Littlehampton Quaker Meeting

Littlehampton Quaker Meeting House was built in the mid 1830s as a “Penny School” (or “Dame School” as they were sometimes known). The L-shaped building had a single schoolroom with an attached schoolteacher's house at the east end and accommodated approximately 60 pupils. The school was run initially by Dissenters rather than the established church. With the population expansion in Littlehampton, the school moved to a new building in East Street. The old building was then acquired by the Plymouth Brethren, who eventually abandoned it and moved to the Argyll Hall in River Road, Littlehampton.

The Quakers had started meeting in Littlehampton in 1952, initially using Members’ private houses. They sought a permanent Meeting House and eventually purchased the former school when it became available in 1965. The Friends Meeting House, as it is now known, was listed Grade II by English Heritage in 1975 and is one of 913 Grade II listed buildings, and 960 listed buildings of all grades within Arun district.