A Friend at Swarthmoor

An Irish Friend, David O’Donoghue, ponders his work as a resident Quaker volunteer in the heart of 1652 country

by David O’Donoghue 2nd February 2018

There is perhaps no better place to mix past ghosts and future hopes than at Swarthmoor Hall, the so-called ‘cradle’ of Quakerism. Nestling in Cumbria, on the edge of England’s Lake District, the Tudor manor (built in 1586) holds a cherished place in the history of English Quakers. It was to this impressive house, then home to Thomas Fell and his wife Margaret, that George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, came in June 1652. He was a twenty-seven-year-old travelling preacher seeking an alternative path to the established Church of England and other Christian churches.