John Goodchild
Encyclopedia
John Arthur Goodchild, was a physician, and later author of several works of poetry and mysticism, most famously Light of the West.
According to Benham (see below)Goodchild had a private medical practice in Bordighera
, Italy
, serving mainly expatriate Britons. From 1873 until the early 1900's he stayed in Italy during summers and returned to the UK in winters.
Goodchild was an antiquarian influenced by British Israelite ideas and the Golden Dawn
esoteric group. He was friends with William Sharp
(Fiona Macleod) who dedicated his final literary work The Winged Destiny: Studies in the Spiritual History of the Gael to Goodchild.
He saw Glastonbury
, Iona
(Scotland
)and Devenish Island
(Ireland
) as being a triune of holy sites in the British Isles
The Sage of Sant' Ampelio 1890 - fiction
A Fairy Godfather 1890 - fairytale
Tales in Verse 1893 - poetry
Lyrics 1893 - poetry
The Book of Tephi 1897 - poetry
The Light of the West 1898
In 'The Light of the West' Goodchild adsvanced the theory that under the influence of the Roman church, the feminine had become neglected in Christianity and that it was the destiny of a revitalised Celtic church to restore the feminine to due prominence in Christian life and thought.
, Italy
, Goodchild bought a 'bowl and a platter' seen in a tailor's shop. Ten years later he felt 'directed' by an intense psychic experience to take the 'bowl' or 'cup' to Bride's Hill, Glastonbury, Somerset, a place he had never previously visited. Arriving in August 1898 he concealed the 'Cup' in a a pond or sluice beside a thorn tree near the River Brue
. This place was reputedly known as the Women's Quarter, Beckery and according to legend was linked to St Bride. Then, he waited for the future discovery of the cup 'by women' as had appeared to him in a vision. He continued to visit the site every year from 1899 until 1906, except the year 1905.
Benham (see refs) claims this was then found and became the focus of a Christian group, including Goodchild and Wellesly Tudor Pole, based in Bristol who believed the vessel to have formerly belonged to Jesus. Thre object is reported to now be in the possession of the Chalice Well Trust, based in Glastonbury.
The platter is claimed to have been sent to the 'Sons of Garibaldi' which may be a reference to the masonic Rite of Memphis-Misraim
, of which Giuseppe Garibaldi
was grandmaster for a while.
According to Benham (see below)Goodchild had a private medical practice in Bordighera
Bordighera
Bordighera is a town and comune in the Province of Imperia, Liguria .-History:The city was founded around the 4th century BC by the Ligures....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, serving mainly expatriate Britons. From 1873 until the early 1900's he stayed in Italy during summers and returned to the UK in winters.
Goodchild was an antiquarian influenced by British Israelite ideas and the Golden Dawn
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a magical order active in Great Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which practiced theurgy and spiritual development...
esoteric group. He was friends with William Sharp
William Sharp (writer)
William Sharp was a Scottish writer, of poetry and literary biography in particular, who from 1893 wrote also as Fiona MacLeod, a pseudonym kept almost secret during his lifetime...
(Fiona Macleod) who dedicated his final literary work The Winged Destiny: Studies in the Spiritual History of the Gael to Goodchild.
He saw Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
, Iona
Iona
Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...
(Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
)and Devenish Island
Devenish Island
Devenish or Devinish is an island in Lower Lough Erne, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. Aligned roughly north–south, it is about one and a quarter miles long and two-thirds of a mile wide. The main place to get a ferry to the island is at Trory Point, just outside Enniskillen.- Features...
(Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
) as being a triune of holy sites in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
Works
Somnia Medici 1884 - poetryThe Sage of Sant' Ampelio 1890 - fiction
A Fairy Godfather 1890 - fairytale
Tales in Verse 1893 - poetry
Lyrics 1893 - poetry
The Book of Tephi 1897 - poetry
The Light of the West 1898
In 'The Light of the West' Goodchild adsvanced the theory that under the influence of the Roman church, the feminine had become neglected in Christianity and that it was the destiny of a revitalised Celtic church to restore the feminine to due prominence in Christian life and thought.
The Blue Bowl
According to Benham, whilst visiting BordigheraBordighera
Bordighera is a town and comune in the Province of Imperia, Liguria .-History:The city was founded around the 4th century BC by the Ligures....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Goodchild bought a 'bowl and a platter' seen in a tailor's shop. Ten years later he felt 'directed' by an intense psychic experience to take the 'bowl' or 'cup' to Bride's Hill, Glastonbury, Somerset, a place he had never previously visited. Arriving in August 1898 he concealed the 'Cup' in a a pond or sluice beside a thorn tree near the River Brue
River Brue
The River Brue originates in the parish of Brewham in Somerset, England, and reaches the sea some 50 km west at Burnham-on-Sea. It originally took a different route from Glastonbury to the sea, but this was changed by the monastery in the twelfth century....
. This place was reputedly known as the Women's Quarter, Beckery and according to legend was linked to St Bride. Then, he waited for the future discovery of the cup 'by women' as had appeared to him in a vision. He continued to visit the site every year from 1899 until 1906, except the year 1905.
Benham (see refs) claims this was then found and became the focus of a Christian group, including Goodchild and Wellesly Tudor Pole, based in Bristol who believed the vessel to have formerly belonged to Jesus. Thre object is reported to now be in the possession of the Chalice Well Trust, based in Glastonbury.
The platter is claimed to have been sent to the 'Sons of Garibaldi' which may be a reference to the masonic Rite of Memphis-Misraim
Rite of Memphis-Misraim
The Rite of Memphis-Misraim is a fringe Freemasonic rite which was formed by the merging of the two rites of Memphis and Misraïm under the influence of General Garibaldi in 1881.-The Rite of Misraïm:...
, of which Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
was grandmaster for a while.