37- Old Dorothy Clutterbuck
37- Old Dorothy Clutterbuck (January 19, 1880— January 12, 1951).
English witch, or literary creation?
Perhaps one of the most controversial and enigmatic figures of British Witchcraft, Dorothy Clutterbuck was, for many years, believed to have never existed at all. While the jury is still out as to her existence and/or involvement with witchcraft, Old Dorothy remains one of the earliest known alleged practitioners of pre-Wiccan British Traditional Witchcraft. In the very least, she is a literary creation and archetype used to establish the origin myth for the tradition that has become Wicca and Modern Witchcraft.
Her story, of course, begins with the father and founder of Modern Witchcraft, Gerald Gardner. It was Gardner who first claimed to have discovered a secret witch-cult, the New Forest Coven. As a member of this coven, Dorothy Clutterbuck (Old Dorothy as Gardner called her) was said to have initiated Gardner into the New Forest group in 1939. Henceforth, Old Dorothy has been an elusive figure who is seen as the impetus behind the resurgence of the ancient and hidden practice of witchcraft. Unfortunately, whether or not this is all true remains a mystery lost to time.
What has been discovered of an historical, existent Dorothy Clutterbuck comes through the sleuthing and detective work by the Mother of Modern Witchcraft, our beloved Doreen Valiente (#86). Doreen spent years searching through birth and death certificates (along with various other records) trying to authenticate the claims made by Gerald Gardner. By 1985, Doreen’s discoveries lead her to believe Gardner and the existence of Dorothy Clutterbuck.
The historical Dorothy was a wealthy Englishwoman, born in British India to Thomas St. Quentin Clutterbuck, a British army officer. After her father’s retirement, Dorothy moved back to England, continuing to live in their family home after his death. A practicing Anglican, Dorothy’s public persona was that of a deeply religious person. Upon her death in 1951, Clutterbuck left a series of diaries composed of her personal poems, writings, and journal entries. These diaries have since been scoured for references to witchcraft. Depending on the researcher, however, opposite conclusions have been drawn. Some have determined that she was in fact a clandestine member of a coven, while others have deduced she remained a faithful Christian. Her truth may never be known, as she never publicly identified as a witch.
If this story sounds somewhat familiar, it should. Recall another member of the New Forest Coven, Edith Woodford-Grimes (#63), who has also been credited with initiating Gerald Gardner into witchcraft. She too never publicly identified as a witch, and lived an outward life as a Christian. The parallels here are two fold— on the one hand, each allegedly practiced witchcraft while it was still illegal to do so in England, a fact which has contributed to their difficult to discern history. On the other hand, the similarities between the two have made some historians conclude that Old Dorothy was simply a name stolen from “the real” Dorothy Clutterbuck by Gerald Gardner in an effort to conceal Edith Woodford-Grimes’ involvement with witchcraft. As a creation of Gardner, “Old Dorothy” was used to justify the origin myth behind the tradition that would become Wicca. In doing so, he muddied the waters and protected his true initiator.
The truth has been lost to time and intentionally concealed. While investigators like Valiente have concluded that Old Dorothy was in fact involved in witchcraft, other historians believe that Dorothy Clutterbuck remained an adamant Christian woman whose name was used by Gardner as a kind of inside joke to protect Edith. Those who believe that Dorothy was involved further posit that she used Christianity to further her societal and conventional wellbeing. An admission of involvement in ritual witchcraft would certainly have meant the end and ostracization of a wealthy Englishwoman who lived alone. It is through figures like Old Dorothy that we are reminded of the challenges faced by our foremothers and fathers who, unlike us, were not as free to openly discuss their practice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Clutterbuck
