8/31/2023 0 Comments Utopian dreamThere, Pragnell erected a large wooden cross on top of a nearby hill to call those seeking redemption from the malaise of the modern world. Here among the heather and bracken covering the foothills of the South Downs she hoped to create her new Eden, an alternative society that turned away from ‘that terrible monstrosity, the industrial machine’ and towards a more peaceful and spiritual life. Having first set up a small refuge on Kingsley Green near Haslemere, Pragnell invested £850 of her inheritance in 27 acres of land at Heath Common in Sussex. The smallholding he converted into an alternative community at Millthorpe near Sheffield was the inspiration for the Sanctuary. She was a particular disciple of Edward Carpenter, who claimed that contemporary urban life was a disease and prescribed as the cure a return to a ‘simpler life’ rooted in the natural world. Her beliefs were rooted in the Christian socialist philosophy that took shape in reaction to the industrial revolution around the middle of the 19th century. Pragnell found a new sense of direction through her deep religious faith. With the outbreak of the First World War she trained to become a Red Cross nurse, an experience that instilled a sense of anger and despair at the senseless waste of human life, including that of her own brother. A former social worker in the slums of east London, she had become frustrated with reforms that failed to address the root cause of urban poverty. The daughter of a wealthy textile manufacturer, Pragnell was born in 1896. It was the attempted creation of a rural Arcadia intended as the model for a new global movement. ![]() The Sanctuary, founded in the Sussex countryside by the Christian mystic Vera Pragnell, was one of the more ambitious schemes to emerge. It had a particular purchase during the interwar era, as demonstrated by the rise across Europe of a back-to-nature philosophy that embraced everyone from ramblers to nudists and folklorists to craftspeople. The dream of escaping to the country retains a powerful hold on our imagination. Vera Pragnell, early 20th century. Courtesy the Author.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |