The Swansea Friends Meeting House and Cemetery, at 223 Prospect Street in Somerset, Massachusetts, are a pair of religious properties believed to include the oldest extant Quaker meetinghouse in the state, with the oldest surviving meetinghouse form in which the pulpit and entrance face each other across the building's short dimension (instead of the 19th century form, where they stand at opposite ends of the long dimension). The oldest portion of the building dates to 1702, when Somerset was part of Swansea. Originally only 24 feet (7.3 m) wide, the building was significantly enlarged in 1746, adding side bays and a second floor gallery. In the 19th century the balconies were closed off to provide office space. The cemetery adjacent to the meetinghouse is also believed to be of great age; its oldest dated marker is 1831, but 18th century Quaker practice did not generally include the laying of markers, so there are likely a number of unmarked early graves.[2]
swansea, friends, meeting, house, cemetery, prospect, street, somerset, massachusetts, pair, religious, properties, believed, include, oldest, extant, quaker, meetinghouse, state, with, oldest, surviving, meetinghouse, form, which, pulpit, entrance, face, each. The Swansea Friends Meeting House and Cemetery at 223 Prospect Street in Somerset Massachusetts are a pair of religious properties believed to include the oldest extant Quaker meetinghouse in the state with the oldest surviving meetinghouse form in which the pulpit and entrance face each other across the building s short dimension instead of the 19th century form where they stand at opposite ends of the long dimension The oldest portion of the building dates to 1702 when Somerset was part of Swansea Originally only 24 feet 7 3 m wide the building was significantly enlarged in 1746 adding side bays and a second floor gallery In the 19th century the balconies were closed off to provide office space The cemetery adjacent to the meetinghouse is also believed to be of great age its oldest dated marker is 1831 but 18th century Quaker practice did not generally include the laying of markers so there are likely a number of unmarked early graves 2 Swansea Friends Meeting House and CemeteryU S National Register of Historic PlacesShow map of MassachusettsShow map of the United StatesLocation223 Prospect St Somerset MassachusettsCoordinates41 44 19 N 71 09 25 W 41 738713 N 71 156922 W 41 738713 71 156922Arealess than one acreBuilt1702 1702 Architectural styleGeorgianNRHP reference No 14000156 1 Added to NRHPApril 15 2014The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014 1 See also editNational Register of Historic Places listings in Bristol County MassachusettsReferences edit a b Weekly list of actions 4 14 14 through 4 18 14 National Park Service Retrieved 2014 04 25 MACRIS inventory record for Swansea Friends Meetinghouse Commonwealth of Massachusetts Retrieved 2014 03 18 nbsp This article about a National Register of Historic Places listing in Bristol County Massachusetts is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Swansea Friends Meeting House and Cemetery amp oldid 1161184574, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
