Wardenship Rawdon Meeting is one of the first Meeting Houses to have been built after the 1689 Toleration Act made it possible for

Rawdon Meeting is one of the first Meeting Houses to have been built after the 1689 Toleration Act made it possible for Friends to worship openly. Previously, just meeting for worship carried the risk of imprisonment, loss of property or personal injury. Meetings were often held outside, but when shelter was needed, friends would open up their homes and effectively adopt the risky role of Warden.
When legal restrictions were finally lifted and Friends celebrated their faith in purpose built Meeting houses, they often included additional residential family accommodation in their general design thus maintaining the domestic warmth of early Meetings.
' Wardens ' as such, are a fairly new phenomenon. For many years at Rawdon it was the senior girl in the adult school who acted as caretaker. 0nly since the second world war did the term 'Warden' come into common use. Possibly the name was inspired by the experience of the Friends Relief Service whose many evacuation hostels were supervised by 'wardens'.
So ... how has the Warden's role evolved and changed since those early days ? Records from the archives show that many working conditions remain as they were, with accommodation being provided 'in kind' in exchange for the preparation and maintenance of Meeting rooms; remuneration being sometimes offered for specific, additional duties.

Many Quaker wardens have, in the past, been retired, but there is a trend now towards employing younger couples, often with young families. That situation fits Rawdon at the present time. David and I arrived as a couple in 1990 and have since become a family.

Our two children are the only children in the Meeting and have the wonderful benefit of growing up surrounded by the care and support of their extended Quaker family. We are all the richer and happier for it.
When we arrived, the use of the premises was for weekly Meeting for Worship and a very occasional booking for other Quaker meetings. Getting together for tea and coffee afterwards, in our relatively newly
adapted schoolroom was the first, happy addition to the informal structure of Sunday mornings.

In the past six years many groups have used and continue to use, our facilities including Yeadon Old Brass Band, North East Early Music Forum, Rawdon Sober Life, Yorkshire Playwrights, Yorkshire Theatre Company, Opera North, a local Buddhist organisation and our own Study Group.
In 1992 we launched our first series of concerts in aid of Ref.31 Amnesty
International and this has encouraged many people to share our Meeting
house - as wel1 as raise over £4000 for the Amnesty cause. Since our appointment, our role as caretakers has changed dramatically reflecting this increase in activity.

Looking after the garden is another duty, and even the plants have their own history. It is probably a little known fact that the glorious rhododendrons that light up corners of the garden actually travelled from Galway in Ireland in the mid seventies under the caring supervision of the then caretakers Ron and Margaret Addis. Ref.32 So far we've only managed to add a few snowdrops and daffodil bulbs from the local garden centre - but there’s time yet.