A Community of Quakers in seventeenth century County Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne

Abstract

In 1654 the first Durham monthly meeting was established over concerns regarding 'the estate & conditions of the Church' in their community. The establishment of this meeting marks the beginning of a distinctive and recognizable community of Quakers in north-east England. This thesis examines this community, and explores the processes and reasons for religious governmental organization among the early Quakers, and it examines community relationships and religious divisions through the Quaker community in County Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne. This detailed study of Durham and Newcastle's Quakers reveals the early Quaker community as a manifestation of the larger English struggle between government, authority and religion in the seventeenth century.