Introduction
Ann Bathurst was a somewhat fanatical religious mystic and visionary, who was eventually regarded as one of the prophets of the Philadelphian Society founded in 1697. She left a spiritual diary, including an eight-page autobiography, which now exists in three manuscript volumes covering the years 1679-96 (BtA 1-3). Since several hands appear in these manuscripts, it is not certain that her hand is one of them, and it may be that more than one copy was made from her originals by members of her circle.
Otherwise three letters by her are known in contemporary copies (BtA 5). The same source, Bodleian MSS Rawl D 832 and 833, contains other papers relating to her Philadelphian Society, including an account of a spiritual communication to her.
Peter Beal