The Friends Meeting House situated on Dovecot Street, Stockton, opened 15th September 1814, closed 1978. Now the offices of Cohen, Jackson, Scott and Simon, Solicitors. 
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A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
The Friends Meeting House situated on Dovecot Street, Stockton, opened 15th September 1814, closed 1978. Now the offices of Cohen, Jackson, Scott and Simon, Solicitors.
I understand that Stockton Council, with some aid from the European Development Fund, is to spend £1m revamping this fine property. It is hoped the development will attract digital & media businesses to Stockton. Good news to know the building will remain outwardly intact for some years to come.
Kenny Pass was a great lad and a very good friend of mine at Mill Lane School, and both left in 1963. His Mam was the caretaker, his Dad was Marky Pass who worked ‘on the bins’ and he had an older sister. Lots of us schoolmates used to go to the Friends Meeting House and play darts and board games when the hall wasn’t being used for Quaker meetings. Kenny was a great goalkeeper for Mill Lane and I think he played for Stockton Boys’ a few times. However there was another good goalkeeper from Bailey Street School at that time, David Burns, who limited Kenny’s opportunities. Kenny went into the building construction trades and I used to occasionally see him in The Blytholme Club on Yarm Road when I was a member many years ago.
Gosh, I had forgotten about that part of my life until I read the post regarding the weight training sessions. I used to go with my late sister-in-law and her friend in the early to mid sixties, and of course now remember Jim Mason. However, I do feel all his efforts to get us fit may have been in vain, as we used to head straight for Roberts fish & chip shop as soon as class was over, we had just enough time to eat our fish & chips while we walked to the High Street to get the bus back to Billingham, great days!
I too remember climbing over the back wall which was in Bright Street. I remember all the overgrown grass and gravestones.
My connection with The Friends Meeting House was that it was the venue for my weekly weight training sessions from 1958 to 1970. It was run by the Education Authority and the instructor was Jim Mason who was a British Amateur Weight Lifting Referee.
I remember playing round the back and going over the wall to see the gravestones, we used to say the people were buried "standing up" because the graves were so close to each other.
As kids we found it all a bit scary. So in answer to your question Milly, yes I do remember it.
I recently attended a meeting of the Cleveland Industrial Archaeology Society and the guest speaker, Sue Parker of the Cleveland Institution of Engineers – brilliant presentation if your group is looking for a guest speaker!, and she told us that Thomas Whitwell one of the CIE founder members and early iron-master in Thornaby, along with the likes of Head and Wrightson, tragically died at a young age due to an accident at his foundry which also killed his foreman John Thompson.
As a Quaker Whitwell was buried behind the Friends Meeting House but Sue told us that when the then resident solicitors cleared the graveyard to build their car park the bodies were not exhumed and are now buried below the surface without any recognition nor reverence.
Shocking really if correct and perhaps others may know more such as if the headstones were saved and moved elsewhere for safe keeping?
This building is now actually used by Stockton Council”s training division; hasn”t been a solicitors since late 90″s – when Jacksons moved to the former Barclaycard building on Yarm Road.
When we were kids we used to go round the back, we called it kenny pass”s garden, I remember there were grave stones there. Does anyone else remember that? We lived in millbank st.
The Society of Friends is a religious group also know as ‘Quakers’. It was founded in the 18th Century by John Fox in Cumbria and spread across most of England. There are strong links with Darlington – hence the nickname of the football club!