36-427: Dafo may refer to: 43°19′19.20000″N 128°14′34.80000″E / 43.3220000000°N 128.2430000000°E / 43.3220000000; 128.2430000000 ( Buddha Statue ) Edith Woodford-Grimes (1887–1975), English Wiccan DAFO (Dynamic Ankle Foot Orthosis), a brand name for some lower extremity braces that provide thin, flexible, external support to
72-784: A Blue Plaque at his former home. According to a report in the Daily Echo , Coldplay drummer Will Champion used to live in Portswood, and used to attend a youth activities group at Highfield Church . Captain Edward J. Smith , an English naval officer and ship's captain who commanded the RMS Titanic during her maiden voyage, lived in an imposing red brick, twin-gabled house known as "Woodhead" on Winn Road. The house no longer stands today and has been replaced with an apartment complex. Broadcaster and naturalist, Chris Packham , lived in Portswood as
108-457: A permanent home in the building of an old bank in 2018. For this latest move, 150 metres down Portswood High Street, October Books asked the local community to help it move the books to the new shop – the resulting human chain received national and international press coverage. The nearest railway station is St Denys 0.8 miles away, which is on the London Waterloo to Weymouth mainline and
144-458: A population of 14,831 at the 2011 Census . It is a largely residential area adjacent to the main campus of the University of Southampton , and as such more than a quarter of residents are students. The Manor of Portswood, which originally included the modern-day Bevois Town , Swaythling , St Denys and Highfield , was first named in a charter dating from 1045. The name Portswood comes from
180-551: A private teacher of elocution and dramatic art. It was at her new home in Christchurch that she became involved in a local esoteric group, the Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship . Becoming increasingly interested in their philosophies and practices, she decided to name her bungalow "Theano", which had been the name of the wife of the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras . Woodford-Grimes herself had performed
216-620: A prominent landmark. The cinema opened on 6 June 1930 with a showing of the film Rookery Nook and remained open for 33 years until 26 October 1963. After a period of time as a Mecca Bingo Hall , it is now a church. Portswood has a dedicated live music venue—The Brook, on Portswood Road. The Brook is a 600-capacity venue which has seen performances from Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel (in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010), as well as Steve Harley 's 2-man (1998, 1999 and 2002), 3-man (2011) and 4-man (2003 and 2004) acoustic sets. More contemporary outfits such as The Hoosiers and Mr. Scruff have also played
252-466: A range of Fairtrade and organic products, in addition to magazines and books focusing on environmental, political, social and vegan/vegetarian subjects. For these reasons, it is also a community focus for Southampton's left wing and alternative scenes and has regular seed swaps . Founded in 1977 on Onslow Road, it moved to Portswood in 2003 (raising £6,000 to cover the cost of its lease ), before raising £500,000 from local and commercial sources to purchase
288-680: A teacher of elocution." Soon after the marriage, the couple moved to a newly constructed house, 67 Osborne Road, which was found in the Portswood suburb of Southampton in southern England. Then, on 30 June 1921, Edith and Samuel's first and only child, Rosanne, was born, but within a few years Edith returned to work, as by 1924 she had gained employment once more as a tutor in English and Dramatic Literature at various student groups, something she would continue until 1934, and from 1924 she had also begun teaching elocution and dramatic art at evening classes for
324-525: A theoretical interest in the craft to the third. The historian Ronald Hutton , in his 1999 book The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft , said that he had not researched into Dafo's past, because she would not have wanted such a thing, as most of her family were strict Christians. Woodford-Grimes has left an enduring legacy in the Wiccan and greater Neopagan community who recognise her as one of
360-531: Is also a small independent primary school, St Winifred's School, on Winn Road. The nearest secondary schools are Cantell School in Bassett Green , and Bitterne Park School . Portswood Library opened on 25 October 1915 despite a failed application for Carnegie funding in 1914 and the subsequent outbreak of the First World War . Built immediately to the north of the old Palladium Cinema on Portswood Road,
396-486: The Bricket Wood coven , and was joined by Dafo. However, she left the coven in 1952, fearing Gardner's growing publicity would expose her. In winter 1952 Gardner invited Doreen Valiente , a prospective witch, to meet him and Dafo at her house. They met here on several occasions, and on Midsummer 1953 Gardner initiated Valiente into the craft at Dafo's home. The three of them then set off to Stonehenge , where they watched
SECTION 10
#1732869436072432-506: The Buddha . Woodford-Grimes was born as Edith Rose Wray in a house in Malton , Yorkshire , on 18 December 1887. Her father, William Henry Wray, was an implement maker at the local waterworks, whilst her mother was Caroline Wray, née Harrison. Whilst much is still not known about her early life, she became a teacher, specialising in English, Drama and Music, in later years becoming an associate of
