Alice Mary Buckton (9 March 1867 – 10 December 1944) was an English educator, poet, community playwright, feminist, Celtic revivalist and mystic. In 1899 Buckton established a Froebelian educational institution, Sesame House, in London. Her

mystery play Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represe ...

''Eager Heart'', first performed in 1903, was the first of several pageant plays written or stage-managed by Buckton. A convert to the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

, she recited an ode to open the 1911

First Universal Races Congress The First Universal Races Congress met in 1911 for four days at the University of London as an early effort at anti-racism. Speakers from a number of countries discussed race relations and how to improve them. The congress, with 2,100 attendees, ...

. After buying the

Chalice Well The Chalice Well, also known as the Red Spring, is a well situated near the summit of Chalice Hill, a small hill next to Glastonbury Tor in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. The natural spring and surrounding gardens are owned and managed by the C ...

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

, she established it as a hostel in

, helping to establish Glastonbury as a site of pilgrimage.

Early life

Alice Buckton was born in Weycombe,

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south-west Surrey, England, around south-west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill (Hindhead, Surrey), Beacon Hill, they comprise ...

, on 9 March 1867. She was the eldest of seven daughters of the

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

George Bowdler Buckton George Bowdler Buckton (24 May 1818, London – 25 September 1905, Haslemere, Surrey) was an England, English chemist and entomologist who specialised in aphids. Early life Buckton was born in London and lived in Hornsey, England. He was the ...

, and his wife Mary Ann Odling. She came to know

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

, who lived nearby, and years later still wore a cloak given her by Tennyson.

Settlement and educational activity

As a young woman Alice Buckton was involved with the

Women's University Settlement Blackfriars Settlement in London's SE1 borough of Southwark is the charitable organisation in the UK established to improve the well-being of disadvantaged people. It was originally established as the Women's University Settlement in 1887, and ...

, which grew out of the work of

Octavia Hill Octavia Hill (3December 183813August 1912) was an English Reform movement, social reformer and founder of the National Trust. Her main concern was the welfare of the inhabitants of cities, especially London, in the second half of the nineteent ...

. She then became interested in the educational ideas of

Friedrich Fröbel Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel or Froebel (; 21 April 1782 – 21 June 1852) was a German pedagogue, a student of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children have unique nee ...

, and travelled to Germany to visit the Pestalozzi-Fröbel House. She managed to persuade the Principal there, Annet Schepel, to come to England and help set up a similar institution in London, the Sesame Garden and House for Home Life Training in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...

. In an 1898 lecture Buckton outlined a plan for this new institution. Buckton emphasised the importance of

motherhood A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case ...

in the thought of

Pestalozzi Pestalozzi is the surname of an Italian family originally based in Gravedona and Chiavenna who settled in Switzerland during the Counter-Reformation. Members of this family include: * Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746–1827), Swiss pedagogue an ...

and Fröbel, and declared the kindergarten to be part of the "woman's movement". Sesame House opened in 1899, with

Patrick Geddes Sir Patrick Geddes (2 October 1854 – 17 April 1932) was a Scottish biologist, sociologist, Comtean positivist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban plannin ...

on the committee. One woman trained at Sesame House was

Lileen Hardy Lileen Hardy (1872–1947) was an Anglo-Scottish educator, social reformer and the founder of a kindergarten for the children of Edinburgh’s Canongate slums. Biography Hardy was born in Alderbury, Wiltshire, in 1872, and her father was a ...

, who went on to open the free kindergarten St. Saviour's Child Garden in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. By 1902 the school at Sesame House had sixty-five students. Buckton and Schepel were partners who lived together until Schepel's death in 1931.

Poetry and pageant plays

In 1901 Buckton published her first poetry collection, ''Through Human Eyes''. Verse from the collection was later set to music by

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

as ''The heart worships''. Buckton's mystery play ''Eager Heart'' was first performed in

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

Hall in 1903. The play was an immediate success. Three decades later there had been hundreds of performances and over 41,000 published copies of the play sold.

Baháʼí conversion

In 1908 Buckton became drawn to the

after meeting

Wellesley Tudor Pole Wellesley Tudor Pole OBE (23 April 1884 – 13 September 1968) was an English Baháʼí, psychic, spiritualist and activist for vegetarianism. Pole authored many pamphlets and books and was a lifelong pursuer of religious and mystical qu ...

. Buckton attended the

in London in 1911, opening proceedings with an 'Ode of Salutation' from Europe, alongside T. Ramakrishna Pillai speaking for the East and

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...

speaking for Africa. Buckton met

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: , ;, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás (, ), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who designated him to be his successor and head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 un ...

several times. He visited her home in Byfleet, Surrey, and she accompanied him on his speaking tour of England in 1913.

