Gardner, claiming to be fearful that the witch religion would die out, began to propagate it by forming the Bricket Wood coven in Hertfordshire circa 1946. He acted as the High Priest for the coven, and Edith Woodford-Grimes (a.k.a. "Dafo"), who also claimed to have been a member of the New Forest coven, acted as his High Priestess. However, Woodford-Grimes became concerned that Gardner's attempts to gain publicity would lead to a public backlash against her, and so she left the Bricket Wood coven in 1952.