468-460: The Druids performing a ritual. By 1954, Dafo had started living with a strictly Christian niece, who disapproved of occultism and witchcraft. Dafo therefore kept her past involvement with witchcraft secret from her family. In 1958, three separate groups of witches approached her, asking for her to verify Gardner's claims. Dafo did not respond to two of these, and denied having any involvement other than
504-466: The East India Company and later Commander-in-Chief of India , built the first Portswood House on the estate to the design of a Mr. Crunden. The house, which stood in the area now bounded by Spring Crescent and Lawn Road, was demolished in 1852 to make way for more housing, and the name Portswood House transferred to the nearby Portswood Lodge. The estate was gradually sold for development, and
540-869: The London College of Music and the London Academy of Music . On 16 June 1920, she married Samuel William Woodford Grimes, an Englishman who had been born in Bangalore , India in 1880, who at the time was working as a clerk in the War Pensions Office in Southampton. Subsequently, she took his surname of Grimes, and decided to turn it into a double-barrelled surname by adding one of his middle names, Woodford, to it. As researcher Philip Heselton later remarked, "This may have been pure snobbery, or she may have felt that it sounded more elegant and exclusive – more befitting
576-663: The Old English Porteswuda , meaning "wood of the town". The manor was granted to St. Denys Priory by Richard I in 1189, and it remained under their ownership until the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII in 1536. The land, and the title Lord of the Manor , were purchased by Francis Dawtrey in 1538, and passed through several hands before being bought by Giles Stibbert in 1771. Stibbert, Lieutenant-General with
612-525: The West Coastway Line . There are also regular bus services to the city centre and other parts of Southampton from Bluestar , UniLink and Xelabus . From 1879 to 1949, Portswood was home to one of the two Southampton Corporation Tramways depots, and a tram service ran from the site on Portswood Road to Stag Gates, at the junction of the Avenue and Lodge Road. Many of the corporation's trams were built in
648-524: The Craft had largely been kept a secret until it was revealed in the late 1990s, and her role in the history of Wicca was subsequently investigated by historians. The reason for Woodford-Grimes' adoption of the pseudonym Dafo is unknown, with the researcher Philip Heselton believing that it was not her craft name but a nickname given to her by Gardner, possibly being based upon his experiences in eastern Asia, where it had been used to refer to certain statues of
684-546: The Goddess conference 2010, held at Conway Hall in London. Notes Footnotes Bibliography Portswood Portswood is a suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton , England. The suburb lies to the north-north-east of the city centre and is bounded by (clockwise from west) Freemantle , Highfield , Swaythling , St. Denys and Bevois Valley . Portswood Ward comprises Portswood, Highfield and St. Denys , and had
720-539: The Southampton Education Authority. Eventually, the relationship between the couple broke down, and although they remained married ( divorce being hard to acquire at the time), they separated. Woodford-Grimes decided to move away from Southampton, and so relocated to Christchurch, Hampshire by 1938. Here she purchased a newly built bungalow in Dennistoun Avenue, Somerford, and began working as
756-634: The best, winning 38.9% of the vote in the 2022 local elections for example. Portswood Ward includes the main Highfield Campus of the University of Southampton . The University's first presence in Highfield was in 1914, although the outbreak of the First World War meant the site became a military hospital and was not used for lectures until 1920. The ward has three state-run primary schools; Portswood Primary School on Somerset Road, Highfield School on Hawthorn Road, and St Denys School on Dundee Road. There
SECTION 20
#1732869436072792-686: The building was designed by J A Crowther, the Borough Surveyor, on land acquired by Portswood councillor Sidney Kimber following the break-up of the Portswood House estate. Portswood Police Station on St Denys Road, run by the Hampshire Constabulary , serves the local policing areas Banister Park & Bevois, Bassett, Highfield, St. Denys and Swaythling. Portswood is served by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service and by
828-732: The continuation of the historical Witch-Cult , an ancient religion that the anthropologist Margaret Murray had described in several books published in the 1920s and 1930s. Nonetheless, subsequent investigation and research by historians has disputed that the Witch-Cult had ever existed, and as such it appears that the New Forest coven were in fact a group who had been founded in the early 1930s. Following this marriage, Rosanne and her new husband moved into Woodford-Grimes' bungalow, Theano, whilst she herself relocated once more to Avenue Cottage in Walkford ,
