Quakers, Donhead St. Mary

George Fox converted William Fry, the owner of Ashgrove Farm, in 1657. In 1663 George Fox, founder of the Quakers, told of a meeting there. Fry was imprisoned in Salisbury and London for not paying his tithes in 1660-4. In 1678 Fry set aside a burial ground in Chilverton Bottom for Quakers (which included himself in 1708). Burials continued until John Fry sold the farm in 1778. The graveyard was not included in the sale. A rail was put around it in the later 19th century and it is owned by the Society of Friends.

More recently Quakers have attended the Meeting House in Shaftesbury.