Whiteway Colony
Encyclopedia
Whiteway Colony is a residential community
in the Cotswolds
in the parish of Miserden
near Stroud
, Gloucestershire
, UK. The community was founded in 1898 by Tolstoyan
s and today has no spare land available with over sixty homes and one hundred and fifty colonists. At the beginning private property
was rejected and personal property
shared, however today the colonists homes are privately owned and sold at market value. As the colony abandoned Tolstoy's philosophy it has been regarded by many, including Mohandas Gandhi who visited in 1909, as a failed Tolstoyan experiment.
. Aylmer Maude
led the founding board of trustees for the colony.
The early settlers had utopian socialist
ideals, sharing provisions and going back-to-the-land. The founding colonists numbered about eight but over time the community rose to forty with anyone welcome. However Bracher, his family and other founders left the colony soon afterwards as they became increasingly frustrated with the other residents idleness.
Early life in the colony was spartan with some residents using a barn as shelter - piped water did not arrive until 1949 and electricity
not until 1954. The site was originally open land surrounding Whiteway House but is now heavily wooded and home to a collection of mainly wooden buildings - as no one owns the land, mortgages could not be obtained so people had to build their own houses. A court ruling in 1955 proved that nobody owns the legal title for the land. A communal hall was built by residents in 1924 to house social activities and a school, and a swimming pool was built in 1969. Whiteway Colony is still in existence today and houses, among others, descendants of its original settlers. Though it no longer has an explicitly anarchist character, today's residents are aware, and proud, of its origins. Traces of them run through the community still, the best examples being the continued use and maintenance of communal facilities (hall, swimming pool and playing field). In addition, the governance of the community is still done by a general meeting of its residents.
Over the years residents have included immigrant anarchists, conscientious objector
s and refugees from the Spanish Civil War
, as well as co-operative ventures such as Protheroe's Bakery (known in the local area for the quality of its bread), the Cotswold Co-operative Handicraft guild and the Co-operative Gardening Group. For a period the anarchist newspaper Freedom
was produced here by Thomas Keell
.
Residential community
A residential community is a community, usually a small town or city, that is composed mostly of residents, as opposed to commercial businesses and/or industrial facilities, all three of which are considered to be the three main types of occupants of the typical community.Residential communities...
in the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
in the parish of Miserden
Miserden
Miserden is a village and civil parish in Stroud District, Gloucestershire, England, 4 miles north east of Stroud. The parish includes Whiteway Colony and the hamlets of Sudgrove and The Camp...
near Stroud
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Stroud is a market town and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District.Situated below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills at the meeting point of the Five Valleys, the town is noted for its steep streets and cafe culture...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, UK. The community was founded in 1898 by Tolstoyan
Tolstoyan
The Tolstoyan movement is a social movement based on the philosophical and religious views of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy . Tolstoy's views were formed by rigorous study of the ministry of Jesus, particularly the Sermon on the Mount....
s and today has no spare land available with over sixty homes and one hundred and fifty colonists. At the beginning private property
Private property
Private property is the right of persons and firms to obtain, own, control, employ, dispose of, and bequeath land, capital, and other forms of property. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which refers to assets owned by a state, community or government rather than by...
was rejected and personal property
Personal property
Personal property, roughly speaking, is private property that is moveable, as opposed to real property or real estate. In the common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In the civil law systems personal property is often called movable property or movables - any...
shared, however today the colonists homes are privately owned and sold at market value. As the colony abandoned Tolstoy's philosophy it has been regarded by many, including Mohandas Gandhi who visited in 1909, as a failed Tolstoyan experiment.
History
The colony was set up in 1898 by a Quaker journalist, Samuel Veale Bracher, along with other Tolstoyans. Bracher purchased 41 acres (162,000 m²) along with seeds, tools, materials and provisions. The colonists then burnt the property deeds on the end of a pitchfork in a symbolic rejection of the notion of propertyProperty
Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...
. Aylmer Maude
Aylmer and Louise Maude
Aylmer Maude and Louise Maude were English translators of Tolstoy's works, and Aylmer Maude also wrote his friend Tolstoy's biography. After living many years in Russia the Maudes spent the rest of their life in England translating Tolstoy's writing and promoting public interest in his work...
led the founding board of trustees for the colony.
The early settlers had utopian socialist
Utopian socialism
Utopian socialism is a term used to define the first currents of modern socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, and Robert Owen which inspired Karl Marx and other early socialists and were looked on favorably...
ideals, sharing provisions and going back-to-the-land. The founding colonists numbered about eight but over time the community rose to forty with anyone welcome. However Bracher, his family and other founders left the colony soon afterwards as they became increasingly frustrated with the other residents idleness.
Early life in the colony was spartan with some residents using a barn as shelter - piped water did not arrive until 1949 and electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
not until 1954. The site was originally open land surrounding Whiteway House but is now heavily wooded and home to a collection of mainly wooden buildings - as no one owns the land, mortgages could not be obtained so people had to build their own houses. A court ruling in 1955 proved that nobody owns the legal title for the land. A communal hall was built by residents in 1924 to house social activities and a school, and a swimming pool was built in 1969. Whiteway Colony is still in existence today and houses, among others, descendants of its original settlers. Though it no longer has an explicitly anarchist character, today's residents are aware, and proud, of its origins. Traces of them run through the community still, the best examples being the continued use and maintenance of communal facilities (hall, swimming pool and playing field). In addition, the governance of the community is still done by a general meeting of its residents.
Over the years residents have included immigrant anarchists, conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
s and refugees from the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, as well as co-operative ventures such as Protheroe's Bakery (known in the local area for the quality of its bread), the Cotswold Co-operative Handicraft guild and the Co-operative Gardening Group. For a period the anarchist newspaper Freedom
Freedom newspaper
Freedom is a London-based anarchist newspaper published fortnightly by Freedom Press.The paper was started in 1886 by volunteers including Peter Kropotkin and Charlotte Wilson and continues to this day as an unpaid project. Originally, the subtitle was "A Journal of Anarchist Socialism." The title...
was produced here by Thomas Keell
Thomas Keell
Thomas Henry Keell was an Englishman compositor who edited the anarchist periodical Freedom. He attended the International Anarchist Congress of Amsterdam in 1907, where he was hailed by Emma Goldman as "one of our most devoted workers on the London Freedom"...
.
Further reading
- Thacker, J. (1993) Whiteway Colony, the social history of a Tolstoyan community Published by the author ISBN 978 0952176008