Volunteering
The hall relies on the goodwill of a number of volunteers to maintain its role as a place of peace in a busy world. The work is very satisfying. If you live in South Cumbria and would like to help out a few hours a week, please, come along, introduce yourself and join us.
Swarthmoor Hall History Group
The inaugural meeting of the Swarthmoor Hall History Group went well. It was attended by about 15 people. As a consequence we have affiliated with the Cumbria Local History Federation & The Friends Historical Society.
Our next public meeting will be on the evening of Thursday January 28th at 7:00pm when Dr Rod Ireland will give a talk on The London Lead Company, a quaker enterprise that mined lead in the north pennines through the course of the 18th - 20th centuries.
Please - do come along!
A new volunteer at the hall, Des Brady, turned up the other day and took some photographs around the house and gardens including this delightful image of one of the last remaining ancient pear trees in the meadow - formally the orchard of the Hall.
Very wintery! Looks to me much like an Ent!
Herewith a list of events and courses at the Hall for 2010.
If you right click on the image and choose 'save image as' you can download them and print as you wish.
Just got an email from Friend's House in London. It may interest readers of the Blog...
Dear Friends
We would like to invite you to the first meeting of an informal Quaker history group that will meet in the Quaker Centre, Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ on Tuesday 26 January 2009 from 6.00 to 7.30.
You are invited to meet and mingle in the café of the Quaker Centre from 6pm. The Library will stay open until 6pm that day in case you want to combine extended study with attending the meeting.
At 6.30 Gil Skidmore will talk on ‘'Looking at 18th century Quaker networks through the life of Catherine Payton Phillips 1727-1794' followed by discussion.
Because space is limited in the Quaker Centre, it would be helpful if you could reply to this email at quakercentre@quaker.org.uk to let us know that you are coming. This is a free event and open to all.
We hope that this will be the first in a series of informal meetings aimed at those with an interest in Quaker history to enable sharing of knowledge and exchange of ideas. We are planning that these meetings will normally take place on the last Tuesday every month.
At the February meeting (Tuesday 23rd) Jordan Landes will be talking about "London Quakers in the Atlantic world before 1725".
We look forward to seeing you at our meeting.
Gil Skidmore, who is a Quaker, has spent many years researching the lives and writings of early Quakers. Her publications include Turning Inside Out: An Exploration of Spiritual Autobiography (1996), Dear Friends and Sisters: 25 Short Biographies of Quaker Women (1998), Dear Friends and Brethren: 25 Short Biographies of Quaker Men (2000), Strength in Weakness: writings by eighteenth century Quaker women (2003) and Elizabeth Fry: A Quaker Life (2005). She is clerk of Friends Historical Society and co-clerk of QUIP (Quakers Uniting in Publications) and is currently working on a biography of Catherine Payton Phillips.
Quakers say: True religion leads to respect for the earth and all life upon it.
We had the inaugural meeting of the History Group last evening. It was reasonably well attended and the decision was made to go ahead and establish a group. I guess one of the first things to do is to become an associate of The Friends Historical Society. Although the remit is not the same there will certainly be areas of research that will be of interest to both parties.
A powerpoint presentation posed some of the questions around the house that might be of interest to would be researchers. Something that fascinates me is the status of the old barn that stood to the west of the Hall until it was demolished in the 1960s.
The print, above, by Lockwood and dated 1874 is one of the best images of the old barn. It shows quite clearly the horse gin shed where grain was threshed.
There are also a number of photos taken in the early 1960s.
At the far end, beyond the cement mixer, there are a number of windows, suggesting that there was a house or cottage attached to the barn at some date.
Playing about with the image digitally gives a slightly better(?) idea of the frontage. Mullioned windows, so much a feature of the Hall, can be seen again here suggesting a 17th century date.
There don't seem to be any clearer images of the barn kept at the Hall. Maybe someone out there has some?
Experiment with Light for Practitioners
October 16th - 18th This is an opportunity for those with experience of practicing EWL to engage with others and to share their experiences. In addition their will be an opportunity for course members to look at ways of introducing other Friends to EWL through British Yearly Meeting.
£145.00 - Residential only
Becoming a Friend
October 20th - 22ndA short course for people who might be interested in becoming mentors for people who are either attenders at Friend's meeting or who might show an interest in the Quakers and their way of being.
The course will be run by Ginny Wall, a Cumbrian Quaker.
She may be contacted on -
ginny.wall@woodbrooke.org.uk£106.00 - Residential... £80.00 - Non residential
Enquirers Weekend
November 6th - 8th
Pat & Phil Lucas, long established Quakers from Edinburgh will lead the weekend. Over log fires and while watching the birdies feed at their new feeding station in the garden attenders may look at some of the basic tenets of Quaker belief, form of worship & personal testimonies.
If you are interested, contact your Quaker Meeting Overseers who may be able to offer a busary to help with costs.
£145 - Residential... £100.00 - Non residential
