Francis Howgill
Episode 8 Summary
Francis Howgill (1618 – 1669)
In this episode, we reflect on the life and ministry of Francis Howgill, one of the early “Valiant Sixty” who helped establish and sustain the Quaker movement in its formative years. Born in Westmorland in northern England, Howgill’s early spiritual searching led him through a range of religious traditions before he was convinced by the message of George Fox.
Howgill became a preacher and organiser, contributing to the growth of the early Quaker community and helping shape its emerging structures and discipline. He worked closely with other early Friends, including Edward Burrough and Margaret Fell, and played a role in supporting the publication and circulation of Quaker writings.
His ministry was marked by courage and integrity. He travelled widely, faced opposition from authorities, and was imprisoned for his refusal to conform most notably for declining to swear an oath of allegiance. He spent his final years in Appleby prison, where he continued to offer counsel and encouragement to others.
Alongside his public witness, Howgill’s writings offer a powerful inward call: to turn away from outward forms and toward the Light within. His words continue to speak to the Quaker experience of waiting, listening, and grounding life in what is eternal.
Presented by: Silver Wattle Quaker Centre
Written and Narrated by: Michael Corbett
Introductions Read by: Ann Zubrick, Board Member, Silver Wattle
Produced and Edited by: Holly Dhynes, Quakers Australia
Based on materials originally developed by: Michael Corbett, with gratitude to David Johnson
Produced on Ngambri–Ngunnawal land, near Weereewa (Lake George), where Silver Wattle Quaker Centre is located. This series includes contributions from Friends across Australia and around the world.
Music: Classical Guitar by Mantikore (licensed from AudioJungle)
Website: https://silverwattle.org.au/podcast
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Transcript for Episode 8:
Francis Howgill, 1618 – 1669
Ann:
Welcome to this podcast series coming courtesy of Silver Wattle Quaker Centre, located in central New South Wales on the edge of Werriwa or Lake George, the largest freshwater lake in Australia. We acknowledge and give thanks for First Nations groups’ care of Country. We commit to its ongoing care.
I’m Ann Zubrick, a member of the Silver Wattle Board.
Here is Introducing Early Quakers: Episode 8 – Francis Howgill, 1618 – 1669, narrated by Michael Corbett.
Michael:
Francis Howgill, 1618 – 1669
Francis Howgill was a Quaker activist who played a key part in the development and growth of the Quakers. He was born near Grayrigg, Westmorland in northern England. This area became a stronghold for the people called Seekers and this is where Francis started his preaching.
His parents owned the land that they farmed, and Francis worked on their land, but after going to university where he studied theology, he became a minister of an established church in Colton in 1652, but later left this church when he became dissatisfied with their teachings. His spiritual searching led him to the teachings of other denominations like the Anabaptist, the Independents, Baptists, and Seekers as he wanted something deeper. He joined a group of Independent seekers and became a teacher to that group. Francis states that from the age of twelve, he had set his heart to know that God whom the world professed and that he often had the need to be alone. By the age of fifteen, he had written several sermons. His first marriage was to Dorothy, she died later and in 1657 he married Mary.
There was a group of people called the Westmorland Seekers and Francis was drawn to this group. His spiritual experience grew when George Fox visited its centre at Preston Patrick, close to Kendall and Sedbergh. Francis and his friend John Audland [another minister] came across George Fox preaching and were ‘convinced’, soon they became part of the ‘Valient Sixty’. It is recorded that in 1652 George Fox, James Naylor and Richard Farnsworth joined in holding a “great and effectual Meeting” in the house of Francis. Howgill, as a businessman, was made responsible for the collection of funds. When the funds were depleted by the growing work of 1655 to 1658, he joined with Margaret Fell and Edward Burrough in establishing a general collection “for the service of Truth” and worked with George in deciding whether papers and books, written by Friends, should be printed and circulated and was consulted in the first stages of the development of the discipline of the movement.
