Heritage Open Day
Saturday 7th September, 10.30 am – 4.30 pm
Bath Quaker Burial Ground
Clarendon Road, Bath BA2 4NJ

George Fox, an early leader of Quakerism, would be turning 400 this year and Quakers in Britain and around the world are celebrating!
Visit the Quaker Burial Ground in Widcombe, Bath, a lovely, peaceful walled garden on the side of a valley. Meet some Quakers and learn a little of the history of Friends.

Early Friends could not be buried in consecrated ground such as churchyards because they were not baptised. That was one of the many ways in which they opposed the prevailing religious culture of the seventeenth century when they were founded. Most early Meetings acquired land for burials. These were marked by simple grave markers, bearing only the Friend’s name, date of birth and date of death, carved in a very plain style. Quakers regard everyone as equal in life and death, so no Friend is given extravagant praise for their virtues or achievements, and no decoration appears on the stones.
Fox made a point of living with integrity and acting against injustice. He helped to build a faith community that practised what they preached, looking for that of God in everyone. Quakers through history continued to live out these values, playing an important role in the abolition of slavery, modelling fair employment practices and working for humanitarian and social change. Today, Quakers in Britain work for peace, climate and social justice. Quaker communities create spaces for people of all faiths and none to explore their beliefs in quiet stillness.
Following the example of George Fox and early Friends, Quakers continue to live and work by testimonies to peace, equality, simplicity, and truth.