There were Quakers in this area of the West Riding from as early as the mid 1650s, based in Weston, Askwith, Farnley and Otley. The sufferings of the Thompson family of Weston were particularly acute and date from 1654, when Henry Thompson "having reproved the Priest of that Parish for lying, was beaten by him in the open Street". The local vicar Thomas Thwaite was a notorious persecutor of Quakers. A burial ground was in use in Askwith from c.1660, on land owned by Edmund Greenwood, and in 1665, a wooden Meeting House was built on the same site. Despite this, it was recorded in that same year as Otley Meeting, within Skipton Monthly Meeting. By 1669 it was known as Weston Meeting and formed part of Knaresborough Monthly Meeting. Its leading members were Henry Thompson, Nicholas Pawson, and Robert and William Smith. Several houses were licensed for worship in Askwith and Weston in 1689. The Meeting House in Askwith was rebuilt in stone in 1705 and around this time, the Meeting became known as Askwith. Two cottages on Main Street in Otley were converted for a Meeting House in 1776 and Friends began to meet there from around that time. The Meeting was then known as Otley until its closure in 1822. Burials continued until 1849.
From the guide to the Records of Otley Preparative Meeting of the Society of Friends, 1666-1982, (GB 206 Leeds University Library)
