Frederick Bligh Bond was born in England in 1864. He was an architect, archaeologist, Arthur and editor. As a child he had a love for reading. This is what introduced him to psychic Concepts when he read the book The Night Side of Nature by Catherine Crowe.
He went to school and achieved the equivalent of a high school diploma and then chose to be a Tradesman after graduation. He was especially interested in the Middle Ages and church architecture. He had an ability to draw well and became an apprentice to an architect. In 1897 he passed the examination for certification at the Royal Institute of British Architecture and set up his own office in Bristol, United Kingdom.
He joined the Somerset Archeology and Natural History Society in 1903. He was already fascinated with the history of Glastonbury Abbey, which was established in 166 AD or as early as 47 AD. It is the earliest Christian Church in England, and connected by Legend with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It was destroyed during the reign of Henry III as part of his attempt to extinguish Catholicism.
Psychic Archeology
The first practical attempt at Psychic Archeology was in 1907 using automatic writing in his office in Bristol. Retired Navy Captain John Bartlett was the receiver of the message through automatic writing and Bligh was the psychic interpreter of messages that came through. The messages that came through were from a group of monks who called themselves ‘The Watchers’. The Watchers claimed to be spirits of monks who once had lived in Glastonbury. Bligh was able to ask questions of The Watchers about buildings and events and received historically accurate replies.
Through communication with The Watchers Bligh uncovered the foundations of the north wall of Edgar Chapel, the monks’ kitchen, the monks’ dormitory, the charter house, a glass and pottery kiln and secret underground passages. In addition he discovered four previously unknown chapels.
Bligh never mentioned the psychic aspect of his archeology and in his annual reports to the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society he hinted at communications from The Watchers from time to time but never really disclosed his use of psychic methods.
Still, he was gradually pushed out of working at Glastonbury; it would be easy to think this was because of his psychic work and that certainly contributed to what then was called the Occult. but he was also known to be an arrogant and vain man who tended to exaggerate the significance of whatever position he held and a difficult person to get along with.
Now openly embracing his interest and skill as a psychic, for 4 years beginning in 1922 he edited British College of Psychic Science, a magazine that had a monthly publication. In 1926 a wealthy American invited him to the United States. He moved to New York City and found a job at an architectural firm. He also embarked on a lecture tour that was arranged through the American Society for Psychical Research. He returned to Britain in 1935. Unfortunately he was pretty much broke. Most of his ventures didn’t pay and were mostly volunteer positions, as was the nature of psychic endeavors in that era.
He found a home at The Cottage Hospital in Dolgellau, Wales where he spent the last 10 years of his life and died in 1945 at the age of 82. Some of the several books he authored are The Hill of Vision in 1919, The Company of Avalon 1924, The Rose Miraculous 1924, The Gospel of Philip the Deacon 1926, The Wisdom of the Watchers 1933, The Secret Immortality 1934, and The Mystery of Glaston 1938.
