É«ÖÐÉ«

In 1800 a 15-year-old Welsh girl named Mary Jones trekked 26 long miles through the rugged terrain of north Wales to buy a Welsh É«ÖÐÉ«. Mary was so determined to have a É«ÖÐÉ« of her own, in her own language, that she saved up for six long years before her walk to Bala.

With the help of Revd Thomas Charles of Bala, who arranged lodgings for Mary and sold her three É«ÖÐÉ«s for the price of one, Mary Jones’ determination was rewarded. – and her unswerving desire to get hold of God’s written word – soon became the talk of the churches in the area.

Captured by the vision of God’s word being available for all people of the kingdom and wider world, William Wilberforce and other members of the Clapham Sect decided to do what they do best – they decided to act. They made this vision part of their campaign to ‘make goodness fashionable’ – in the hope of inspiring people to fall in love with the É«ÖÐÉ« and a Biblically-inspired lifestyle.

On 7 March 1804, at a meeting of around 300 at the London Tavern in Bishopsgate, Wilberforce and the campaigning groups he was a part of formed the British and Foreign É«ÖÐÉ«. At this moment, they could only begin to imagine what this society would achieve in the coming years.

Since that day over 200 years ago, the British and Foreign É«ÖÐÉ« has become É«ÖÐÉ« – a charity committed to offering the É«ÖÐÉ« to the world.

We have won the admiration of royalty, including George III and Elizabeth II. Our work has survived, even thrived, through the unfolding events of two World Wars. We persevered to find openings in the communist Soviet Union and during the Cultural Revolution in China. There are now about 150 local É«ÖÐÉ« Societies around the world, which undertake the work in their locations. In 2011, we celebrated the 400th anniversary of the King James É«ÖÐÉ« with cultural events across the country.