The Friends Institute Buildings are a former

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

(Quaker) meeting house, community facilities, and associated structures, at 220, Moseley Road,

Balsall Heath Balsall Heath is an inner-city area of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It has a diverse cultural mix of people and is the location of the Balti Triangle. History Balsall Heath was agricultural land between Moseley village and the city of ...

, Birmingham, England. The various parts are now used as an Art therapy centre, and the Moseley Road Community Centre. In September 2014, the buildings were granted Grade II* designation.English heritage survey report

History

The buildings were completed in 1897, to designs by local architect Ewan Harper, possibly with the involvement of his younger brother

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

, and paid for by local philanthropists (and Quakers) the

Cadbury family The Cadbury family is a wealthy British family of Quaker industrialists descending from Richard Tapper Cadbury. * Richard Tapper Cadbury (1768–1860) draper and abolitionist, who financed his sons' start-up business ** John Cadbury (1801–1889 ...

, chiefly

Richard Cadbury Richard Barrow Cadbury (29 August 1835 – 22 March 1899) was an English entrepreneur, chocolate-maker and philanthropist. He was the second son of the Quaker John Cadbury, founder of Cadbury's cocoa and chocolate company. Together with his ...

. The Yearly Meeting for Quakers, was held in the building (instead of its usual London venue) in 1908 and 1954. The hall's original organ was replaced by larger instrument (now missing). A war memorial was installed on the staircase. The Dolobran Athletics Club had use of the basement, as a gymnasium. The first international athletics match between England, Ireland and Scotland was held there in March 1900.

Design

The red brick building, with terracotta decoration, is little altered, inside and out. The original 37 classrooms remain, though some dividing walls have been removed. An assembly hall, with the capacity for 2,000 people, is at the rear. The entrance leads to a central corridor, flanked by a reading room and a coffee room, with a lecture room above.

Current use

The building is now used by the Birmingham Centre for Art Therapies (BCAT).The remainder is owned by

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...

, used for community functions.

References

External links

* Grade II* listed buildings in Birmingham Former Quaker meeting houses Quaker meeting houses in England {{england-church-stub