Records of York Friends Sewing Meeting

Minutes and proceedings, 1834-1880, 1906-1927 (3 vols.) [J 1.1-1.3]; Account book, 1954-1973 (1 vol.) [J 1.4]

The Friendly Society for Benevolent Objects was set up in York in 1834 to meet the social needs of women Friends. It was modelled on a similar body in Hull. Members met monthly in each others' homes to take tea, listen to readings and sew garments for charity. From 1851, the society was renamed the York Friends Sewing Meeting. By the end of the century, overseas missions in Syria, China and India, and refugees in the Balkans were supported by this charitable work, as well as the poor of York. During and after the First World War, work was undertaken for the Friends War Victims Relief Society and the Friends Ambulance Unit. It was still active in 1927.

The records are numbered and arranged according to the system used when they were in Clifford Street Meeting House

The conditions of deposit include a clause requiring written prior permission from a Friend Custodian for access to consult current legal documents and any material less than fifty years old

The collection of archives of the Society of Friends formerly held at the Friends Meeting House in Clifford Street, York

In English

Contents listed in Handlist 75, "Inventory of the records of Yorkshire General Meeting and York and Thirsk Monthly Meetings of the Society of Friends formerly preserved at the Friends' Meeting House, Clifford Street, York" (1986)

As with access, the photocopying of current legal documents and any material less than fifty years old requires the permission of a Friend Custodian

Related material in Leeds University Library: Records of York Preparative Meeting

S. Allott, Friends in York: the Quaker story in the life of a Meeting (Sessions, 1978), pp.46-47, 91

The records are deposited and remain the property of the Society of Friends