SAGB Moving Their HQ.

I was very sad to see that the SAGB (Spiritualist Association of Great Britain) is moving from their prestigious address at 33 Belgrave Square (next door to the German Embassy) to the Victoria Charity Centre.

From their website:

Exciting and Important News for 2011!

During the Christmas holiday closure period the SAGB will move to a new
home that is still in Belgravia, London, but much closer to Victoria station!

So, with effect from 12th January 2011, the SAGB will reside in the Victoria
Charity Centre, we will be housed alongside other worthwhile charities such
as, the Royal Institute for the Blind, Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths,
and the Women's Interfaith Network to name but a few.

Like most modern buildings today, when you come to visit the Association,
you will need to first sign in at reception in the foyer on the ground floor, and
from there you will be directed to the second floor. There is a lift and
wheelchair access to all areas.

For the first quarter, while we settle in and find our feet, we will not be offering
any evening demonstrations at 7pm. The Sunday Service will be at 3.30
instead of 4.00 and the demonstration on Sunday will be at 5.00 instead of at
6pm.

Please take a note of the new opening hours and times, they are slightly
different, and we look forward to welcoming you into our new home.

Our new website will be available during the Christmas period and will
display all the latest information and what is planned during the first quarter of
2011.

2011 Opening times:

Monday - 11.30am - 6.00pm
Tuesday - Thursday 11.30am - 7.00pm
Friday 11.00am - 5.00pm
Saturday 10.00am - 5.00pm
Sunday 1.30pm - 6.00pm

History of the SAGB (1872-2009)

Try and imagine this scene. It is a chill night - February 7, 1872, to be precise.
See, sense and smell Victorian London. Outside, gas-lights flicker in an evening
breeze. Indeed, it looks as though snow might be on the way. Horses jostle for
space on the ever-crowded roads, their warm breath looking like ghostly vapour.
People are rushing home, everyone from the street urchins and traders to the
professional classes. Even the old lady selling violets seems anxious to vacate
her pitch and head for the often foul-smelling East End and her large,
ever-demanding family. Women, many wearing fur mufflers and sensible hats
against the increasingly bitter cold, occasionally lift their now absurdly long
dresses just an inch or so to escape puddles, some of which are just starting to
ice over…

Now the scene switches to 16, David Street, Marylebone in London's West End.
Around a dozen friends have gathered. Perhaps they were very different in
class, size, education and background: that we do not know. But what we do
know is that they had but one purpose - to discuss forming a Spiritualist society.
After all, Modern Spiritualism had begun in America in 1848. Surely it was time to
establish a Spiritualist organisation.

Perhaps seated informally around a table - the well-stacked fire occasionally
belching smoke as a north wind blew down the chimney - the friends decided
that, yes, they would form a society. A few informal meetings were arranged.

On July 10 of that same year, the Marylebone Spiritualist Association came into
being as an organised body. During the early years, meetings were held at
various locations throughout London, even including a carpenter's workshop and
former police court. A major problem was that Spiritualism was still a taboo
subject. Indeed, so great was the prejudice that occasionally the
Association changed its name (unofficially, of course).

Now leap forward to September 1894, and to London's Mortimer Street where,
thanks to an anonymous donation of £50, "a commodious meeting place" was
secured. Incidentally, Emma Hardinge Britten, who founded "Two Worlds" and
was the medium responsible for the Spiritualists' National Union's Principles,
delivered the opening address.

Over the next decades, the Association met at various places, such as
Steinway Hall, where famous trance medium J. J. Morse similarly delivered an
opening address. Another well-known venue was New Bond Street's Aeolian
Hall.

In fact, it was not until February 1930 that the Association secured permanent
premises at 42, Russell Square, in Holborn. By that time some of the most
famous names in contemporary Spiritualism had - or were - to serve it, such as
Florence Marryat, the novelist, W. T. Stead, Alfred Vout Peters, Estelle Roberts,
Annie Brittain, Horace Leaf, trance healer Fred Jones, trance and direct
voice medium Kathleen Barkel, Nan Mackenzie, Bertha Harris… the list is almost
endless.

Not even the Second World War could halt the Association's activities, for an
official air raid shelter was established in the basement. Amongst active staff
members then were Joe Benjamin. Within a comparatively short time other
well-known mediums were to join the Association's ranks, like Ena Twigg and Ivy
Northage.

A major move - literally! - occurred in 1955 when the Association purchased a
lease on its present premises, 33, Belgrave Square, in the heart of plush
Belgravia. The cost of the then 92-year-long lease was a now unbelievably low
£24,500. Famous Spiritualist Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding declared the
magnificent building open. Indeed, he later took part in one of a number of "At
Homes" in order to raise money for the new headquarters. Later, after an
approach to the Board of Trade, the Association was renamed The Spiritualist
Association of Great Britain, a move which rightly reflected its growth and status.

The SAGB celebrated its ninetieth anniversary in 1962 by building six new
rooms on the ground floor specifically for sittings. These are still in use,
providing ideal private venues. Still, the Association continued to offer sittings
with top class mediums, such as psychic artist Coral Polge, Lilian Bailey, Ursula
Roberts, Doris Collins, Magdalene Kelly, Harold Sharp, Nora Blackwood, Robin
Stevens and David Young, to name but a few.

In recent years, the Association has undergone a carefully planned
refurbishment, still honouring Spiritualist pioneers by remembering them with the
Oliver Lodge Hall, Dowding Wing and Conan Doyle Hall. Indeed, on display is a
chair in which Sir Arthur wrote a number of his famous Sherlock Holmes' stories..

True to its founding fathers, the Association is at the very forefront of promoting
high-quality younger mediums from all parts of the UK in addition to already
established mediums. Public demonstrations of clairvoyance are held daily so
that everyone - convinced Spiritualist or not - can attend and, perhaps for the first
time, come into contact with mediumship and Spiritualism in conducive
surroundings. As such, the SAGB does not have an official Mission Statement, to
use a hideous modern expression. But if it did, perhaps it would run along these
lines: "To offer evidence to the bereaved that man survives the change called
death and, because he is a spiritual being, retains the faculties of individuality,
personality and intelligence, and can willingly return to those left on earth, ties of
love and friendship being the motivating force. To offer spiritual healing to those
suffering from dis-ease, whether in mind, body or spirit, in a warm and loving
environment.With both of these objectives in mind, to offer only the best and
highest so that those on both sides of the veil can progress in a truly spiritual
sense."

This is very sad news Z