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St Albans Quakers - A Brief History 1652-2002
Picture of St Albans Meeting HouseThe Religious Society of Friends (as Quakers are formally known) dates its founding to 1652, a time of much religious upheaval in England.  (For general information about the Society and its history click here).

The earliest known Quaker presence in the St. Albans area dates from the mid 17th century.  Records show that George Fox, the Founder of Quakerism (see Information for Visitors and Enquirers), visited Hertfordshire in 1655 and found like-minded 'Friends of the Truth'  established in Markyate, but whether Quakers were meeting together in St. Albans at that time is unclear.  By 1669, however, when the authorities made a survey of dissenters living in St. Albans, there were 60 Quakers 'meeting at a hired house on Sundays and Wednesdays'.  These early Quakers may have had a hard time of it, because following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 measures to punish dissenters became harsh.  Throughout the next ten years Quakers were imprisoned, fined and transported to the colonies for their beliefs.  It is known that at times Quakers were gaoled in St. Albans for various 'crimes', including failure to attend church services.
 
In the early 1670s however, persecution decreased for a while and local Quakers felt confident enough to erect a Meeting House.  For this purpose, in 1672 they bought a plot of land now accessed from Spencer Street.  Four years later, in 1676, a larger plot was purchased, and although there are no records of a second Meeting House having been built, the plot was used for some two hundred years as a Quaker burial ground.  This plot is now leased to St Albans Council and provides a pleasant public garden to the front of the Police Station in Victoria Street.

St. Albans Quaker Meeting flourished for around 100 years, but the end of the 18th Century saw the beginning of a steady decline in their numbers.  This was a national trend in the Society of  Friends, which was hastened by Quakers being disowned for marrying outside the Society, or for getting into debt.  Many of them emigrated to other countries, or converted to outside denominations.  In 1830 the Quaker Meeting in St Albans was formally closed, although the town was not wholly without Quaker influence in the ensuing years.  

With the coming of the Midland Railway in 1868, the City of St Albans began to grow, and with this growth, new Quakers came to the town.  In 1899, for about a year, records show that there was a regular Meeting for Worship held in St Albans once again.  This ceased in 1900, but was revived in 1902 when  Friends began to meet fortnightly for Sunday Worship.  In 1905, a weekly Meeting for Worship was established, and this has continued to the present day.

In 1910, Friends began to meet in a former school room which had been purchased by a local Quaker.  In 1912, these premises were bought outright, and converted into a permanent Meeting House.  In the following 80 years, the premises have been extended and renovated several times, most recently in 1996.

At the close of 2002, there are about 60 Quakers in St Albans, with perhaps half as many again who are regular attenders or children of members.   Visitors are always welcome at our Meetings.
 


(c) The Religious Society of Friends, St Albans 2002
This page has been written drawing almost exclusively on the book "Where God Had A People" by Clifford Crellin (published 1999 & available from St Albans Meeting).