"A Persecuted People (Early Quakers in Nottinghamshire "
April 2008 Meeting Report
Speaker - Derek Walker
The April meeting of the Keyworth & District Local History Society was held in the Centenary Lounge, Keyworth on the 4th April 2008. The guest speaker for the evening was Derek Walker whose presentation was entitled “A Persecuted People, Early Quakers in Nottinghamshire”. Derek began his talk by firstly admitting that he himself wasn’t a Quaker but that he had a considerable amount of respect for the movement. He was also careful to ascertain that there were no members of the movement in the audience who might inadvertently be offended during his presentation. Satisfied that no such persons were present he began his talk.
Derek began by stating that the early Quaker movement tended to be centred in the north of the county of Nottinghamshire, around Mansfield. The movement seems to have made little impact south of the river Trent. The beginnings of the Quaker movement can be directly ascribed to one man, namely George Fox who was born in 1624 at Drayton-in-the-Clay, Leicestershire where he was an apprentice shoemaker. George took to ‘wandering’ around the Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire countryside in his search for God whilst at the same time trying to convert the local populace to his way of thinking. It was on one of these ‘wanderings’ that George visited a meeting at Broughton, (it is unclear whether or not it was Nether Broughton or Upper Broughton), of Baptist Separatists, who were also known as ‘Shattered’ Baptists. At this meeting George had a vision of ‘The Inner Light’ that he believed was a divine spark of light which was from God and was to be found in every person. This Inner Light made all men equal before God and their lives were likewise precious. This was very radical for 17th century England. Certainly the established church would not agree with such sentiments.
However, this concept of an ‘Inner Light’ was certainly not a new idea. Two centuries earlier the Lollards were likewise talking about an Inner Light. Fired with that zeal that is the mark of the zealot George began his crusade to help others to discover their ‘Inner Light’. So it was that in the 1640’s he settled in Mansfield and was soon recruiting members to his new creed. It was in Mansfield that George made his first converts. Amongst these early converts, indeed probably the very first, was a woman called Elizabeth Houghton who lived at Skegby. From Mansfield George spread his message and gained followers throughout the country as further people were converted to the creed. However, in Keyworth and the neighbouring parishes the new creed appears to have fallen on deaf ears. It would be another hundred years before non-conformism began to be felt to any significant extent in the village. Why this should be so is unclear.The 17th century was a time of considerable social and religious upheaval. As far as religious movements were concerned a sizeable number of splinter group, mostly professing Christian beliefs, began to break away from the established church. There were, to name a few, the Seekers, the Unitarians, the Baptists, the Levellers, the Ranters (who were referred to by Derek, much to the audience’s amusement, as ‘idiots’), the Antinomians, the Congregationalists, the Fifth Monarchists, the Diggers, and the Muggletonians. All of these, so called, splinter groups were classed together as ‘dissenters’.
In 1676 a survey was undertaken by the Anglican Church to identify how many papists and ‘dissenters’ were sheltering in each parish. The incumbents in each parish were required to compile a register of all such persons. In Keyworth, in 1676, the return showed no papists and no dissenters in the parish. In Bunny there was one dissenter and Widmerpool was recorded as harbouring nine dissenters. In Wysall the incumbent had identified ten dissenters. Costock had one dissenter whilst Stanton, like Keyworth, recorded no papists and no dissenters. Clearly Keyworth and Stanton in the second half of the 17th century were fairly quiet places as far as religious unrest was concerned! It is probable that those referred to as ‘dissenters’ in the neighbouring parishes were quite probably Baptists, there is certainly no evidence to support any sign of Quakers in the area or other radical groups. However, a little further a-field, at Cropwell Bishop and Broughton, Quakers were recorded, the seat of the movement was situated more towards the central and northern parts of Nottinghamshire.
As is usual with radical thinkers like George it wasn’t too long before he was in trouble with the authorities, which in his case was the Anglican Church. George took it upon himself to enter churches whilst services were being taken and disrupt the service by proclaiming to the assembled congregation that what they were doing was wrong, indeed even heathen. According to George there was no need for services to be conducted in grand buildings, which were expensive to build and maintain. Neither was it necessary to follow a strict theology laid down by a non-representative ruling body, or be compelled to pay tithes to that body. In George’s eyes there was no need for a priest to intercede between a person and God, the individual could communicate directly with God himself via his ‘Inner Light’. Unsurprisingly this sort of behaviour often led to trouble both from the church authorities and also the church congregation. It was even not unknown for him to be attacked by a hostile group of churchgoers.
Disrupting church services was a criminal offence so it wasn’t long before George found himself in front of the local magistrates. After one of his tirades in 1648 at St Mary’s church in Nottingham he was arrested and thrown in the town’s jail. However, the Sheriff, John Reckless was sympathetic towards him and not only stood bail for George but also took him back to his house and gave him food and lodgings. George must have had a very persuasive tongue in his head because it was not long before he had converted Reckless’ wife to his way of thinking, followed by John Reckless himself. However, George still had to face trial for his actions and was convicted and thrown into jail. All of this was occurring with the English Civil War as a backdrop. Nottingham had strong Royalist sympathies and persons like George, who were rocking the proverbial boat, with their perceived anti-royalist views were not looked on kindly.
Jail in no way dampened George’s religious ardour. Upon the completion of his sentence, which entailed several months in jail, George returned to Mansfield where he was soon back to disrupting church services. From Mansfield George then travelled across the county border to the town of Derby, where he was once again in trouble with the law for creating yet another disturbance in a church. The year was 1650 and this brush with the law led to a legendary episode. Whether or not it is absolutely true is debatable but the story goes that Fox found himself once again before the bench. The result was that George was imprisoned after being found guilty of blasphemy. George told by Justice Bennett, the judge who sentenced him, that he ought to ‘tremble at the word of the Lord, whereupon the judge called George a ‘Quaker’ as a term of derision. Far from being insulted George took to the term and thereafter wore the name ‘Quaker’ much like a badge of honour. From thenceforth adherents of the cause were known as ‘Quakers’.
