ABSTRACT
Merion Friends Meetinghouse is located in southeastern Pennsylvania and is the oldest Quaker meetinghouse in the state. The Merion settlement was on land given to young William Penn by King Charles II. William Penn received this land as repayment of a loan Penn's father had given to the king in 1660 so that England could rebuild its navy. The meetinghouse is a modest structure and is nontraditional because of its T-shaped plan, as most meetinghouses are rectangular. Some believe that the southern portion (stem of the tee) was constructed first, with the northern section an addition. No evidence has been found to support this theory, such as remnants of an old foundation in the crawl space. The original curved frame pieces would have been sawn from trees with large sweeping branches, so that the grain and stresses could have followed the curve. The north wall displacement was sufficient evidence that the cruck frame supports were yielding, caused by an outward thrust.
