History of The Religious Society of Friends in Lurgan

CHAPTER TWO

NEW SETTLERS

At this time there might have been about 50 houses in Lurgan town and a fair number of tenancies occupied by English settlers in the surrounding townlands. We find in early Quaker records references to tanners, weavers, tailors, blacksmiths, wheelwrights as well as shop-keepers, farmers and smallholders. The Brownlow leasebook provides insight into ways in which the landlord wished his estate developed and the store he set on both agricultural and commercial exploitation. The arrival of weavers and linen-drapers would have created a demand for flax and undoubtedly introduced this crop into the range of produce on local farms. In the years following the departure of Edmondson and his group, it would appear likely that the meeting was held in the homes of Friends who lived in the rural areas. William Lynas, who was listed as one of the earliest converts, lived in Moyraverty and it has been established that meetings were held in his home. Mark Wright, a weaver, who joined Friends after the uproar in the Church, lived in Legahory and meetings were held frequently there. Another weaver, Francis Robson, lived in Tamnificarbet in the neighbouring parish of Seagoe and many records exist of meetings in his home. One of the commonest venues was the home of Roger and Ann Webb. Roger Webb was the son of an early settler and was born in Dunmurry in 1622. He moved to the Lurgan area in the middle of the century and acquired a lease of the townland of Annaloiste and part of Aghacommon. He too was involved in the linen business and an inventory of his will makes reference to looms.

RESTORATION OF CHARLES II

The Restoration of Charles II in 1660 brought great changes to the country. Dissenters had been relatively favoured under Cromwell, but now efforts were made to ensure the supremacy of the Established Church. The Act of Uniformity and the Conventicle Acts placed Quaker worship in an illegal position and Friends' refusal to pay tithes and other dues for the upkeep of the local parish resulted in constant harassment. In Ulster Bishop Jeremy Taylor, of Lisburn, was assiduous in pursuing a policy which would make the Church of Ireland a dominant force.

PERSECUTION

It is recorded in 'The Sufferings of the People called Quakers in Ireland' by A. Fuller & T. Holms that 'in 1661 William Bowston, Simon Harrison and Roger Webb (with several other Friends) being met together in Roger Webb's house to wait upon God in his Holy Fear and Worship, in a peaceable way as their manner is; were for the same taken out thereof and by the Lord Conway, Bishop Taylor and Arthur Hill, committed to Ardmagh Gaol and there kept close five weeks; and the said William Bowston died in Prison, (whose death must be given account for by those who caused it) and the other two Friends were kept there six weeks longer'.

'In 1662 Francis Robson, for being at the like peaceable meeting to worship God, was fined by Judge Kennedy in 20s. for which fine the Sheriff's Bailiffs took from him a Horse worth £5. Hugh Stamper, for the like cause, was fined by the said Judge 5s. and imprisoned about eight weeks, and had a kettle taken from him worth 14s'.

As well as contravening these prohibitions of assembly Friends constantly ran foul of the law through their refusal to pay tithes to support the clergy and dues towards the upkeep of church buildings. To them this was a matter of principle for they contended that the Gospel was free and its ministers should not impose a levy on the entire populace. The tithe was an Old Testament ordinance which was abolished through the coming of Christ who did not require an intermediary to communicate his grace. As early as 1656 Richard Fayle, of the parish of Shankill, was sued 10s. 6d. for tythes, but had goods worth £1.0.0. taken from him by Alexander Gill on behalf of the church authorities.

In addition, Friends were often prosecuted because of their conscientious scruple about taking an oath in accordance with the scripture injunction 'Swear not at all...' (Matt. 5. v.34-37). When a charge was sought against a Friend for any reason it was generally sufficient to administer an oath to ensure a conviction.
When fines were imposed and the defendant refused to pay, the practice was for the bailiffs to seize goods in lieu of the sum charged. Invariably the value of the goods far exceeded the amount of the original fine. Although the Conventicle Act was repealed after a few years and Friends were allowed to make an Affirmation in place of an oath in 1719, the obligation to pay tithes remained for a long time. There is a record of one Irish Friend, John Williams, spending six months in Carlow jail as late as 1835 for such an offence.

