# Spielplatz

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{{short description|Naturist resort in United Kingdom}}
'''Spielplatz''' (German for [playground](/source/playground)) is the longest-operating [naturist resort](/source/naturist_resort) in United Kingdom, and consists of {{convert|12|acres|ha}} located in the village of [Bricket Wood](/source/Bricket_Wood), in the [English county](/source/English_county) of [Hertfordshire](/source/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](/source/AVROTROS) |station=[NPO](/source/Nederlandse_Publieke_Omroep_(organization))3 |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](/source/Ross_Nichols), founder of the [Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids](/source/Order_of_Bards%2C_Ovates_and_Druids). In turn he attracted both fellow [Druids](/source/Druids) and [Gerald Gardner](/source/Gerald_Gardner), who later established his first coven at Bricket Wood in his development of [Wicca](/source/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](/source/Naked_as_Nature_Intended)'' (1961) starring club member [Pamela Green](/source/Pamela_Green), ''Nudist Memories'' (1959)  and  ''[Confetti](/source/Confetti_(2006_film))'' (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](/source/Stephen_Glass_(photographer)).<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](/source/Out_of_Step_(television_programme))'' on ITV, the investigative reporter [Dan Farson](/source/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](/source/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/ }}

{{coord|51.716572| -0.356984|display=title|region:GB_type:landmark_source:enwiki|format=dms}}

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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Spielplatz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spielplatz) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spielplatz?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.