A grandfather of Quakerism

Christine Trevett recalls the extraordinary life of ‘Quakerism’s grandfather – an honest heretic’

by Christine Trevett 29th March 2013

‘Why may not rich citizens, racking landlords in the country, and mighty moneyed men, be made to rise immediately in their payments, that poor farmers, labourers and honest tradesmen may be spared?’  Who was he? He was called ‘a champion of the Seekers’. He used the phrase ‘society of friends’ for a community of the faithful long before Quakers adopted it as a title. He moved among the most radical religious people of his day and was tried for heresy.