‘Leominster became a centre for nonconformists and especially for Quakers in Herefordshire.’
Having lived around Leominster for two decades, Anne Adams became intrigued by the history of Quakers there – which includes some key moments for this publication
Thomas Parrish seems to have been the first Quaker to enter the area, in 1655. He spoke at a meeting of nonconformist independents held at the house of John Jones at Trippleton, near Leintwardine by the River Teme. In The Beginnings of Quakerism, the historian William Braithwaite suggests that Thomas Parrish may have been one of the soldiers discharged by the roundhead general George Monck. If so, John Jones, a colonel, may also have been in the New Model Army, which would have been how they knew each other. The army was a relatively egalitarian body and also a hotbed of political and religious ideas. Thomas Parrish spoke later at another gathering of independents.
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