Pardshaw Quaker Centre

08/05/2026

Last weekend was Britain Yearly Meeting at Friends House and on the Saturday lunchtime we assembled the Pardshaw information as part of the Groups Fair.
3 of us (Carolyn, Rowan and Dawn) spent a busy couple of hours chatting to people about Pardshaw, what the aims are for it and how to book it. Several people have signed up to get the newsletter and/or become a Friend of Pardshaw Quaker Centre. It was also lovely to meet someone who has recently reconnected with Quakers and who used to do the Pardshaw Workcamps in the 1970s and is interested in coming back and seeing how it's changed.

Dawn who uses a powerchair also had several conversations with random strangers about just what was in the large carrying case she was balancing on her feet as she went back to Kings Cross!

16/04/2026

It's the Friends of Pardshaw AGM on Saturday, if you're not yet a Friend of, and would like to attend then please join through our website and use the contact details on there to request the zoom link.

https://pardshawquakercentre.org.uk/join-donate-now/join-friends-of-pardshaw-quaker-centre/

16/04/2026

Excellent news and a good place to stop on your way to or from Pardshaw.

BBC News - Kendal Quaker Tapestry Museum to reopen with volunteer support - BBC News

The museum, which shut last year, will now open on Wednesdays until August, with hopes to extend.

25/03/2026

Spring Gather will be happening from Thursday 9th April - Sunday 12th. It's an open weekend organised by the committee. Cost is food + £15pp pn (say if you will struggle with that). Food will be veggie with vegan options. Special diets catered for too. Lifts can be arranged from Maryport (station) or Cockermouth (bus). Come for all of it or just a night and explore this lovely quiet part of the Lake District. If you're interested, please email [email protected]

03/03/2026

Please if you think this might be something you could do, contact us as below.

08/09/2025

Latest news from Friends House about Palestine Action.

Quakers in Britain has applied to intervene in the judicial review of the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, saying the ban has undermined their freedom of religion.

05/09/2025

A quick reminder that the Friends of Pardshaw Quaker Centre Zoom Meeting is on Saturday at 5pm (17.00) UK time and it would be great to have as many people as possible on line for it.

Topic: Friends of Pardshaw Quaker Centre
Time: Sep 6, 2025 17:00 London
Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83060210487?pwd=wH7mxrstj7mmx0hTAWR5dsbuzAMkiS.1

Meeting ID: 830 6021 0487
Passcode: 767050



Provisional Agenda
1. “Reboot” of FPQC – now we have a widening membership

2. Nominations - trustees

3. Nominations – FPQC clerk

4. Membership update

5. Outreach - Open day success, future plans?

6. Promotion of site; 2025 community group use report, "Bardshaw" folk music event

7. Ad in The Friend?

8. Fundraising update

9. Workcamp report

10. Communications: Website

11. Other appropriate business - including opinions on items to be raised at trustees’ meeting

To help people work their way around the difference between FPQC and Trustees:

FPQC (Friends of Pardshaw Quaker Centre)
Wider membership body who are paying £10pa to support PQC plus all the trustees
Cover: membership, communications, promotion of site

Commitments:
- To hold an AGM
- To hold General Meetings as required (currently plan 4/year)
- Trustees meetings, minimum 3/year (currently jointly with CIO trustees)
- Appoint half the CIO trustees (CAQM appoints the rest)

Pardshaw QC CIO Trustees
Trustees have some conditions required by CAQM - Cumbria Area uaker Meeting - such as Quaker membership
No meetings mandated, athough currently meet most months, usually on line

Cover: finance, fundraising, lead on technical issues, policy

Commitments:
- Appoint trustees by minute
- Annual reports to Charity Commission, plus 6-monthly to CAQM
- Keep accounts
- Keep minutes of decisions

There is of course a strong overlap of interest, and we encourage FPQC to feed opinions to CIO trustees to help with decision-making. FPQC is therefore in a good position for threshing decisions.

14/08/2025

Apologies for the lateness of this.
The Open Day last Saturday was a big success, at least 60 visitors including many locals. Best quote of the day from a 4yo boy who'd already been there a couple of hours "but I don't waaaant to go, I want to staaaaay here".

People ate cake, drank tea and coffee, enjoyed looking at the Loving Earth Panels and the art exhibition, met F/friends, asked questions, some ventured up to the Crags, others enjoyed sitting in the Burial Ground, many had a go at Willow Weaving, others had a go at fabric stamping or drawing and painting.

As a committee we chatted to people, asked what they thought we should do, listened to stories of visiting as a child and how it was just as special 30 years on.
And we were warmly encouraged to make it an annual event (this is the 2nd year) as 'it's such a lovely occasion'!

Photos by Anna Watson, Carolyn Phillips, Dawn Beck and Kes Ward - apologies if I've missed anyone!

07/08/2025

We're still working away here cleaning, sorting, painting, discussing future options and drinking lots of tea while we all work. Please, if you're in the Cockermouth area or fancy a Nice Day Out, do come and visit on Saturday**. As most are aware, Pardshaw is very much a work in progress but each small improvement chips away at the total and we would love to show you the building if you've never been or the latest works if you've been before.
There are also the Loving Earth Panels to inspire you, plus the willow workshop and an arts and crafts exhibition with hand made items relating to Pardshaw on display.

** Pardshaw Quaker Centre 10am-5pm
Pardshaw Hall
CA13 0SP
Take the A5086 from Cockermouth towards Egremont, then take the 3rd turning on the left. At the t-junction turn right and we're on the left a bit further up by the old phone box and under Pardshaw Crag.

06/08/2025

It's Workcamp Week here and work is very definitely being done.

The schoolroom has been snow cemmed and is looking a lot nicer inside, a tree stump has been removed as part of the first stage of introducing stepfree access into the burial ground (and yes it will be filled in too...), cleaning and sorting is being done. The small room is in the process of being transferred into a quiet room, kitchen cupboards are being cleared out, cleaned, items counted and sorted and lots of other bits and pieces. And a load of waste metal has been taken to the scrappy.

Today did get a lot more complicated when 2 lovely blokes with vans and a very large reel of cable turned up expecting a nice quiet laybay to use as the base for their replacement operations for the 2 hamlets.... And then the grave digger turned up too, fortunately he was just checking something and coming back tomorrow to do the work.