Perhaps the most famous, and certainly the most interesting, geographical location associated with Quakers is Pendle Hill, rising to an elevation of 1,827 feet just east of Lancashire, England.
In 1652, George Fox felt that God led him to climb Pendle Hill. There he had a vision of many souls being saved.
He wrote:
“As we travelled, we came near a very great hill, called Pendle Hill, and I was moved of the Lord to go up to the top of it; which I did with difficulty, it was so very steep and high. When I was come to the top, I saw the sea bordering upon Lancashire. From the top of this hill the Lord let me see in what places he had a great people to be gathered.”
This vision inspired Fox, and he went to the town of Sedbergh and ended up preaching to more than 1,000 people.
Although it hadn’t been named yet, the Religious Society of Friends had begun.
Pendle Hill is still a significant place for Quakers. Many groups hold pilgrimages there every year. The U.S. based Quaker Council on Education will be climbing it as part of their trip to England in June, 2025.
The Pendle Hill Area Quaker Meeting is an active meeting in the area.
And the Pendle Hill conference and retreat center in Pennsylvania is named after Fox’s place of inspiration.
But Quakers aren’t the only group who have history with Pendle Hill.
In 1612, nine women and two men were put on trial as part of the Pendle witch trials. Ten of them were found guilty and hung.
Almost fifty years later, in 1661, Richard Towneley and Henry Power conducted experiments with a barometer that proved what is now called Boyle’s Law, which relates pressure, volume, and temperature with regard to gasses.
And there’s a Bronze Age (3300 to 1200 BC) burial site near the top of the hill.
But perhaps the most creative story regarding the hill has to do with the Devil. There’s a local legend that says he was gathering rocks in an apron. (I was not aware that the Devil wore an apron.)
When he went to throw one of the rocks at a nearby castle, the apron string broke and the rocks he had gathered fell out to form Pendle Hill.
Maybe a pilgrimage is in order.
Peachtree Friends Meeting 