Old Meeting House/Claxton Opera in Folly Lane
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Old Meeting House/Claxton Opera in Folly Lane by Evelyn Simak as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Old Meeting House/Claxton Opera in Folly Lane
Image: © Evelyn Simak Taken: 11 Apr 2017
The first meeting house was erected at this location between 1750 and 1755 and it is described as having been one of the biggest Strict Baptist churches in the district. When the house closed for worship in 1943 it was sold to a farmer who used the building as a tractor shed and grain store. In 1973 it was purchased by musician and teacher Richard White and his wife, who made the chapel weatherproof and lived in the adjoining keeper's cottage. After being gutted by fire in 1993, the Old Meeting House as we see it today was rebuilt to its owner's specifications. Operas - the great passion of Richard White - were from now on to be performed here and the Claxton Opera was born, taking place each June/July. During this time the living room becomes a theatre complete with lighting rig, orchestra pit for 30 players and a gallery.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
52.572078
Longitude
1.446597