Frederick Bligh Bond, born in the Wiltshire town of Marlborough in 1864, established a professional career that bridged the traditional rigour of Edwardian architecture with the controversial application of psychical methodology to archaeological excavation. A fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, he navigated dual roles as an ecclesiastical scholar and a practitioner of automatic writing.
Architectural Practice and Academic Contributions
Beginning his architectural career in Bristol in 1888, Bond focused heavily on civic and educational infrastructure. His portfolio included schools in Barton Hill, Easton, Southville, and Greenbank, alongside the music school at Clifton College and buildings for Bristol University. His mature work reflected the Queen Anne Revival and English Baroque styles. Beyond design, he became a noted authority on church architecture, collaborating with Dom Bede Camm on the two-volume 1909 treatise, Roodscreens and Roodlofts.
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In 1908, the Church of England appointed Bond director of excavations at Glastonbury Abbey. He claimed that the dimensions of the abbey buildings relied on gematria, a subject he explored further in his 1917 publication with Thomas Simcox Lea. However, his tenure ended in 1921 when Bishop Armitage Robinson dismissed him following the 1919 publication of The Gate of Remembrance, which disclosed his reliance on automatic writing—involving a medium named John Allan Bartlett—to locate structural remnants of the site.
Psychical Research and Later Years
Bond held memberships in the Society for Psychical Research, the Theosophical Society, and the Ghost Club. Between 1921 and 1926, he edited the journal Psychic Science. His later years included an ordination and consecration as a bishop in the Old Catholic Church of America. Following a period of employment with the American Society for Psychical Research, he returned to the United Kingdom, eventually passing away in 1945 in Dolgellau, Merionethshire.
Fast facts
- Born: 1864, Marlborough, Wiltshire
- Died: 1945
- Education: Marlborough Royal Free Grammar School; Marlborough College
- Professional Status: Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
- Key Publication: The Gate of Remembrance (1918)
- Positions: Bishop; Architect; Archaeologist; Writer
- Organizations: Society for Psychical Research; Ghost Club; Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia
Questions readers ask
Why was Frederick Bligh Bond dismissed from his role at Glastonbury Abbey?
He was dismissed in 1921 by Bishop Armitage Robinson because he used psychical methods, specifically automatic writing, to guide his archaeological excavations.
What architectural style did Bond primarily utilize?
His mature works during the Edwardian period are generally characterized as Queen Anne Revival or English Baroque.
Achievements
- Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
- Trained at Marlborough College and Marlborough Royal Free Grammar School
