Stop 12: The Georgian House
High Street Life
17 High St, Yarm, TS15 9BW
About This Stop
Found opposite the old Friary wall at the top of the High Street is an old Georgian house, modest from the outside but holds a unique place in the history of Yarm.
How to Get Here
Return to the High Street down Bentley Wynd back to the start. The trail is now along the left of the street.
The History
Building number 17 in Yarm High Street has an important place in the history of Yarm. It was the home of George Merryweather, the “father” of the Methodist Church in Yarm and a prominent merchant.
When John Wesley visited Yarm for the first time in 1748, it was this house that he stayed in. It was in the hayloft above the house’s stables that Wesley held his first Methodist meetings in Yarm. This association with Wesley made the house popular among Methodists across the world.
Did You Know?
A new site was purchased once the hayloft became too small and the Yarm Methodist Church was built in 1763. The Georgian House is the last surviving merchant’s warehouse in Yarm and became a bacon factory, the meat hooks still existing on the ceiling. Hauxwell’s used this building first before they ended up moving buildings to below the viaduct once they outgrew it.
It is most likely the least altered of all the Georgian buildings on the high street.
