Inside the Agapemonites: A Victorian cult that barred leaving and profited from devotion

The Agapemonites, a little-known Victorian sect based at a Spaxton chapel near Bridgwater, forced members to remain within the group, had them hand over fortunes, and staged sex ceremonies under leader Henry James Prince, who claimed to be the Holy Spirit; inquests documented the cult’s strict control and several suicides. After Prince’s death in 1899, his successor John Hugh Smyth-Piggott proclaimed himself Jesus, triggering riots before the cult faded; the chapel later became a TV studio and is now an Airbnb frequented by visitors.