Touchstone - No 075 - 2006 10

Magazine Overview

Title: Touchstone
Issue: No. 75
Date: October 2006
Publisher: Surrey Earth Mysteries Group

This issue of Touchstone, a newsletter for the Surrey Earth Mysteries Group, delves into the complex world of leys, ancient sites, and earth energies. The primary focus is on the 'Royal Leys of Fostercourt Lodge,' exploring their connections to significant historical locations and geological features.

The Royal Leys of Fostercourt Lodge

The article begins by referencing a previous issue's description of a ley passing through Fostercourt Lodge, the author's home. This ley connects Buckingham Palace (or more accurately, the Victoria Monument) with Sunningdale Church and is also linked to the London-Silchester Roman road and the Silchester Ley discovered by Alfred Watkins.

The narrative then expands to include findings from the 'Time Team Big Royal Dig,' which investigated three royal palaces. At Windsor Castle, the Round Table building of Edward III, constructed in the 1340s, was revealed. This building, 200 feet in diameter, was where the Order of the Garter was formed. Foundations were found under the Queen's ceremonial lawn, along with a floor tile depicting a five-petalled rose and possible garters. Historical accounts mention the purchase of 40,000 roof tiles for this structure.

Further investigation aligned this ley with a Straight Road multijunction south of Windsor, again passing through Fostercourt Lodge. The ley's path is traced from the Round Table site, along the frontage of Frogmore House, through the multijunction, to Fostercourt Lodge, and then skirting St. Anne's Hill.

Another ley through Fostercourt Lodge links two ancient churches: St. Mary's, Thorpe, and St. Peter's, Chertsey. Thorpe Church, a 'Royal Peculiar,' is noted for its historical significance.

A third ley is described as a subconscious siting ley, passing through St. Jude's, Englefield Green, Fostercourt Lodge, Thorpe and Chertsey churches, and continuing to a modern Catholic chapel at St. George's College, Addlestone, and then to St. Charles Borromeo in Weybridge, which had French royal family connections, and finally to a church in Whiteley Village.

Thorpe Church itself is noted for evidence of three distinct Roman buildings found during re-ordering in the 1990s. These included a possible grain store and columns built on Roman brick bases from the time of Claudius. Mosaic tesserae and a Roman tile were also found. A crypt suggests a Mithraeum with an underground apse and immersion basin, similar to the London Mithraeum. A Christian portable altar stone with four consecration crosses, dating before AD 300, and a Roman cinerary urn were found within the crypt.

Fostercourt Lodge, originally owned by Baron de Worms, is where these three leys meet. A plaque with Baron de Worms' emblem and the date 1887 is on the house. Before the house, the site was a cattle byre belonging to Fostercourt Farm. The name likely derives from the Great Fosters mansion. In the garden, where the leys converge, an oval enclosure surrounded by trees is noted, which is not marked on earlier maps.

The E-Line: Its Geography and Geology

Authored by Bob Shave, this section discusses the E-Line, a wide and powerful ley first discovered by Eileen Roche and Gordon Millington in 1990. The E-Line extends from south-west to north-east across Surrey and beyond. The author, a former geologist, notes that the E-Line often skirts or crosses the Greensand Way footpath in Surrey, particularly in the Pitch Hill - Leith Hill area and the Godstone - Oxted area.

The article poses a central question: Is the E-Line's path determined by spring lines along the Greensand escarpment, and do these springs provide its energy? While leys occur in various terrains, the author speculates if spring lines could generate ley energy on a smaller scale, noting the E-Line's unusual power from a dowsing perspective.

The E-Line is observed to closely follow hillsides of sandstone ridges in Surrey. This is explained geologically: sandstone forms hard ridges resistant to erosion, while the underlying clay is impermeable. Rainwater drains through the porous sandstone, emerging as springs along the escarpment, potentially forming aligned lines.

