Hammersmith meeting is old and new
Members of The Society of Friends (better known as Quakers) have been living and worshipping in Hammersmith since 1658. This makes it one of the oldest of the Quaker meetings.
Hammersmith Quaker Meeting House in its present location is one of the newest Quaker buildings in the UK. The building openend in late 2020 - just in time for the national lockdowns.
In reality, Hammersmith Meeting began to build itself in its new location from April 2021.
Quakers are known for their commitment to peace, social justice, and humanitarian work. They opposed slavery, promoted prison reform, and advocated for equality of women. Quaker business founders such Cadburys, Rowntrees, Fry, Colman, Barclays and Lloyds set new standards for the treatment of workers, founding schools and model villages.
Quaker activism extends to pacifism. conflict mediation, and, in modern times, environmental issues and the recognition of same-sex marriage. For more information on some of this work An active peace and social testimony
Hammersmith Quaker Worship on a Sunday at 11am and lasts for an hour. After meeting there is coffee and biscuits, this is the perfect opportunity to ask questions. If you are coming to a Quaker meeting for the first time you will find this information useful .Your first time at meeting Your first time at Quaker meeting
If you would like to explore our calendar you can check it out here Hammersmith Calendar
Quaker History and Quakers in Hammersmith
The Quaker movement emerged during the aftermath of the English Civil War, a period of religious and political upheaval in Britain.
Early members of The Society of Friends (better known as Quakers) rejected churches, sacraments, holy days, and hierarchical authority, advocating a faith lived through daily actions and moral conduct. They believed in the inherent presence of God in every person, promoting equality and respect for all. This was a view highly unpopular with religious authorities and the state.
George Fox, a key Quaker was jailed on numerous. People seeking God, he said, can follow this inner prompting. During this time and for decades to come, hundreds of Quakers were jailed as dissenters against the Church of England and the state.
“Twelve Quakers quite still”
Nothing daunted, Fox and his followers travelled south to spread the word. Sarah Blackborow (or Blackberry), one of the founders of Hammersmith meeting who came to Hammersmith from the City of London and persuaded a local woman named Hester Matson to hold a Quaker meeting in her home.
In 1677, nineteen years after their first gathering, the Quakers of Hammersmith built their first Meeting House at 28 Lower Mall, on the site that is now part of Furnivall Gardens.
The Meeting House stood among a network of narrow alleyways. In the 1760s part of the Meeting House was rebuilt. Its garden was planted with mulberry and walnut trees as was its burial ground – part of which is under the A4 today.
By the 1870's rural Hammersmith had become a suburb of London. The narrow streets around the Meeting House were home to urban workers and families living in overcrowded and squalid conditions. The Quakers became a hub of vital support for this community. They opened ‘First-day’ (Sunday) schools for children and adults and held Mothers’ Meetings and social evenings.
The second Hammersmith Quaker Meeting House now lies under the A4 and Furnivall Gardens
In the late 1800s and early 1900s there were also links between Quakers the local riverside community and writers and artists.
William Morris lived a few hundred yards from the Meeting House in Kelmscott House. His father had been a partner in a Quaker firm of discount-brokers and he grew up playing with local Quaker children.
Edward Johnston (1872-1914), father of modern calligraphy was a member of the Hammersmith Quaker Meeting. He designed a sans-serif typeface for London Transport that was used for decades on London Underground posters and signs as well as the classic Underground ‘rondel’.
The 18th-century Meeting House remained in use up to 24 July 1944 when it was destroyed by a flying bomb. Immediately a place to worship was offered by Rev. J.E. Bolam of Rivercourt Methodist Church where Friends held meeting for worship for eleven years and where a plaque commemorating this can be seen.
Quakers had hoped to rebuild a new meeting on the original site, but agreed with Hammersmith Borough Council – who was planning a new Furnivall Gardens for the Festival of Britain – to surrender their old site ‘…spiritually representing the needs and common good of the neighbourhood and in doing so bear witness to our Quaker faith.’ It was to be set physically aside from the new garden and serve as a Garden of Rest, where it remains today.
The third Hammersmith Quaker Meeting Housse 1955-2020
The third Meeting House, designed by Quaker architect Hubert Lidbetter who also designed Friends House on Euston Road, was opened on 23 October 1955.
The Meeting Room was designed according to the classical 17th and 18 century style with pine wainscoting and a raised ‘Elder’s Bench’. The Meeting House stood across the A4, nearly adjacent to and several hundred from the site of the old Meeting House, burial ground and Garden of Rest.
In 2002, on the 350th anniversary of George Fox’s vision on Pendle Hill, Lancashire, seen as the start of the Quaker Movement, Hammersmith Meeting held a Gathering for Peace and Reconciliation on 29 June.
We planted an apple tree brought from a nursery close to George Fox’s birthplace at Fenny Drayton, Leicestershire. We hope the tree will symbolise the enduring contribution made by Quakers in Hammersmith since 1658. Bud grafts from this tree were taken before we left the old Meeting House in 2020. A new tree taken from these grafts was planted in our new Meeting House.
The fourth Hammersmith Quaker Meeting House
In 2004, sixty years after agreeing with the Council to surrender the site of our original meeting house by the Thames for the benefit of the Hammersmith community, we were again approached by the Council and their development partners.
They wanted to acquire our site for the new Town Hall and housing development. Assured that our site was intended for housing which was truly affordable, we agreed to exchange our land for the site of 30-32 Bradmore Park Road.
In September 2020, Hammersmith Quakers moved into our fourth Meeting House, just in time for lockdown.
The building was designed by Stewart Dodd and has won many awards.
In planning this building, it was important to Quakers to respond to current environmental challenges. We commissioned a building that meets high standards of energy efficiency and has a low carbon footprint.
Materials were sourced using ethical supply chains, including FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) timber. All joinery is handmade in keeping with Quaker simplicity.
The garden is already attracting bees and other pollinators. The building holds an Association for Environmentally Conscious Building (AECB) certificate, which is equivalent to “Passivhaus” standards of energy efficiency.
For information on the history of Quakers in the UK, the BBC has produced an excellent article.
External link: BBC’s history of the Quakers