Public Asccess: A 475-Year Moment: Opening Up the Prayer Room and Aedicule

Soulton Hall is opening publicly the Prayer Room and Aedicule spaces not only for access but also with a more complete contextualisation than has been appropriate hitherto.

This unique location within Soulton Hall will now be included in select Historic Houses Association Tours and Heritage Presentations and is presented specifically as a historic, cultural, and ecumenical artifact.

The Prayer Room, located within Soulton Hall, offers ticket holders a significant opportunity to inspect an area of profound spiritual and historical importance.

Henceforth, access to these parts of the house is provided to anyone with a valid ticket, on a basis of heritage presentation and cultural experience.

This facilitates access that is not contingent upon any specific faith or religious stakeholder commitment, but the family wishes to be clear that parts of Soulton Hall that have this valency being made available in this way for the first time in 475 years is only possible after an extended and respectful period of ecumenical engagement with faith communities whose stories bifurcated in nature around the legacy of these rooms.

We wish to be clear that the physical areas of Soulton Hall that have impact on people of faith are respected.

They are not to be treated in a sensationalist or gimmicky way.  No phorography is permitted.

The Ashton family wishes to acknowledge that making this space available for general public inspection is a major step.

This decision was only finalized once they were satisfied that all appropriate respect and consideration had been given to the religious stakeholders involved in the Hall’s complex and unique ecumenical history.

This approach ensures that Soulton Hall’s commitment to heritage preservation is balanced with its responsibility to spiritual integrity.