The Ancient Order of Foresters, nowadays the Foresters Friendly Society, is one of the oldest such organisations in the UK. In my Waters Upton #OnePlaceStudy the Hearts of Oak Lodge of Oddfellows held sway—what friendly societies existed in other #OnePlaceStudies? https://twitter.com/ExploreThePast/status/1311957370516443136

For #OnePlaceStudies in England and Wales answers might be found in the reports of the Registrar of Friendly Societies, like this one from 1865 (showing the Loyal and Independent friendly society in Combe Down @PriortoNow and the Union of Tradesmen in Dunster @WillsmanOneName).

I found a copy of that report on the fabulous Hathi Trust website, here: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510024850395&view=1up&seq=5

It shows, incidentally, that Combe Down's Loyal and Independent society, established 1855, was dissolved in 1865.

The Registrar of Friendly Societies took his information on friendly society dissolutions from The London Gazette @TheGazetteUK, so http://www.thegazette.co.uk  is another potential source of information on any friendly societies in your Place.

Newspapers can be a great source of info on friendly societies in your #OnePlaceStudy too, with reports on their annual anniversary feasts and celebrations (and sometimes the Police Court reports relating to those who overindulged at those events!), so do check out @BNArchive.

For background info on friendly societies, their history, purpose, and the records they created, there's a very helpful article on the FamilySearch Wiki. http://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/England_Friendly_Societies_(National_Institute)

#OnePlaceStudies — where #FamilyHistory and #LocalHistory (plus #SocialHistory!) unite