Francis later appeared at the trial of James Naylor who was being charged with blasphemy. Francis infuriated members of the Bench by refusing to remove his hat when he appeared in court as it was a sign of deference to the judges. His hat was burned, and he was sent to jail for five months. On his release he met Edward Burrough, they became close friends, and they both began to spread the Quaker message and establishment of the Religious Society of Friends in London. Francis became quite ill with fevers and chill and shivering and ‘brought near to his grave’, but he did recover and although weakened by this, he and Edward worked their way to Bristol and Ireland. They ministered through the winter of 1655-56 until they were banished by Henry Cromwell, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and one of Oliver Cromwell’s sons. In 1654 at the age of 36, Francis published A Woe Against the Magistrates, Priests, and People of Kendall. Later the Quakers in London came under the influence of Naylor and when Fox parted company with him in 1656, Francis tried to bring about a reconciliation, but was unsuccessful. Ironically Francis and Naylor were both later charged with blasphemy, and both were sent to Appleby Jail. In early 1655, Francis went with John Camm to visit Oliver Cromwell and later in a report sent to Margaret Fell, he said of the Protector that ‘he is full of deceit’. After the restoration in 1660, which marked the return of King Charles II, Francis claimed in a leaflet One Warning More that England had ‘chosen madness for thy crown’. It was in December 1662 that his close Friend and associate Edward died in Newgate prison at the age of 27.
In 1663 he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Appleby jail for refusing to swear an oath of allegiance to the crown. His sentence was: ‘You are put out of the king’s protection, and the benefit of the law; your lands are confiscated to the king during your life, and your goods and chattels for ever; and you are to be a prisoner during your life’. During that time people came to support him and to seek advice, but his General Epistle published in 1665 showed a loss of belief in any Quaker triumph over adversity. The part of the sentence consigning him to imprisonment for life was not supported by the act of parliament, as it was clearly proved in a later case of George Fox.
On the 11th day of the 11th month 1668, he became ill in prison and died in November 1669 and was buried in Westmorland. In 1676 a collection of his works, entitled The Dawnings, and its Light and Glory Discovered was published. George Fox said in a testimony about Francis that ‘He was one of the Lord’s worthies, that preached His everlasting word of life’.
In 1828, 3 years before he came to Australia, James Backhouse published ‘Memoirs of Francis Howgill with extracts from his writings’ – a copy of which is in the Library of the Brisbane Meeting House.
Writings of Francis Howgill
Francis Howgill wrote:
If you build upon anything or have confidence in anything which stands in time and is on this side of eternity and the Being of beings, your foundation will be swept away, and night will come upon you, and all your gathered-in-things and taken-on and imitated will all fail you…..why gad you abroad? Why trim yourselves with the saint’s words, when you are ignorant of the life? Return to Him that is the first Love, and the first-born of every creature, who is the Light of the world.
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The Kingdom of Heaven did gather us and catch us all as in a net, and his heavenly power at one time drew many hundreds to land. We came to know a place to stand in and what to wait in.
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If thou enquire in what I must seek, and what I must wait in, and how must I seek; I inform thee, thou must silence all thy own thoughts and thou must turn thy mind to that which is pure, holy, and good, within thyself, and see and wait in that, in the Light of Jesus Christ, wherewith thou art enlightened.
Ann:
We hope these stories have sparked reflection and a deeper appreciation for the courage and spiritual depth of early Friends.
If you'd like to explore Quaker spiritual practices or join us for a retreat or course — either in person or online — visitsilverwattle.org.au.
Acknowledgment
I acknowledge the writings of David Johnson and material from Britain YM Handbook, Wikipedia and the Valient Sixty by Ernest Taylor and Memoirs of Francis Howgill by James Backhouse. Any errors are mine.
- Michael Corbett
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Francis Howgill explored many different religious traditions before becoming convinced as a Friend. What does his journey suggest about the role of searching, questioning, and dissatisfaction in spiritual growth?
Howgill wrote about “silencing all thy own thoughts” and turning toward what is “pure, holy, and good” within. What does this practice look like for you today? What makes it difficult?
Howgill and others were “convinced” after hearing George Fox. What does “convincement” mean to you? Have you experienced a moment or process like this?
Early Friends were drawn together “as in a net.” What helps create a sense of spiritual community today? Where do you see this in your own meeting or group?
Howgill refused to remove his hat in court and would not swear an oath, even at great personal cost. What does faithfulness to conscience look like in our time? Where might we be called to take a stand?
Howgill spent years imprisoned and faced illness, yet continued to minister and write. How do we understand the relationship between suffering and spiritual faithfulness?
Howgill challenged both religious and political authorities, sometimes at great risk. How do we discern when to question authority, and how to do so with integrity?
Howgill’s writings call us to build our lives on what is eternal rather than temporary.
What might that look like in your daily life—in work, relationships, or decision-making?
Download the Discussion Questions on PDF.