Sacred Places

The UK, with its rich history and varied landscape, boasts a wealth of sacred places, many of them in the care of the National Trust. Some have become centres for pilgrimage for the contemporary visitor: as a focus for the New Age understanding of Earth Mysteries, as a means of experiencing the unique serenity and atmosphere of dedicated buildings and as sites traditionally used as centres of worship. The list is extraordinarily diverse, but what links them is a strong sense that, in addition to their intrinsic beauty – or perhaps because of it – they are also places which seem to hold a special spiritual resonance.

This book provides an illustrated guide to some of the most beautiful and atmospheric sacred sites in the care of the National Trust. A general introduction sets the collection in its wider historical and religious context, along with an understanding of how the Trust’s conservation work is preserving them for posterity. The featured sites are illustrated by high-quality photographs and artworks revealing key alignments and underlying structure and design, along with extended captions explaining their particular significance and history.

A detailed map shows the distribution of the various sites across the UK and the suggested link between some of them, providing a practical guide for the visitor as well as an inspirational sourcebook. Featured sites include: Avebury - The Farne Islands - Glastonbury Tor - Hailes Abbey - The Lake District - Lavenham Guildhall - Sandham Memorial Chapel - The Giant's Causeway - St Michael's Mount - Sutton Hoo - White Horse Hill, Uffington