Page 18 - Quaker News & Views Nov 25 - Jan 26

Sacred Space

Recently, on a warm summer day, a small number of Friends made a visit to Knowlton Church in Dorset. It is
a grade II listed building, cared for by English Heritage.

It stands in the centre of Knowlton Circles. These are a cluster of Neolithic (10,000 BC to 2000 BC)
and Bronze Age (3300 BC to 1200 BC) monuments, consisting of four enclosures. Three are of
normal circular henge form, Church Henge, Knowlton North and Knowlton South, and the fourth is a
squarish enclosure known as Old Churchyard. Church Henge is the best preserved of these monuments.

The ruins of Knowlton church stands in the middle of Church Henge, and symbolise the transition
from pagan to Christian worship. Excavations have located sixteen burials within chalk-cut graves, some
aligned east-west. The earliest parts of the church are the 12th century chancel and nave and there are
15th and 18th century additions and alterations. In the 18th century the roof fell in, and the church was
abandoned.

People of the Neolithic period, (10,000 BC to 2,200 BC) saw this as a special place - a sacred space - and
built the circular banks. It is believed that their religion was characterized by a focus on fertility, nature, and
the afterlife. It is likely that they worshipped the sun, moon, and elements like earth and water, which were
crucial for their agricultural lifestyle.
The Anglo-Saxons (410 AD to 1066 AD) came to Knowlton Circles and also saw it as a sacred space. They
brought with them forms of paganism characterized by the worship of various gods and goddesses, belief in
spirits, and the use of charms and rituals for protection and success.

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Christian missionaries (6 to 10 century AD) arrived, and kings were converted, leading to a significant
shift in religious practices. Early Christian activity at Knowlton is indicated by a mid-to-late Anglo-
Saxon cemetery which was discovered to the east of Church Henge in 1958.

The Noman Conquest heralded a large-scale programme of Church building and Knowlton Church, built on
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this ancient sacred space, dates from the 11 Century.
There is evidence that, over the centuries, visitors have continued come to Knowlton Rings, right down to
the present day. Now dozens of brightly coloured ribbons and messages, sent from this sacred space to the
Spirit World, are pinned to the branches of trees surrounding the circle.

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