Friends Meeting House, Kendal

Kendal Friends Meeting House is a Friends meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Kendal, Cumbria, in north-western England.

There have been Quakers in Kendal since the 17th century when the town was visited by George Fox. The present meeting house was purpose-built in 1816 to replace the previous building used by local Quakers. Attendance at Sunday worship in 1816 numbered several hundred.

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Quaker Tapestry

The Quaker Tapestry consists of 77 panels illustrating the history of Quakerism from the 17th century to the present day. The idea of Quaker Anne Wynn-Wilson, the tapestry found a long-term home at the Friends Meeting House at Kendal, Cumbria, England. The design was heavily influenced by the Bayeux Tapestry, and includes similar design choices, including three horizontal divisions within panels, embroidered outlines for faces and hands, and solid infilling of clothing, which is embroidered in the Bayeux technique. The tapestry is worked in crewel embroidery using woollen yarns on a handwoven woollen background. In addition to using four historic and well-known stitches (split stitch, stem stitch, chain stitch and Peking knot), Wynn-Wilson invented a new corded stitch, known as Quaker stitch, to allow for tight curves on the lettering. Each panel measures 25 inches (64 cm) wide by 21 inches (53 cm) tall. 4,000 men, women and children from 15 countries worked on the panels between 1981 and 1989. Panels have been toured in traveling exhibitions including a North American tour in 1993/1994. An exhibition of 39 panels in Ely Cathedral in 2012 attracted 11,273 visitors during its 27-day stay. In October 2021, the museum was one of 142 sites across England to receive part of a £35-million injection into the government's Culture Recovery Fund (a response to the COVID-19 pandemic). The museum received a "Hidden Gem" award for 2020-21 from VisitEngland. The museum closed in December 2025.

Church of Holy Trinity and St George, Kendal

The Church of Holy Trinity and St George is in New Road, Kendal, Cumbria, England. It is an active Roman Catholic parish church in the diocese of Lancaster. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. The church was founded by the parish priest, Thomas Wilkinson, and designed by local architect George Webster. Architectural historians regard the church as the best of the three designed by Webster in the town.

St George's Church, Kendal

St George's Church is in Castle Street, Kendal, Cumbria, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Kendal, the archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness, and the diocese of Carlisle. Its benefice is united with those of St Oswald, Burneside, St John, Grayrigg, St Mary, Longsleddale, St Thomas, Selside, and St John the Baptist, Skelsmergh, to form the Beacon Team Mission Community. It was a Commissioners' church, having received a grant towards its construction from the Church Building Commission.

Westmorland and Furness

Westmorland and Furness is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. It covers Westmorland, the Furness peninsula, and the areas around Penrith and Sedbergh. It is bordered by Cumberland to the north and west, Northumberland, County Durham and North Yorkshire to the east, and the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire to the south. Its largest town is Barrow-in-Furness and its administrative centre is Kendal. The unitary authority area was formed on 1 April 2023 during local government restructuring which saw the abolition of the former non-metropolitan county of Cumbria and its six districts; Westmorland and Furness has the same area as the former districts of Barrow-in-Furness, Eden, and South Lakeland. It remains part of Cumbria for ceremonial purposes. Prior to the local government reforms of 1974, the area was split between the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland, Lancashire and Yorkshire. Westmorland and Furness is a single-tier local government area, being both a non-metropolitan county and district. Its sole local authority is Westmorland and Furness Council, which provides the services of both a county council and a district council. The first elections to the new authority took place in May 2022, with Westmorland and Furness Council acting as a "shadow authority" until the abolition of Cumbria County Council and the three district councils on 1 April 2023. The economy is mainly focused on tourism around both the Lake District and Cumbria Coast, shipbuilding and the Royal Port of Barrow, and agriculture in the rural parts of the area.