Sermons in Stones: James D. Wenn and James Syrett’s Byrga Geniht Scholarship Captured by Open City
At Soulton, we are delighted to see the scholarship of James D. Wenn and James Syrett, which we have supported, getting yet more and deeper coverage and captivating people. Their “architectural detective work” has been instrumental in uncovering the links between our home and the lost Shrine of St. Erkenwald.
We were thrilled to hear Soulton Hall featured on a recent episode of the Open City Podcast (embedded above), where interviewer Merlin Fulcher sat down with Giles Smith (founding member of the Turner Prize-winning collective Assemble). The Open City podcast is supported by
- Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app
and produced in association with:
Their reflected on the “uncanny” geometry of the Hall, making a brief and not very serious reference to the “Da Vinci Code” for English architecture.
The Language of Geometry
During the interview, Giles Smith offered a profound reflection on why the architecture at Soulton feels so distinct.
He touched on the “lost legibility” of historical buildings—the idea that every line and angle was once a deliberate communication.
“I think the thing that seems most interesting to me is the idea that this historical architecture is laden with meaning—whether that’s the Hall… which we as contemporary people can’t really read… we don’t understand it.
I think that at the time it would have been legible; people would have understood the meaning of the geometries or the forms and what they were trying to communicate. And I think this idea that these bits of architecture have this meaning and that it’s been lost… [is] a super interesting proposition.”
— Giles Smith, Open City Podcast
Merlin added:
Soulton Hall is this very kind of square cubic looking house… it does look very odd compared to your typical… country house. There’s something sort of uncanny about it and very geometric… do you think it’s fair to say the estate is becoming a bit of a sort of Da Vinci Code for unlocking the story of English architecture?”
— Merlin Fulcher, Open City Podcast
And Giles replied:
“I don’t know how he’d [Tim] feel about being compared to the Da Vinci Code…
— Giles Smith, Open City Podcast
Giles’s point is vital: while “Da Vinci Code” implies a fictional puzzle, the geometry at Soulton represents a very real, lost language of architectural communication.
This “uncanny” quality Merlin identifies is precisely what the scholarship of James D. Wenn and James Syrett has decoded.
The Rural as a Laboratory
The discussion also reframed the role of rural estates like Soulton.
Far from being “backward” or “conservative,” Giles argued that the rural landscape is a “laboratory for the development of ideas.” Whether it is the construction of the first Neolithic-style Long Barrow in 5,000 years or the uncovering of 16th-century “coded” architecture, Soulton continues to be a place where “things can be allowed to happen.”
As the “cultural gravity” in the UK continues to shift toward these historic rural sites, we remain committed to stewardship that honours both the ancient geometry of the past and the living community of the present.
A Turner Prize Perspective: The Barrow Gate
The “ritual landscape” at Soulton is not just a collection of historical echoes; it is a living collaboration with some of the most respected voices in modern design. We were privileged to have Giles Smith, a founding member of the multi-disciplinary collective Assemble, design the gate for our Neolithic-style Long Barrow.
Giles and the Assemble collective are renowned for their work that blends architecture, art, and community focus—a philosophy that earned them the prestigious 2015 Turner Prize.
“The burial mound is a pretty wild project… Tim asked me to design a gate for it… it was a very wonderful thing to be involved with.”
— Giles Smith, Open City Podcast
The Poet’s Eye: Merlin Fulcher at Soulton
Beyond his role as a critic and editor for Open City, Merlin Fulcher has a deep, personal connection to this landscape. Having served as our Poet in Residence, Merlin’s work often explores the intersection of the earth, the ancient structures we build upon it, and the “divine” quality of rural craft.
His poetry serves as a lyrical counterpart to the geometric and historical research we discuss on the blog. In his response to the Soulton landscape and the Long Barrow, Merlin captured the essence of what it means to build a home “from another land” in the heart of Shropshire:
“This patch between Groves dense and grand Where a home is built From another land. For our loves, our youth, Our dreams Hand-in-hand.” — Merlin Fulcher, from Poems for Soulton
