Name of Structure:	Moyallan Friends' Meeting House
Location:	Moyallan Co. Down (1 and 1/2 miles north of Gilford)
Date Built:	1736
Who Built it:	Commissioned by John Christy
History:	Friends' Meeting House, Moyallan is located on a picturesque rural road which branches off the Gilford to Portadown Road, less than one mile from Gilford. The meeting house site was chosen for its relative seclusion in a fertile district and for its proximity on the Upper Bann. Alexander Christy, born in 1642, in Aberdeen, acquired the townland of Moyallan, c1680, and contributed extensively to the burgeoning linen and bleaching enterprises. The Christy family had joined the Quaker grouping which were strong in the Lurgan area. John Christy then provided the site for the meeting-house which was erected, in 1736. The building was enlarged by Thomas Christy, c.1780. The Christy property in the district passed through the female line, the Wakefields and later to the Richardsons who retain the property. The inheritances of the property are reflected in the inscriptions on some headstones in the Richardsons private cemetery within the larger cemetery adjacent to the Meeting-House. Today, Moyallan Meeting House, cemetery and grounds, in architecture and design, rival the Grange Quaker setting as the most attractive and peaceful small religious cluster in the north of Ireland. The painted Moyallan meeting House with tree-lined approach, Arcadian porch, large clock and drive-through entrance to an enclosure and residence, provides a fleeting glimpse of a dispersed mid-American religious foundation. The premises have been well maintained, with heavy expenditure becoming necessary for the roof, exterior plastering, renewing of floors in the meeting room and the addition of modern facilities. Early in 1976 the Meeting House was listed by the government as a building of special Architectural and Historic interest.