Panacea Society
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The Panacea Society was a
millenarian Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenariani ...
religious group in
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Founded in 1919, it followed the teachings of the Devonshire prophetess
Joanna Southcott Joanna Southcott (or Southcote; April 1750 – 26 December 1814) was a self-described religion, religious prophetess from Devon, England. A "Southcottian" movement continued in various forms after her death; its eighth prophet, Mabel Barltrop, ...
, who died in 1814, and campaigned for Southcott's sealed box of prophecies to be opened according to her instructions. The society believed Bedford to be the original site of the
Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
.


History

The Society's inspiration was the teachings of the Devonshire prophetess
Joanna Southcott Joanna Southcott (or Southcote; April 1750 – 26 December 1814) was a self-described religion, religious prophetess from Devon, England. A "Southcottian" movement continued in various forms after her death; its eighth prophet, Mabel Barltrop, ...
(1750–1814). It was founded by
Mabel Barltrop Mabel Barltrop ( Andrews; 11 January 1866 – 16 October 1934), later known as Octavia Barltrop, was the British founder of the Panacea Society. She founded a community in Bedford where she was "God the daughter". Her group campaigned to have ...
in 1919 at 12 Albany Road, Bedford. A clergyman's widow, Barltrop declared herself the 'daughter of God', took the name ''Octavia'' and believed herself to be the Shiloh of Southcott's prophecies. Barltrop had originally heard of Southcott via a leaflet written by
Alice Seymour Alice Seymour (10 January 1857 – 24 October 1947) was an English follower of Joanna Southcott. Southcott predicted the second coming of Christ and had left prophecies to be used in time of crisis. Life Seymour was born in Plymouth. Her parents ...
. She and 12 apostles founded the Society, originally called the ''Community of the Holy Ghost''. A central purpose of the Society was to persuade 24
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
bishops to open Southcott's sealed box of prophecies, and to this end, advertisements were placed in newspapers, both national and local. In the late 1920s and early 1930s the Society generated over 100,000 petitions for the box to be opened. The Society claimed to be in possession of the original box. The Panaceans also believed that the one that was opened in 1927 and found to contain a broken
horse pistol A pistoleer is a mounted soldier trained to use a pistol, or more generally anyone armed with such a weapon. It is derived from pistolier, a French word for an expert marksman. History The earliest kind of pistoleer was the mounted German Reite ...
and a lottery ticket, was not the genuine box. During the 1930s the membership began to dwindle as did Alice Seymour's smaller rival group. Despite this, the group continued placing adverts in newspapers calling for action from the Church of England. In the 1970s the Society rented billboards which proclaimed "War, disease, crime and banditry, distress of nations and perplexity will increase until the Bishops open Joanna Southcott's box." Another main activity of the Panacea Society was to offer healing of all diseases, including cancer, to those who would write to its headquarters in Bedford and receive a piece of linen blessed by Octavia. They were instructed to put the linen in a jug of water, pray, and drink this "Water A" four times a day. Water A could then be diluted with additional water, producing "Water B," which should be applied to the body as bath water or through sponges. From 1924 to 2012, some 130,000 applicants received the pieces of linen for free, and were only asked to write back and report on the results of the cure. The correspondence, coming from all over the world, is still conserved in the Bedford Panacea Museum, and has been studied in 2019 in a book by British scholar Alastair Lockhart.


Premises

The Society had its headquarters on Albany Road, close to the remains of
Bedford Castle Bedford Castle was a large medieval castle in Bedford, England. Built after 1100 by Henry I, the castle played a prominent part in both the civil war of the Anarchy and the First Barons' War. The castle was significantly extended in stone, alt ...
. Another property, an end-of-terrace house on Albany Road named ''The Ark'', was maintained as a residence for the Messiah after the
Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...
. Although small in size, the Society was relatively wealthy, owning several properties in the Castle Road area of Bedford. By 2001, when the Society started to sell off some of its property in order to retain its status as a charity, it was reported to have assets valued at £14m.


Membership

In the 1930s, about 70 members were said to be living in the Bedford community. In 1967, the ''Bedfordshire Times'' reported about 30 members living there. When the last member, Ruth Klein (b. 1932), died in 2012, the Society ceased to exist as a religious community.


Charitable trust

Whilst the religious society is no longer functioning, there still exists a charity whose main remit is to sponsor academic research into the history and development of prophetic and millenarian movements, as well as provide financial assistance to support the work of registered charities and recognised groups concerned with poverty and health in the Bedford area. The charity officially changed its name to The Panacea Charitable Trust in 2012.


Panacea Museum

In late 2012, it was announced that the charitable trust would be opening a museum detailing the history of the society, at 9 Newnham Road, Bedford. The Panacea Museum is in ‘Castleside’, a Victorian house that was part of the community's headquarters. It tells the story of the Panacea Society and other similar religious groups. The museum also incorporates several other buildings, set within the gardens, that formed the original community's ‘campus’. The museum is open every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday between February half term and the end of October.


References


Further reading

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External links


The market town of Bedford, England was once home to a cult of women who thought they could avert Armageddon
at the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

The Panacea Charitable Trust
– official site
Details on the Charity Commission websiteReview of Jane Shaw: Octavia, Daughter of God. The Guardian, 02.07.11Review of Jane Shaw: Octavia, Daughter of God. The Times Higher, 25.08.11
{{coords, 52.1354, -0.4614, display=title Organisations based in Bedford Churches in Bedfordshire Religion in Bedfordshire Christian organizations established in 1918 Intentional communities in the United Kingdom Charitable trusts Millenarianism