Dorothy Clutterbuck

Dorothy Clutterbuck, also "Old Dorothy," (possibly 1880-1951) was a well-to-do woman who lived near Christchurch, England, whom Gerald Gardner claimed had initiated him into witchcraft. Cited as an early influence on modern witchcraft, she was identified by Gardner as his initiator into witchcraft (not "Wicca") in 1939. He claimed she was head of a New Forest coven until her death. Some, such as historian Jeffrey Russell, have opined that she was invented by Gardner to support his claim that such people still existed and to link his work with established ancient beliefs. Doreen Valiente, a friend of Gardner, reported in Witchcraft for Tomorrow in 1982 to have found Clutterbuck's birth certificate, marriage certificate, and death certificate. Ronald Hutton, in The Triumph of the Moon, examines the historical data on Dorothy Clutterbuck, and concludes that she is unlikely to have been involved with Gardner's Craft activities. He suggests that Gardner may have used Clutterbuck to distract attention from 'Dafo', his first priestess. Philip Heselton, in his book Wiccan Roots: Gerald Gardner and the Modern Witchcraft Revival (Capal Bann: 2000) presents a significant amount of evidence about Dorothy Clutterbuck, the community she lived in, and her involvement in the community including many indications that she was at the very least involved in or aware of alternative spiritual traditions such as theosophy, Rosicrucianism, and offshoots of freemasonry. The endearment "Old" used by Gardner with reference to Dorothy Clutterbuck, and adopted by "Wiccans" (uninitiated "witches"), is viewed by many witches as precious and pretentious. Clutterbuck, Dorothy