Butler, The Quaker meeting houses of Britain (London: Friends Historical Society, 1999), v. 2, pp. 853-4).
Brick walls, slate roof; cambered heads to openings. Single-fronted cottage on l.h. with ground-floor window and lower r.h. doorway with wooden-boarded door. Rendered l.h. gable. Adjoining long-wall facade of meeting house with a window to each side of a wide and partly blocked arch, now over a single door with "Friends' Meeting House 1700" on the lintel. R..h. gable and rear wall have been substantially repaired in brick, and a new wood staircase built externally to connect with the external entrance to the meeting house gallery.
Inside, cottage with exposed ceiling joists to ground-floor front room which has diagonally-placed chimney breast; short stretch of straight stick balsutrade at first floor. Inside meeting house, white-painted plaster walls, wood-boarded floor, 2 rows of C19 bench seats with shaped ends, from other Friend's meeting houses, and now arranged round side and rear walls. Gallery with 1990s wood-panel gallery front but on old, ?original, stopped and chamfered bressumer, plus joists.
Status (2002): chapel (meeting house).
O M Jenkins, 27/04/2004; site visit: O M Jenkins, 20/12/2002. - Window Openings Glazed: 1747 Source:Welsh Office
- Meeting House Completed: 1701 Source:Cadw
- Dated: 1700 Source:Welsh Office (plaque
- Last Burial: 1801 Source:Cadw
- Meetings On Estate: 1667-1668 Source:Cadw
- 1st Meetings Held: 20/04/1701 Source:Cadw
- Converted: 1878 Source:Cadw
- Entr. Door And Windows: 1800-1899 Source:Cadw
- Meetings Recorded: 1720-1729 Source:Cadw
- Meetings Held: Pre 1829 Source:Cadw
- Returned To The Friends: 1970-1979 Source:Cadw
- Date Of Chapel: 1878 Source:
- Leader: 1667-1668 George Fox,
- Diarist: 1720-1729 ,
- Chapel: 26/05/1995 (Cadw)
- Chapel: 07/2011 (R Scourfield)
- Materials
- Brick
- Monument Type: CHAPEL
- Form: Building
- Style: Vernacular
- Window Glazing: Large Pane
- Windows: Flat-Headed
Key Details of this Chapel
Key Dates of this Chapel
Key People in this Chapel History
Changes of Status its History
Key Characteristics of this Chapel
2 thoughts on “FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE (DOLOBRAN; QUAKER), DOLOBRAN (DOLOBRAN; QUAKER CHAPEL)”
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Hello
My great great grandparents were married in Kinnerton Chapel in Old Radnor on 21st May1850. I have been searching for information on the Chapel, so was pleased to find this website. I have now located it on Google Street View – looks like someone is ‘doing it up’ to live in: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.2612635,-3.1095337,3a,90y,232.95h,84.26t/data=!3m9!1e1!3m7!1s-8DWPORkq2RFVNXBLde_-g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!9m2!1b1!2i53?hl=en-GB
The marriage record of my ancestors Abraham Bounds and Elizabeth Williams is attached. I hope it is of interest.
All the best
Saira
Dear Sara
Thank you for the information. I am glad to hear that it was some help to you.
Good luck on your continued search
Christine