The Purleigh Colony was established in February 1897, and operated for three years from 1896. An anarchist colony with strong links to Tolstoy and Russia. Organised along the lines that Tolstoy had laid out, incorporating the free anarchist ideas of John C Kenworthy, the members had a goat, made bricks, grew grapes and tomatoes, and decisions were made as a group, with no rules. Some denounced currency and postage stamps, and refused to hold legal titles to the property. The colony ran a printing press, publishing translations of Tolstoy and The New Order magazine.

By 1899 the colony ran into difficulties and divisions began to arise – outdoor crops failed due to members apparently shirking duties, and divisions arose regarding the admission of the homeless and destitute. the ‘insanity’ of some members was pointed to, along with frayed tempers. Eventually there was an exodus, and a number of the founders rode bikes to the Cotswolds to found a new community.

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