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The Agapemonites or Community of The Son of Man was a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
religious group or sect that existed in England from 1846 to 1956. It was named from the el, italic=yes, agapemone meaning "abode of love". The Agapemone community was founded by the Reverend Henry Prince in
Spaxton Spaxton is a small village and civil parish on the Quantock Hills, Quantocks in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England. History Spaxton was part of the Hundred (county subdivision), hundred of Cannington (hundred), Cannington. T ...
,
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
. The sect also built a church in
Upper Clapton Clapton is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. Clapton is divided into Upper Clapton, in the north, and Lower Clapton to the south. Clapton railway station lies north-east of Charing Cross. Geography and origi ...
, London, and briefly had bases in
Stoke-by-Clare Stoke-by-Clare is a small village and civil parish in Suffolk located in the valley of the River Stour, about two miles west of Clare. In 1124 Richard de Clare, 1st Earl of Hertford, moved the Benedictine Priory that had been established at h ...
in
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
,
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
and Weymouth. The ideas of the community were based on the theories of various German religious
mystics A mystic is a person who practices mysticism, or a reference to a mystery, mystic craft, first hand-experience or the occult. Mystic may also refer to: Places United States * Mistick, an old name for parts of Malden and Medford, Massachusetts * ...
and its primary object was the spiritualisation of the matrimonial state. The
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
had dismissed Prince earlier in his career for his radical teachings. The Agapemonites predicted the imminent return of
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
. According to newspaper accounts, Prince's successor, John Hugh Smyth-Pigott, declared himself Jesus Christ's
reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...
. The Agapemone community consisted mostly of wealthy unmarried women. Both Prince and Smyth-Pigott took many spiritual
bride A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bride's future spouse, (if male) is usually referred to as the ''bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, brides ...
s. Later investigations have shown that these "brides" were not solely spiritual and that some produced
illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
children. In 1860, Prince lost a lawsuit brought on behalf of
Louisa Nottidge Louisa Nottidge (1802-1858) was a British woman whose unjust detention in a lunatic asylum attracted widespread public attention in mid-19th century England. In that period several similar cases emerged in the newspapers of sane persons being incarc ...
by the Nottidge family and the group vanished from the public eye. It finally closed in 1956 when the last member died.


Henry James Prince

Henry James Prince (1811–1899) studied medicine at
Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...
, obtained his qualifications in 1832 and was appointed medical officer to the General Hospital in
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
, his native city. Compelled by ill health to abandon his profession, he entered himself in 1837 as a student at
St David's College, Lampeter University of Wales, Lampeter ( cy, Prifysgol Cymru, Llanbedr Pont Steffan) was a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822, and incorporated by royal charter in 1828, it was the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales, with limited ...
(now the Lampeter campus of the
University of Wales Trinity Saint David , image = Crest of TSD.png , image_size = 200px , caption = Coat of armsUniversity of Wales Trinity Saint David , established = 2010 (Saint David's College, Lampeter founded 1822 and opened 1827; royal charter 1828) , ...
), where he gathered about him a band of earnest religious enthusiasts known as the Lampeter Brethren. The vice principal of the college contacted the
Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...
who, in 1846, installed Prince as the curate of Charlinch in
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
, where he had sole charge during the illness and absence of the rector, Samuel Starkey. Attendances at the church were small until, during one of the services, Prince acted as if he was
possessed Possessed may refer to: Possession * Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else ** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body *** ...
, throwing himself around the church. Congregations grew each week as the "possession" was repeated. The congregation was then divided with separate services for men and women. Subsequently, he separated them again into sinners and the righteous, the latter of which generally included females who were wealthy. The bishop was summoned to investigate the practices. By that time, Prince had contracted his first "spiritual marriage" and had persuaded himself that he had been absorbed into the personality of
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
and become a visible embodiment of the
Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
. During his illness, Reverend Starkey read one of his curate's sermons, and was not only "cured" forthwith, but embraced his strange doctrines. Together they procured many conversions in the countryside and the neighbouring towns. In the end the rector was deprived of his living and Prince was
defrocked Defrocking, unfrocking, degradation, or laicization of clergy is the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. It may be grounded on criminal convictions, disciplinary problems, or disagreements over doctrine or d ...
. Together with a few disciples they started the Charlinch Free Church, which had a very brief existence, meeting in a supportive farmer's barn. Prince used money inherited on the death of his first wife, Martha, to marry Julia Starkey, the sister of the rector. They all moved to
Stoke-by-Clare Stoke-by-Clare is a small village and civil parish in Suffolk located in the valley of the River Stour, about two miles west of Clare. In 1124 Richard de Clare, 1st Earl of Hertford, moved the Benedictine Priory that had been established at h ...
in
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
where Prince started again to build a congregation, which grew over the subsequent one to two years. The
Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with a section of nort ...
then expelled them. Prince opened Adullam Chapel, which was also known as Cave Adullam, in the
North Laine North Laine is a shopping and residential district of Brighton, on the English south coast. Once a slum area, it is now seen as Brighton's bohemian and cultural quarter, with many pubs, cafés, theatres and museums. History "Laine" is a Su ...
area of
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
. Meanwhile, Starkey established himself at Weymouth. Their chief success lay in the latter town, and Prince soon moved there.


