Penmaenmawr: Addendum to A narrative approach to exploring the historical consciousness of Biodynamics in UK

Dr Rudolf Steiner’s first Summer School in Britain was held at Penmaenmawr in Wales in 1923 (18 August - 1 September). At the time Penmaenmawr was a seaside tourist destination (since then the A55 motorway has cut off the village from the seaside). This was the furthest west that Rudolf Steiner ever ventured for lectures. Steiner described the surroundings as “wonderfully beautiful”. He was delighted that his topic was his favourite, Anthroposophy, rather than a fruit of Anthroposophy (previous lectures at Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, and Ilkley, were on Waldorf education). There were about 100 attendees. About 80% of them were women. Attendees ranged from Anthropop devotees to ‘newbies’. The Penmaenmawr lectures were published and remain in print to the present. The Grand Hotel (since demolished) was the accommodation for Steiner and many attendees. The Old Drill Hall (since demolished) was the venue for the lectures and the Eurythmy presentations. Marie Steiner described it as a “windswept hut”. Rueben Farrow described the lectures as “fantastic incomprehensible”. The so called ‘Druid’s Circles’ (since reported to predate the Druids by thousands of years) were a popular excursion destination in the hills behind Penmaenmawr. Steiner made several such excursions and regaled his walking companions with tales of Druids. The Summer School was a project of Daniel Dunlop assisted by Eleanor Merry. George Kaufmann extemporaneously translated Seiner’s Penmaenmawr lectures (and later the ‘Agriculture Course’). Biodynamics trailblazers, Marna Pease (Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation) and Margaret Cross (Bio-Dynamic Association) both attended. The Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain’ was founded in London the day following the Summer School (2 September). Penmaenmawr was Steiner’s penultimate visit to Britain (by the second Summer School at Torquay, 11-22 August 1924, he was mortally ill; he retired from public life the following month, and died 20 March 1925). Steiner’s biographer, Guenther Wachsmuth, described Penmaenmawr as “these delightful days in Wales”. Gladys Hayn remembered that “The weather was awful”. Recollections may vary, but the first Anthroposophy Summer School was properly regarded as a success, and according to Ruth Ainsworth for some “a high point in their lives”.