Records of Brighouse Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends

Minutes of Monthly Meeting, 1688-1988 (30 vols.) [Q 1-8; R 1-17; NN 1-5]; rough minutes, 1768-1778, 1794-1911 (21 vols.) [SS 8; L 23-27; Q 9-24; PA 86]; Minutes of Women's Monthly Meeting, 1760-1777, 1791-1870, 1894-1907 (11 vols.) [L 1-11]; rough minutes, 1763-1791, 1798-1805 (2 vols.) [L 12-13]; Minutes of Meetings on Ministry and Oversight, 1700-1906 (7 vols.) [G 1-7]; Minutes and papers of Extension Committee, 1916-1921 (1 vol.) [F 26]; [Minutes] and report of Committee on recently admitted members, 1900-1901 (2 items) [G 8-9]; Records of sufferings, 1658-1872 (5 vols.) [L 14-18]; rough records, 1751-1790 (1 vol.) [SS 7]; Lists of members, c.1798-1885, 1890-1915 (with gaps) (15 items) [M 1-7; FF 70-77]; Tabular statements, 1881-1896 (2 vols.) [M 18-19]; Books, certificates and notices of removals, 1807-1922, 1927-1946 (10 vols.) [M 8-12, 15; GG 7/3-4; J 84; MM 1]; Running account of members [removals], 1840-1872 (1 vol.) [M 14]; Disciplinary reports (with applications for membership), 1869-1913 (with gaps) (8 bundles) [F 67/32-90; O 8; M 13/228-235; GG 3, 5-8]; List of recorded and unrecorded ministering Friends by Joseph Thorp, 1867 [P 42]; Testimony re. Mary Wright, 1859 [SS 5/1-4]; Index of registers of births, marriages and deaths, by Caleb Haworth, 1701-1797 [F 14]; Registers of births and deaths, 1837-1915 (2 vols.) [F2, 2A]; Register notes, 1832-1837 [L 27/1]; Papers re. registration, 1828-1882 (2 bundles) [AA 8-9]; Birth notes, 1837-1855, 1874-1904, 1910-1934 (4 vols.) [F 52-53, 33-34]; Marriage registers, 1837-1995 (9 vols.) [F 5-7; J 45; F 58, 69-72]; Authorities for registering marriages, 1837-1865 (2 vols.) [F 3-4]; Burial notes, 1822-1837 & 1910-1932 (6 vols.) [F 44, 30, 35-38]; Death certificates, 1920-1949 (1 bundle) [F 60]; Accounts of Visitation Committee, 1911-1919 (1 bundle) [F 57]; Charity Commission documents, 1923-1930 (1 bundle) [F 68]; Records of Brighouse, Leeds and Settle Monthly Meetings Trust Funds Committee; Minutes, 1853-1971 (4 vols.) [LL 11, 25-27]; Minute and report of Ad Hoc Committee, Special Joint Meeting of Brighouse, Leeds and Settle Monthly Meetings re. Trust Funds Committee, 21 November 1964 [PA 84];Accounts and returns of the charitable trusts, 1853-1985 (4 bundles and 4 items) [LL 2-3, 5, 20-23, 99]; Treasurer's accounts and annual statements of accounts, 1854-1954 (7 bundles) [LL 6-8, 18, 97-98; PA 59]; Ledgers, 1902-1984 (12 vols.) [LL 14, 43-53]; Cash books, 1871-1990 (6 vols.) [LL 31-38]; Treasurer's papers, 1954-1964 (1 bundle) [LL 101]; Draft income tax returns and repayment claims, 1922-1952 (1 bundle) [LL 96]; Account book of School Fund, 1796-1854 [LL 12]; Maps, 1880-1894 (3 items) [GG 1]; Epistles, advices, minutes etc. received: From London Yearly Meeting, Meeting for Sufferings, Yorkshire Quarterly Meeting and other Monthly Meetings, 17th century-1878 (8 vols./bundles) [F 17-18, 20, 54-55; L 20/1-23; SS 3]; Answers to queries, 1767-1851 & 1903 (2 vols.) [SS 4; F 8]; Reports, 1863-1913 (with gaps) (8 bundles) [L 19; F 67/32-90; O 8; M 13]; Envelope of forms labelled "Friends' service" recording activities of attenders, associates or members during the First World War, 1914-1918 [F 63]

George Fox and his fellow First Publishers of Truth William Dewsbury, Richard Farnsworth, Thomas Taylor and Thomas Goodaire began preaching in this area of the West Riding as early as 1651. As a result, several settled Meetings within Brighouse Monthly Meeting date from the early 1650s. The Monthly Meeting was formally established in March 1669 as one of five in the West Riding. It was carved out of the north western part of the existing Pontefract Monthly Meeting. At that point, its constituent Meetings were Brighouse, Halifax, Leeds and Mankinholes (Todmorden). A proposal was made in 1795 to divide the Monthly Meeting, partly due to difficulties in travelling to meetings during the winter months, but this was not implemented. By the turn of the century, the migration of rural Friends into the rapidly expanding cities of the West Riding was causing serious financial strain on the Monthly Meeting, as it sought to meet demands for poor relief. By then, there were also Meetings in Bradford, Gildersome, Huddersfield and Rushworth (but this closed in 1802). In 1853, Brighouse was considerably enlarged by the incorporation of Settle and (most of) Knaresborough Monthly Meetings. This added the Meetings of Addingham, Airton, Bentham, Keighley, Lothersdale, Newton, Rawdon, Settle and Skipton. A decade later, the first tabular statement for Yorkshire Quarterly Meeting gave Brighouse a membership of 823 Friends, out of a total of 2069. Meetings which formed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries included Bingley, Leeds: Burley Road, Fleece Lane (later Great Wilson Street), York Road and Woodhouse Carr, Ilkley, Morley, Salterforth, Scholes and Thornton-in-Craven. By 1922, the Monthly Meeting still had about 40% of Yorkshire Friends within its boundaries, with 1210 out of 3006 members. A year later, it was split into three parts, Brighouse (comprising Bradford, Brighouse, Halifax, Huddersfield and Scholes Meetings); Leeds (comprising Gildersome, Ilkley, Morley, Rawdon and the Leeds Meetings); and Settle (comprising Bentham, Keighley, Salterforth, Settle and Skipton Meetings).

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. Documents F 67, G 1-2, M 13, O 8, Q 1-8, R 1-10, and GG 1-8 have been indexed in the Library's Quaker Archives database. http://www.leeds.ac.uk/library/spcoll/quaker/quakint1.htm

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 Addingham, Airton, Bentham, Bingley, Bradford, Brighouse, Gildersome, Halifax, Huddersfield, Ilkley, Keighley, Leeds, Morley, Rawdon, Salterforth, Scholes, Settle, Skipton and Todmorden Preparative Meetings; and Yorkshire Quarterly Meeting

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