QUAKERS
Catherine of Aragon when residing at Ampthill taught the art of lace making and the women of Hogstye End became very proficient at it and it spread throughout the whole of Buckinghamshire.
In 1644 when he was 19 George Fox made a prolonged stay in Newport Pagnell and in 1645 Richard & Sarah Marks of North Crawley were mentioned as Quakers and in 1649 the Glidewell family in North Crawley were also mentioned as Quakers in the article of Hogstye End (now Woburn Sands).
In 1653 one of the earliest pioneers of Quakers was John Whitehead who wanted to preach the truth to the people. He stood up in the churchyard in North Crawley and as the congregation came out of church and declared the truth according to the Quakers. He was quickly set upon by the crowd who beat him and kicked him until they drew blood.
All religious bodies sought their extermination.
At Quakers Farm in North Crawley which was in the hands of the Marshall family for centuries with a field set aside for Quaker Burials.
They were often fined for attending Quakers meetings.
In 1675 Francis & Ann Newman were recorded as helpful workers at North Crawley together with Thomas & Elizabeth Marshall who owned Quakers Farm were recorded at pioneers in North Crawley.
In 1679 Two faithful friends at North Crawley, George Flane & Henry Glidewell suffered severe loss by fire and 10 Quaker meetings responded to an appeal and contributed £19-16s-11d.
Mary Kingham was charged with “walking disorderly” she had attended a dance and walked with a “man of the world”.
In 1680 Richard Marks of North Crawley was sued in the Ecclesiastical Courts in Aylesbury for tithes. He was excommunicated and then by a Copias Writ was committed to Aylesbury gaol for 10 months during which a quarter of his corn was seized.
As he was the chief smith, his neighbours who didn’t know how to do without him satisfied the greedy priests and fetched Richard home from prison.
In 1685 in a petition to Charles II there were 1460 Quakers in gaol, 30 in Bedfordshire and 19 in Buckinghamshire.
Between the years 1661-1697 Quakers were imprisoned, 195 transported to the colonies and 338 died from the effects of their suffering.
In 1684 Henry Glidewell a clothier married Mary Ball at North Crawley.
EARLY RISING, HARD WORK AND DOING CHARITY WAS THEIR MANTRA