Doreen Valiente Foundation

The Doreen Valiente Foundation was set up initially in 2011 by its founder John Belham-Payne (RIP February 15 2016) in order to curate, and make appropriate use of the legacy that was handed down to him from his High Priestess, Doreen Valiente. Doreen Valiente is considered one of the founders of the modern “Wicca” movement along with Gerald Gardner, the man credited with reviving what has been described as Britain’s only indigenous religion, England being the birthplace of Wicca. She was also an author of great note in the field of magic, folklore, witchcraft and paganism and has been described by Professor Ronald Hutton of the University of Bristol as “.. the greatest single female figure in the modern British history of witchcraft”. Doreen was also one of the founders of the organisation now called the Pagan Federation, which, more than 40 years on, continues to represent modern day pagans in mainstream society in areas such as law, government, hospitals, schools and the wider community. She has an entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, was the author of books, which continue to sell today, and are frequently quoted as standard works in the study of contemporary paganism and modern British witchcraft. Both Doreen Valiente (Brighton) and Gerald Gardner (Highcliffe) have Heritage Blue Plaques commemorating the buildings where they lived and these were installed as a pagan community project by the Centre For Pagan Studies which John Belham-Payne and his wife Julia Belham-Payne also founded.