Quaker Records
The Society of Friends or Quakers was organised into a hierarchical system. The Preparative Meeting was the basic unit, where adherents met for worship. Representatives attended the Monthly Meetings, and representatives from the Monthly Meeting would attend a Quarterly Meeting four times a year.
The Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Quarterly Meetings amalgamated in 1761, and were joined in 1865 by Lincolnshire. Representatives from each Quarterly Meeting attended the Annual Meeting in London.
Nottinghamshire Archives holds records for the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Society of Friends.
A small number of Quaker records are on restricted access. Contact us for more information.
Main groups of documents
Copies of registers
Removal certificates and acceptance letters
Preparative meetings minutes
Monthly meetings minutes
Quarterly meetings minutes
Correspondence
Title deeds
How to find the document you want
Main groups of documents include:
Copies of registers
Coverage: 1632 - 1837
Copies of birth, marriage and burial registers, made before the originals were given to the Crown Commissioners of Non-Parochial Registers in 1837. They are arranged alphabetically by surname and chronologically within each letter, and have more detail than Anglican registers.
Removal certificates and acceptance letters
Coverage: 18th and 19th centuries
Series of certificates relating to poor relief. If a Quaker moved from one area to another, his or her old Monthly Meeting sent a certificate to the new Monthly Meeting stating that he or she was free from debt, and thus not likely to become a financial burden. The new Monthly Meeting then sent to the old one a letter of acceptance of the removal certificate.
Preparative meetings minutes
Coverage: 18th - 20th centuries
Minutes of Preparative Meetings for various locations. Meetings were often held specifically for men or for women, and so minute books often relate to one of other of these meetings.
Monthly meetings minutes
Coverage: 17th - 20th centuries
Minutes of Monthly Meetings for various locations. Meetings sometimes include details of births, marriages and burials, title deeds to property and other matters.
Quarterly meetings minutes
Coverage: 17th - 20th centuries
Minutes of the Quarterly Meetings of both Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. May include lists of legacies and deeds, and details of accounts. Some are indexed.
Correspondence
Coverage: 19th and 20th centuries
Letters on a variety of topics, including details of marriages and matters relating to removal certificates.
Title deeds
Coverage: 17th - 19th centuries
Records relating to property, including notices of sale of land and leases.
How to find the document you want
There is a catalogue in the archive search room detailing Quaker records holdings. There is also an index of Quaker records available.
Many of the removal certificates are listed in full in the catalogue.
Use our online finding aid to see which Quaker registers we hold.
