At Soulton Hall, a copy of the book Harmony has been a constant presence since its publication.
It was originally recommended to us by His Majesty’s farm manager during an invited visit to the Highgrove estate years ago—a professional exchange that proved foundational to our adoption of regenerative agriculture and our subsequent research at Harper Adams.
Beyond the field, the text provided a vital lens for understanding how physical structures—such as Chartres Cathedral, which the text explores in depth—can freight and preserve profound meaning across centuries.
The recent release of the Harmony film offers a timely bookend to a decade of our own practical application of these principles.
We are struck by the narrative of a leadership that identified the high stakes of the ecological crisis long before such concerns were adopted by the mainstream. The film documents a specific type of fortitude; for decades, His Majesty accepted the dismissive reception of his “unorthodox” views. This was borne with the detachment of a thinker who recognized that a “countryman’s intuition” was an expression of a deeper, universal science. He maintained the importance of the Circular Economy, Social Cohesion, and Sacred Geometry at a time when the prevailing global focus remained fixed on linear extraction.
The famous Soulton Dancing Pavement
This vision of wholeness echoes the work of Sir Rowland Hill, the 16th-century humanist who shaped Soulton Hall as a sanctuary of coded wisdom. Hill operated with an understanding of the “Sacred Center”—the same principle of geometric and social alignment discussed in Harmony. It is no coincidence that the Forest of Arden in Shakespeare’s As You Like It—a narrative deeply intertwined with the Hill family history—concludes with a dance of harmony. This marks the moment when the “broken geometry” of society and nature is mended.
“We are part of nature, not apart from it.”
This is not merely a modern environmental sentiment; it is a recovery of a perennial truth.
Plato explicitly used mathematical allegory to describe social cohesion, arguing that the harmony of the state mirrors the geometric order of the universe. This perspective is a common thread throughout many spiritual traditions and cultures, which recognize that such learning perspectives influence the human spirit.
At Soulton Hall, this is not an abstract theory; it is explicitly carried in the very fabric of the building and the landscape—a physical manifesto of the idea that order in our surroundings fosters order in our society.
The “structural sequencing” visible in the masonry walls of Soulton finds a contemporary parallel in the gardens at Highgrove. There, the landscape is not merely a collection of botanical specimens but a deliberate engagement with geometry and social order. The garden design, famously modeled on the flags of the United Kingdom, translates abstract national symbols into physical, interlocking earth.
Inspired by those early visits to the Highgrove farming model, it became clear that the soil was being compromised by traditional methods.
The film’s focus on 17th-century stepwells—mathematical masterpieces designed to manage moisture in arid climates—mirrors the modern imperative of soil carbon.
In a regenerative system, carbon acts as the “glue” of the soil’s geometry. By moving to no-till farming, the estate is essentially constructing “biological stepwells” across the Shropshire landscape. By increasing organic matter, the land’s capacity to hold life-giving water is restored.
This principle of interlocking systems leads to the Bee—a primary symbol of a healthy community.
Following the interests of Plato, the bee serves as a model for a cohesive society where every individual operates in rhythmic harmony for the benefit of the whole “colony.” A society, like a building or a hive, must be correctly tensioned to thrive. Perhaps the most significant aspect of this sequencing is the engagement with the justice system. Involving prisoners in the care and repair of these heritage sites is a form of “social masonry.” By inviting them to repair the physical environment, there is a recognition of the need to repair their own place in the social fabric. This “Call to Action” is seen at scale at Dumfries House, where the “silos” of heritage, commerce, and social welfare were dismantled to restore the soul of a community.
“When we lose our connection to the natural world, we lose the very thing that makes us human.”
The moving and visible distress His Majesty expresses over the loss of biodiversity reflects a morally grounded struggle.
This mission is global, involving high-stakes environmental diplomacy such as the Guyana-Norway rainforest deal and the legacy of the Rio Earth Summit. These efforts represent a decades-long advocacy for a world where nature is viewed not as a resource for plunder, but as a partner for respect.
This is seen most poignantly in the work in Afghanistan. By supporting traditional artisans in Kabul to preserve their cultural geometry and sacred craftsmanship, the project has provided more than just a restoration of buildings. Crucially, it has ensured that women in those communities continue to receive essential healthcare and education, even after the departure of Western armed forces. It is an example of building a “Social Cohesion” that persists through political trauma.
Ultimately, the focus on building and urban design moves beyond stylistic differences of opinion. It centers on the broadly accepted idea that people require cohesive, attractive spaces to live—places with meaningful access to nature. When a community is provided with an environment that assists them rather than alienating them, they begin to feel a natural responsibility for it. Beauty, in this context, is not a luxury; it is a structural necessity for a responsible society.
Harmony is not a passive state; it is an active practice.
At Soulton Hall, the “Sacred Handshake” between the past and the future occurs within the soil itself. The transition to regenerative agriculture is a direct response to a specific call to action. The work is no longer solely about “preserving” a historic site; it is about conserving the carbon and the life within the earth.
The future appears hopeful because certain leaders had the courage to maintain an unpopular stance until the world caught up.
It remains for the rest of us to ensure that the “Sacred Center” remains the foundation of our common future.
Gog and Magog: tow ancient oaks at Soulton named after a city of London Legend
