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Ouaker Meeting House, Carlisle


This Quaker Meeting House is located on Fisher Street in Carlisle. It is a relatively modern building of 1963. However, the site was originally a Quaker burial ground; a stone tablet outside the building is inscribed "Friends Burying Ground. Closed 1855".[1] The first Quaker meeting house in Carlisle was opened in 1653 in Abbey Close, but with the persecution of non-conformists, closed in c.1660. The Meeting in Carlisle was re-established in 1693 and a new meeting house was built in Fisher Street in 1702. This was replaced by a new meeting house on another site in Fisher Street in 1776.[2] Finally, this was replaced by the present meeting house in 1963, built on the former burial ground.

The Carlisle Meeting was established during a time of persecution of religious "dissenters" or "non-conformists", including the Quakers. George Fox, a leading founder of the Religous Society of Friends (aka Quakers) was imprisoned several times, firstly in 1650. He visited Carlisle in 1653 but was soon imprisoned in Carlisle Castle, after being accused of being a 'heretic, a blasphemer and a seducer'. When released he visited the Carlisle meeting house. Parliament made it increasingly difficult for Quakers. The Quaker Act of 1662 made it illegal to refuse to take the Oath of Allegiance to the Crown, and the Conventicle Act of 1664 made it a crime for those who did not pledge allegiance to the Crown to hold 'secret' meetings. The meeting house in Carlisle was seized and monthly meetings were then held at the Meeting House in Scotby for about twenty years. It wasn't until the reign of King James II that the official persecution of non-conformists eased, with the Declaration of Indulgence of 1687 and the Toleration Act of 1689.
Fisher Street Quakers Historic Buildings and Monuments in Carlisle Former Friend's Meeting House, Scotby
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from Geograph (geograph)
Quaker Meeting House
Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Geograph (geograph)
Friends Burying Ground
Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from https://www.cumberlandquakers…
Carlisle Meeting
- Cumberland Quakers Website. "The Meeting House is situated at the bottom of Fisher Street, opposite Carlisle Castle and close to the centre of the City. There is limited parking at …
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Simon Cotterill
from https://commons.wikimedia.org…
Portrait of George Fox (1624-1691)
- 17th century portrait attributed to Peter Lely. Public domain image c/o Wikimedia Commons.
Added by
Simon Cotterill
Former Friend's Meeting House, Scotby
  Co-Curate Page
Former Friend's Meeting House, Scotby
- Overview Map Street View There was a Friend's Meeting House (Quakers) in Scotby, built in 1718, which for a time, hosted the Carlisle Monthly Meeting. It has not been used …

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Geo / Heritage Meta Data

Post code: CA3 8RR
Unitary Auth: Cumberland
County: Cumbria
Grid ref: NY39885617

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