Victorian Agapemonites Chapel Becomes Airbnb After 1902 Cult Riots
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jul 26
Victorian Agapemonites Chapel Becomes Airbnb After 1902 Cult Riots
1 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jul 26
Summary
Spaxton’s former Agapemonites chapel, once home to a Victorian cult, is now operating as an Airbnb holiday let near Bridgwater.
Henry James Prince built the chapel after leaving the Church of England, claimed to be the Holy Spirit, barred followers from leaving and extracted family fortunes, author Stuart Flinders said.
£6,000 inherited by each of the three Nottidge sisters ended up in the cult’s coffers after Prince told them to marry his followers; inquests also showed the group’s control after several members took their own lives.
In 1902, successor John Hugh Smyth-Piggott declared himself Jesus Christ at a London service, triggering street riots before he retreated to Somerset.
After Piggott died in 1927, the movement dwindled; the chapel later became a TV studio for Camberwick Green and Trumpton before its latest life as a holiday rental.