My wife Lesley and l recently invited friends, family and neighbours to help us with the Dedication Ceremony (inauguration) of our new Chartres-inspired labyrinth, which has been two years in the making here at Chater Valley Farm, Pilton. The labyrinth is open to the public but we just ask that people wishing to walk it contact us beforehand in case we’re tied up with farm work. Here is a link to the Veriditas website telling you about labyrinths. https://veriditas.org/New-to-the-Labyrinth.

I trained as a Labyrinth Facilitator with Veriditas last year at Bedford University. Our labyrinth is a “medieval” design based on the famous labyrinth at Chartres cathedral in France. We were inspired to build it after reading the words of Danish philosopher and poet Soren Kierkegaard, who said: 

“Every human being comes to earth with sealed orders. However we need the tools to find our orders and decipher them. Many people find their way to the labyrinth in searching for their own special talents. The labyrinth is a transformational tool that can help people discover their sealed orders.”

The labyrinth and the meditative walks it offers is the final step in the offerings here ar Chater Valley, which include ‘Back to Nature’ Retreats, Equine Therapy, Biofield Tuning, Sound (& Gong) Therapy & Healing, and Wellness workshops.

So there are now two labyrinths in Rutland that we are aware of. The other one, known simply as The Old Maze, is of course in Wing itself and is one of only eight surviving turf labyrinths, and has existed for a couple of hundred years.

We shall occasionally be organising special hosted events such as combined SoundBaths and candlelit labyrinth walks. Email us if you’d like to know the dates.

Or if you’d prefer to walk the labyrinth alone or with friends please call us on 01780 720660 or 07768 466968.

Malcolm & Lesley Malcolm@chatervalley.com

From David Seviour 19/11/2018

During my research for ‘A History of Wing Village and Its Setting 1066 – 2018’ I noted the Church memorial plaque related to the installation of its clock to commemorate those residents killed during this great and terrible war. I made mention of this in the book and specifically mentioned the Rector’s Wife, Mrs Taverner and the commemoration of their son, Arthur Fred Taverner, 2^nd Lieutenant, 1st Battalion, Kings Shropshire Light Infantry, who died as a result of wounds received in the Battle of the Somme. Arthur Taverner stood in Wing for the grief within thousands of communities at the loss of their young men between 1914 and 1918.

It was only later, after the book had been printed, that in a two hour conversation with Dorothy Buckby, that we touched on this same subject and she lent me a commemorative book produced by the Rutland Record Society in 1919. Few copies perhaps survive, but it sets out a comprehensive listing of those Rutland residents who served in the Great War.

It reveals that in 1911, Wing’s population stood at 297, comprising 142 males and 155 females, in 72 families. 66 males joined HM Forces representing 46.4 % of the male population. 9 were killed, representing 13.6% of those joining and 6.3% of the male population. Significantly, it also states that 14 were disabled, 9.8% of the male population and 21.2% of those joining the forces. There is a comprehensive list of all those who served and of those who died.

This same book also reveals some of the faces of those boys and men from Wing and surrounding villages who died, 19 year old Arthur Taverner is in the centre, and other names, Bagley, Baines and MacGregor, appear in other parts of the Village History.

David Seviour 19/11/2018