British Naturism (until 2009, Central Council for British Naturism) is a members organisation with both individual and organisation members. It promotes

naturism Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and it is recognised by the

International Naturist Federation The International Naturist Federation (INF), also known as and , is the global umbrella organisation representing official national naturist societies or associations. Membership The INF is composed of representatives from national naturist ...

as the official national naturist organisation in that country.

Definition

According to non-statutory guidance issued by the

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...

—

Naturism is used to describe the activities of persons who espouse nudity as part of their lifestyle. Whilst many naturists will restrict their activities to specially designated areas and/or places where there is a tradition of naked activity, such as nudist beaches, others may wish to enjoy nudity more widely.

According to the guidance a balance is to be struck between the naturist's right to freedom of expression and the right of the wider public to be protected from harassment, alarm and distress. As a member of the International Naturist Federation, British Naturism adopted the 1974 Declaration

Agde Agde (; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Hérault. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi. It is situated on an ancient basalt volcano, hence the name "Black Pearl of the Mediterranée". Location Agde is locate ...

that states that naturism is:

a way of life in harmony with
nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
, characterised by the practice of communal nudity with the intention of encouraging
self-respect Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth, abilities, or morals. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Macki ...
, respect for others and for the
environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...
.

History

British Naturism traces its origins to 1891 when a short lived society called the "Fellowship for the Naked Trust" was formed in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. This trust had ideals and principles very similar to many later organisations.

The Camp

The Camp was the first

naturist Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms a ...

club to be established in the

. It was set up by someone known only as Moonella and existed at a country house near

Wickford Wickford is a town and civil parish in the south of the English county (England), county of Essex, with a population of 33,486. Located approximately 30 miles (50 km) east of London, it is within the Borough of Basildon along with the orig ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

between 1924 and 1927. It was later replaced by a new venue called "The New Camp" near

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

. This and several others were able to form the British Sun Bathers Association in 1943.

English Gymnosophical Society

Harold Booth published articles on naturism in many magazines at the turn of the century, and in 1922 the English Gymnosophical Society (EGS) was formed as a direct result of his work. It had a site in

, which it used during the summer, and in winter it held meetings in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. By 1926 the EGS was renamed the New Gymnosophy Society and had a site at

Bricket Wood Bricket Wood is a village in the county of Hertfordshire, England, south of St Albans city centre (though in said city's contiguous built-up area) and north-northeast of Watford. History The area of Bricket Wood was mostly occupied by farme ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

which has subsequently been used by many different clubs. The oldest club still in operation is

Spielplatz Spielplatz (German for playground) is the longest-operating naturist resort in United Kingdom, and consists of located in the village of Bricket Wood, in the English county of Hertfordshire. As of 2021, the resort consists of 65 houses. Histor ...

which was founded in 1929 by Charles Macaskie and his wife Dorothy. It consists of 12 acres (4.9 ha) located in the village of

, in the

English county The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpo ...

. Concurrent to this, naturism was also practised at the Welsh Harp in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

, apparently from as early as 1921. From this sprang the

National Sun and Air Association National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

which ran national advertisement campaigns, as well as running a

gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

nasium in

Westbourne Grove Westbourne Grove is a retail road running across Notting Hill, an area of West London. Its western end is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and its eastern end is in the City of Westminster; it runs from Kensington Park Road in the ...

, London. By 1937, membership of this society was running at over 2000.

British Sun Bathers Association

In 1943 the British Sun Bathers Association (BSBA) was formed and became recognised as a national federation of clubs, which by 1951 had 51 member clubs or groups. However, by 1953, personal and ideological differences led to the formation of the rival

Federation of British Sun Clubs A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the co ...

(FBSC).

British Naturism (formerly CCBN)

Both organisations existed until their merger in 1964 to create the Central Council for British Naturism (CCBN). By 2006, CCBN was usually referred to as 'British Naturism' but officially changed the name to 'British Naturism' at the 2009 AGM. In 2022 it claimed a membership of about 9,000.

