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Gerald Flurry seems to be having some issues in finding a suitable estate in the UK to start a satellite version of his idolatrous Herbert W Armstrong "college" based in Edmond Oklahoma. Flurry originally had his sights set on buying parts of the old Bricket Wood campus that the Worldwide Church of God owned in the 1960's and 70's.
Most COG members never knew that Bricket Wood held some dark secrets that most would never have appraoved of in the church: nudism and wicca.
During the 1930s the area became popular with naturists after Charles Macaskie set up a naturist camp on the outskirts of the village. Naturists bought up plots of land on the edge of the village and built their own communities, which at first didn't have electricity or running water. The village also began to attract Wiccans after Gerald Gardner set up Bricket Wood coven.Naturism
The village of Bricket Wood has been host to at least six naturist clubs: Fiveacres Country Club, Spielplatz, The Sun-Folk Society, Gardenia (originally named Silverbirch), Diogenes Sunlight Society (also known as The Phoenix Recreational Society), and The Suncampers. Of these, Gardenia has now closed and been built on, Diogenes became the Diogenes Sun Club when it moved to near Maple Cross. The Suncampers have gone but the three remaining clubs are all still open.
The clubs have been there for many years. Fiveacres Country Club was founded in 1927 off Oakwood Road and is the UK's oldest naturist club on the same site. Spielplatz was founded by the Mackaskies in 1929 after visiting Fiveacres and they purchased their own site in the village in Lye Lane , The Sun-Folk Society started in 1931.Wicca
In 1954 Gerald Gardner published his book "Witchcraft Today" to advance his own practice of Wicca as a modern religion. He established his first coven at Bricket Wood. Gerald Gardner operated his coven from Fiveacre Country Club in Bricket Wood.[1]