‘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.

In 1656, when the ‘Valiant Sixty’ were preaching the ‘everlasting gospel’, some came to the Marches: Thomas Goodaire, a yeoman; Thomas Kilham, a gentleman; Alexander Parker, a husbandman and a soldier; and John Scaife, a day labourer.

In 1656 Thomas Goodaire held the first public meeting in Leominster in a close belonging to William Morgans, a Baptist. Notice of the meeting was given and a large crowd gathered. Goodaire was knocked to the ground, but he got up and continued, and several people were convinced by him. At another meeting when John Scaife and Alexander Parker spoke they were interrupted by John Tombes, vicar of the town, and the justice and bailiff, and Parker was taken away to prison.

George Fox came to Leominster on two occasions. The first time was in 1657. He arrived from Radnorshire with Thomas Taylor. He had a great altercation with John Tombes about the light of Christ, quoting the gospel of John and other passages, but Tombes disputed this, saying it was a natural light. Eventually Tombes became discomforted and left.

A number of people were convinced at these meetings and came together, holding regular Meetings for Worship in their various homes. In 1660 they bought a plot of land in South Street to serve as a burial ground, but did not build a Meeting house until later.

Persecution followed, as in other areas, and many suffered imprisonment, beatings and seizure of goods. They could be punished for preaching, attending Meetings, refusing to pay tithes, refusing to remove their hats and – if all else failed – for refusing to take the oath of allegiance. Goods and livestock could be taken amounting to quite a large value. Peter Young, of Luston, lost eight oxen worth £48, and Charles Barnet, a baker in Leominster, had all the goods in his house and the wood in his yard taken away, so there was nothing else except bread to take. Thomas Languell died in prison in 1661 in Leominster. Tithes went on being demanded until 1780 and those who refused to pay continued to suffer.

Amid this persecution, Fox realised that a structure was needed to keep the community together and supporting one another. In 1666 he travelled the country setting up Monthly, Quarterly and Yearly Meetings. In Herefordshire at that time there were meetings in Hereford, Ross, Bromyard, Almeley and Leominster, and they met together under a regular schedule.

Persecution reduced after the Toleration Act of 1689, but by the end of the century many of the leaders had died. Others emigrated to North America, where there was freedom of worship, and a period of quietism ensued.

What I found particularly interesting was the involvement and activity of Quakers in the nineteenth century, when Leominster became a centre for nonconformists and especially for Quakers, in Herefordshire. Two families moved in, the Southalls and the Newmans, and one son from each family married a Prichard daughter, linking the families together. The Prichards were already active in the Almeley area and Roger Prichard had given land for the Meeting house there. The incomers set up businesses in Leominster, in particular a general store in Broad Street, which expanded greatly under John Southall into four sections. Other Quakers also moved in with a variety of businesses – this being a period when Friends were prevented from attending university.

Quakers became involved in philanthropic work, particularly in education, both for children and adults, sometimes teaching themselves, and also employing a teacher. One striking project was the orphanage, started for children without parents, from the industrial towns. Purpose-built accommodation was provided for twenty boys and twenty girls, with a matron in charge for each. From the orphanage grew a printing press, set up in 1873, with three aims: to train the boys in a useful trade; to print Christian and Quaker literature; and to make money for the orphanage. The press was also housed in Broad Street as the buildings were large and the garden behind could be built on. Henry Stanley Newman (pictured), who was one of the leading Quakers at that time, became the editor of the Friend from 1892 until his death in 1912. The editorship was at that time moved from London to Leominster, which was when the publication became a weekly. How many towns can boast of having had the editorship and printing of the Friend?

Quakers also became involved in civic affairs, on the local council, as justices of the peace, guardians of the Poor Law, and campaigning for better facilities. John Tertius Southall was instrumental in obtaining a clean water supply for Leominster, as the wells previously used became contaminated. Several Quakers campaigned for the Liberal Party, and John Tertius Southall bought the Leominster News and set up his son Arthur Trusted Southall as its editor to promote the cause. Henry Stanley Newman was active in mission work both in Britain and overseas, as was his uncle, Henry Newman.

The Meeting house had become dilapidated, and it was rebuilt in 1834 to hold 150 people and altered again in 1869 to be able to hold a large number for the Monthly and Quarterly Meetings.

An evangelical period started at the end of the century when mission halls were built in three of the surrounding villages. Programmed Meetings were held in them, with a speaker, and hymns were sung. Henry Stanley Newman and John Tertius Southall became involved with Llandindrod Meeting and helped with the building of its rather grand original Meeting house during the Welsh Revival. This period did not last more than twenty or thirty years, and the buildings were demolished or turned into dwellings.

Throughout this period Quakers played an important role in the town and I was puzzled to find they declined so drastically in the twentieth century. The Meeting was discontinued in 1969, and the Meeting house sold in 1978. Possible reasons are: decline in births; young people leaving the area; businesses being taken over by companies and losing Quaker control; conversion to other Christian denominations; and diminishing interest in Quakerism. A Meeting was started in Ludlow in 1947, about ten miles away, by the Reynolds, Burlingham and Gregory families. These names occur in the minutes of Leominster Business Meetings, and inter-marriage happened in the past, so they obviously knew one another.

This would have enabled Leominster Friends to attend in Ludlow after their Meeting was discontinued. At present the three Leominster Quakers are members of Ludlow, but also hold a Meeting for Worship in Leominster once a month.

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