Followers

A number of followers, estimated by Prince at 500 but by his critics at one fifth of the number, were gathered together, and it was given out by "Beloved" or "The Lamb" (the names by which the Agapemonites designated their leader) that his disciples must divest themselves of their possessions and throw them into the common stock. This was done, even by the poor, all of whom looked forward to the speedy end of the present dispensation and were content, for the short remainder of this world, to live in common and, while not repudiating earthly ties, to treat them as purely spiritual. With the money thus obtained the house at
Spaxton Spaxton is a small village and civil parish on the Quantock Hills, Quantocks in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England. History Spaxton was part of the Hundred (county subdivision), hundred of Cannington (hundred), Cannington. T ...
that was to become the "Abode of Love" was enlarged and furnished luxuriously, and the three Nottidge sisters, who contributed £6,000 each, were immediately married to three of Prince's nearest disciples. Agnes, the eldest of the Nottidge sisters, objected to the spiritual marriage which entailed a celibate life and, as one writer reports, became pregnant by another member of the community; however, it is unlikely that she committed adultery because her husband never accused her, and she later gained sole custody of their child in 1850 after proving herself of good moral character before a court. Agnes wrote to her younger sister
Louisa Nottidge Louisa Nottidge (1802-1858) was a British woman whose unjust detention in a lunatic asylum attracted widespread public attention in mid-19th century England. In that period several similar cases emerged in the newspapers of sane persons being incarc ...
warning her not to come to Spaxton. Despite this Louisa travelled to Somerset to join them. Her mother Emily feared the spiritual and financial influence that Prince had established over her daughters. Emily instructed her son Edmund, her nephew Edward Nottidge, and her son-in-law, Frederick Ripley, to travel down to Somerset and to rescue her unmarried daughter, Louisa after her arrival. The three men succeeded in removing Louisa against her will in November 1846, and imprisoned her in 12 Woburn Place, a villa by Regents Park. Following Louisa's persistent claims regarding the divinity of Henry Prince, her mother enlisted medical aid and had Louisa certified insane and then placed her in Moorcroft House
Asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...
,
Hillingdon Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civil pari ...
. Her treatment and forced incarceration in the asylum have remained of interest with respect to the rights of psychiatric patients; Dr Arthur Stillwell, the presiding physician, made notes on Louisa's condition and treatment, recorded in ''The Lancet''. Louisa escaped from the asylum in January 1848, travelling across London to meet the Reverend William Cobbe from The Agapemone at a hotel in
Cavendish Square Cavendish Square is a public garden square in Marylebone in the West End of London. It has a double-helix underground commercial car park. Its northern road forms ends of four streets: of Wigmore Street that runs to Portman Square in the much lar ...
, but was recaptured two days later at
Paddington railway station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great We ...
. Cobbe alerted the Commissioners in Lunacy, whose report by
Bryan Procter Bryan Waller Procter (pseud. Barry Cornwall) (21 November 17875 October 1874) was an English poet who served as a Commissioner in Lunacy. Life and career Born at Leeds, Yorkshire, he was educated at Harrow School, where he had for contemporaries ...
led to her release in May 1848. Louisa then sued her brother, cousin, and brother-in-law, Frederick Ripley, for abduction and false imprisonment in ''Nottidge v. Ripley and Another'' (1849); the trial was reported daily in ''The Times'' newspaper. In 1860 Louisa's brother, Ralph Nottidge, sued Prince to recoup the money that Louisa had given him as a result of his undue influence over her, in the case of ''Nottidge v. Prince'' (1860). The Nottidges won the case, with costs. After the cases were resolved Louisa Nottidge returned to Spaxton and spent the rest of her life as one of the Agapemonites. In 1856, a few years after the establishment of the “Abode of Love”, Prince and Zoe Patterson, one of his virginal female followers, engaged in public ceremonial sexual intercourse on a billiard table in front of a large audience. The scandal led to the secession of some of his most faithful friends, who were unable any longer to endure what they regarded as the amazing mixture of blasphemy and immorality offered for their acceptance. The most prominent of those who remained received such titles as the "Anointed Ones", the "Angel of the Last Trumpet", the "Seven Witnesses" and so forth.


