George Fox (1624 – 1691)
George Fox was an English dissenter and founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.
Friends Meeting House, Brigflatts, Sedbergh, Cumbria.
Following his address to a thousand people on Firbank Fell, George Fox set up regular open-air meetings for the Friends at Brigflatts, but in 1674 they bought a plot of land and illegally built a Meeting House on it. Three years later Fox returned to Brigflatts and five hundred people attended that meeting.
The Cross Keys Temperance Inn, Cautley, Sedbergh, Cumbria.
The original building dates back to the late 16th century and used to be a farmhouse called High Haygarth. In the mid 17th century the farmhouse was owned by Colonel Benson, Mayor of Kendal, who had turned against state religion and joined the Westmorland Seekers. He became an early supporter of George Fox since his visit to speak to the Seekers in 1652. A year later the Colonel’s first wife gave birth to a son whilst being imprisoned in York for heckling a priest. She died a few years later and was buried in the garden at High Haygarth - now probably underneath the dining room! The initials above the door refer to John and Agnes Howgill who later owned the farmhouse. The building became an inn shortly after 1819 when the road was built. In 1902 the landlord drowned in the River Rothay after attempting to escort a drunken customer home. The inn was then sold to a Mrs Buck, who sold it on to a Mrs Bunney and its liquor license was removed. Mrs Bunney left the Inn to the National Trust in 1949 on condition it remained a Temperance Inn.
Fox's Pulpit, Firbank Fell, Sedbergh, Cumbria,
In 1652, George Fox visited the area to meet the Westmorland Seekers, a group of people who were disillusioned with the established church. Fox stayed with the leader of the Seekers, Richard Robinson at Brigflatts and later that week preached in the grounds of Sedbergh Church. He then went on to hold a huge open-air meeting on Firbank Fell, where he preached for over three hours to a crowd of about a thousand people. This site is now regarded as the birthplace of Quakerism, The Religious Society of Friends.
Horses gather at Fox's Pulpit, Firbank Fell, Sedbergh in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Cumbria.
The 1952 plaque on Fox's Pulpit, Firbank Fell, Sedbergh, Cumbria.
In 1652, George Fox visited the area to meet the Westmorland Seekers, a group of people who were disillusioned with the established church. Fox stayed with the leader of the Seekers, Richard Robinson at Brigflatts and later that week preached in the grounds of Sedbergh Church. He then went on to hold a huge open-air meeting on Firbank Fell, where he preached for over three hours to a crowd of about a thousand people. This site is now regarded as the birthplace of Quakerism, The Religious Society of Friends.
The 1952 plaque on Fox's Pulpit, Firbank Fell, Sedbergh, Cumbria.
In 1652, George Fox visited the area to meet the Westmorland Seekers, a group of people who were disillusioned with the established church. Fox stayed with the leader of the Seekers, Richard Robinson at Brigflatts and later that week preached in the grounds of Sedbergh Church. He then went on to hold a huge open-air meeting on Firbank Fell, where he preached for over three hours to a crowd of about a thousand people. This site is now regarded as the birthplace of Quakerism, The Religious Society of Friends.
A solitary standing gravestone in the Quaker Graveyard adjacent to Fox's Pulpit on Firbank Fell, Sedbergh, Cumbria.
In 1652 George Fox was asked to address a large gathering of 'Seekers' at the small chapel that stood on this site. Fox wouldn't go into the chapel to preach but instead spoke for three hours to a thousand strong crowd from the top of an adjacent crag, now known as Fox's Pulpit. That event is said to have started the Quaker Movement. The chapel was destroyed in a storm in the mid 19th century.
A solitary standing gravestone in the Quaker Graveyard on Firbank Fell, Sedbergh, Cumbria.
In 1652 George Fox was asked to address a large gathering of 'Seekers' at the small chapel that stood on this site. Fox wouldn't go into the chapel to preach but instead spoke for three hours to a thousand strong crowd from the top of an adjacent crag, now known as Fox's Pulpit. That event is said to have started the Quaker Movement. The chapel was destroyed in a storm in the mid 19th century.
A clay sculpture of George Fox, founder of the Religious Society of Friends, in the workshop of sculptor Alan Ward at Lancaster Castle in Lancashire.
The Ca' Steean, outside the Town Hall, Kendal in Cumbria.
This stone, also called the Cauld Stean or Call Stone, originally stood in Market Place and was the base of the town cross from where important messages and news items were announced. The stone was also used as a meeting spot for George Fox, the Quaker preacher, when he addressed the crowds in Kendal in 1652.
Friends Meeting House, Kendal, Cumbria.
George Fox, founder of the Quakers, visited Kendal in 1652 and their first meeting house was built here. This building, built 1816, houses the famous 77 panel Quaker Tapestry.
Wordsworth's Yew at Lorton near Cockermouth in Cumbria.
The 1,000 year old yew stands behind the village hall in the village of Lorton. The tree featured in the BBC program 'Meetings with Remarkable Trees' and was immortalised by William Wordsworth in the poem, ‘Yew Trees’.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, preached under the tree in the 1750s and George Fox, the founder of the Quakers, also preached here to a large crowd that included soldiers from Cromwell’s army.
The tree is on private land and is best viewed from the bridge over Whit Beck or from the old village pinfold next to the bridge where there is an interpretation panel.
Plumpton Hall, Ulverston, Cumbria.
A 16th century house with 18th century renovations. One of the early owners was John Sawrey, a Puritan much opposed to George Fox and the Quakers. John was drowned in 1665 while attempting to cross the sands. Legend says that the Hall houses a supernatural brass lantern which will always find its own way back to Plumpton Hall.
The 1692 Quaker Meeting House at Yealand Conyers in the Arnside and Silverdale AONB, Lancashire.
The Society of Friends has a long history here. Richard Hubberthorne, one of the early Quaker preachers was from Yealand Redmayne, and George Fox preached a sermon in the village in 1652.
EXTERNAL SITES OF INTEREST:
George Fox