The Early Quakers and the English Revolution

Dr Ariel Hessayon to give talk for the Ealing Historical Association

A satirical print titled "The Quakers Meeting," originally created in the Netherlands during the late 17th century.

February 24, 2026

The Ealing Branch of the Historical Association will welcome early modern historian Dr Ariel Hessayon on Tuesday 10 March, for an evening exploring one of the most dynamic and radical religious movements to emerge from the English Revolution: the early Quakers.

The talk takes place from 7.30pm to 9pm at Ealing Green Church, W5 5QT.

Dr Hessayon’s lecture, The Early Quakers and the English Revolution, 1641–1660, will examine how a small, persecuted group of religious radicals grew into the largest and most enduring new movement of the revolutionary decades. By the early 1660s, historians estimate that 35,000–40,000 people in England and Wales identified as Quakers—possibly as many as 60,000—a remarkable rise in a population of just over five million.

The talk will explore the defining characteristics that set early Quakerism apart: its distinctive preaching style, its plain and powerful literary voice, its unconventional modes of speech, its use of silence, and the prophetic behaviour that often shocked contemporaries. Dr Hessayon will also discuss the movement’s attempts at miracle‑working and its deep roots in a period marked by widespread expectations of an imminent apocalypse and a return to Christian “primitivism”.

Central to the evening will be the charismatic figures who shaped the movement’s early success, including George Fox (1624–1691) and James Nayler (1618–1660)..

Dr Ariel Hessayon is a Reader in Early Modern History at Goldsmiths, University of London, and one of the UK’s leading scholars of 17th‑century religious radicalism. He is the author of Gold Tried in the Fire: The Prophet Theaurau John Tany and the English Revolution and editor or co‑editor of several major collections on Scripture and scholarship in early modern England. His research spans a wide range of topics including millenarianism, mysticism, heresy, environmentalism, esotericism, and radical religious movements. His most recent book, Rediscovering Enoch? (Brill, 2023), traces the afterlives of ancient Jewish texts from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries.

The event is open to members and visitors. Membership costs £15 per year, while visitors can attend individual talks for £5.

Meetings are usually held on the second Tuesday of each month at Ealing Green Church at 7.30pm, with the exception of the November meeting which takes place at Twyford School at 6.30pm. Talks are live events but with the speaker’s permission the association aims to make a recording available afterwards to those registering on Eventbrite (the booking link will be available on the society's website one month in advance of each talk).