Soulton Long Barrow

The Soulton Long Barrow and Ritual Landscape is a modern memorial in the form of a long barrow[2] in the Soulton landscape[3] near Wem in Shropshire, England.

Soulton Long Barrow
Soulton Long Barrow just after dawn on the Summer Solstice 2020
Record height
General information
StatusComplete
Architectural styleNeoneolitic
LocationSoulton, near Wem SY4 5RS
Coordinates52.8738°N 2.6786°W / 52.8738; -2.6786
Construction started2017
CompletedDecember 2020[1]
Opening2018
OwnerSoulton Hall
Design and construction
ArchitectMichele Gaffney (Architectural Designer)
DeveloperSacred Stones
Structural engineerJonathan Burke
Main contractorRiverdale Stone
The roof of chamber 1 in the Soulton Long Barrow

The barrow contains niches for the placement of cremation urns.[4] It is also intended for wider celebration of life and community activity. The structure is a sequence of stone chambers under an earthen mound, and was begun in 2017, with a principal stone being laid in the spring of 2018,[5][6] and an early stone being added by writer and historian Tom Holland.[7]

Inspiration

The monument is inspired by Neolithic barrows built around 5,500 years ago, and following the constructions of the Long Barrow at All Cannings, Wiltshire and the Willow Row Barrow at St Neots, Cambridgeshire. It takes inspiration from among other monuments Bryn Celli Ddu, Barclodiad y Gawres, and Stoney Littleton Long Barrow. Developing the barrow involved collaboration with archaeologists at the University of Cambridge[8][9]

The gate for the barrow was designed by Giles Smith, winner, in the Assemble Collective, of the 2015 Turner Prize.[10]

The Barrow's first chamber was opened for use in summer 2018.[11][12]

A second phase of the barrow's development was begun and completed in the winter of 2019.[13]

Commentary

In April, 2019, the monument was covered on an episode of BBC Countryfile, being visited by Matt Baker and Ellie Harrison.[14]

Soulton Long Barrow seen from the north and east facing the front that addresses the Summer Solstice sunrise

The monument was included in the 2020 Architecture Foundation exhibition "Congregation", in St Mary Magdalene, Paddington. The exhibition looked at, "the changing nature of sacred architecture in Britain through the presentation of 23 buildings designed in the past decade",[15][16][17][18]  Edwin Heathcote of the Financial Times reviewed this exhibition and said of the project "Most esoteric of all, yet also strangely sympathetic, is the Soulton Long Barrow, a neo-neolithic mound of stone and earth designed to store the cremated remains of... any religion or none".[19]

In June 2020 the Architecture Foundation included the monument in a lecture event as part of its 2020 100 Day Studio event.[20]

Commentators have described this barrow has been described as being part of a "Stone Age tradition being resurrected in Britain,"[21] with " [a]nother eight sites are planned across the country"[22]

Henge Amphitheater
"The Sanctuary Theatre" and the barrow seen in a performance by the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain

In 2020, partially as a response to the crisis in live performance[23] and theatre resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,[24] a hengeiform monument, called "The Sanctuary", an outdoor performance area was added in front of the barrow.[25][26][27][28][29]

This was inaugurated by the National Youth Theatre, with their first live in person performance[30] since the restrictions following the lockdown that was brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.[31] The play was a brand new work called "The Last Harvest".[32]

Local parishes also made plans to use this space for community nativity events during the COVID-19 restrictions.[33]

Soulton Standing Stones
Standing Stone One
Standing Stone Two
Standing Stone Three
The Soulton Standing Stones, erected in 2017

There is a sequence of standing stones, signaling the route to the barrow from Soulton Road.[34]

Three megalithic limestone standing stones are located on the access route to the barrow.

These were added to the approach route to the barrow in autumn 2017.[35]

The stone for these monoliths, as with the barrow itself, came from Churchfield Quarry, Oundle, near Peterborough.

There is no deliberate alignment beyond way-marking for these standing stones.