Friends' distinctive testimony against war and the use of arms was another area where they suffered for their principles. Christopher Hillary had been a member of the Militia in Lurgan under a Captain Draper. When he was 'convinced of the Truth' and accepted Friends ways he could no longer for conscience sake bear weapons and refused to carry out his duties. As punishment 'he was put on a thing they called a Wooden Horse, in Charlemont, with three muskets at each leg and ordered so to sit till four inches of match was burned and afterwards committed to gaol. At the following Assizes he was cleared by proclamation, but kept in prison for fees.'

A careful record of sufferings by Friends in Ireland was kept and in the period until 1751 a total of 972 Friends were committed to prison and goods to a value of £98,403 were distrained. When one transfers this amount into current values one realizes the extent of the distress which was suffered by a relatively small community.

It appears likely that opposition to Friends in Lurgan was not so severe as in some other parts of Ireland, perhaps because of the influence of the local landlords, the Brownlows. Sir William Brownlow had married Eleanor O'Dogherty, a member of an old Irish family. They had no sons, and when Sir William died in 1660, their grandson, Arthur Chamberlain, son of their eldest daughter, inherited the estate and assumed the name Brownlow. The Chamberlains were a Catholic family from Co. Louth, but the new landlord of the Lurgan estates soon adapted himself to his new position. Perhaps as a result of his background he showed little sectarian bias and was prepared to welcome Quaker tenants who were diligent and enterprising in developing his town and lands. Reference to him after his death states: 'he always showed the greatest kindness and indulgence to all Protestant Dissenters, which surely ought never to be forgotten by them'. Another member of the family, William Brownlow, who lived near Loughgall, was a leading Quaker in the Ballyhagan meeting, established in 1654, the same year as the one in Lurgan. At any rate Arthur Brownlow seemed to pursue a policy of developing the economic prosperity of his town and district and actively encouraged the Quaker settlement on his estates. Church influences or local jealousies could, however, be directed against members of this new radical group which cared so little for traditional values and practices.

Despite, or perhaps because of these sufferings, the cause of Friends prospered and new family names keep entering the records: Hoope, Hollingsworth, Harland, Stamper, Bradshaw, Kirk, Calvert, Hodgson, Turner, Bell, to name but a few. The general population of Lurgan and district was growing fast and Friends were becoming an important and influential community.

LYNASTOWN BURIAL GROUND

Quaker principles did not allow members to avail of the services of a priest in the local parish graveyard. When William Lynas died in 1658 he was buried in a small plot on his land in Moyraverty just off the coach road from Belfast to Armagh near the Red Cow inn. The earliest Lurgan Minute Book records of him:

'William Lynas (the elder) was convinced of truth in the beginning of its breaking forth in these parts, lived in the belief of it, received friends with a willing mind and meetings were kept at his house at the first settling (of) meetings here. Obtained a good report amongst the neighbourhood by his Christian behaviour, stood in his testimony for truth and bore reproach for Christ's sake in Whom he believed and continued in the faith until he died and departed this life the 22nd of 4th month in the year 1658.'

In subsequent years other Friends were buried in this ground and in 1673 the sum of ten shillings was paid to his son, Thomas Lynas, for the transfer of this plot to Francis Robson of Tamnificarbet and William Porter of Lurgan, acting as trustees for Friends. Both are designated as weavers. Six years later a Deed of Conveyance was drawn up transferring the plot to twelve other Quakers. This conveyance stated that 'the onely intent use and purpose that the aforesaid parcell shall and may bee continue and remain a burying place wherein for to bury their dead and not only theirs but such others as they the aforesaid people shall suffer there to be burried.'

The twelve trustees were:

The witnesses to the deed were Will Lynas, William Crooke, Robert Bradshaw, Henry Hollingsworth, Robert Truman, Jonathan Webb, Francis Williams, George Fox and Thomas Chapman. It is significant that of the twelve of whom the trades are indicated five were connected with textiles, in addition to the original trustees, Robson and Porter, who were weavers. It also shows the growing importance of the town of Lurgan by 1679, as seven of the twelve were by then resident there.

