Friendly societies for working men can be traced back to the late seventeenth century but their rapid growth began after the 1760s. The popularity of the Friendly, Benefit, Provident or Fraternal Societies was a consequence of both the industrial and agricultural revolutions of the nineteenth century. All provided similar services. In the early days, agricultural labourers in particular had a good personal relationship with their employer, so many were afforded practical assistance when death or incapacity affected them or their families. As the industrial revolution developed, many farms became larger and more mechanised which led to a more impersonal relationship with employers, even to the extent that tenants were often evicted from their tied cottages. So the only solution when times were hard was to avail themselves of the workhouse system.
In many places, workers' groups began to organize self-help groups leading to the establishment of the mutual societies. Each group formed its own constitution, developed their own rules, set their own levels of contribution and determined the type and amount of benefit to be paid out. The movement grew at a rapid pace and so thousands of such organisations began to appear. Some were formally registered but many were not. Most were local to a specific community or occupation group and others had branches around the country. Some groups were linked to nonconformist denominations, particularly the Primitive Methodists. It was indicative of the process that some groups were short-lived but when one society closed, there was often another to fill the gap. It was from the early twentieth century that government social reforms reduced the need for such societies often absorbing them into the state-administered schemes. However, many vibrant societies still existed for the good of communities.
The concept of a friendly society is nothing new. In the early days, the social or religious guilds and later the craft guilds took care of their members' needs. They buried their dead and then looked after the widows and orphan children as well as assisting any member in distress.
Legislation introduced in 1793 formalised the operation of Friendly Societies. By the start of the nineteenth century around forty per cent of families were involved with Friendly Societies although membership was more prevalent in the established industrial areas. This led to the establishment of organisations like the Ancient Order of Foresters, Independent Order of Oddfellows, Ancient Britons, Antediluvian Buffaloes, and Rechabites. These groups became established because individual local groups affiliated with each other and formed Orders governed by a centrally-elected body after which local branches were known and administered as Courts or Districts. Friendly societies were subject to common-sense regulation, safeguarding the financial interests of their members and securing the benefits which would be payable when needed.
Friendly societies would not have survived without the social activities and comradeship which existed between groups of similar people. Membership gave security in time of need. There was, however, a tendency, particularly in the industrial areas, for skilled workers to join specific groups whilst unskilled workers had their own groups. This segregation was usually attributed to subscription rates which ordinary labourers just could not afford. Most friendly societies met in convenient public houses and ceremony and ritual were essential parts of the societies' structure. They conducted initiation rites, using mystical symbols, pretentious titles and had regalia not too dissimilar from Freemasons and many held annual parades where the members were dressed in the society regalia. The parades usually ended with a dinner or other organised social activity to which members’ wives were invited. With the advent of government social provisions, membership numbers of Friendly Societies began to decline quite quickly in the latter part of the twentieth century.
Many people joined these societies and there were specific groups for women too. By the late 1800s there were some 27,000 registered Friendly Societies providing most insurance, sickness and death benefits and pensions. Most early friendly societies had fewer than 100 members, but at its height in the early 1870s, there were over four million members.
