Four Essex Trios

'Four Essex Trios' is a series of poems on thin places and sacred spaces in Essex. The four poems in the series are:

• 'Bradwell';
• 'Broomfield';
• 'Pleshey'; and
• 'Runwell'.

The poems have been published by Amethyst Review and International Times. 

'Bradwell' is a celebration of the history of the Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, the Othona Community, and of pilgrimage to those places. My previous posts about Bradwell and the Othona Community can be found here and here.

Broomfield in Essex became a village of artists following the arrival of Revd John Rutherford in 1930. His daughter, the artist Rosemary Rutherford, also moved with them and made the vicarage a base for her artwork including paintings and stained glass. Then, Gwynneth Holt and Thomas Bayliss Huxley-Jones moved to Broomfield in 1949 where they shared a large studio in their garden and both achieved high personal success. 'Broomfield' reviews their stories, work, legacy and motivations. For more on the artists of Broomfield, all of whom are commemorated there with blue plaques, see here, here, here, here and here. 

'Pleshey' celebrates the Diocesan Retreat House at Pleshey in Essex and the legacy of Evelyn Underhill as a retreat director. My posts about Pleshey can be found here and my posts about Evelyn Underhill here. My poem can also be found on the Diocesan Retreat House website here.

 
'Runwell' takes the reader on a visit to St Mary's Runwell, while also reflecting on the spirituality of the space plus its history and legends. This poem has been included in the Amethyst Press anthology, 'Thin Places and Sacred Spaces', 

The series draws inspiration from T.S. Eliot's 'Four Quartets' and, in common, with the 'Thin Places and Sacred Spaces' anthology reflects on the experience of feeling the touch of eternity in art, nature, silence, or sacred architecture. The ‘thin place’ is a Celtic term, originally indicating a specific geographical location where the veil between heaven and earth seems exceptionally thin or lifted altogether. Bradwell, Broomfield, Pleshey and Runwell are all places in Essex where I have had that experience and where heaven and earth, past, present and future seem to be intermingled.

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Rev Simpkins - Gathering Grounds.