I am a South Jersey Friend and dad with a love out of outreach and a passion for looking afresh at Friends' testimonies, language and practices. I am the publisher of Quaker Quaker, a community site for Friends, and write about online publicity, organizing and design on my business site at MartinKelley.com.
thomas ellwood Posts
The Jordans Meetinghouse in England suffered a terrible fire a few days ago. Friends don't make icons of meetinghouses but if we did Jordans would be high on the list. Friends started meeting there in 1659. Isaac Penington, James Nayler, and Thomas Ellwood lived neighborhood; Penington is buried out front, as is William Penn. As if this isn't enough, the barn is said to be made from the timbers of the Mayflower--yes, that Mayflower: it was apparently common to recycle ships into buildings after a few trans-Atlantic trips (news reports don't mention the barn). Here are pictures from Bill Samuel's trip a few years ago, a thread on his discussion board and photos that someone took from a youth hostel retreat last week before the fire. One of the wardens (caretakers) of the meetinghouse was burned trying to put out the fire but later reports make it sound like he wasn't too badly hurt, thank God.
Update: the Guardian did a piece on the fire