864-533: The depot during this time. It was converted to a bus depot in 1949, and was the head office of First Hampshire & Dorset . The site now belongs to Sainsbury’s Superstore, which opened in February 2012. R. J. Mitchell , chief designer of the Supermarine Spitfire , lived at 2 Russell Place in Portswood during its development, and until his death in 1937. In 2005, English Heritage commemorated Mitchell with
900-444: The earliest known adherents of her faith. Because she never became publicly known in her lifetime, and the fact that she intentionally denied her involvement in the Craft towards the end of her life, Woodford-Grimes' identity would not be publicly known until several decades after her death. Nonetheless, her involvement in the New Forest coven under her pseudonym of Dafo was known, and was occasionally featured in published sources: one of
936-594: The earliest of these was in June Johns' 1969 biography of Alex Sanders , King of the Witches , in which she incorrectly spelled the pseudonym as "Daffo". After her identity was revealed, she became well known in Wiccan circles, for instance the Neopagan bard Francis Cameron delivered a prose interpretation of her life and involvement with the Craft, written as if from her own point of view, entitled "Dafo's Tale", at The Charge of
972-529: The fire station in St Mary's . The lodge to the original Portswood House was preserved after the demolition of the house itself in 1852, and is now a Grade II listed building , standing at 324 Portswood Road. Portswood once had two cinemas, both of which have since closed. While the Palladium Cinema (1913–1958) was converted into a supermarket and lost its distinctive facade, the old Broadway Cinema remains
1008-515: The foot, ankle and/or lower leg Leshan Giant Buddha , or Leshan Dafo, in Sichuan, China See also [ edit ] Dafo Temple (disambiguation) , several temples in China Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Dafo . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
1044-416: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dafo&oldid=1190786552 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Edith Woodford-Grimes Edith Rose Woodford-Grimes (1887–1975)
1080-582: The north. A parliamentary paper from 1837 indicates that the Village of Portswood consisted of about thirty houses at this time, and in the 1861 Census, the population of the entire tithing was placed at 3,546. The Local Government Act 1894 divided South Stoneham into multiple parts, and Portswood became a civil parish in its own right. The population of Portswood civil parish was 10,038 in 1891, grew to 17,958 in 1901, and had reached 22,501 by 1911. Portswood parish at that time included parts of Bitterne and
1116-534: The role of Theano in a play about Pythagoras that the Crotona Fellowship had put on, and which had been written by the group's leader, George Alexander Sullivan . It was through the Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship that Woodford-Grimes likely met members of another local esoteric group, the New Forest coven , which was one of the earliest recorded Wiccan covens to exist. Its members considered themselves
Dafo - Misplaced Pages Continue
1152-457: The second Portswood House was demolished in 1923, allowing the whole estate to be sold by 1928. In 1871 an attempt by the Southampton board of health to improve the local sewage system was opposed over concerns about higher taxes. Improvements were eventually begun in 1875. Prior to 1894, Portswood was a tithing in the parish of South Stoneham , a parish more than ten times the size of Portswood Ward today, stretching as far as Eastleigh to
1188-544: The venue. The venue went into liquidation in May 2007, but it was put on the market for £900,000, and was saved in August that year. There are a number of pubs in the area covering different tastes from sports bars, to student-friendly pubs and real ale pubs. Another hub of note is October Books, a bookseller run by a not-for-profit co-operative and based in Portswood's main high street. As well as mainstream publications, it also sells
1224-417: The village adjacent to Highcliffe , where Gardner and his wife Donna lived. Gardner, discussing the publication of his two books on witchcraft, mentions that he felt obliged to have the permission of the witches he knew to do so. It is now widely assumed that this was a reference to 'Dafo', who appears to have been a great deal more publicity-shy than Gardner was. In the late 1940s, Gerald Gardner founded
1260-463: Was an English Wiccan who achieved recognition as one of the faith's earliest known adherents. She had been a member of the New Forest coven which met during the late 1930s and early 1940s, and through this became a friend and working partner of Gerald Gardner , who would go on to found the Gardnerian tradition with her help. Widely known under the nickname of Dafo , Woodford-Grimes' involvement in
1296-642: Was approximately 1,037 acres (1.62 square miles) by comparison with today's 690 acres (1.08 square miles). Today, Portswood is an electoral ward of the City of Southampton , and falls within the Southampton Test constituency of the UK Parliament . The ward elects three councillors to Southampton City Council. Although having never won the seat, it's the Southampton ward where the Green Party have historically polled
#71928