Bradford Friends Band of Hope

This was founded in 1854 and originally known as the Juvenile Temperance Society. Although its members were drawn from the children of the Friends First Day School, it was an independent body until 1870. By 1865 it had been renamed the Band of Hope and had a membership of 150. A peak was reached in the early 1880s, when lectures, lantern shows and musical entertainment drew 100s of people to its meetings. However this did not last and the Band of Hope was in severe decline by 1905, with only five meetings held during the course of that year. There are no recorded minutes after April 1906.

From the guide to the Records of Bradford Friends Band of Hope, 1868-1906, (GB 206 Leeds University Library)