Glastonbury

In 1912, Buckton bought the

in Glastonbury. She and Schepel opened a hostel there which drew pilgrims from around the world, and Buckton continued to live in Glastonbury for the rest of her life. In August 1913 Buckton stage-managed Caroline Cannon's ''Pageant of Gwent'' at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

. The following year she supported an Arthurian festival at Glastonbury, centered around the performance of a music drama by Reginald Buckley, 'The Birth of Arthur'. She herself wrote and produced ''The Coming of Bride'', first performed in Glastonbury on 6 August 1914. ''The Coming of the Dawn'' was written to be produced at Christmas in 1918 by the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

. A scene from her 1922 film In 1919 Buckton spoke at a Leisure of the People Conference in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, describing the way in which everyday people in

threw themselves into performance of pageant plays. As a result, the University Settlement organized a May festival in

Ancoats Ancoats is an area of Manchester, England, next to the Northern Quarter, the northern part of Manchester city centre. Historically in Lancashire, Ancoats became a cradle of the Industrial Revolution and has been called "the world's first ind ...

, for which Buckton wrote an allegorical play around the figures of Labour, Beauty and Joy. In 1920 Buckton attended a ceremony in celebration of the foundation stone being laid for a theatre in the grounds of Chalice Well, during which she described the theatre as a "another round table," referring to King Arthur's round table. In 1922 she led a team who created the 68 minute film ''Glastonbury past and Present''. The film was said to the first about the history of a town. In 1925 she wrote a series of six radio sketches based on the

Arthurian legends The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffr ...

, performed by the Cardiff Station Radio Players with music by

Warwick Braithwaite Henry Warwick Braithwaite (9 January 1896 – 19 January 1971) was a New Zealand-born orchestral conductor. He worked mostly in Great Britain and was especially known for his work in opera. Early life and family Braithwaite was one of the younges ...

. It was the first play specifically written for radio. In 1938 she received a

civil list pension Pensions in the United Kingdom, whereby United Kingdom tax payers have some of their wages deducted to save for retirement, can be categorised into three major divisions – state, occupational and personal pensions. The state pension is based o ...

"in recognition of her services to literature and of the services rendered by her father".

Death

Buckton died on 10 December 1944 at the home of a friend in

Vicars' Close, Wells Vicars' Close is a dead end street in Wells, Somerset. It is reportedly Europe's oldest Residential area, residential street with the original buildings still intact. John Julius Norwich called it "that rarest of survivals, a planned street of ...

, Somerset. A memorial to Buckton was erected in the

Church of St John the Baptist, Glastonbury Described as "one of the most ambitious parish churches in Somerset", the present Church of St John the Baptist in Glastonbury, Somerset, England, dates from the 15th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building. History The pre ...

, by Lionel Smithett Lewis.

Works

* 'Sesame Child Garden and House for Home Training', ''Child Life'', Vol. 1, No. 1 (1899), pp. 32–36 * ''Through human eyes: poems''. Oxford: Daniel Press, 1901. With an introductory poem by

Robert Bridges Robert Seymour Bridges (23 October 1844 – 21 April 1930) was a British poet who was Poet Laureate from 1913 to 1930. A doctor by training, he achieved literary fame only late in life. His poems reflect a deep Christian faith, and he is ...

. * ''Eager heart: a Christmas mystery-play''. London: Methuen, 1904. * ''The burden of Engela: a ballad-epic''. London: Methuen, 1904. * ''The pastor of Wydon fell : a ballad of the North Country''. London: E. Mathews, 1905. * ''Kings in Babylon: a drama'', London: Methuen, 1906. * ''Garden of many waters, a masque''. London: Mathews, 1907. * ''Songs of joy''. London: Methuen, 1908. * 'Order of Service for Saint Bride's Day Gathering', ''The Forerunner'', No. 4 (July 1909)
Ode to the First Universal Races Congress
''Star of the West'', Vol. 2, No. 9 (20 August 1911) * ''A catechism of life''. London: Methuen, 1912. * ''The coming of Bride: a pageant play''. Glastonbury: Elliot Stock, 1914. * ''The meeting in the gate. A Christman interlude''. London: E. Stock, 1916. * ''Daybreak, and other poems''. London: Methuen, 1918. * ''The dawn of day: a pageant''. London: Blue Triangle, 1919. *
Glastonbury past and Present
', 1922 film

References

External links

Alice Buckton (1867-1944)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckton, Alice 1867 births 1944 deaths 19th-century English LGBTQ people 19th-century English poets 20th-century English LGBTQ people 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English poets English Bahá'ís English Christian mystics People from Glastonbury