John Taylor Childhood Home, Hale, England

John Taylor, third president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was born on November 1, 1808 in Milnthorpe Westmorland (now Cumbria), England. He is the only president of the Church to have been born outside of the United States. His parents were James and Agnes Taylor. The Taylor family remained in Milnthorpe for several years. In 1814, when John was about six, his father received a government appointment requiring that the family move to Liverpool in neighboring Lancashire. Sometime during this period, John Taylor’s father inherited a farmhouse and seven acres of land in the village of Hale. There is evidence in The John Taylor Family Organization that James also inherited the King’s Arms Inn (now The Tavern at Hale), located a very short distance from the farmhouse.

In 1819, after residing in Liverpool for five years, the family returned to Westmoreland (now Cumbria) and the small farm in the village of Hale. James evidently continued to lease the inn. John was about eleven years old. Here young he worked on his father’s farm, where, as he wrote, “I got mixed up with ploughing, sowing, reaping, hay-making and . . . experienced some of my first mishaps in horsemanship by curious evolutions between the horses’ backs and terra firma.”

In 1992, Europe North Area President, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, dedicated a plaque marking the John Taylor’s boyhood home. It is situated just outside the fence in front of the house. It . The inscription begins: “John Taylor, 1808-1887. Prophet, seer, revelator, and the third and only English-born President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . . . .”

In 1974 Cumbria officially became the county that was the county of Westmorland in John Taylor’s day.

Map and Directions

In southern Cumbria, head north on the A6 and look for The Tavern at Hale in the village of Hale. Turn right (east) at the tavern (Pye’s Bridge Road). The home will quickly be found on the right with the interpretive plaque in front of the house.

Ownership Status

The childhood home of John Taylor is privately owned and not open for tours. Visitors are welcome to view the interpretive plaque in front of the house, but they should not proceed past the gate in the driveway. The privacy of the owners should be respected.

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