Mansfield's Best Kept Secret

George Fox (b. Fenny Drayton 1624, d. Islington 1692) was the son of a Leicestershire church warden. He moved to Mansfield around 1647 and settled there, earning his living as a shoe maker. His house was on the site of the present Roman Catholic Church. The turmoil of the Civil War years, the plight of the poor and oppressed and the attitude of many of the grandees of society and church convinced Fox that there must be a different way to express his faith than that provided by the established church. He became convinced that there was 'that of God in every person' and that the light of Christ and the Spirit could touch anyone who approached God in the simplicity of their own heart. A priest was not necessary. 

'As I was walking by the steeple house side [St Peter's Church] in the town of Mansfield, I heard a voice which said, 'There is one even Jesus Christ that spoke to thy condition.' (George Fox, Journal) Fox began to teach and influence others; he met with opposition and there is an early story of his being put into the stocks at Mansfield Woodhouse after speaking to the villagers at a church service.

Gradually he was joined by early members of the movement that developed into Quakerism - Timothy Garland, Elizabeth Hooton and Robert Bingham to name some of the  locally well known ones. To begin with, they met in each others' homes and Elizabeth's house at Skegby became the Friend's Meeting House which served until 1800 when a larger one was built at Mansfield. Her house in Skegby was the fist Quaker Meeting House and still survives although it is no longer used as a Meeting House.

The beliefs of this growing group and their refusal to show deference to authority (as they believed all people to be equal in the sight of God) got them into frequent trouble. They were often imprisoned in dreadful conditions. The suspicion early Quakers aroused through quite innocent practices and the way they were treated by the courts and the legal system gave rise to the abiding association Quakers have had with prisoners and their commitment to work for enlightened conditions in prisons. This concern has remained a distinctive part of the Quaker movement over the past 360 years. Of course, many Quakers were conscientious objectors and served prison sentences in the twentieth century.

Many people think that the Quaker movement began in Cumbria. Mansfield is now rediscovering its connection to the origins of this world-wide movement and has set up a Heritage Trail commemorating the Quaker history of the area. As well as seeing the Old Meeting House and Burial Ground and the New Friends' Meeting House, you can visit the Almshouses, Westfield Folkhouse (now a Young People's Centre), St Philip Neri RC Church (the site of George Fox's house) and the Metalbox Factory Clock Tower. Metalbox was owned by three Quaker families (the Barringers, Wallises and Manners.) There is a special 'open weekend' on 12th and 13th September and it's a good trail to do in conjunction with the nearby Civil War Trail at Newark as that gives some of the background and context to the rise of Quakers.

The Society of Friends, as it is commonly known these days, has spread around the world, especially across the USA where two Presidents have been Friends. Quakers are well known today for their involvement in peace work, prison visiting and reform and ecology. You can read more about them on their website, Quakers in Britain here, including finding out more about the concerns and projects they are involved with.