Robert Lionel Fanthorpe (born 9 February 1935) is a retired British priest and entertainer. Fanthorpe also worked as a dental technician, journalist, teacher, television presenter, author and lecturer. Born in

Dereham Dereham (), also known historically as East Dereham, is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of the England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A47 road, about west of the city of Norwich ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, he lives in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

, where he served as Director of

Media Studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

and tutor/lecturer in

Religious Studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

at the Cardiff Academy

Sixth form college A sixth form college (pre-university college in Malaysia) is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 study typically for advanced post-school level qualifications such as GCE Advanced Level, A Levels, Business and Technology Edu ...

.Fanthorpe's Profile on the Cardiff Academy website

Biography

Lionel Fanthorpe was educated at

Barnard Castle School Barnard Castle School (colloquially Barney School or locally the County School) is a co-educational private day and boarding school in the market town of Barnard Castle, County Durham, in the North East of England. It is a member of The Head ...

and Hamond's Grammar School in

Swaffham Swaffham () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District and England, English county of Norfolk. It is situated east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of and in the U ...

. He left school aged 15 and married Patricia Alice Tooke (born 1938) in 1957. For a period he worked as a journalist on the ''Norfolk Chronicle'' and then as a van driver and warehouseman at Hamerton's Stores in

, taking his

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

s by private study at home and by correspondence courses. He attended the teacher-training course at Keswick Hall College in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

between 1961 and 1963, where he achieved Distinctions in Educational Theory and Practice and in Advanced Main Theology as part of his Certificate in Education. Fanthorpe was a schoolmaster at Dereham Secondary Modern School from 1958 to 1961 and again from 1963 to 1967, and a Further Education Tutor based at Gamlingay Village College from 1967 to 1969. He was Industrial Training Manager for the Phoenix Timber Group of Companies in Rainham from 1969 to 1972, Head of English and then Deputy Headteacher at

Hellesdon High School Hellesdon High School is a secondary school and, on site, is a sixth form with Academy (English school), academy status in Hellesdon, Norfolk, England. The school is part of the Wensum Trust. The school changed its logo in March 2025. The he ...

near

from 1972 to 1979, and Headmaster of Glyn Derw High School in

from 1979 to 1989. He has a BA in Arts & Social Sciences from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

. He was ordained as a non-stipendiary

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest in the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held b ...

in 1987, is also a minister of the

Universal Life Church The Universal Life Church (ULC) is an American non-denominational religious organization founded in 1962 by Kirby J. Hensley,James R. Lewis, The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions' (2001), p. 769-70.U.S. Department of the Army, ' ...

, and was also at one time a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

in Bowers Lodge in Norwich. He is the author or co-author of more than 250 books. He has been president of the British UFO Research Association and is the president of the

Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena The Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena (ASSAP) is a United Kingdom-based learned society, education and research charity, dedicated to scientifically investigate alleged paranormal and anomalous phenomena, with a vie ...

.Fanthorpe's Official Website
He presented

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's '' Fortean TV''Fortean TV
Unexplained Mysteries (27 May 2007) and has made many appearances at '' Fortean Times'' magazine's UnCon,'An Interview With Rev Lionel Fanthorpe' - 'Mysterious Britain & Ireland' website
most recently in October 2004 when he gave a talk on "The

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

and their Ancient Secrets". He is a Fellow of the

College of Preceptors The Chartered College of Teaching is a learned society for the teaching profession in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1846, the college was incorporated by Queen Victoria into a royal charter as the College of Preceptors in 1849. A supplemental ch ...

and the

Chartered Management Institute The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is a professional institution for management based in the United Kingdom. It was founded as the British Institute of Management (BIM) in 1947 or 1948, merged with the Institution of Industrial Managers (I ...

. He is a member of the high IQ society Mensa and the

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

research society the Ghost Club. In addition, Fanthorpe is a Dan Grade martial arts instructor and a weight-training instructor. He has been a frequent guest of the late night American radio talk show

Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 198 ...

. Fanthorpe was Director of

and teacher of

at the

the Cardiff Academy in

. In 2013 he appeared in the Yesterday series ''Forbidden History'' presented by

Jamie Theakston James Paul Theakston (born 21 December 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, narrator and actor. He has hosted television programmes for the BBC, ITV (TV network), ITV, Channel 4 and 5 (British TV channel), Channel 5. He co-present ...

Family life

Fanthorpe's wife Patricia is also his agent, manager and business partner. Moreover, they co-authored a number of books, including ''Rennes-le-Chateau: Its Mysteries and Secrets'' (1991), ''The Oak Island Mystery: The Secret of the World's Greatest Treasure Hunt'' (1995), ''The World's Most Mysterious People (Mysteries and Secrets)'' (1998), ''Mysteries of Templar Treasure and the Holy Grail: The Secrets of Rennes Le Chateau'' (2004), ''Mysteries and Secrets of the Templars: The Story Behind the Da Vinci Code'' (2005), ''Mysteries and Secrets of the Masons: The Story Behind the Masonic Order'' (2006), ''Satanism & Demonology: Mysteries and Secrets'' (2011), ''The Joan of Arc Mysteries'' (2019), ''Garan of the Veneti'' (2019), ''Parables of the Pond'' (2019), ''Earth, Sky and Sea'' (2019) and ''Thoughts and Prayers for Stressful Times'' (2019). Today, the couple live in

Roath Roath () is a district and Community (Wales), community to the north-east of the Cardiff city centre, city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. The area is mostly covered by the Plasnewydd electoral ward, and stretches from Adamsdown in the so ...

