CAMBRIDGESHIRE LEY PROJECT NOTES

The Cambridgeshire Ley Project has been progressing slowly but surely, and two ‘mass’ field forays have occurred. The area studied has been to the south of Cambridge, in the Wandlebury/Shelford area. The first field trip involved an examination of Watkins’s ley No. 10 (for a full list of Watkins’s leys, see JOG 3/4, 1979, still available from IGR 60p). This ley, Watkins claimed, runs from Cheveley Castle – Six Mile Bottom Crossroads – Centre of Wandlebury – Great Shelford Church – Little Shelford Church – ancient church at Malton Farm.

Mapwork had shown that the eastern end of the line was none too good, the best line missing Six Mile Bottom crossroads by several hundred feet. An examination of the section east of Wandlebury was undertaken by Wendy Sillars, but she found nothing of significance. Nigel Pennick examined Wandlebury itself, but, apart from the observation that the ley crossed Devereux & Thomson’s Wandlebury ley on the earthwork rampart, there was nothing visible to indicate its passage. The main party of the project (Theresa Jane Nicholson, Nigel Pennick, Martin Pennick, Daryl Potter, John Cann, Michael Behrend) visited Great Shelford church, which was dowsed. The church has a 19th century mosaic pavement of the Alpha and Omega, which gives a reversed pendulum reaction to the rest of the church. It has an octagonal tower, visible among the winding streets of Shelford. From the Great church, the party walked the ¾ mile to Little Shelford Church. The ley crossed the river Cam between these two churches, but the exact crossing-point does not show any traces of having been on a ford. The present bridge is not on the ley, in fact, the river is divided at that point, and the ley crosses an island which is devoid of buildings or any other signs of human activity. It then passes through a small wood, and then through the site of a medieval hermitage, something not noted by Watkins. From this site, it strikes the church at Little Shelford. This building is notable in that its walls are literally crammed with ancient carved stones. The remains of a churchyard cross stands to the south. The carved stones which are in the walls are mainly Saxon grave-slabs incised with crosses. There are also fragments of interlace-work some of which are obviously parts of ancient crosses. In the walls at one point is a small Saxon window. The church is therefore a site of some antiquity, and it also contains a chantry chapel on the south side. The ley, however, does not pass through this chapel.

Beyond Little Shelford, there is farmland with no visible features. The M11 motorway has ripped through this and there is nothing else before Malton Farm, where Watkins said there was an ancient church. On the visit the party could find no traces of this church, but Daryl dowsed an anomaly which we calculated to be the course of the ley. The farm itself lies in close proximity to a bend in the river, a very geomantic position which can be seen in Chinese feng-shui. As there was no trace of the church, the position of it is unknown. Further checking of ancient maps is being undertaken in order to clarify this enigma.

In March, a film unit filmed your editor as part of a geomantic work. As usual, the weather went berserk and sandwiched between two sunny days the day of filming was foul and pouring with rain. Filming took place on top of Cambridge Castle mound (hardly a good site in fine weather), in the streets (and gateway of St. John’s College, to the annoyance of the Porter), and down at Wandlebury on the Gogmagog Hill Figures. One word of blasphemy about the Goddess from one of the crew, and a massive cloudburst put paid to any more filming. At least, the camera didn’t jam this time, but that’s not the first unpleasant thing to happen after or during a visit to that site – or perhaps we’re just being paranoid!

Further work on the project is in hand, and a report on the work to date will be given by Nigel Pennick at the Third Cambridge Geomancy Symposium at St Andrews St Hall on May 17th 1980.