FUNERALS AND WEDDINGS

By the end of the seventeenth century 108 burials had taken place in Lynastown. Careful records of interments were kept, but as headstones were not permitted in the early years the exact location of graves is not known. When burial grounds were opened adjoining new meeting houses in Lurgan and Moyallon the number of interments in Lynastown was greatly reduced. The last burial was in 1967 and the burial ground has now been transferred to the care of Craigavon Borough Council.

Early records frequently refer to arrangements for and the solemnisation of marriages, for Friends were careful to ensure that these unions were fully accepted by legal authorities. The parties concerned in the marriage had to seek the approval of their parents and the local meeting for their union and reports were brought in as to the suitability of the match. As is the case to-day the marriage took place in the course of a Meeting for Worship and many certificates exist of weddings which were held in the homes of such Friends as Roger Webb, Francis Robson and Mark Wright. These certificates were signed by all present and give us a good indication of the families which were associated with Friends at the time.

TRAVELLING FRIENDS

Much of the spiritual dynamic in the early days of Quakerism came from the influence of Friends who 'travelled in the ministry.' Although Friends did not have professional ministers or preachers, many travelled voluntarily to share their faith. They would preach publicly in churches or in open air locations such as the market place and also encourage the small groups of members in their meetings and by visits to their homes.
Mention has already been made of John Tiffin and Richard Clayton, and in the late 1650s visits are recorded in the Lurgan area from Thomas Loe, John Burnyeat, Robert Lodge, all English Friends, as well as from William Edmondson who by the end of the decade had moved on from Co. Cavan to Mountmellick in Queen's County. Thomas Loe of Oxford had a powerful influence on William Penn. As a student in Oxford Penn had been impressed by his preaching and after meeting Thomas Loe again in Co. Cork he was convinced of the Quaker message and identified himself with Friends.

JOHN BURNYEAT

John Burnyeat of Cumberland paid the first of many visits to Lurgan in 1659 as a young man in his twenties and travelled extensively in Ireland for a period of twelve months. He landed in Donaghadee and as he states in his Journal 'travelled up to Lisbourne, and so up to Lorgan, and on to Kilmore in the County of Armagh, and so up and down in the North for some time amongst Friends, and had many Meetings. And many people came to Meetings and many convinced and turned to God from the evil and vanity of their ways.' His itinerary continued to Dublin, Mountmellick, Kilkenny, Cork, Youghal, Waterford and Wexford before heading north again. Returning to Lurgan he met up with Robert Lodge from Yorkshire and in his company travelled for a period of twelve months throughout the length and breadth of Ireland. They were particularly concerned to visit Londonderry and were also in Carrickfergus. Coleraine and Antrim before returning to their northern base of Lurgan. He concludes his report of that time by saying 'thus we spent our time with diligent labour and hard travel, often in cold, hunger and hardships in that country, which was in many parts uninhabited: and in prison several times; once in Armagh, once in Dublin, twice in Cork; besides other abuses we received from many, because of our Testimony which we had to bear for the Lord in their towns and in their steeple-houses and against their hireling-priests.'

Something of his hardships and the difficulty of communication can be sensed in this letter sent to his friends in Cumberland from CLANBRASEL [Clanbrassil - the ancient name for the Lurgan district] in the County of ARDMAGH in IRELAND, the fourth day of the fourth month, 1660.

"Dear Friends,
I wrote a letter in the eleventh month, before I went out of these parts, and sent with one, who did intend to pass through Cumberland; but I hear it was left in Yorkshire: which did somewhat trouble me, because that I did not obtain an opportunity to send again so soon, as I could have desired, in regard we travelled into the West towards Galloway [Galway] and Cork: but at Dublin, when I was there I wrote a letter, which I partly believe, may be come to you. So being in haste, I cannot give you an account, as I would desire; only times are very troublesome in regard of the distractions of the people of this nation. We were taken prisoners, after we came from Dublin, at Ardmagh, and kept three days: It is very hard to travel in this nation for us; but for the Seed's sake we are freely given up into the Will of God.'

