07/01/2026
Thought for the day, week, month or indeed timeless period ahead:
* Nature does not remove the pain, but it provides a silence that is respectful and a soil that is steady *
The following thoughts taken from our sister barrow's FB page, Soulton Long Barrow.
For budding fans of English history we recommend visiting Soulton Hall to learn about ancient coding, seismic changes in religious politics, and a polymaths motivation to create harmony.
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Penned by Tim Ashton of Soulton Hall:
We have been reflecting on the UK release of the film Hamnet and the profound, though painful, way it explores the anatomy of grief. It is a "needful" piece of art, specifically for how it captures the moment words fail even Shakespeare, and the landscape must take over the task of remembering.
As noted in this reflection from Soulton Hall:
"The ancient Forest of Arden trees Agnes frequents are in real senses the woods at Soulton... In the film, as at the Soulton Barrow, we see the need for this liminal grounding. These spaces don’t ask the bereaved to 'move on'; they simply offer a vast, ancient context for human pain."
In the film, Agnes Shakespeare seeks out the "Greenwood" because the soil is steady when her world is not.
We see that same need here at the Barrow. It is a place where the living can stand on the threshold of the gone, supported by the same earth and "Forest of Arden" heritage that offered sanctuary five centuries ago.
Nature does not remove the pain, but it provides a silence that is respectful and a soil that is steady.
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