There is a town in England called East Grinstead. It is a quiet, unassuming town, with a beautiful church and a row of timber framed Tudor houses on the high street. It is everything you'd expect from a quaint, middle-class town. And yet, it is the town that didn't stare; the home of alternative religion in the UK. From the Scientologists to Opus Dei, druids to Mormons, East Grinstead has it all. But why?
Praise for The Town That Didn't Stare:
"Arch and funny, but... deeply serious in trying to understand the peculiar history of the town" – Financial Times
"Facinating... mysterious, it really hooks you in" – BBC
"Brilliantly arch" – Sunday Times
"Hilton is an engaging narrator, tip-toeing the lines between nostalgia, comedy and truth-telling" – The Big Issue
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
There is a town in England called East Grinstead. It is a quiet, unassuming town, with a beautiful church and a row of timber framed Tudor houses on the high street. It is everything you'd expect from a quaint, middle-class town. And yet, it is the town that didn't stare; the home of alternative religion in the UK. From the Scientologists to Opus Dei, druids to Mormons, East Grinstead has it all. But why?
Praise for The Town That Didn't Stare:
"Arch and funny, but... deeply serious in trying to understand the peculiar history of the town" – Financial Times
"Facinating... mysterious, it really hooks you in" – BBC
"Brilliantly arch" – Sunday Times
"Hilton is an engaging narrator, tip-toeing the lines between nostalgia, comedy and truth-telling" – The Big Issue
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In 1959, L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, one of the world's most controversial religions, bought a manor house in the sleepy Sussex town of East Grinstead. In doing so, he changed everything for that town. East Grinstead was now world famous, not as a middle class commuter town with a beautiful timber-clad high street, but as the focus point of global concerns about abuses and corruption in alternative religion. How did it happen? What is life like for British Scientologists? And what did this little town do once it became Britain's home of occultist belief systems?
The Town That Didn’t Stare is written, produced and presented by Nick Hilton.
Intro and incidental music by George Jennings.
End credits music by Matt Payne and Ollie Lloyd at Shipyard Audio.
Podcast artwork by Tom Humberstone.
The interviewees on this episode were: Tony Ortega, Professor Eileen Barker, Jon Ronson, Charlotte G, Jon Atack, John Sweeney, Peter Fagg and Ken Eckersley.
This is the second part of a 6-part series available on all good podcast platforms. You can find out more about the show on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook – just go to @thetownpod – or visit www.thetownpod.com for episode notes and more information.
The Town That Didn’t Stare is a Podot podcast, for more information visit podotpods.com. For sales and advertising, email nick@podotpods.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.