"READER, would'st thou know what true peace and quiet mean: would'st thou find a refuge from the noises and clamours of the multitude: would'st thou possess the depth of thine own spirit in stillness: come with me into a Quakers Meeting."

Thus wrote Charles Lamb in his Essays of Elia, and this year the Quakers celebrate the 350th anniversary of the defining moment, when, in 1652, their founder, George Fox, brought his new-found faith to Lancashire and sparked off a movement which was to spread throughout the area and then throughout the country and abroad.

Many dee-thinking people were dissatisfied with the established church of the day, and saw that Fox's message was the answer to their desire for a more sincere spiritual form of worship. Thus was born the Religious Society of Friends - later to be known as Quakers - a name readily adopted although actually a form of derision voiced by a magistrate at one of their many trials.

Although we do not know whether George Fox ever visited Bolton, we do know that Quakers have held Meetings for worship in Bolton since 1668 when James Harrison, drawn to Friends by Fox, came to the town.

In 1672 Phineas Pemberton came to Bolton and married James Harrison's daughter. These two families formed the nucleus of a regular Meeting held in the Harrison's home.

The inevitable persecution followed and a small group decided to emigrate to Pennsylvania. Those who stayed linked up with groups in Blackrod, Coppull and Westhoughton and it was not until 1721 that a regular meeting place in Bolton was obtained. This was a two-storey building in Acresfield, roughly on the site of the present Trustee Savings Bank.

In 1820 a new Meeting House was built in Tipping Street, off Folds Road, and Friends worshipped there until, in 1969, the premises was demolished to make way for the new inner relief road.

The new and present Meeting House in Silverwell Street was opened on March 6, 1971.

The Society of Friends is a small religious group, yet their contribution to the social and spiritual development of the world is far greater that mere numbers may suggest.

An anniversary fair will be held at Silverwell Street on May 18, from 10.30am until 12.30pm, and other events will be held during the year.

Meetings for worship are held in each Sunday at 10.30am and all are welcome.

Roland Southworth

Treasurer

"READER, would'st thou know what true peace and quiet mean: would'st thou find a refuge from the noises and clamours of the multitude: would'st thou possess the depth of thine own spirit in stillness: come with me into a Quakers Meeting."

Thus wrote Charles Lamb in his Essays of Elia, and this year the Quakers celebrate the 350th anniversary of the defining moment, when, in 1652, their founder, George Fox, brought his new-found faith to Lancashire and sparked off a movement which was to spread throughout the area and then throughout the country and abroad.

Many dee-thinking people were dissatisfied with the established church of the day, and saw that Fox's message was the answer to their desire for a more sincere spiritual form of worship. Thus was born the Religious Society of Friends - later to be known as Quakers - a name readily adopted although actually a form of derision voiced by a magistrate at one of their many trials.

Although we do not know whether George Fox ever visited Bolton, we do know that Quakers have held Meetings for worship in Bolton since 1668 when James Harrison, drawn to Friends by Fox, came to the town.

In 1672 Phineas Pemberton came to Bolton and married James Harrison's daughter. These two families formed the nucleus of a regular Meeting held in the Harrison's home.

The inevitable persecution followed and a small group decided to emigrate to Pennsylvania. Those who stayed linked up with groups in Blackrod, Coppull and Westhoughton and it was not until 1721 that a regular meeting place in Bolton was obtained. This was a two-storey building in Acresfield, roughly on the site of the present Trustee Savings Bank.

In 1820 a new Meeting House was built in Tipping Street, off Folds Road, and Friends worshipped there until, in 1969, the premises was demolished to make way for the new inner relief road.

The new and present Meeting House in Silverwell Street was opened on March 6, 1971.

The Society of Friends is a small religious group, yet their contribution to the social and spiritual development of the world is far greater that mere numbers may suggest.

An anniversary fair will be held at Silverwell Street on May 18, from 10.30am until 12.30pm, and other events will be held during the year.

Meetings for worship are held in each Sunday at 10.30am and all are welcome.

Roland Southworth,

Treasurer.