Friendly Societies (Depth 3)

• Friendly societies originated in the 17th century and were originally groups of friends, neighbours or fellow workers joining together to provide for themselves in time of need. For a weekly subscription, members would be entitled to payment in times of sickness, death or unemployment.
• There was a surge of membership for friendly societies at the beginning of the 19th century as workers tried to protect themselves from the uncertainties of the Industrial Revolution. Furthermore, in 1834 there was another surge after the introduction of the PLAA, which increased the problems in obtaining state relief.
• Although originally independent and local, by 1847 the friendly society movement had become an organisation with central bodies to which individual societies (also known as lodges) could affiliate. This meant that risk was spread over several branches and benefits could be provided over a wider geographical area.
• Of the over 3000 lodges affiliated to the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows, which was the biggest friendly society in the 19th century, nearly half were founded after the PLAA. By 1870, the Oddfellows had over 430000 members and the next biggest, the Ancient Order of Foresters, had over 360000 members.
• After 1846, societies were required to register and submit accounts to the office of the Registrar of Friendly Societies. This gave them certain benefits, such as legal protection of their funds. By 1877, registered membership of friendly societies throughout Britain topped 2.7 million.
• Membership of a friendly society gave the promise of security free from pauperism, as well as companionship on a regular basis. Lodge members knew each other and meetings were often held at the local pub, giving members the opportunity to exchange advice and give or receive small acts of kindness.
• In joining a friendly society, working class people were also fulfilling one of the aims of the PLAA, where self-help institutions should be the main source of relief for the poor so numbers in workhouses would fall.
• However, not all working class people were able to benefit from friendly societies because:

  • many charged an entry free and all expected a weekly contribution of about 6d a week - impossible for poorest workers
  • some fined members who missed a payment
  • some refused membership to people with a history of illness, over the age of 40 or in dangerous occupations (miners etc)
  • fully paid-up members were not always assured of benefits - some were badly managed and collapsed due to bad financial management
• Many friendly societies offered death or burial benefits, sufficient to cover the cost of a funeral. This led to burial societies being created, for those who couldn't afford to join a friendly society. This was due to the fear of a pauper funeral. For example, for as little as 1d a week, the Blackburn Philanthropic Burial Society would provide a burial allowance of £4, sufficient for a funeral.
• Burial societies begun local, but the market quickly became dominated by larger enterprises. The Royal Liver Friendly Society, formed by Liverpool workers in 1850, for example, had 550000 members by 1870. By 1880, the 3 largest burial societies (the Royal Liver, the Liverpool Victoria and the Royal London) together had over 4 million members. These were focused on the poorest members of society.