Little Maplestead author dives deep into world's sacred landscapes and monuments with new book

Sacred sites scattered throughout Suffolk and beyond have been revealed in a new book, to help people discover spaces of quiet reflection amid the “frenzy of the modern world”.

Wild writer Dr James Canton released his latest book, Grounded – A Journey into the Landscapes of Ancestors, on Thursday, delving deep into locations with spiritual significance to communities over centuries.

Alongside famous landmarks like Stonehenge, Dharamshala in India and Ötztal in the Alps, the text explores more obscure and less travelled landscapes, monuments and places of worship in south Suffolk and north Essex.

They include Aldham Common in Hadleigh – where the town rector was burned at the stake during the Marian Persecutions of the 16th century – and the little-known St James’ Chapel in Lindsey.

Dr Canton, of Little Maplestead, near Halstead, explained the aim of Grounded was to dive into spaces that create an atmosphere and an emotional charge just by being in them.

He told Suffolk News he was driven by the idea of “un-ignorable silence”, described by poet Philip Larkin in his 1955 poem ‘Church Going’.

“I think the appeal is that sense of the ancient,” said Dr Canton. “If you really dig down, you realise that our ancestors have considered these spaces as sacred for thousands of years.

“There’s obviously the religious side of things, but we also have these beautiful settings looking over the Stour Valley. It all kind of fits together – it’s a way of seeing the landscape in the eyes of our elders.

“I’m from Little Maplestead, where we have an amazing church that was my centre point for the book, and there’s lots of places nearby.

“In Alphamstone, there is a beautiful church that’s Saxon in origin, but there’s also these huge stones laid out like a stone circle, and nobody knows for certain why. When you go to Alphamstone, you have that sense of un-ignorable silence.”

Dr Canton – who is also the director of wild writing at the University of Essex – added that the book is a natural continuation of his previous work, The Oak Papers, which looked at the spiritual connection between humans and oak trees.

Grounded, illustrated by Suffolk-based artist Lara Kinsey, is available now from all major book retailers.

Click here for more information about the book, as well as Dr Canton’s earlier writings.