SLIMBRIDGE DOWSING GROUP REPORTS

“Having farmed that field all my life, I knew it was different but I never knew why.” So said Rob Jewell, the farmer at St Augustine’s Farm, Arlingham, after our visit on Saturday 23rd June.

He had asked us to dowse a triangular field, the Leys, on the other side of the village from his farm. He knew there had been an old cottage there, a well and a pond, alongside a supposedly pre-Roman track known as Silver Street, possibly a corruption of Silva, meaning wood. The track runs from Cirencester, and through Rob’s farm to where there had once been a ford across the River Severn, to Broadoak on the other side.

Sounded to us like a good morning’s dowsing, but that was only the half of it! There had to be a lot of history there, since St Augustine’s Farm once belonged to St Augustine’s Abbey (now Bristol Cathedral) and was farmed by monks. Augustine himself was very active in the area, sent by the Pope to convert everyone to the new Roman Christianity. He later became the first Archbishop of Canterbury around AD 601.

You couldn't ford the Severn today, but with such an important thoroughfare, Rob’s field was once a very busy and interesting site. We dowsed and found indications of a longbarrow, a Roman house, a chantry that later became a church, a cottage built during the 1600s and an associated building, possibly their barn or cowsheds.

The church was in direct alignment with May Hill, and there were leylines and energy spirals too. We also came upon some areas of negative energy, (there had been Civil War activity there 1642–1651) so we were glad we had been reminded to protect ourselves beforehand.

Experienced archaeological dowser Peter Gibson showed the farmer’s wife, Elaine, how to dowse for the well we knew was there somewhere. They found it but Peter demonstrated that although the well was still there, the underground spring was no longer feeding into it, hence the large muddy area nearby. Elaine was thrilled as she felt her rods move for the first time, and is now as hooked as the rest of us!

Farmer Rob was euphoric. “It was fascinating. I did not expect anything like it; I could not take it all in. It makes sense that there was so much beside the original main access to the village. The grass had been cut, the weather was fine, a lovely group of people, and such exciting discoveries.”

Our next meeting will be at 1.45 on Thursday 12th July in Slimbridge Village Hall when members will share their dowsing experiences. Phone 01453 890679 or visit www.slimbridgedowsers.org.uk