The Purchase of Swarthmoor Hall

THE PURCHASE OF SWARTHMOOR HALL.147 John Hasting of In Oxfordshire arriued in ye Year 1682 or 1683 and was Burried at Haueford ye 12.. 2mo : 1698 .............................. 12 : : 2.. 1689 Richd and Jone Wall They Came from Glaucest'shire in ye Year 1682 or 1683. they ware burried at Cheltnam in ye County Philalelphia he was Burried ye ...... 26.. imo 1698 She was Burried ye. . . .2d.. 12.. 1701 James Dellworth Belonging to Chipping meeting in Lancashire arriued in the 7th mo 1682. he deceased In Bristoll Township in the County of Philad* and Was burried ........................... 8day 7mo 1699 [TO be continued.'] THE PURCHASE OF SWARTHMOOR HALL. [Though the purchase of Swarthmoor Hall has been noted in many Friends' periodicals, it seems right that so interesting an event should be chronicled in the Bulletin, and so a letter of Dr. Thomas Hodgkin, who had much to do with the matter, is reprinted from The Friend (London), Ninth month 13, 1912. —Editor.] The Future of Swarthmore Hall. To the Editor of The Friend. Dear Friend.—As I know that Friends generally are interested in the change of ownership of Swarthmore* Hall, I had hoped to be able to give a brief account of the matter to the recent Meeting for Sufferings; but the pressure of other business and the inexorability of railway trains made this impossible. Briefly, this little estate, so memorable in the history of *Dr. Hodgkin uses this method of spelling the name. 148 BULLETIN OF FRIENDS' HISTORICAL SOCIETY. Quakerism, does not immediately become the property of the Society of Friends, but our participation in the recent purchase ensures that it shall eventually belong to London Yearly Meeting. Miss Emma Abraham, of Liverpool, a lineal descendant of Margaret Fell, has had a lifelong desire to become the owner of the estate which a hundred and fifty years ago was sold, under the stress of hard times, by her ancestor, John Abraham. On the other hand, many Friends were desirous that this interesting historic property should not again be subject to the risks of private ownership and the possible appearance on the scene of the speculative builder. The compromise between these two laudable ambitions which we have arrived at is as follows : The purchase money of the estate will be provided in two equal portions, half by Miss Abraham and half by the Friends who have kindly responded to my appeal. The property will be conveyed to her, but our moiety will remain as a charge on the estate at a low rate of interest. Miss Abraham will undertake to make no important structural change in the building without consulting with the mortgagees ; but indeed for this covenant there is not likely to be any need, for she loves Swarthmore Hall as much as we do, and is averse to any change beyond the mere necessary upholding of the building. She will grant all reasonable facilities of access to visitors, especially visitors from a distance, who may desire to inspect the premises. A covenant will be inserted in the mortgage deed forbidding redemption of the property except by desire of the mortgagees, and assuring to the latter the right by pre-emption on Miss Abraham's decease, the purchase money to be the same as the moiety now paid by Miss Abraham, plus compensation for unexhausted improvements. The old Hall will thus, we are persuaded, be lovingly and wisely cared for during the lifetime of its new owner, and will eventually, as before said, become the property of London Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends. It was obviously inexpedient to advertise widely the desire of Friends to purchase before the sale, and only about five and twenty probable donors were therefore consulted. Now, however , I hope we may see the establishment of a Swarthmore Hall PROTEST AGAINST CARRYING QUAKERS, 1664-5. I49 Trust Fund, to which small as well as large contributions may be made by those who are interested in the scheme, and to which some of our brethren across the Atlantic will, I believe, wish to subscribe. There is not only the present moiety of the purchase money to be provided for, but also probably some part of...