Editing Bruderhof Communities (section)

=== England (1937–1960) ===
[[File:Cotswold Bruderhof.jpg|thumb|Tea break at the Cotswold Bruderhof]]
[[File:Avila Star.jpg|thumb|Avila Star – one of the boats that transported the Bruderhof to Paraguay.]]
In 1936 the Bruderhof had purchased a {{convert|200|acre|adj=on}} farm in England called Ashton Fields, near the village of [[Ashton Keynes]] in the [[Cotswolds]] area.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Christian Peace Experiment|last=Randall|first=Ian|publisher=Cascade Books|year=2018|isbn=978-1532639982|location=Eugene, Oregon|pages=xi}}</ref> Originally intended to be a mission post, it provided sanctuary when they were forced to escape [[Nazi Germany]]. While based in England, the Bruderhof membership grew to over 350 members, largely through the addition of young English members who were conscientious objectors seeking an alternative to the now seemingly inevitable war with Germany. However, even before the outbreak of [[World War II]] in 1939, the presence of the community's German members and its [[pacifism|pacifist]] stance attracted deep suspicion locally, resulting in economic [[boycotts]] against the farm. 

In 1940, confronted with the option of either having all of its German members interned for the duration and its English members conscripted, or leaving England as a group, the Bruderhof chose the latter and some began to look for refuge abroad.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/07/does-anyone-know-how-we-can-entice-our-house-martins-back/|title=Does anyone know how we can entice our house martins back? {{!}} The Spectator|date=July 7, 2018|work=The Spectator|access-date=July 6, 2018}}</ref>

Not all members wished to leave England. By Christmas 1941 the remaining group of 19 found a remote {{convert|182|acre|adj=on}} farm for sale, Lower Bromdon Farm in the Clee Hills, near Ludlow in Shropshire, and in March 1942 the group moved in to their new home.<ref>{{Cite web|last=chris-coates|date=April 27, 2013|title=Communal Family Trees (Part 2)|url=http://blog.utopia-britannica.org.uk/117|access-date=July 6, 2021|language=en-US}}</ref> By the end of the year the group named itself the Wheathill Bruderhof. In April 1944 they took over the neighboring Upper Bromdon farm of {{convert|165|acre}}, and in 1945 the community extended to Cleeton Court Farm at the foot of Titterstone Clee Hill, bringing the three Wheathill farms to a total size of {{convert|532|acre}}. In 1959 [[Pathé Newsreel]] produced a short film on the community,<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|last=Pathé|first=British|title=Communal Village|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/communal-village|access-date=July 13, 2021|website=www.britishpathe.com|language=en-GB}}</ref> just as Bruderhof as a whole was in turmoil, and the Wheathill community closed within the next two years.