Meeting Houses

International headquarters and meeting house in London s Belgrave Square... 

Just off the Freedom Trail next to the Old South Meeting House, Milk Street Cafe (50 Milk St., 617-542-3663) is the perfect spot for a relaxing breakfast or lunch. Opening at 7am, this kosher restaurant is popular with business people who grab a croissant, some fruit and a coffee before heading off to work. Lunch draws a more relaxed crowd as tourists and businesspeople mix with a Jewish clientele. A second location in nearby Post Office Square is an excellent place to enjoy Boston s best pocket-sized urban park. Pick up a simple veggie melt or a more sophisticated wrap made from wild mushrooms with mixed greens and sun-dried tomatoes. 

During 1971 and 1972 there was much discussion in the Science Board of the SRC on the computational needs of theoretical physics and chemistry. It was the view of some that the way forward was to set up institutes researching these subjects and to concentrate the personnel and computing power at these institutes. Such an idea for theoretical chemistry institutes was floated by Brian Flowers (who was then Chairman of SRC) but it rather soon sank. An idea that seemed more buoyant was that of Meeting Houses whose origin lay probably with Prof. R. (Ron) Mason. He was until 1971 Professor at the University of Sheffield, when he went to the University of Sussex. From 1969 he was Chairman of the Chemistry Committee of the Science Board, and from 1972 to 1975 he was Chairman of the Science Board itself. He went on to be Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Defence, Sir Ronald Mason KCB, and to hold some important positions in public life. The fruition of his idea as far as computational chemistry is concerned begins with a memorandum by Jack Howlett to the Science Board in October 1972, which is worth quoting from rather extensively. Howlett wrote ... 

In ail this we have placed the Meeting House concept in the domain of the Science Board, but the idea has aroused interest among the other SRC Boards, notably the Engineering Board. 

In fact, the idea was taken up by the Engineering Board too, in the formation of what were eventually called Special Interest Groups, but it is the positive response of the Science Board that is of interest here and that led through the first meeting house project to the development of the Collaborative Computational Projects (CCP ). 

Priestley however continued to run counter to the established church and government. On the anniversary of the fall of the Bastille, a Church and King riot (not seriously discouraged by the authorities) destroyed the New Meeting House and Priesdey s home and laboratory. Priestley retreated to London, but even there he felt increasing threats of political persecution. He finally moved with most of his family to the United States. 

Patricia Hurry and Alan Cirket (comps.), Bunyan Meeting Museum Library Catalogue (Bedford Bunyan Meeting House, 1995). 

CSPD 1682, p. 609 Walter Wilson, The History and Antiquities of the Dissenting Churches and meeting houses in London, Westminster and Southwark (4 vols., 1808-14), vol. 2, pp. 557-58. 

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