Makefield Friends Meeting Horse Shed Restoration
Makefield Meeting’s Horse Shed before restoration
What started out as a simple cedar shingle roof replacement turned into a major restoration project.
The Horse Shed often called the Carriage Shed, was constructed in 1800 on the west side of the meetinghouse and moved to the north side in 1858. The shed was reroofed in 1976 when the meetinghouse, caretaker house and carriage shed were placed on the National Historic Register. Stabilization and repair work was performed in 1992 including replacing piers, post and brace repairs, tie rods and reroofing.
The cedar shingle roof had deteriorated to the point where it had to be replaced. The shed also needed structural work and wood siding. Roof rafters were sagging and support beams had failed.
These photos show the aged wood siding and structural failure. Repairing the structure required replacement of the siding.
Many of these conditions were evident in a proposal from 1992 and were needed even more now. Rafters were reinforced with channels and shims. The framing was out of line with some posts off by 20 inches. A strong wind/hurricane may have been the cause. The rear sill plate was off the foundation and posts were rotted out. Major beams required replacing.
We considered going with non-historic metal roofing or demolishing the shed, but decided to restore the shed as historically accurate as feasible using as much of the existing structure as possible. As Philadelphia Yearly Meeting does not have grants for outbuildings, Makefield Meeting decided to hold a fundraiser making this renovation possible
Makefield Meeting’s Horse Shed mid-construction
We contracted with Chas Smith who does most of the repairs at Friends Village. Chas, with his crew of three talented workers/craftsmen, did an excellent job of dismantling the structure, straightening the bent truss post, replacing cracked and rotting beams, residing and shingling the shed.
Restored horse shed at Makefield Meeting
We encourage members from other Meetings to visit our Horse Shed.
– Makefield Friends Meeting Property Committee