Historic photos of Coverdale Foresters

 

Foresters Newspaper articles

 

Video of Coverdale Foresters Day

 

Coverdale Friendly Society or “The Foresters”

by Isobel Jenkins

 

According to the records of the Foresters’ Heritage Trust, a Foresters’ Friendly Society was established in Coverdale in August 1837 under the auspices of a newly formed national organisation, the Ancient Order of Foresters. The official designation of the branch was Court Banks of Coverham (or Cover) 508. Its licence was confirmed in 1841. Members first met in the Bay Horse, the house of John Asquith, (later the Moorcock Inn ) in Carlton, but by the end of the 1840s they were meeting at the house of William Walls, which soon became known as the Foresters’ Arms.

 

It is possible that a Friendly Society existed in Coverdale before 1837. However, no evidence has so far been found to confirm that there was one in existence as early as 1816 as some writers have claimed.

Friendly Societies provided an early form of social security for members. In return for a monthly fee, members were normally provided with sick pay and a burial grant for a member and spouse as and when needed.

 

Members of the Court met each month to pay their dues and enjoy each other’s company. A sense of camaraderie was reinforced by the wearing of a uniform and by the biennial marches. The latter were grand occasions and involved the whole community.  (See the Wensleydale Advertiser June 1844 and June 1846).

 

The Court was suspended by the Order in 1897 when it refused to follow national rules about rates of contributions and benefits. At that time, the Court had 70 members and £773 in funds.

 

The website photographs of ‘Foresters’ Marches’, some dating from the early 20th century, show that the Coverdale Foresters have continued to thrive despite the fact that their social security function is now obsolete.  Members of the national Order were surprised to learn that the Coverdale Court was still functioning even in the late 20th century, that their marches still took place and that their uniforms were still being worn.

 

(See the accounts of visits to Carlton by AOF Officials from Miscellany 1989 and 2003).