The First Quaker Missionaries came to Kent in 1655 from the North of England, their base being the rapidly expanding Quaker group in London. In the early summer of 1655, two men, William Caton and John Stubbs, arrived in Folkestone from Dover on a preaching tour around the Kent coast. They were received in Folkestone by Thomas Nichols and his wife, the town’s first Quakers.
The anti-Quaker preaching of the local clergy seems to have led to interest in the new sect and several townsfolk took sides with the missionaries. A small group gathered regularly for the religious Quaker practice to meet in silence awaiting one or more of the congregation to be moved to address the gathering. On some days several Friends would feel led to speak, on others no one would interrupt the silence. By 1684, the group had its own Meeting House.
Folkestone remained a stronghold of Quakerism throughout the 1700s. Towards the end of it the old Meeting House was becoming too small and dilapidated and on 17 April 1799 a new building was opened on a new site in Harbour Way, Folkestone. Attendances fluctuated during the 1800s but in 1895, a time of increased religious zeal, it was the largest Meeting in the East Kent area.
The Harbour Way Meeting House was renovated and re-opened in 1967 and continued in use until May 2003. At this point attendances had again declined and road realignment and vandalism had made the site much less suitable. Following its sale, Meetings for Worship were held in a series of hired halls until the Covid lockdown of 2020. When health restrictions were eased, Friends started to meet again in members’ gardens and subsequently houses. Folkestone Meeting merged with Ashford Meeting on 1 January 2022 to form Ashford and Folkestone Local Meeting, whilst still retaining some gatherings in Folkestone.