Godfrey Higgins (January 30, 1772 in Owston, Yorkshire, England – August 9, 1833), was an archaeologist, Freemason and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, humanist, social reformer, and author of various now-esoteric and rare books. He was remembered by his parish as a "political radical, reforming county magistrate and idiosyncratic historian of religions".
His father and son both shared the same name; neither achieved a similar degree of notability.
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Godfrey Higgins the son of Godfrey Higgins of Skellow Grange, near Doncaster. He was educated in Hemsworth before being admitted to Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1790, and migrating to Trinity Hall in 1791.[1] He later studied law at the Inner Temple; however, he was not called to the Bar and refrained from practice. When Napoleon threatened an invasion of the United Kingdom, Higgins joined the Volunteer Corps and became a Captain in the Third West York Militia.[2] In 1800, he married Jane Thorpe, who gave birth to his son, also named Godfrey, and two daughters, Jane and Charlotte. After Higgins' promotion to the rank of major in 1808, he resigned from the Volunteer Corps citing a severe fever as reason. Soon thereafter he was appointed as magistrate or justice of the peace in Yorkshire.
Higgins' work as a magistrate was highlighted by reformist campaigns, within which he "courageously exposed the scandalous treatment of pauper lunatics and campaigned for Parliamentary Reform, criticizing excessive taxation, the Corn Laws, and the exploitation of children in factories".[3] Meanwhile, he developed a regimen to study the meaning of life and religion, and wrote:
- "I came to a resolution to devote six hours a day to this pursuit for ten years. Instead of six hours daily for ten years, I believe I have, upon the average, applied myself to it for nearly ten hours daily for almost twenty years. In the first ten years of my search I may fairly say, I found nothing which I sought for; in the latter part of the twenty, the quantity of matter has so crowded in upon me, that I scarcely know how to dispose of it."[4]
According to Ross Nichols, Higgins was a "Chosen Chief" of the Order of Druids, founded by John Toland in 1717. Higgins was claimed a member of An Uileach Druidh Braithreaches (The Druid Order), an ancient Druid order that predates the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn; however, these claims are unsubstantiated. Regardless, Higgins demonstrated extensive knowledge and familiarity with the traditions of Druid orders in his work, The Celtic Druids. Higgins' wife died on May 18, 1822. Higgins' own death on August 9, 1833, resulted from an illness which overcame him while attending a meeting of The British Association for the Advancement of Science at Cambridge.[5]
The main works of Godfrey Higgins have always been rare books and difficult to obtain; however, some continue to be published today, especially Anacalypsis. [5]
There is a common misconception held by some readers who link Higgins writings to occultism. Wouter Hanegraaff who has written a detailed history of esotericism has written that Higgins had no interest in either occultism or esotericism.[6] Higgins main interests were the history of religious beliefs and practical sociology.[7]