The Bricket Wood coven, or Hertfordshire coven[1] is a coven of Gardnerian witches founded in the 1940s by Gerald Gardner. It is notable for being the first coven in the Gardnerian line, though having its supposed origins in the pre-Gardnerian New Forest coven. The coven formed after Gardner bought a plot at the Fiveacres Country Club, a naturist club in the village of Bricket Wood, Hertfordshire, southern England, and met within the club's grounds. It played a significant part in the history of the neopagan religion of Wicca.
Many important and influential figures in Wicca were once members of the coven, including Dafo, Doreen Valiente, Jack Bracelin, Fred Lamond, Dayonis and Lois Bourne. The coven is still active today, though it maintains secrecy and its history was only known up until the 1970s.[2]
- ^ Hutton, Ronald (1999). Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Withcraft. Oxford University Press. Page 289
- ^ Hutton, Ronald (1999). Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Withcraft. Oxford University Press. Chapter 11 and 12