Religion in York - Religious Society of Friends

Religious Society of Friends

There are three meeting houses of the Religious Society of Friends in York although meetings are held at other venues including The Retreat and University of York.

York has a long association with the Religious Society of Friends, known as the Quakers, and founded two schools in the city Bootham School in 1823 and The Mount in 1831. The Retreat is a large Quaker mental hospital, situated in the east of the city outside the city walls. It was founded in 1796 by William Tuke; over the next century his son Henry Tuke, grandson Samuel Tuke and great-grandson Daniel Hack Tuke also devoted themselves to mental health reform, continuing to reform The Retreat and publishing a number of works on the subject. The York-born Quaker chocolate entrepreneurs and social reformers Joseph Rowntree and Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree left an indelible mark on the city, through both their business interests and their philanthropy. They built the village of New Earswick to provide quality affordable housing for their employees, contributed to the building of York Public Library and the created Rowntree Park. The four Rowntree Trusts, funded from the Rowntree legacies, are based in York.