. They have two daughters, Stephanie Dawn Patricia Fanthorpe (born 1964), and Fiona Mary Patricia Alcibiadette Fanthorpe (born 1966).

Television, radio and film appearances

Television

Radio

Lionel Fanthorpe wrote and narrated several episodes of ''The Fanthorpe Investigations'' for BBC Radio (Sounds).

Writing

Fanthorpe's output can be grouped under three broad headings, as follows: * Approximately 180 paperback novels and short-story collections, in the science fiction and

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

s, produced for the UK publisher Badger Books during the 1950s and 1960s. * Numerous books on Christian themes, including the "Thoughts and Prayers" series. * Compilations of Forteana (generally with the word "mystery", "mysteries" or "mysterious" in the title), co-written with his wife Patricia.

Badger Books

Fanthorpe began working for Badger Books in the early 1950s, and over the period of the next 15 years produced many books under different pseudonyms, some of which were pen-names shared with other of Badger Books' writers. These included: Victor La Salle, John E. Muller, and Karl Zeigfreid. Pseudonyms exclusive to Fanthorpe's short story output include Neil Balfort, Othello Baron, Noel Bertram, Oben Leterth, Elton T. Neef, Peter O'Flinn, René Rolant, Robin Tate, and Deutero Spartacus. Names he used for novels include Erle Barton, Lee Barton, Thornton Bell, Leo Brett, Bron Fane, L.P. Kenton, Phil Nobel, Lionel Roberts, Neil Thanet, Trebor Thorpe, Pel Torro, and Olaf Trent. Using several of these pen names, he would often even write the entire contents of a pulp magazine such as "Supernatural Stories". The exact number of books and stories Fanthorpe wrote for Badger Books is not known, but is estimated to be in excess of 180, 89 of which were written in a three-year period – an average of a 158-page book every 12 days. During his time at Badger Books, Fanthorpe was essentially a small cog in a large publishing machine. The way the company worked was to acquire the cover art ''before'' the book was written, and send it to the author who then had to write a story about the cover. In some cases, Badger Books re-used cover art that had been produced to illustrate completely different novels. For example, Fanthorpe's 1960 novel ''Hand of Doom'' was written to suit a cover that had been produced to illustrate John Brunner's ''Slavers of Space'', which formed one-half of

Ace double American company Ace Books began publishing genre fiction starting in 1952. Initially these were mostly in tête-bêche format with the ends of the two parts meeting in the middle and with a divider between them which functioned as the rear cover ...

D-421. Although generally based on situations and plots familiar from

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

, the novels and stories also used academic and pseudo-academic facts to fill out their background, including the

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

(''The Eye of

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...

''),

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

(''Unknown Destiny''),

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(''Vengeance of Siva'') and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

(''Negative Minus''). The stories also demonstrate the author's interest in Fortean subjects, such as

vimana Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also menti ...

s (''The Negative Ones''), Chase Vault and the Devil's Footprints (''U.F.O. 517''), the disappearances of Benjamin Bathurst (''Time Echo'') and the crew of the ''

Mary Celeste ''Mary Celeste'' (; often erroneously referred to as ''Marie Celeste'') was a Canadian-built, American-registered merchant brigantine that was discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores on December 4, 1872. The Canadi ...

'' (''Barrier 346''), as well as the career of

Charles Fort Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold w ...

himself (''The X-Machine''). Another novel that discusses Charles Fort explicitly (both in the text and in the back-cover blurb) is ''Forbidden Planet''. This latter novel has no connection with the famous film of the same title, but instead describes a vast interstellar

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

game played by superhuman entities using human beings as pawns. Other novels are

pastiche A pastiche () is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking ...

s of accepted works of the

Western Canon The Western canon is the embodiment of High culture, high-culture literature, music, philosophy, and works of art that are highly cherished across the Western culture, Western world, such works having achieved the status of classics. Recent ...

– ''Beyond the Void'' is a loose rewrite of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's play ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'', and in ''Negative Minus'' the characters Suessydo and Epolenep re-enact

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

ic tales.

Wordcatcher Publishing

As of 2019, Lionel and his wife began writing for Wordcatcher Publishing, a publishing house based in Cardiff, Wales. So far, under this partnership, they have released the historical fiction titles ''The Joan of Arc Mysteries'' and ''Garan of the Veneti'', in addition to multiple books in the 'Thoughts and Prayers' series. Alongside these are a collection of poems, ''Earth, Sea and Sky'', plus a children's book called ''Parables of the Pond'', the latter of which was published under the Auxillium Press imprint.

References

External links

* * *
A collection of his talks on Coast to Coast radio

Full list of his works

by Ken DeVries, in '' Book-Happy'' No. 4 (1999) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fanthorpe, Lionel 1935 births Alumni of the Open University 20th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English novelists English science fiction writers English television presenters Fortean writers Living people People educated at Barnard Castle School People from Dereham Ufologists Mensans