Spaxton

Extensive building work was undertaken to accommodate members and followers at Four Forks in Spaxton, to which Prince and his followers moved in the summer of 1846. Behind high walls were built a 20-bedroom house and attached chapel, as well as a gazebo, stables, and cottages, all set within landscaped gardens. The buildings were designed by William Cobbe. The
buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...
ed chapel, with its
pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...
s and stained glass, was completed in 1845; today, together with the attached house, it is a Grade II
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. In 1899, Prince died at the age of 88. His followers buried Prince in the grounds of the chapel, with his coffin positioned vertically so that he would be standing on the day of his resurrection. In the early 20th century, a number of houses (some in the
Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
style) were built at Four Forks by members of the Agapemonites, including Joseph Morris and his daughter Violet. Since closure of the community, the chapel has been used as a studio for the production of children's television programmes, including ''
Trumpton ''Trumpton'' is a British stop-motion children's television series from the producers of ''Camberwick Green''. First shown on the BBC from January to March 1967, it was the second series in the Trumptonshire, ''Trumptonshire'' trilogy, which com ...
'' and ''
Camberwick Green ''Camberwick Green'' is a British children's television series that ran from January to March 1966 on BBC1, featuring stop motion puppets. ''Camberwick Green'' is the first in the ''Trumptonshire'' trilogy, which also includes ''Trumpton'' and ...
''. The complex of buildings became known as Barford Gables and was put on the market in 1997. The chapel received planning permission for conversion into a residential house and was put on the market again in 2004.


Upper Clapton

Between 1892 and 1895 the Agapemonites built the Church of the Ark of the Covenant, Upper Clapton, London. It was designed by Joseph Morris (and his sons and daughters, some of whom lived with the sect) in a
Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
. Although it is fairly conventional in floor plan, the outside of the church is a riot of statuary and symbolism. The main doorways sport large carvings of angels and the four evangelists symbolised by a man, an eagle, a bull and a lion. The same four figures, cast in bronze, look out over the four quarters of the Earth from the base of the steeple. The two flanking weather vanes show a certain symbolic debt to
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
's
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
depicting, as they do, a fiery chariot and a sheaf of arrows (presumably of desire), while the main steeple is clearly surmounted by a spear. The stained glass windows, designed by noted children's book illustrator
Walter Crane Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and K ...
, and made by J. S. Sparrow, betray the unconventional nature of the sect as they illustrate the 'true station of womankind'. The church was abandoned after 1956, used by a splinter group, and now is used by the
Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...
who have renamed it as the Cathedral of the Nativity of our Lord.


