The Society of Friends, better known as the Quakers, comprises a range of religious organisations which trace their origins to a Christian movement in the mid-17th century.
In contrast to many mainstream Christian denominations, Quakers permitted ministry to be given by both men women, they had no paid clergy and rejected social hierarchies. They wore simple clothing and refused to swear oaths. As a result of challenging the assumptions of the 17th and 18th centuries, Quakers were mistrusted, persecuted and even imprisoned for their beliefs. In Totnes, for example, Quakers were made to wear special badges to mark them as different from other Christians.
Quakers have long been involved in action aimed at promoting social justice and equality, including participating in the anti-slavery movement, in prison reform and the women’s rights movement.
The Quakers came to Torquay in the 1830s. Their first prayer meetings were held on the Strand and from 1851 at St Johns Place, off Braddons Hill Road. Between 1856 and 1948, they worshipped in a Quaker meeting house in Warren Road, a building now occupied by the Samaritans. One of their better known members was William Pengelly, the excavator of Kent’s Cavern.
Today, Quakers are perhaps best known by the ways they testify to their faith in their actions and in how they live their lives.
Quakers do not share a fixed set of beliefs and welcome all to their meetings. Indeed, some Quakers describe themselves as agnostics, or humanists, or non-theists.
From early in their 350-year history, Quakers have taken a clear stand for peace. They promote the transforming power of nonviolence at every opportunity, a peace testimony that has led Quakers to refuse military service, and to become involved in a wide range of peace activities.
Quakers try to live according to the deepest truth they know, which they believe comes from God. They also recognise the equal worth and unique nature of every person. This fundamental commitment to equality and inclusion means that, unlike some Christian denominations, they extend a welcome to gay men and women. They work to change the systems that cause injustice and hinder true community, and campaign for those who are suffering from injustice.
In 1955 Torquay’s Quakers bought Tor Hill Lodge in Tor Hill Road. The Meeting House remains a focus of the Bay’s Quaker activity and hosts meetings of the Torbay Inter Faith Forum.
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