Quakers in Langford

This page was contributed by Edward Martin  

There was a Quaker meeting house in Langford soon after the Society of Friends was founded by George Fox in 1650. In 1676 there were 20 Quakers in Langford which then had a population of about 312. Langford Quakers met at Clifton until a monthly meeting could be arranged in Langford in 1700.  

They had a permanent meeting house in Langford left to them by Edward Griffin in 1720. By 1752 the numbers attending the monthly meetings dwindled which forced the closure of the meeting house and in 1754 the meeting was absorbed into the Ampthill Quarterly meeting. 

Reference: Michael Rutt, The People at the Long Ford (Bedfordshire County Council, 1975) and National Archives. 

Further Research:  

Records of the Society of Friends (Quakers) in Bedfordshire are held at the Archives under reference FR. These include a number of references to Langford, and series FR24/13 relates to the property left to the Quakers by Edward Griffin in 1720.