Dowsing at Bradwell

I facilitated a small group to investigate whether a ley-line could be detected by using dowsing rods in the vicinity of St Peter's Chapel, Bradwell on Sea, which was built from stone recovered from a Roman fort which defended Essex from invasions from Europe. 

When the Romans left (early 400s AD) this fortress fell into dilapidation. In the mid seventh century, the Celtic Bishop, Cedd, sailed down the coast from the Holy Island of Lindisfarne to preach Christianity to the pagans of the East Saxon shore, and he decided to build a chapel using the spare stone from the Roman fort he found on the beach at Bradwell. He dedicated it to St Peter, who was a fisherman, and at this site, sea and river meet, and at that time it was rich in all varieties of fish. 

Therefore it was a suitable site for monastic life (which required fish meals on Fridays). Peter was the leader of the early Jerusalem Christian movement after the crucifixion of Jesus and, as he is said to stand with keys to the gate of heaven, he was considered a suitable saint to protect this early Christian church which is thought also to have housed a scriptorium for valuable manuscripts.

St Peter's Chapel is the oldest stone church in the UK and has been standing since 654AD. There is an annual pilgrimage to the chapel that still takes place on a Saturday near the time of St Peter’s feast day which he shares with St Paul on 29th June each year. Some dedicated pilgrims walk from the motte and bailey castle at Ongar but most congregate at the 14th century church of St Thomas in Bradwell Village for a blessing prior to the two mile walk to the coastal chapel. The church is always open, and ceremonies by candlelight, with music and song are often held here, day and night. 

I had previously visited the residential centre beside the chapel for a solo retreat. Whilst walking to the local village of Bradwell, I felt myself carried along the road as though it was effortless, and time passed extremely quickly, as though a dream. I experienced a strong connection with the crops in the fields, the huge sky and cloud formations, and sounds of the birds, many grouse darting out from the old hedgerows, and other beautiful aspects of nature. I thought the area had a magic and I wondered what it could be, so I did some dowsing and was surprised by the energies of this area.

What did our group discover with our dowsing rods? We found a strong leyline, approximately thirty feet wide along the old Roman road that led directly to the West door of St Peter’s Chapel. It led inside the chapel where the energies crossed in the centre of the aisle. When I visited the local church of St Thomas in Bradwell Village, I found a stained-glass window of the Biblical Moses, who, in the Bible carried a dowsing rod with which he struck a rock in the desert and water gushed forth and saved everyone’s life (including his own). Moses is often depicted wearing horns, which are believed to be the way in which horned animals detect water during times of drought. 

Leylines were first identified in the early 1900s by a wealthy businessman, Alfred Watkins, as he was travelling over the Herefordshire countryside taking photographs of the landscape. He suddenly noticed a straight alignment of ancient sites, such as hill forts, springs, stones and tall tree markers, barrow mounds, castles and churches, and this discovery inspired him to write two books, Early British Trackways (1922) and The Old Straight Track (1925). He coined the word "ley" (pronounced ‘lea’, not ‘lay’) because many of the place names on these track-ways ended with this suffix. Since the time of Watkins, many other old straight tracks have been identified, those around Glastonbury being the most well-known.

Straight tracks across the country-side might not surprise the reader, as drovers' roads, traders and pilgrimage routes and pedlars' paths would have run straight across country. What is surprising is that these straight paths can be detected by using a dowsing rod! There are several theories about what ley lines can be, some say underground rock fissures that ancient people recognised and used their energy for the creation of holy sites, others suggest that the spiritual meditation of a pilgrimage produces a profound change to the landscape.

Our small dowsing group were investigating whether a ley-line could be detected in the vicinity of St Peter's Chapel, Bradwell, which was built from stone left from an old Roman fort which defended Essex from invasion from the continent. When the Romans finally left this shore-line, their fortress collapsed. In the mid seventh century, the Celtic Bishop, Cedd, sailed down the coast from the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and decided to use the spare stone he found on the beach at Bradwell to build a chapel dedicated to St Peter where he would preach Christianity to the people of the East Saxon shore. St Peter's Chapel, built in 654AD is the oldest stone church in the UK. There is an annual pilgrimage to the chapel close to the date on which St Peter’s feast day (which he shares with St Paul) is celebrated.

Some dedicated pilgrims will walk from the motte and bailey castle at Ongar but most will congregate at the 14th century church of St Thomas in Bradwell Village at 11am for a service prior to the two mile walk to the coastal chapel. St Peter was the first of Christ’s disciples, a fisherman himself, he is the patron saint of fishermen and certainly this area - where sea and river meet - was rich in all varieties of fish and was a suitable site for a monastery. What did we discover with our dowsing rods? We found a strong leyline along the old Roman road that leads directly to the West door of the chapel. It is approximately thirty feet wide. Inside the chapel, the energies crossed in the centre of the aisle.

Our group stayed at the Othona Ecumenical Community which is open for workshops, conferences, weddings, etc. They provided excellent meals, simple accommodation and comfortable armchairs to rest weary arms and legs in front of a warm fire in the evenings. Article: Wendy Stokes is a features writer with Spirit & Destiny Magazine
 www.wendystokes.co.uk