The Church of the Universal Bond, a religious group founded in Britain in the early twentieth century by

George Watson MacGregor Reid George Watson McGregor Reid was a Scottish modern Druid who established and led the Church of the Universal Bond. Little is known of Reid's early life although he may have been born in Scotland. He embarked on a nautical career and by 1888 was ...

, promoted

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

revolution, anti-

imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

and

sun worship A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...

History

Reid founded the Church of the Universal Bond in 1912. Initially also interested in

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...

, Reid had become increasingly attracted to

Druidry A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

, especially as

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...

was at the time being seen as a solar temple. His church began holding rituals there and their worship was permitted to continue when the site was given to the state in 1918. Although only commanding around 50 adherents in its early days, the Church was instrumental in forming the link in the popular imagination between Stonehenge and Druids - despite the efforts of archaeologists to discourage the connection. In 1924 the

Office of Works The Office of Works was established in the England, English Royal Household, royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department forces within the Office of W ...

permitted the Church to scatter the ashes of cremated former members at Stonehenge, something which drew significant protests from the Society of Antiquaries, the Wiltshire Archaeological Society, the

Royal Archaeological Institute The Royal Archaeological Institute (RAI) is a learned society, established in 1844, with interests in all aspects of the archaeological, architectural and landscape history of the British Isles. Membership is open to all with an interest in these ...

and famous archaeologists such as

O. G. S. Crawford Osbert Guy Stanhope Crawford (28 October 1886 – 28 November 1957) was a British archaeologist who specialised in the archaeology of prehistoric Britain and Sudan. A keen proponent of aerial archaeology, he spent most of his career as th ...

. The outcry persuaded the government to withdraw permission and in 1932 the Church officially moved its rites from the monument to Normanton Gorse nearby. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Reid's son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

took over leadership of the Church and it was able to regain midsummer access to Stonehenge throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s, to the dismay of many leading archaeologists. When the growing Stonehenge free festival caused the monument to be closed at midsummer in 1985, the Church faded into obscurity, but has maintained a presence at the re-opened solstice festivities since 2000.

Sources

{{reflist * Hutton, R, ''From Universal Bond to Public Free For All'', British Archaeology 83, July–August 2005 p11. 1912 establishments in the United Kingdom Neo-druidism in Britain Modern pagan organisations based in the United Kingdom Modern pagan organizations established in the 1910s Religious organizations established in 1912