Leys Elsewhere

Robert Witham from Queensland, Australia, contributes a letter discussing leys as 'highways for spirits.' He notes sacred native spots and Masonic temples on leys and mentions deformed gum trees. He also describes a large granite mount in Victoria with leys and a 'dangerous place for the next realm.' His wife perceives leys as shimmering silver lines, and he believes migrating birds use them for navigation. He shares experiences of his daughter feeling leys as uneven ground and notes that spirits use leys for travel.

Mootonthee-Line

This section details the Society of Ley Hunters' Moot, held at The Seekers' Trust in Addington, Kent, which was situated on the E-line. The ley passes through Addington Church and Oldbury Fort. The meeting room was also on the ley, as was a garden of remembrance with a seven-point star design, significant to Tony Wedd, whose STAR Fellowship badge was the same. Stonehenge's layout is also suggested to be based on this pattern.

Other Articles and Contributions

Several other articles and contributions are mentioned:

• The Hidden Unity and Beginnings: A book exploring subconscious siting of ley points, the predominance of worship places on leys, and the apparent necessity of worship over doctrine. It investigates two ley centres: the Shah Jehan Mosque in Woking and the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple, Scunthorpe. It includes an appendix on the significance of the Pagan religion and is illustrated with photographs and maps.
• Beginnings: A booklet by Jimmy Goddard detailing potentially useful discoveries over twenty years, including earth energy detection, natural antigravity, subconscious siting, ley width, and the solar transition effect. It also discusses cognitive dissonance and concludes with Alfred Watkins' discovery of leys.
• Earth People, Space People: A booklet by Tony Wedd from 1961, detailing claims of extraterrestrial contact. It includes articles on the STAR Fellowship, evidence for life in the Solar System, and extraterrestrial language.
• The Legacy of Tony Wedd: A CD-ROM of Tony Wedd's travelling exhibition on flying saucers, landscape energies, and lost technology.

Field Trip Experiences

Accounts of field trips are shared:

• Wrotham and surrounding areas: A trip led by Jon Lord included walking from Wrotham to Yaldham Manor. Anomalous depressions in hedges and a pond aligned with a ley were noted. A Roman road and a boundary line were also investigated. The trip included visits to Trottiscliffe Church and the Coldrum Long Barrow, where headhum and jar-reactions were felt.
• Addington Barrow: This barrow is bisected by a road, and Sir Flinders Petrie found 70 stones outlining it. A visitor using pendulum dowsing indicated seven bodies in one end of the mound.
• Laurence Main's ley research: Main is following a ley from Pembrokeshire to Dover and Deal, with an angle of 282 degrees. This ley passes near Addington and The Chestnuts.
• Dode Church: Described as a sacred space with powerful energy, where three leys meet. It is used for ceremonies and has a history of 'orbs' interfering with photographs and a 'man in a long cloak' appearing.
• The Chestnuts chambered tomb: Joan Bygraves spoke about this site, which was on the ancient Pilgrim's Way. Roman pottery and Neolithic tools were found.
• Yaldham Manor: Owned by John Lade, who arranged sandstone stones into a circle. The house has historical connections to Anne Boleyn. A pond on the property is aligned with a ley.
• Trottiscliffe Church: A Saxon church site with sarsens in its foundations, located on a ley with Coldrum Long Barrow.

Watkins Style Writing in 1919

An excerpt from Montagu Sharpe's 1919 book 'Middlesex in British, Roman and Saxon Times' is presented, which shares similarities with Alfred Watkins' work. Sharpe attributes landscape features like mounds ('tothills') and stones to Roman surveyors, suggesting they marked boundary lines in a rigid chequerboard pattern. The text details various Roman survey marks, including mounds, stones, and churches, and discusses the term 'Coldharbour' and its possible meanings.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are the exploration of ley lines, their energetic properties, and their connection to ancient sites, history, and geology. The magazine presents a broad church of perspectives on leys, from scientific investigation to more intuitive and spiritual interpretations. The editorial stance appears to be one of open inquiry into earth mysteries, encouraging readers to share their own experiences and research. The publication itself, 'Touchstone,' is positioned as a platform for disseminating information on these subjects, serving the Surrey Earth Mysteries Group.