Unitarianism - local history

Local history

The first Bahá'ís in England were recorded around the turn of the nineteenth century. The country’s very first Bahá'í was probably Marion Miller, who converted to the faith in 1894 in Chicago before coming to England the following year. She taught the faith to her aunt, a Miss M Brown, who converted around 1896-1897.

They were followed by two highly influential Bahá’ís: Miriam Thornburgh-Cropper and Ethel Rosenberg. Miriam Thornburgh-Cropper was an American who had moved to London by 1898. Through her teaching, Bath-based Ethel Rosenberg declared her faith in 1899, becoming the first English woman to convert in her native land. The pair became the real foundation of England’s Bahá'í community.

Miriam Thornburgh-Cropper was part of the very first pilgrimage of western Bahá'ís to see ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Akka. Miss Rosenberg was closely associated with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. She was also a very important figure in the early development of the English community.

Over the next few years, a growing number of other Britons converted and a Bahá'í group began in London in 1914. The Bahá'í leader Abdu’l-Bahá visited Britain in 1911, and over the Christmas/New Year period in 1912/3.

As the pace of conversion rose, a Bahá’í Spiritual Assembly for England was constituted in 1922. It was followed by spiritual assemblies in London, Manchester and Bournemouth and a National Spiritual Assembly for Great Britain in 1923.

A decline in the 1920s was followed by a revival during the mid-1930s, when a magazine was launched along with a publishing trust and summer schools. The National Spiritual Assembly was placed on a firm legal footing and more people converted, including the well-known potter Bernard Leach.

The number of local spiritual assemblies also grew. By 1963, there were 50, by 1974 there were 102 and by 1992 the figure had grown to 200.