Introduction
Sacred Staffordshire is an exploration of places of that have been sacred to people in the county for whatever reason - historical, legendary, or because of a special "Spirit of Place."
Places can be "sacred" for many reasons. There are famous places of pilgrimage which may have been scenes of a momentous historic event, or the place where a significant person lived or died. There are places which we see in a particular way because they are associated with a story, or legend which is as much a part of the place and our realtionship with it it as any historical event or physical object. There are places which have a special quality, in nature or in a building, which we respond to spiritually or emotionally. There are places which have a purely personal meaning.
Places have been important to most religions. In Jewish tradition there are places were people encountered God in a mysterious and sometimes dramatic way. In Christian tradition, as well as the Holy Land and the sites associated with the life of Jesus, there is a very ancient tradition of pilgrimage to shrines of saints - and there are several of those in Staffordshire. The early Christian church also adopted pre-Christian sites. Places that had an importance to pre-Christian religion would often continue to be revered (there are many Holy Wells like this). The Church may have interpreted them in different ways, but what mattered was that people sensed a mystery in the world around them. God could be at work in every part of our world - and, most importantly, in our relationship with the world.
Staffordshire is rich in sacred places, buildings, landscapes and stories.
We welcome any suggestions of places to explore, and any personal experiences.
Links to Sacred Staffordshire pages: