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The Quakers, a religious sect, were founded in England in 1652, by George Fox during ‘the greatest years of upheaval in English history’. Fox believed in spontaneous, non-hierarchical worship and a focus on individual experience of God. Quakers were also known as Members of the Society of Friends. Their lifestyle was strict, and they worshiped in silence in Meeting Houses, with no priests, sacraments, or statues. Meetings took place weekly, monthly quarterly and yearly.
William Edmundson an ex-Cromwellian soldier, who settled in Lurgan as a shopkeeper brought Quakerism to Ireland. The Richardsons who came to Bessbrook in the mid-19th century can trace their ancestors who converted to Quakerism to the mid-17th century. John Grubb Richardson founded Bessbrook Meeting House in 1864 and built a row of cottages, whose rents maintained the building.
Meeting houses were plain in design, both inside and outside. The strict practises Quakers adhered to isolated them from the indigenous Irish. Quaker schools were built to educate their children in Quaker beliefs from the age of two. Quakers dressed in plain clothes and spoke plainly using thee and thou and the days of the week were changed, for example, Sunday was known as First Day. Quakers are renowned for truthfulness, hard work, honesty, integrity, compassion for the poor in society, exceptional note keeping, temperance and the avoidance of debt among their fellow Quakers. Quakers were involved in prison reform, education and caring for the mentally ill.
Quakers tended to marry other Quakers, especially those involved in the linen industry. Marriage required parental consent, the marriage was simple, the couple attended the Meeting House, said they would love and care for each other and that was that. No celebrations occurred after. Marriage was important because these unions had a business component attached. For example, in 1867 James Nicholson III married Sarah Sophia Malcomson, whose father had his own cotton and weaving factory in Portlaw, Waterford.
In keeping with their faith, for those that could, they became doctors, scientists, engineers, merchants, shopkeepers and entered industry. One of the important industries Quakers went into in Ireland during the 18th and 19th centuries was linen manufacturing. The linen industry offered a choice of work, opportunities to make money and build businesses for family members. They tended not to integrate with other sections of the community other than for business reasons.
This was the context for the beliefs and way of life of the Richardson family. John Grubb Richardson and his father James Nicolson Richardson arrived in Bessbrook c.1845. They had been heavily involved in areas of linen bleaching for many years and owned mills in Belfast and Liverpool. They also had business contacts in New York during the 1830’s and 1840s.
John Grubb built Bessbrook Mill for spinning and later weaving of linen by 1853. He had assets, skills, vision and family connections. Bessbrook was an ideal location for his new venture, a few miles away from the town of Newry. However, Newry provided a plentiful supply of workers and Camlough lake supplied the water power to run the mill.
John Grubb soon began building a model village for the managers and workers. He wanted to create his little Quaker utopia. By 1890, 700 houses were built to facilitate the workforce of almost 3,000. He also built Bessbrook Town Hall, Post Office, recreational areas for workers and a Temperance Hotel for visiting managers. The hotel enforced Richardson’s Quaker ideals of no alcohol, believing if people avoided alcohol there would be no need for pubs, police or pawn brokers in his little utopia of Bessbrook. Other famous Quaker businesses followed his example, such as the Cadbury family in Birmingham who developed their Bournville Quaker community along the lines of Bessbrook Model Village.
The Mill remained in operation until 1972, when sadly new fabrics and a change in peoples tastes resulted in linen production falling into decline. However, the Richardson’s legacy lives on as Bessbrook remains a beautiful village to live in.
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