Stories Unlocked Gainsborough – Friends Meeting House

Quakers in our Meeting House Here are a few details of how Quakers in our Meeting House have been involved in the local community.   The Foundling Trust Deed of 1705 is signed by, among others, a butcher, a grocer, a skinner and a woollen draper. At this time, Gainsborough was the centre of a wide area for Quakers, including the the Isle of Axholme and much of North Lincolnshire. One of the prominent Quakers in the eighteenth century was John Maw, a local farmer, grocer and mustard manufacturer. In 1876, our schoolroom was built as part of the Adult School Movement – the education of working people has always been a central concern for Quakers. Working men would call into the Meeting House for classes on their way home at night. The Adult School Movement continued here until 1943.

In the 1930s, Harold Brace came to the Ashcroft Mill as manager. He was a member of our meeting for many years. He and his wife, Ellen, were both instrumental in the restoration of Gainsborough Old Hall. The Meeting House and Schoolroom are still used by local groups and for our own outreach activities. Image: The Meeting House in Market Street is a touchingly simple building dating from 1704, with a few later additions, mainly 19th century. (Photo John Hall on Flickr).

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