Covid Stone

In 2020, a standing stone, with an alignment to the setting sun on the winter solstice, was added to the ritual landscape to acknowledged the suffering of the families impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic.[36][37][38]

Modern Henge Monument

In March 2020, plans were announced to build a modern henge monument close by the barrow.[39][40][41][42]

See also

The following modern barrows:

References
  1. https://www.whitchurchherald.co.uk/news/18964391.second-neolithic-burial-mound-completed-soulton-long-barrow/
  2. "Soulton Long Barrow". The Megalithic Portal. Retrieved 2019-06-17.
  3. "Shropshire's History Advanced Search | Shropshire's History Advanced Search". Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  4. It Took Years To Find The Right Place, retrieved 2019-06-17
  5. Drew, Mark. "Approved: Burial mound to be built in Shropshire for the first time in thousands of years". www.shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
  6. "Long barrow for Shropshire - Funeral Service Journal". www.fsj.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  7. Yeomans, Emma. "Modern long barrow builders find a niche in burials market". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  8. Prof Marie Louise Stig Sørensen discusses the Journey of the Barrow Build, retrieved 2019-06-17
  9. Ashton, Timothy (2018). "Building a New Long Barrow" (PDF). Soulton Hall. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  10. "Assemble member designs Shropshire burial mound entrance". Architects Journal. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  11. www.stmem.com, Shropshire Tourism -. "Official Opening of Chamber One in the New Barrow -". www.soultonhall.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  12. Wainwright, Oliver (2019-03-18). "Tomb with a view: why burial mounds are a better way to go". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  13. "Phase two begins at Soulton Long Barrow". Whitchurch Herald. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  14. "BBC One - Countryfile, Shropshire". BBC. Retrieved 2019-06-03.
  15. "Congregation | Architecture Foundation". www.architecturefoundation.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  16. "Congregation: An exhibition of secular and sacred architecture - London Architecture Diary". :city Architecture Diary. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  17. grandjunction.org.uk https://grandjunction.org.uk/congregation/. Retrieved 2020-03-09. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. Searle, Adrian; Jones, Jonathan; Wainwright, Oliver; O’Hagan, Sean (2020-01-02). "Palette cleansers: our photography, art and architecture picks for 2020". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  19. Heathcote, Edwin (2 February 2020). "In praise of new sacred buildings". Financial Times. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  20. "100 Day Studio | Architecture Foundation". www.architecturefoundation.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  21. "Snapper captures stunning rainbow of star trails and Venus in night sky". Metro Newspaper UK. 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  22. Barrett, Helen (2020-11-24). "Modern death: new ways of paying tribute". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  23. "Farming Today - 26/10/20 - The impact of game birds on the environment, a farm theatre and rural life for young people. - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
  24. Yeomans, Emma. "Modern long barrow builders find a niche in burials market". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  25. www.bbc.co.uk https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mj57. Retrieved 2020-08-15. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. editor, Chris Wiegand Stage (2020-08-06). "From an earth stage to a willow Globe: theatre goes al fresco in the UK". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-08-08.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  27. "Jeremy Vine - Planning Permission and Pantomimes - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  28. "English Country House Hotel near Shrewsbury - Shropshire Accommodation". www.soultonhall.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  29. Parker, Simon (2020-11-09). "Britain by Bike: Touring England's fractious and lockdown-weary northwest". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  30. www.bbc.co.uk https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000nr0w. Retrieved 2020-10-26. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  31. www.bbc.co.uk https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08thf4l. Retrieved 2020-10-26. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  32. www.bbc.co.uk https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08srry7. Retrieved 2020-10-26. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  33. "Radio Shropshire - Listen Live - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
  34. "View of 'And Raise Me Up a Golden Barrow'". www.jbasr.com. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  35. Pugh, James. "Three limestone monoliths mark a path to Shropshire's first long barrow in 5,000 years". www.shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
  36. Yeomans, Emma. "Modern long barrow builders find a niche in burials market". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  37. "Standing stone to be raised at Soulton Long Barrow for Covid-19 victims". Whitchurch Herald. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
  38. Bentley, Charlotte. "Shropshire standing stone memorial built for Covid-19 victims and their families". www.shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  39. Soulton Hall (6 March 2020). "Plans for a henge monument with standing stones at the Soulton Long Barrow" (PDF). Soulton Hall.
  40. "Eric Smith and Clare Ashford - 11/03/2020 - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  41. Bentley, Charlotte. "Shrop-henge?: Plan for Bronze age-inspired monument in Shropshire". www.shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  42. Prof Huffman and Tim talk about the new proposed henge monument, retrieved 2020-03-20
  43. "Dassett students hide time-capsule in Kineton barrow". www.banburyguardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  44. "A barrow is being built in west Dorset - the first for more than 1,000 years". Bridport and Lyme Regis News. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
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