Person:Alice Buckton (1)

Alice Buckton (1867-1944)

Alice Buckton was a Froebelian educator who was involved in early childhood education and the training of teachers. She was a prolific writer, at first writing articles for the Froebelian journal Child Life and later writing poetry and plays, which were read and performed in London and elsewhere. Alice Buckton became interested in the spiritual and creative movements in Glastonbury in early 1907, and in 1913 she bought a property then known as Tor House, where she and her colleague and lifelong friend, Annet Schepel, moved in 1913, renaming it Chalice Well. This paper aims to explore the relationship between Alice Buckton's early influences as a Froebelian, the inspiration of mystical landscape and the development of her work in Glastonbury. While very little direct evidence of her continued Froebelian influence relating to the education project at Chalice Well remains, the links are demonstrated throughout the paper in the form of quotations from Froebel that reflect her work. The paper concludes with a brief account of the emerging interest in Alice Buckton in Glastonbury's local community, and in particular the work of the Chalice Well Trust.

Beneath the Silent Tor by Tracy Cutting

The name Alice Buckton is synonymous in the Somerset town of Glastonbury with dramatic and extravagant pageants and with the world-famous Chalice Well. But who was the lady behind the name? Why did she move to Somerset in 1913 after running a successful and revolutionary school in London? Why did she risk her health and her wealth to buy the former Catholic Seminary which stood at the foot of the Tor and the 'Blood Spring' which ran through the grounds? What did students at her college learn and what was the motivation behind her inspired poetry? The answer to these questions can be found in 'Beneath the Silent Tor', the first comprehensive account of the life and work of Alice Buckton, a remarkable woman of vision and creativity; an educational reformer and talented writer, who dedicated more than 30 years of her life to Glastonbury and Chalice Well.

Tudor Pole later re-convened the Chalice Well Trust in 1959 which had been founded earlier by Alice Buckton. Alice Buckton, 1867-1944, visionary poet, educationalist, founder of the Chalice Well Trust (associated with the site of the healing Spring at the base of the Tor). Alice had met Dr. Goodchild for the first time in Sept 1907 after the 'Cup' was found. Her interest in the bowl was satisfied with the emphasis on women's spirituality [16] and the role of the Cup in the reinstatement of the feminine within the religion of the West - she shared Goodchild's views on the place of women in the Celtic Mysteries. Her academic interest lay in dramatic productions to encourage a revival of interest in ancient lore and legend. Rutland Boughton, composer and director, arrived at this time in Glastonbury, as did F B. Bond who took on excavation work at the Abbey and did not hesitate to use 'channelling' to get in touch with the once resident monks who had lived there. In 1912 the Catholic Seminary, Chalice Well was up for sale and Alice Buckton bought the property and occupied the site until her death in 1944. At this time the British Israel Society had reached its peak in the 1920's with a HQ in Glastonbury. 'British-Israelism a religious doctrine (first elaborated in the nineteenth century as a justification for British colonialism) claimed that the English Anglo-Saxons were one of the so-called 'ten lost tribes of Israel' and that the British monarch was the direct descendant of 'the throne of King David. In short, the British were 'God's chosen people'. The movement spread to Canada and the US (and Australia) at the turn of the century and has since become associated with a tag of white supremacy in those countries. Rutland Boughton 1878-1960, composer and director. Glastonbury now enjoyed a period of joint dramatic productions with the presence of Alice Buckton and Rutland Boughton in the town. The first Glastonbury Festival took place 5 August 1914 in the Assembly Rooms. Bernard Shaw, Thomas Hardy, D.H Lawrence were in attendance at the Glastonbury Festivals. The Performers were local amateurs and friends. Boughton's mystical-drama 'The Immortal Hour' won him recognition thereafter as an important composer. The dramatic works,songs and dancing were successful and popular but there was an outcry from some Glastonbury residents regarding satanic influences of the arts in general.

Poems, Books and plays by Alice Mary Buckton

Through Human Eyes (1901) Book of Poems

The Burden of Engela (1904) A Ballad Epic

Eager Heart (1904) A Christmas Mystery Play (18 impressions)

Kings in Babylon (1906) Drama

Masques and Dances (1907)

Songs of Joy (1908)

The Coming of Bride (1914) A Pageant Play

The Heart Worships (1910) Musical Score, music by Holst

Chalice Well

Chalice Well is a healing well and garden nestling in a little valley which lies between Glastonbury Tor and Chalice Hill. It is famous for its waters - primary water which comes from deep down in the earth rather than deriving from the rainfall cycle. Chalice Well gardens are rather unique - heritage gardens distinctly developed and kept for spiritual-inspirational uses. It is a wonderful place not just to look around, but also to stop, be quiet and go inside yourself. A place of healing.

It is run by the Chalice Well Trust, carrying on in the work started 50-70 years ago of Alice Buckton and Wellesley Tudor Pole.

Chalice Well is generally best visited off-season and off-peak, on your own or with a friend - it's a temple. Find somewhere to sit, and just be. At times there are ceremonial get-togethers at the Well, much enjoyed by people of all beliefs and persuasions. Sometimes it's a good follow-up to climbing the Tor. Enter calmly, and you'll be touched by the place.

If the Chalice Well is closed, go round the side, up Well House Lane, and the water pours out of a spout in the wall, for drinking. It's iron-rich, of constant temperature and flow, and is revitalising to drink - as if you're being washed right through.

1.   The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ancestral File (TM). (June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998)
   C013483.