Despite these experiences John Burnyeat appears to have had a great affection for this island, for he paid a total of seven visits (interspersed with travels to Friends in North America and the West Indies) and finally married and settled in Dublin about 1680, spending the last years of his life there (when not on his travels). Although he died in 1690, we read that in that year 'the way being opened to the North, and Tranquillity restored there after the late troubles, visits were performed to that Province by several ministering Friends' - included in the list was, of course, John Burnyeat!

GEORGE FOX

George Fox visited Friends in Ireland on one occasion only, in 1669. The main purpose of this visit was to set up Monthly and Provincial Meetings for Discipline and Gospel Order. An organisation which set store on authority derived from direct revelation through the Holy Spirit could easily become diffuse in character and ineffective in its witness. After unwise behaviour by individual Friends in England which brought the movement into disrepute, Fox perceived the need for consistent testimony and united action by groups at local and regional levels to ensure some uniformity of belief and practice. He was led to adopt an organisational pattern which gave corporate strength to individual concern. In 1668 he travelled widely through England setting up this structure among Friends groups and in the following year he arrived in Ireland with the same purpose in mind.

His exact itinerary in Ireland is not easy to follow, as he does not always give the names of the places he visited. After arriving in Dublin he made his way to the South, then through the Midlands to Co. Cavan. As his Journal was written down some years later, details of meetings are often missing. The allusion 'Then I passed over the water where so many were drowned in the massacre' refers almost certainly to the atrocity carried out at the River Bann in Portadown during the 1641 Rebellion, when many settlers were slain. This place is only a few miles from the houses in which Lurgan Friends were meeting at that time and the event was probably still strong in the folk memory of the settler population after almost 30 years. Given the importance of Lurgan meeting at the time we may safely assume that it was included in his circuit.

Lurgan Monthly Meeting was the first to be organised in Ireland and was held in the parlour of Roger Webb's house. Records date from 1675 and it is stated in Olive Goodbody's ' Guide to Irish Quaker Records' that 'many of the decisions made by the Meeting are described in considerable and illuminating detail, which makes the first minute book of the Lurgan Meeting probably the most informative of any of the records in Ulster'. From this minute book the following extract is taken from 22nd of 6th mo. 1694: 'A Book of the Journal or Historical Account of George Fox being left a free gift by the said George and being this day brought to the meeting to be preferred for the service thereof, the charge upon it is only for Customs and Carriage from London being two shillings and six pence.' Clearly Lurgan Meeting had a important place in the affections of the Quaker pioneer and this early copy of his Journal had been sent following his death. Sadly there is no trace of this volume among the books which make up the Friends library at Lurgan.

BENJAMIN BANGS

One ministering Friend, Benjamin Bangs, originally from Norfolk, spent almost one year in Ireland in 1681-82, during which time he claims to have travelled 1746 miles and attended 180 meetings, exclusive of Dublin. He records encountering on the road near Antrim a number of men and asking them if they were gong to a religious meeting. They told him "our minister is silenced; for orders are come down, commanding all dissenters not to assemble; so now we have no teacher." At that time according to Benjamin Bangs all dissenters except Friends had abandoned the holding of services and thus Friends had a great opportunity to minister to the spiritual needs of the general community.

KATHERINE NORTON

One of the most remarkable of the early Quaker ministers to visit Lurgan was Katharine Norton, nee McLaughlin. She was born of well-connected Irish parents in or near Coleraine and emigrated at the age of sixteen to Barbadoes. There she settled and married. When George Fox and other Friends visited the island in 1671 she was convinced by their ministry and in the cosmopolitan society of the West Indies she became an active Friend. In 1678 she came 'on Truth's service' to Ireland and visited her relatives in Coleraine where she had several meetings. She also preached IN IRISH in Lurgan market on the market-day. She appeared primarily concerned to bring her faith to the Irish-speaking community to which she belonged and not simply to minister to the English settlers.

The travelling Friends who visited Lurgan in these early years are too numerous to list in full, but it is clear that their contribution to the spiritual life of the meeting and outreach to the wider community was very great indeed.