Dear Friend,
Your help is needed to save a very historic Quaker Meetinghouse—The East Nottingham Meetinghouse, also known as Brick Meetinghouse.
The history of this meetinghouse is significant because of its association with William Penn, who granted the land for a Meeting House and Burial Yard near the center of the 18,000-acre site known as Nottingham Lots. At one time, it was the largest Friends meeting house south of Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Half-Yearly Meeting was held here as early as 1725.
In 1778, an American Army hospital was established here to aid the sick and wounded troops under General William Smallwood’s command. In 1781, the Marquis de Lafayette’s troops camped here on the first night of their trek from the Head of the Elk to their victory at the Battle of Yorktown.
The building consists of three sections: the Flemish bond brick section is the oldest and was built in 1724. In the mid-19th century, a one-story gabled roof structure was added to the stone section to serve as a women’s cloakroom.
The East Nottingham Meetinghouse was listed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1977. However, age has taken its toll on the building and the cedar shake roof is in desperate need of replacement and cannot survive another winter.
Please help with this massive undertaking. To replace a cedar shake roof with period shakes will approach $100,000.
Please, help preserve this piece of Quaker history!
Donations may also be made by check. Please make checks payable to “Nottingham Friends Meeting” and include “Save the Roof” in the memo line.
The mailing address for check contributions is:
Nottingham Friends Meeting
c/o Robert Haines
365 Wilson Road
Rising Sun, MD 21911
Thank you!