{{short description|Naturist resort in United Kingdom}} '''Spielplatz''' (German for playground) is the longest-operating naturist resort in United Kingdom, and consists of {{convert|12|acres|ha}} located in the village of Bricket Wood, in the English county of Hertfordshire. As of 2021, the resort consists of 65 houses.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Nudisten |episode-link= |access-date= |series=Lauren! |url = http://www.npo.nl/lauren/11-01-2016/AT_2045391 |series-link= | network=AVROTROS |station=NPO3 |date=11 January 2016 |season= |series-no= |number= |minutes=12 |language=Dutch}}</ref>
== History == Spielplatz was founded in 1929 by Charles Macaskie and his wife Dorothy. They moved from London into a tent on an area of virgin woodland they purchased near Bricket Wood. They called their camp the ''Green Monastery'' and a ''Play Place'' (Spielplatz).
They were joined by other couples and individuals on weekends. Among their visitors until 1947 was Ross Nichols, founder of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. In turn he attracted both fellow Druids and Gerald Gardner, who later established his first coven at Bricket Wood in his development of Wicca as a modern religion.
It was at Spielplatz that Ross Nichols first met Gerald Gardner.<ref name="Carr-Gomm2011">{{cite book|last=Carr-Gomm|first=Philip |authorlink=Philip Carr-Gomm|title=Druid Mysteries: Ancient Wisdom for the 21st Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ktljGE0ceJkC&pg=PA160|year=2011|publisher=Ebury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4464-4589-1|page=160}}</ref> Spielplatz has featured in TV and films such as ''Naked as Nature Intended'' (1961) starring club member Pamela Green, ''Nudist Memories'' (1959) and ''Confetti'' (2006).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bn.org.uk/news/information/about-naturism/history-of-naturism/a-history-of-naturism-timeline-r28/|title=A History of Naturism - Timeline|website=British Naturism|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-07-23}}</ref>
In 1956, The Naturist Ltd. published ''Nudist Life at Spielplatz'', "The Story of a Modern Experiment in the Art of Living" by Charles Sennet, with a supplement of photographs by Stephen Glass.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nudist Life at Spielplatz |url=https://pamela-green.com/nudist-life-at-spielplatz/ |website=Pamela Green |date=24 July 2015 }}</ref>
In 1957 the documentary series ''Out of Step'' on ITV, the investigative reporter Dan Farson visited Spielplatz Naturist Club in Bricket Wood and interviewed Charles Macaskie, Mrs. Macaskie, and their daughter Iseult.<ref>{{cite web|title=Out of Step (1957) – Spielplatz|url=http://pamela-green.com/out-of-step-1957-spileplatz|website=Pamela Green|date=24 May 2015}}</ref> It is claimed the programme was the first showing of a naked woman on British television.
== See also == * List of social nudity places in Europe
== Notes and references == {{reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite book|last=Richardson|first=Iseult |title=No Shadows Fall - Born Into Naturism : The Story of Spielplatz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X757AAAACAAJ|publisher=Coast & Country Publications|isbn=978-0-948228-25-4|date=1994}} * {{cite book|last=Sennet|first=Charles |title=Nudist Life at Spielplatz|publisher=The Naturist Ltd|date=1956}}
== External links == * {{official website|http://www.spielplatz.co.uk/ }}
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Category:Naturist resorts Category:Naturism in the United Kingdom Category:Tourist attractions in Hertfordshire Category:Clubs and societies in England Category:1929 establishments in England