John Hugh Smyth-Pigott

After Prince died in 1899 he was replaced by the Reverend John Hugh Smyth-Pigott. Around 1890, Smyth-Pigott again started leading meetings of the community and recruited 50 young female followers to supplement the ageing population of Agapemonites. He took Ruth Anne Preece as his second wife and she had three children, named Glory, Power and Life. By 1902 his fame had spread as far as India, from where
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and Mahdi—which is the metaphoric ...
warned him of his false teachings and made a death prophecy against him in a letter written in November 1902, stating that should Smyth-Pigott refuse to repent from his claims to divinity, then he would die within the lifetime of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Also adding that should Smyth-Pigott not die within his lifetime, then this would falsify Mirza Ghulam's claim to messiahship. Along with the cited letter, Mirza Ghulam also separately announced the prophecy he received about Smyth-Pigott in 1902. This was recorded in the 'Tadhkirah'-a collection of his dreams, visions and revelations. Despite this prophecy, Smyth-Pigott continued to claim to be God, both during the life of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, and after his death. Cited are two August 1905 newspaper clippings from the ''Auckland Star'' and ''The Cambrian'' detailing separate eyewitness reports of both Smyth-Pigott claiming to be God and his followers still openly preaching his divinity. Similarly, following Mirza Ghulam's death in 1908, Smyth-Pigott once again claimed to be God in 1909 during his inhibition by the Bishop of Bath and Wells, as recorded in the ''Nottingham Evening Post'' of March 1927. The house which may have belonged to Smyth-Pigott in
St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...
was visited by
John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...
in his film ''
Metro-land Metro-land (or Metroland) is a name given to the suburban areas that were built to the north-west of London in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Middlesex in the early part of the 20th century that were served by the Metropolita ...
''. It is built in the
neo-gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style. It is currently the home of the television presenter
Vanessa Feltz Vanessa Jane Feltz is an English television personality, broadcaster, and journalist. She has appeared on various television shows, including Vanessa (British TV series), ''Vanessa'' (1994–1998), ''The Big Breakfast'' (1996–1998), ''The Vane ...
and was previously the home of
Charles Saatchi Charles Saatchi (; ar, تشارلز ساعتجي; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest a ...
. Following Smyth-Pigott's death in 1927, the sect gradually declined until the last member, Ruth, died in 1956. Her funeral in 1956 was the only time when outsiders were admitted to the chapel. Smyth-Pigott's grand daughter, Margaret Campbell, recalled that her grandmother (Ruth Preece) had warned her that there were many stories made up about Smyth-Pigott but that he was a 'good man'. Campbell argued that Smyth-Pigott, or Beloved as he was known, did not have affairs although he did have two bigamous wives. She claimed that both wives were happy with the arrangement (one being older and unable to have children) and that the sect had to be viewed as of its time, emerging shortly after religious emancipation in the 1830s. It allowed many rich women an alternative lifestyle to their other options of governess or wife and they lived in luxury at the Agapemone in Somerset until their death. She recalled growing up at the cult as a very happy experience in an interview to the ''Henley Standard'' in 2016, shortly before her death. Campbell argued that Beloved had once given a sermon in which he said, 'Christ is no longer here (pointing skywards) but here (pointing to his chest),' thereby expounding the central Christian doctrine of Christ within every Christian and that this had been twisted by the media for their own aims. Kate Barlow deftly dispels rumours of a 'revolving stage of virgins' as described by one newspaper at the time as myth in her memoir 'The Abode of Love' and details many interesting aspects of the cult such as its own signature tea served at 4pm every day.Kate Barlow, 'The Abode of Love'


Books about the sect

''The Abode of Love'' by
Aubrey Menen Salvator Aubrey Clarence Menen (22 April 1912 – 13 March 1989) was a British writer, novelist, satirist and theatre critic. Born in London, his essays and novels explore the nature of nationalism and the cultural contrast between his own Irish ...
– "an appallingly inaccurate popular account" according to one review – is a novelisation of the history of the Agapemonites under Prince's leadership. In 2006 Smyth-Pigott's granddaughter, Kate Barlow, published an account of life as a child with her family in the sect. The book includes family photographs and details of conversations she had as a child with the then elderly sect members.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{cite journal, last=Wilson, first=Owain W., title=Prince and the Lampeter Brethren, journal=Trivium, year=1970, volume=V, pages=10–20


External links


''Abode of Love''
– audio and transcript of an interview with Kate Barlow, Smyth-Piggot's granddaughter, author of a memoir of a childhood spent at the cult's headquarters — broadcast on ABC
Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors an ...
in February 2009
ApologeticsIndex on Agapemone
1846 establishments in England 1956 disestablishments in England Former Christian denominations History of Somerset Religion in Somerset Religious organizations established in 1846 Religious organizations disestablished in 1956 Utopian communities Cults