George Fox continued on his ‘wanderings’, trying to bring enlightenment to other souls, often succeeding and often finding himself inside jail again for his troubles. Indeed, there were very few years during the 1650’s when George didn’t enjoy a spell of imprisonment at some time or another in some English town or city’s jail. Nevertheless the Quaker movement flourished, thousands were converted to George Fox’s religious views. Indeed, such were the numbers being recruited into the creed that that period of time was christened the ‘Quaker Explosion’. Equally a great many of them found themselves imprisoned for their beliefs. At one time there were around a thousand Quakers in jails up and down the country. Many also had to pay swingeing fines that left them all but destitute. The authorities were exceptionally hostile towards the movement, fearing, not unnaturally, that if the movement managed to get itself seriously established then it would pose a very real threat to the established church and government.
It was as a result of all these brushes with the law that George developed a loathing for oaths. The law of the land dictated that all of the monarch’s subjects swear an oath of allegiance towards the crown. Likewise, in court evidence was given under oath. George refused to do either, indeed the refusal to swear an oath of any kind became one of the tenets of the Quaker movement. Another binding principle of the movement was that no Quaker would take up arms against another man. At a time when the country was riven by civil war this was a radical concept.
Whilst the Quaker movement had no established theology it did have a set of basic tenets, some of which are the following: -
1. An opposition to steeple-houses and the hireling priesthood. ((Since church buildings and other ‘houses of God’ were anathema to them Quakers held their meetings wherever it was convenient to do so. It may have been at a Quaker’s house or it may have been at a property specifically acquired for the purpose. There was no formal order of service. Each Quaker communed with God in whatever way suited them. Perhaps someone might offer a prayer to God or the meeting might be conducted in total silence as each Quaker communed with God via his or her Inner Light.)
2. A refusal to pay tithes and church rates.
3. Hat honour. (Quakers all wore similar hats and refused to take them off as a sign of respect for someone deemed to be their social superior.)
4. The use of the second person singular; i.e. persons were referred to as ‘thee’ and ‘thou’.
5. The use of the first day and first month. The names of the days and months were deemed to have heathen or pagan origins and thus, not to be used. Therefore both days and months were simply numbers; i.e. January in month one, February month two and March month three etc. Thus July 12th would be referred to as day 12 of the seventh month.
6. The refusal to be married or buried in church property.
7. The refusal to take oaths.
8. Pacifism, although this became commonplace after the end of the Civil War.
9. Simplicity of dress.
Because of their beliefs Quakers were in constant danger of falling foul of the law of the land. The penalties that were imposed by the State when the law was broken verged on the Draconian. To live the life of a devout Quaker called for a considerable degree of fortitude and determination. The tribulations that were visited upon the Quaker movement because of their faith were called ‘sufferings’. These ‘sufferings’ were recorded in the form of pamphlets and other literature and these were distributed amongst the followers, hopefully giving them strength and courage to pursue their religious calling.
One way in which the State attempted to combat the perceived threat that Quakerism posed was by imposing laws specifically aimed against the movement. In this respect a whole raft of laws were introduced, covering all manner of offences from alleged treason at one end to meeting illegally at the other. The penalties for transgressing these new laws could very severe, ranging from transportation, imprisonment and fines. Quaker meeting were open to all so it was a simple matter for the powers that be to send a spy along to any meeting and then inform the authorities of any wrongdoing. Informants were often entitled to a reward so there was never a shortage of willing informants. The most common punishment for any lawbreaking was a fine, If the fine could not be paid then goods and chattels were taken in lieu. This had the effect of causing great financial hardship to many of the followers. It was not unknown for a Quaker to be reduced to the level of a pauper. By and large though such laws rarely have the desired effect and the Quaker movement continued to thrive. As time progressed so many of these laws fell into disrepute. It was seen that they were manifestly unfair and they were not having the desired effect. Many judges and jurors began to be sympathetic to the Quakers and the law began to be implemented with less vigour. Reducing Quakers to paupers merely placed a financial burden on the local parishes and this was in nobody’s best interest.
The 'wanderings' of George were not only confined to the British Isles. He travelled overseas to some of the British Colonies in the New World, and spread his message there. Worldwide tens of thousands were converted to the Quaker religion. Back in England, in 1669, George married Margaret Fell of Swarthmoor Hall, situated at Swarthmoor in Cumbria. Margaret was a wealthy lady of high social standing. She was the widow of Thomas fell who had died in 1658. george was a friend to both Thomas and Margaret, indeed they were both early converts to his cause and he had been a guest at their house at various times. Margaret was as fervently devoted to the Quaker cause as George himself and their shared beliefs in the religion formed the basis of their life together. Between them they looked after the large amount of administrative work that was required to run the movement, which by the last quarter of the 18th century was considerable indeed. It was during this period that George travelled to Europe, visiting the Nederlands and what is now Germany, in order to promote the Quaker movement. George died in 1691 and was buried in the Quaker buring ground at Bunhill Fields in London. By the time that George died the laws against groups such as the Quakers had been greatly relaxed. Indeed the Act of Toleration, which was passed in 1689 (two years before George's death) effectively ended the state persecution of Quakers. However, the high-water mark of theQuaker movement and the death of George Fox more or less coincided with each other. From its meteoric rise in the 17th century the movement fell ito a very gradual decline throughout the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Today there are still practicing Quakers but the movement is a very small one.