By Richard Bryant, Lindfield History Project Group
In the early decades of the 1700s, the need for financial protection of property and life started to be recognised. Local Friendly Societies began to emerge across the country to provide mutual help in the event of death or sickness. In 1757, local tradesmen formed a society in Lindfield. It is admittedly a dry subject, but the prospectus for the Society makes interesting and, by current standards, amusing reading. The prospectus’ introduction was heavily referenced towards the evils of sin and the need for moral conduct and even invoked God. This is recognising the influence of the Church and religion at this time. It explains ‘When the Creation is viewed over behold Man to be the noblest of all Creatures, and he, being the Favourite of Heaven was placed in Paradise, the delightful Place of all the whole earth; and had but one Order to obey’. It continues in the vein that sin brought death and sickness, but God loves all who obey ‘his Precepts’.
The purpose of the Society is introduced as ‘since the Frailty of Man in this Life, by sickness, or a lingering Death, may have been in want …. Tis hereby intended by us, whose Names are hereunder subscribed, being of divers Trades, Arts, Mysteries or Occupation.’ It explains that as they are all subject to the same infirmities there is a need ‘for the mutual Help and Assistance of each other’ to prevent, ‘the Wants that generally attend Sickness and other casualties; and to the intent that we may relieve each other in such times of Extremity, by an honest and Just Way.’ The section concludes that a fund will be established for this purpose.
The remainder of the document comprises many rules that set out how the Society is to be conducted, member’s subscriptions, obligations and conduct, and most importantly the benefits payable. Every transgression resulted in members being fined.
The meeting place and times are stated as the ‘Society shall meet at the House of Thomas Finch, at the sign of the Tiger in Lindfield Town’ on the first Monday in every month ‘from seven to nine in the Evening from Lady-Day to Michaelmas, and from Six to Eight from Michaelmas to Lady-Day’; recognising the dark winter nights and bad weather.
Membership was limited to 71, a strange number but no doubt chosen for a reason. There were 28 founding members. New members had to be under 40 years, not ‘sickly or weak’ and approved by a majority of members. The entry subscription was one shilling for every £10 in the fund, plus the obligation at his first meeting to spend six pence at the Tiger on drinks. The regular subscription was one shilling payable at every monthly meeting.
To claim the sickness benefit, the member had to prove that he was ‘really sick, lame or infirm and incapable of earning a livelihood’. The benefit was seven shillings a week during the period of incapacity. Surprisingly a time limit was not specified, perhaps because death was not a long time coming if suffering with a major illness. The benefit was about the same as an unskilled labourer’s wage.
In the event of death his next of kin received £5 to pay for the burial. To prevent the fund becoming depleted, a charge of one shilling was payable by each surviving member towards each £5 death benefit paid. Every member was expected to attend the funeral, their meeting venue being the public house nearest to the deceased’s house. Each member was expected to spend three pence on drinks and then ‘to accompany the Corpse’ to the burial ground. A ‘decent hatband and gloves’ were to be worn, and again on the Sunday following. Failure to do so resulted in a six pence fine. Ominously, ‘if any Member shall appear disguised in liquor at a funeral he shall forfeit two shillings and six pence’. Failure to attend the funeral resulted in a one shilling penalty.
If claims resulted in the Society’s fund becoming depleted, members were charged an additional six pence a month, or an amount as agreed, until the fund had a stronger balance.
Anyone with ‘the foul Disease’ or known for ‘Cursing, Swearing, Profaning the Lord’s Day, Fighting, Quarrelling, Drunkenness’ and ‘Whoredom’ were excluded from membership. Whoredom in Lindfield - surely not! Exclusion was also the penalty for making fraudulent claims, with a five shilling reward for identifying a proven fraud. Failure to live a respectable life or neglecting family responsibilities resulted in a severe rebuke from the stewards.
The Society was managed by four Stewards. Every six months, two new stewards were elected and two retired. On election, each new steward had to spend sixpence at the meeting, presumably on drinks! Refusal to serve on being elected incurred a ten shilling and six pence fine.
The duties of the stewards and how meetings should be conducted were described in detail. At the monthly meeting a senior steward had to meet arriving members and collect their subscription. The rules tasked another steward to collect three pence as the member’s ‘share of the reckoning’, the purpose of this sum is unclear. Failure to undertake this task resulted in a ten shilling fine. The steward acting as meeting chairman was required to carry a white wand in one hand and a mallet to keep order in the other.
Any member continuing to talk after the table had been hit three times with the mallet had to pay a two pence fine. There was a six pence fine if a member became ‘disguised in Liquor’ during the meeting. The two longer-serving stewards held the keys to the Society’s chest, in which were kept the accounts and ‘stock’. Failure by a steward to have his key available at the meeting on a timely basis was another opportunity to inflict a one shilling penalty.
In addition to the monthly gatherings, a dinner was to be held in January and July each year, for which there was a six pence charge for drinks and the same amount for the meal. It was a requirement that the vicar had to be invited to the feasts and to be paid ten shillings and six pence to deliver a sermon.
There are further instructions and opportunities to impose fines detailed, with all the money, presumably, being used to improve the Society’s funds. From the prospectus the Society appears to have been a combination of a mutual self help group, brotherhood with rituals and drinking club. No doubt it served a need in its time.
Acknowledgement: An 18th Century Friendly Society
Contact Lindfield History Project Group on 01444 482136 or via https://lindfieldhistoryproject.group/