Records of Settle Preparative Meeting of the Society of Friends

Minutes of Preparative Meeting, 1700-1736, 1808-1916 (3 vols.) [H 10, 12, 12.1]; rough minutes, 1736-1808 (6 vols.) [SE 19-24]; Minutes of Women's Preparative Meeting, 1823-1832 (1 vol.) [SE 25.1]; List of members, 1886-1955 [SE 59]; Burial notes, including for Settle burial ground, 1882-1896 (1 vol.) [SE 12]; Collection lists, 1702-1730 (1 bundle) [H 20]; Title deeds for Meeting House and burial ground, 1661-1810 (9 items) [U 3/1-9]; Plan of burial ground, 1862 [SE 60/1]; Papers, 1824-1984 (2 bundles) [SE 25.2, 60]

The first Quakers to reach the town of Settle were William Dewsbury and John Camm, around 1652 or 1653. Both preached in the market place, held meetings for worship and made several convincements amongst local people. Some of the earliest Friends in Settle were John Armistead and John Kidd, and a Meeting was settled during this period. It was a constituent firstly of Skipton Monthly Meeting and from 1669, of Settle Monthly Meeting. Its members included Samuel Watson, John Moore, Peter Atkinson, James and Robert Banks, John Kidd, John Robinson and Christopher Armistead. A Meeting House was acquired in Kirkgate at least as early as 1661, and possibly dating back to 1659. It was demolished in 1678 and replaced by the current building, which is still in use. A separate Adult School on the same site was added in 1880. From 1853, the Meeting became part of Brighouse Monthly Meeting, and was transferred back into the re-formed Settle Monthly Meeting in 1924.

The records are numbered and arranged according to the system used when they were in Carlton Hill 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 at Carlton Hill, Leeds

In English

Contents listed in Handlist 99, Inventory of the records of Brighouse, Knaresborough, Leeds, and Settle Monthly Meetings of the Society of Friends formerly preserved at the Friends Meeting House, Carlton Hill, Leeds, 2nd edition, 1997

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 Settle and Brighouse Monthly Meetings, and Settle Friends Adult School

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