Pilgrimage is a well established tradition in many Churches – though not so much in the evangelical tradition, which tends to downplay the importance of particular places for faith. But standing where the great saints and martyrs of the past have stood can be a deeply spiritual experience, helping us to see the world through their eyes and bringing us closer to the God they worshiped with all their hearts.
Some places, like Glastonbury or our great cathedrals, are very well known. But there are smaller sites that also have their stories to tell and that give us different glimpses into the faith of our nation.
Here are five locations in the UK that can feed our faith – or challenge it.
1. The Tyndale Monument: a great translator High on a Gloucestershire hillside near the village of North Nibley is a stone obelisk in memory of William Tyndale, who worked on his translation of the Bible into English not far away at Old Sodbury. The inscription on the base of the tower reads: 'Erected ad 1866 in grateful remembrance of William Tyndale translator of the English Bible who first caused the New Testament to be printed in the mother tongue of his countrymen. Born near this spot he suffered martyrdom at Vilvorden in Flanders on Oct 6 1536.'
2. Epworth Rectory: a great missionary One of the greatest figures in English Nonconformist history, John Wesley, was born at his father's rectory on June 28, 1703. Though he remained officially within the Church of England, he was the founder of the Methodist Church. He had a dramatic escape from death while still at child at the rectory when it caught fire; he was left stranded on an upper floor with the roof and stairs on fire, but was rescued. He referred to himself as 'a brand plucked from the burning' and believed he had been saved for a purpose.
3. Tewkesbury Chapel: a great vision The Old Baptist Chapel at Tewkesbury is thought to be one of the oldest Baptist church buildings anywhere, having started life as a medieval house in the 15th century. It became a Baptist church in around 1620. It is small and primitive building a stone's throw from the town's beautiful abbey, and is a testimony to the convictions of those who were prepared to risk ruin and even death for their faith.
4. Eyam: a great sacrifice Eyam is known for the steadfastness of its inhabitants during the Plague of 1655, when under the leadership of the Rector, William Mompesson, and the Puritan pastor Thomas Stanley, they chose to quarantine themselves rather than flee when it struck the village. Huge numbers died including whole families, but the spread of the plague was halted.
5. Wigtown: A great crime The 1600s were a time of great religious turmoil in the British Isles, with Episcopalian factions backed by the Crown battling to control rising calls for reform in Church and state alike.
In Scotland the Covenanters wanted to bring in a Presbyterian form of religion, fiercely resisted by the Episcopalians. In 1685 two Covenanter women, Margaret McLachlan, an elderly woman, and Margaret Wilson, a teenager, were tied to stakes by the Episcopalians and drowned by the incoming tide. Their martyrdom stands as a terrible reminder of what happens when religion goes wrong, and their memorial is a place for penitence and regret.
Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods
