QUAKERS IN THIRSK MONTHLY MEETING 1650-75

Primary Quaker source evidence of three clusters of Quakers, within Thirsk Monthly Meeting during the period 1650-75, is examined. There were groups in Kilburn, Wildon Grange, near Crayke, and Sutton-on-the-Forest. There is material that describes their suf ferings for breaking the law by holding a meeting for worship. From this material some indication is found of their backgrounds, their families, and their contact with each other. Church and other records show that these Friends had a place in their local as well as in their Quaker communities. There was also contact with Friends travelling in the ministry. Friends such as Thomas Rowland, William Thurman and Mary Todd formed the backbone of the nascent Religious Society of Friends. They were pioneers ready to suffer for their principles and faith. They suffered, by distraint of money and goods and by imprisonment for their testimony to worship outside the established church of the day