Gravesend Spiritualist Church

Modern Spiritualism is generally considered to date from the events which occurred at Hydesville, New York State, U.S.A., on March 31st 1848, when two sisters, Margaretta and Catherine Fox, established intelligent communication with a spirit entity which had been responsible for noisy rappings in the house.The Fox House, Hydesville, 1848 The publicity which this aroused and the numerous investigations carried out at the time allowed mediumship to come out into the open once more and many home circles sprang up for the purpose of further communication. In a short space of time many societies of Spiritualists were formed in America, based not merely upon the psychic phenomena produced but also upon the religious implications which lay behind the teachings received from spirit through the new revelation.

Both the phenomena and the teachings attracted the attention of eminent scientists and intellectuals in America and (from 1852) Britain, to which Spiritualism was brought by Mrs Hayden, who was both persecuted and insulted by the press and the pulpit. In spite of this her mediumship was defended by many public figures, including Robert Owen, Socialist and one of the founders of the Co-operative Movement, who embraced Spiritualism after sittings with her, and many adherents were attracted to the cause.

In 1853 the first Spiritualist Church was established in the British Isles by David Richmond at Keighley in Yorkshire, and the first Spiritualist newspaper in Britain, The Yorkshire Spiritual Telegraph, was published in 1855, also at Keighley. By the 1870s there were numerous Spiritualist societies and churches throughout the country.

In 1869 a Committee appointed by the Dialectical Society investigated Spiritualism and published the most favourable report on the movement up to that time by any investigating body. Two years later Sir William Crookes reported on Spiritualism to the Royal Society and published his findings in the Quarterly Journal of Science. The British National Association of Spiritualists (renamed in 1884 as the London Spiritualist Alliance and now known as the College of Psychic Science) was founded in London in 1873, followed by the Society for Psychical Research in 1882. Five years later the Two Worlds Spiritualist weekly newspaper was founded by Mrs Emma Hardinge Britten, through whose mediumship in 1871 Robert Owen had communicated the basis of the Seven Principles of Spiritualism, which were later to be adopted by the Spiritualists’ National Union as the basis of its religious philosophy.

In the early days of the movement the most important necessity had been the complete freedom to develop and promote through multiple channels of communication the reception of the new spiritual inspiration without recourse to the establishment of a central organisation or administration. Some twenty years after the introduction of the movement to Britain it was now becoming apparent that there was a need to unite the many scattered churches and societies into some kind of federation in order to present a common front against persecution, win religious recognition and freedom of worship for its adherents and exponents, achieve a greater unanimity of opinion concerning the fundamental basis of Spiritualist beliefs, and give a new impetus and direction to the movement through co-ordination and co-operation. This task fell to Mrs Britten, a gifted orator and writer, who had launched the Two Worlds in 1887 and was the joint composer of the Lyceum Manual published in the same year.

Important Dates
Some important dates in the subsequent history of the Union and the movement:-

1901 – 18th October, signing of the memorandum of Association of the Spiritualists’ National Union Ltd.
1916 – Parliamentary campaign for the legal recognition of Spiritualism instituted by the Union under Ernest Oaten.
1918 – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle proclaims his belief in Spiritualism.
1923 – Formation of the International Spiritualist Federation.
1924 – Hannen Swaffer proclaims his belief in Spiritualism.
1931-5 – Publication of J. Arthur Findlay’s trilogy, On the Edge of the Etheric, The Rock of Truth and The Unfolding Universe.
1932 – Psychic News founded by Arthur Findlay under the editorship of Maurice Barbanell.
1934 – First broadcast on behalf of Spiritualism through BBC by Ernest Oaten.
1937 – Spiritualism investigated by Church of England Committee set up by Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Lang. (Its subsequent favourable report was suppressed but leaked to Psychic News).
1940 – Spiritualists’ National Union granted Certificate to act as a trust corporation.
1944 – Helen Duncan trial in London.
1951 – Passing of Fraudulent Mediums Act removing genuine mediums from the provisions of the Witchcraft Act 1735 and the Vagrancy Act 1824, thereby enabling Spiritualists openly and legally to practise their religion.
1964 – Stansted Hall bequeathed to Spiritualists’ National Union by J. Arthur Findlay MBE to be used as a College for the advancement of Psychic Science.
1990 – SNU Centenary.
1999 – Opening of the Pioneer Centre at Stansted Hall.