Milestones

*1957 - Naturist films shown in cinemas. *1958 -

congress in Britain. *1965 - The hire of

public baths Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

for naturist swimming began. *1970 - International Naturist Federation congress in Britain. *1978 - International Naturist Federation congress in Britain, and the setting aside of officially designated

naturist beach A nude beach, sometimes called a clothing-optional or free beach, is a beach where users are at liberty to be nude. Nude beaches usually have mixed bathing. Such beaches are usually on public lands, and any member of the public is allowed to use ...

es. *2003 - Parliament repeals all offences that explicitly make nudity an offence. *2007 - Parliament repeals the enabling power for councils to make bye-laws regulating standards of clothing to be worn for bathing. *2012 - First British Naturism National Convention held at Ilam Hall Youth Hostel *2013 - Second British Naturism National Convention held at Yarnfield Park, Staffordshire *2016 - Third British Naturism National Convention held at the Melville Hotel,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, from 14 to 16 October *2017 - Fourth British Naturism National Convention held at The Studio Venue,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, from 7 to 8 October *2018 - Fifth British Naturism National Convention held at The Studio Venue, Birmingham, from 6 to 7 October *2020 - British Naturism hosted the first onlin
Global Naturism Forum
using the Zoom videoconferencing platform, 14–15 October

Campaigns

British Naturism has sought legal and political protection against

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

for naturists in the United Kingdom, where an opinion poll in 2008 estimated the number of people describing themselves as naturist or nudist at 3.7 million. It also runs public facing campaigns, including ''Women in Naturism'', which supports and encourages women to try naturist activities, ''Bare all for polar bears'' which seeks to raise money for environmental conservation and ''The Great British Skinny Dip'', which encourages costume free swimming events to be run, not just by naturist clubs, but also public pools, spas, lidos and natural settings such as lakes. During the pandemic in 2020 British Naturism sought to build interest in naturism though a series of online events, including a public-facing charity event entitled
The Great British Take-off
. In 2023 they appointed Helen Berriman as Women's Officer and later that year she launched their first podcast, Women in Focus which proclaims to be "dedicated to celebrating and empowering women through naturism". In April 2018, British Naturism announced that in discussion with the senior officer at the police college a mutually satisfactory solution was reached, and the resultant preamble and "decision tree" for dealing with complaints about public nudity has been uploaded to the Police Training manuals. British Naturism argues that Naturism is protected as a philosophical belief under the

Equality Act 2010 The Equality Act 2010 (c. 15) is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed during the Brown ministry with the primary purpose of consolidating, updating and supplementing the numerous prior Acts and Regulations, that formed the basis o ...

. The Crown Prosecution Service issued guidance in 2013 updated in 2019, which, among other things, confirms that section 5 of the

Public Order Act 1986 The Public Order Act 1986 (c. 64) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a number of public order offences. They replace similar common law offences and parts of the Public Order Act 1936. It implements recommendations

is unlikely to apply in cases of passive nudity. Serving police officers now have advice online and in their training manual.College of Policing Briefing Note
retrieved 3 December 2020 Using nudity for " intentional harassment, alarm or distress" remains an offence under section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986.

Events

British Naturism hosts events throughout the year, including online events over

Zoom Zoom may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''Zoom'' (2006 film), starring Tim Allen * ''Zoom'' (2015 film), a Canada-Brazil film by Pedro Morelli * ''Zoom'' (2016 Kannada film), a Kannada film * ''Zoom'' (2016 Sinhala film), a Sr ...

, festivals, and other events such as trips to theme parks.

Online events

During the

Covid-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic, British Naturism began hosting online events through the

video calling Videotelephony (also known as videoconferencing or video calling) is the use of audio signal, audio and video for simultaneous two-way communication. Today, videotelephony is widespread. There are many terms to refer to videotelephony. ''Vide ...

service

. These events included yoga, baking classes, book clubs, and aerobics.

Festivals

Every year, British Naturism hosts the Nudefest festival, where hundreds of naturists gather to listen to music, dance, and participate in activities such as bingo and clay pigeon shooting. Nudefest was founded by Andrew Welch in 2007, and takes place at Thorney Lakes campsite in July.

Young British Naturism

Young British Naturism (YBN) is a division of British Naturism for 18- to 35-year-olds, focused on encouraging younger people to become naturists and members of British Naturism through events such as sports days, comedy nights, and spa days. The average age of British Naturism members is around 60, but YBN seeks to show that naturism isn't just for older people.

Notes

References

* *

External links

*
Young British Naturists (YBN)

Advice to naturists stopped by the police

College of Policing briefing note:Public nudity advice and decision aid
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011053529/http://library.college.police.uk/docs/nudity.pdf , date=11 October 2018 Organizations established in 1891 Clothing free organizations Organisations based in Northamptonshire Naturism in the United Kingdom Naturist resorts 1891 establishments in the United Kingdom