Quakers generally believe that worship can – and should – take place anywhere and everywhere.
It isn’t unusual for meetings for worship to take place outdoors or in people’s homes.
But partly due to the growth of the Religous Society of Friends, and partly due to the discrimination Quakers often encountered in the early years, they started to create buildings specifically for holding meetings for worship.
From the beginning, Quaker meeting houses were simple and more closely resembled residential houses than churches or cathedrals. The architecture and construction of many meeting houses try to emphasize the Quaker testimonies of simplicity and community.
This quote from George Fox shows that he felt the buidings were not the priority:
“The Lord showed me, so that I did see clearly, that he did not dwell in these temples which men had commanded and set up, but in people’s hearts… his people were his temple, and he dwelt in them.”
The first meeting house specifically for Quaker worship was built in 1670 in Herftord, England. The Hertford Meeting House was actually visited by Fox, and amazingly is still in use today.
American Quakers weren’t too far behind. The Third Haven Meeting House was built in Maryland in 1682 and is the oldest Friends meeting house in America.
Today there are Quaker meeting houses worldwide – including in Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America, in addition to Europe and North America.
Peachtree Friends Meeting 