English Heritage is trialling a daily hour of stillness and reflection at its monastic sites. It is a bold experiment that deserves to succeed
In The Cloud of Unknowing, one of the greatest works of Christian mysticism, the art of contemplation is especially prized as a route to wisdom. For hundreds of years, this anonymous medieval text inspired those seeking a more perfect relationship with God by transcending the concerns of the everyday. In his own copy of the book, the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge underscored the lines: “Active life is troubled and travailed about many things; but contemplative sitteth in peace with one thing.”
For those attending the Labour party conference this week, there is unlikely to be much space for meditative solitude of this kind. But for the next month or so, options are newly available for those looking to decompress and clear out the clutter in their mind. In an experimental, countercultural move that deserves to succeed, English Heritage is trialling a daily “hour of contemplation” at 16 monastic sites in England, including Lindisfarne Priory on Holy Island and Battle Abbey in Hastings. Between now and late October, it is intended that silence will descend on the ruined cloisters, dormitories and transepts during the last hour of opening. Mobile phones should be placed in pockets; concerns about the level of traffic on the way home put to one side, and the troubles of tomorrow left to tomorrow to sort out. If the project is a success, it will perhaps become a permanent feature at some of the country’s most beautiful and evocative religious sites.