Quakers and Finance in the Midlands

 Quakers are members of a group with Christian roots, that began in England in the 1650s. The formal title of the movement is the Society of Friends or the Religious Society of Friends. As at 2009, there were approximately 210,000 Quakers across the world. In Britain there were 17,000 Quakers, and 400 Quaker meetings for worship each week as stated in the “Religions – Christiantity: Quakers”.

The history of Quakers in Birmingham began in 1659 when meetings were held in “Friends” homes. By 1681, “Friends” were meeting in a house in Colmore Lane and by 1703 a purpose-built meeting house was in use in Bull Street, with a burial ground to the rear.

Currently, people are welcome to visit the Wolfson Centre on the 4th floor of the Library to view the exhibition. Centenary Square Birmingham B1 2ND, where the Library of Birmingham Archives & Collections team, are  the opportunity to find out more about the records they hold and see a selection of original material from the archive of Central England Quakers, dating from the 17th century to the 20th century.  

In the late 18th century, banking was a booming business in Britain. With the Industrial Revolution underway, particularly in the Midlands, this highlighted the need for credit.  Whilst, in pre-industrial times there were a dozen banks in Britain outside London, by the 1800’s there were well over three hundred banks. Quakers founded up to a quarter of these banks and were considered religious nonconformists in Anglican Britain. In fact Quakers were banned from many professions and from holding public offices, until the early 19th century.  As a result, many ambitious Quakers, either thrust themselves or were thrust more into careers in business.

Ref: BBC 3 July 2009

1 May 2019, Quaker Meeting House