Quaker Meeting

There are, and were, many meeting houses within the Unionville Chadds-Ford School District. The Marlborough Friend’s Meeting, London Grove Meeting, Brimingham Meeting, Longwood Meeting House, and the Kendall Meeting House are a few.

-Early Quakers
In 1620, a small group of religious dissenters, sometimes known as ‘The Pilgrim Fathers’ who had gone to Holland to escape persecution, sailed to America in the Mayflower. This group of "dissenters", were only a fraction of those who were dissatisfied with the Church. They were not able to express their disagreement openly and fully in their own country. This resulted in the development of small groups scattered through the land who met for worship and for discussion. The term ‘Seekers’ has been applied to them. No one knows how much communication there was between the groups, but there was no bond and, most importantly, there was no leader to inspire them and to pull them together. But soon a leader was found, and he was George Fox.

The year which is generally accepted as the ‘birth time of Quakerism’ is 1652. For about five years, Fox had been traveling around the country, spreading his message. He was understood and welcomed by some, but he was also met with considerable opposition; he had even been imprisoned on a charge of blasphemy and had suffered considerable mistreatment. Working on his own, he had not begun any sort of religious movement. Then, in May 1652, he was in Lancashire and had climbed to the top of Pendle Hill, near Clitheroe. It was a strange thing to do, because people did not climb hills for fun in those days, especially one that was believed to be an abode for witches; still, Fox had a habit of doing unaccountable things. The view from the top of the hill, was of far spread countryside. This inspired him and shortly afterwards he had a vision of "a great people to be gathered". It was, in fact, the district where he would meet groups of interested people, later to be known as the Westmorland Seekers.

One significant visit which he made to Swarthmore Hall, had a permanent effect on the history of Quakerism. This was a large house and property occupied by Judge Fell and his wife Margaret. Margaret Fell welcomed George Fox with great enthusiasm and was quickly "converted" to his teaching. Fell, though he never formally associated himself with the Quaker movement, was supportive and permitted meetings of Fox and his followers to take place in the Hall. Presumably because of Judge Fell's standing in the county (and also in the nation).

These group meetings were not subjected to harassment by Church and law. Thus, for many years right up to the time of George Fox's death, Swarthmore Hall was the "headquarters" or "powerhouse" of the Quaker movement. It was from this Hall that the early Quaker "missionaries" were sent in small groups of two or more to spread the message in different parts of the country.

Quakers and their meeting houses play a big role in the Battle of the Brandywine during the Revolutionary War. The battle took place on September 7, 1777. The Birmingham Meeting House was used as a hospital, along with many other buildings in the area. Most Quakers did not help either side during the battle. They were sworn not to support them because their religion does not believe in war. Although this did not stop some Quakers from joining the American army. During the Battle of the Brandywine, General George Washington made his headquarters in a home owned by the quaker, Benjamin Ring. The famous French general, commonly known as the Marquis de Lafayette, used another home owned by the Quaker family, the Gilpin's.

The Quaker religion was also known as the Society of Friends. There was a lot of diversity between the members. Some were abolitionists, and some were not. The Society of Friends helped to give the Unionville Chadds-Ford School District and surrounding area the unique, diverse, and wonderful history that it has today.

-Birmingham Meeting House - (more information coming next school year)

-Kendall Meeting - (more information coming next school year)
The Kendall Meeting house is the newest meeting house in the western quarter of Chester County. It opened in the fall of 1973. There are many older people and people past retirement in this meeting.

-Kennett Meeting- (more information coming next school year)

-London Grove Meeting

-Longwood Meeting - (more information coming next school year)

The Longwood Meeting House was built in 1854. It was one of the few frame meeting houses ever built. The members were strong abolitionists, which is the reason that they formed this meeting. The members would get kicked out of their old meetings because they were very anti-slavery. The building served as a station for the underground railroad and abolitionists such as Harriet Tubman. Fredrick Douglas spoke there multiple times. A tunnel once ran from the meeting house to a mulberry tree in front of the Longwood Gardens Conservatory. From there, they would be sent on various routes to Philadelphia. The Longwood Meeting House is now used as the Chester County Tourist Bureau.

-Marlborough Friend’s Meeting - (more information coming next school year)
The Marlborough Friend’s Meeting was organized in 1799 and the house was built in 1801. It was the first brick meeting house in Chester County. The stables were built in 1801, and the outside conveniences in 1813. The cemetery also dates back to 1813.