The first Friends in Gildersome were convinced in the early 1660s and formed part of Leeds Meeting. They included Thomas Benson, a clothier, and his wife Grace Scott, and Michael Pratt, who was amongst those imprisoned in York Castle in January 1661 for failing to take the oath of allegiance. Meetings for worship for local Friends began to be held in Gildersome twice a month from 1705 onwards. Land for building a Meeting House in the town was purchased from Joseph and Susanna Dickinson in 1709, and the following year, an independent Preparative Meeting was established (within Brighouse Monthly Meeting). The trustees of the Meeting House (and hence some of the new Meeting's leading Friends) were Samuel and William Dickinson, Thomas Benson jnr. and John Thackerah, all of Gildersome, and Robert Arthington of Farnley. In 1756 a new Meeting House, with a burial ground, was built on land acquired from John Reyner, and this is still in use by the Meeting today. Gildersome Meeting was also responsible for burial grounds at Hare Park Lane (originally a private ground of the Bartlett family), and in Morley. The Meeting was in decline from 1820 onwards; from 1830, joint Preparative Meetings were held for men and women, and a standing committee appointed by Brighouse Monthly Meeting to visit the Meeting. The Preparative Meeting was finally discontinued in 1835, with local Friends joining Leeds Meeting. Meetings for worship however continue in Gildersome to the present day.
From the guide to the Records of Gildersome Preparative Meeting of the Society of Friends, 1706-1993, (GB 206 Leeds University Library)
