Spielplatz (German for

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

) is the longest-operating

naturist resort A naturist resort or nudist resort is an establishment that provides accommodation (or at least camping space) and other amenities for guests in a context where they are invited to practice naturism – that is, a lifestyle of non-sexual socia ...

in United Kingdom, and consists of located in the village of

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 ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

. As of 2021, the resort consists of 65 houses.

History

Spielplatz was founded in 1929 by Charles Macaskie and his wife Dorothy. They moved from London into a tent on an area of virgin woodland they purchased near Bricket Wood. They called their

utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', which describes a fictional island soci ...

camp the ''Green Monastery'' and a ''Play Place'' (Spielplatz). They were joined by other couples and individuals on weekends. Among their visitors until 1947 was

Ross Nichols Philip Peter Ross Nichols (28 June 1902 – 30 April 1975) was a Cambridge academic and published poet, artist and historian, who founded the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids in 1964. He wrote prolifically on the subjects of Druidism and Celt ...

, founder of the

Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids The Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids or OBOD is a Neo-Druidic order based in England, but based in part on the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards. It has grown to become a dynamic druid organisation, with members in all parts of the world. The concept of ...

. In turn he attracted both fellow

Druids A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wr ...

and

Gerald Gardner Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, author, and amateur anthropology, anthropologist and archaeology, archaeologist. He was instrumental in bringing the Moder ...

, who later established his first coven at Bricket Wood in his development of

Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...

as a modern religion. It was at Spielplatz that Ross Nichols first met Gerald Gardner. Spielplatz has featured in TV and films such as ''

Naked as Nature Intended ''Naked as Nature Intended'' (U.S. title: ''As Nature Intended'') is a 1961 British nudist film produced and directed by George Harrison Marks and starring Pamela Green. It was the first film from producers Tony Tenser and Michael Klinger.John ...

'' (1961) starring club member

Pamela Green Phyllis Pamela Green (28 March 1929 – 7 May 2010) was an English glamour model and actress, best known at the end of the 1950s and early 1960s. She modeled for Zoltán Glass and his brother Stephen, Bill Brandt, Joan Craven, Bertram Park, ...

, ''Nudist Memories'' (1959) and ''

Confetti Confetti are small pieces or streamers of paper, mylar or metallic material, usually thrown at celebrations, especially parades and weddings. The origins are from the Latin ''confectum'', with ''confetti'' the plural of Italian ''confetto'', ...

'' (2006). In 1956, The Naturist Ltd. published ''Nudist Life at Spielplatz'', "The Story of a Modern Experiment in the Art of Living" by Charles Sennet, with a supplement of photographs by

Stephen Glass Stephen Randall Glass (born September 15, 1972) is a former American journalist. He worked for ''The New Republic'' from 1995 to 1998 until an internal investigation by the magazine determined the majority of stories he wrote either contained f ...

. In 1957 the documentary series '' Out of Step'' on ITV, the investigative reporter

Dan Farson Daniel James Negley Farson (8 January 1927 – 27 November 1997) was a British writer and broadcaster, strongly identified with the early days of commercial television in the UK, when his sharp, investigative style contrasted with the BBC's mor ...

visited Spielplatz Naturist Club in Bricket Wood and interviewed Charles Macaskie, Mrs. Macaskie, and their daughter Iseult. It is claimed the programme was the first showing of a naked woman on British television.

Notes and references

External links

* {{coord, 51.716572, -0.356984, display=title, region:GB_type:landmark_source:enwiki, format=dms Naturist resorts Naturism in the United Kingdom Tourist attractions in Hertfordshire Clubs and societies in England 1929 establishments in England

History

See also

Notes and references

Further reading

External links