The Westbury Friendly Society
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Friendly societies were owned and administered by their members, who joined together for social and financial reasons. The members were usually prominent members of the local community, who made small monthly contributions. Meetings were often held in pubs thus excluding female membership. They "have tended to draw on ideas of masculine collective self-help built upon self-governing and self-funding, and bolstered by ritual and public displays" (Weinbren, 2019).
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The societies' aims were initially focused on  financial aid for the needy, such as the recently bereaved, widows and orphans, and those unable to earn through sickness. In this way it was hoped to keep people out of the workhouse. Surplus funds were invested, thus laying the foundations of today's Mutual Society's and cooperatives. Wider social and political aims led to the establishment of cooperatives and sports clubs, and ceremonial aspects such as parades and regalia.
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Friendly societies were formalized and regulated in a number of Friendly Society Acts, the first in 1829, with the aim of preventing fraud, leading to the establishment of today's mutual societies.
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In a village as small as Westbury-sub-Mendip, with no non-religious public meeting rooms, the Friendly Society could only meet in a public house, and "it was soon found that a club was not acceptable to the village labourer if it had no beer, no feast and no fire" (Fuller, p. 20).Established in 1760, the Friendly Society met at the Railway Hotel. It's feeast day was Trinity Monday.  In a 1910 photograph, members of the Westbury Friendly Society pose in their sashes before their large banner, holding long blue poles topped with brass spears and decorated with red, white and blue tassels.

 

The Westbury Friendly Society is still in existence, holding regular annual events.

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Public Houses

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