About 6,000 years ago a dramatic change in lifestyle came about for the people living in Britain. The nomadic lifestyle led by most was abandoned in favour of a settled existence - people chose to plant crops and domesticate animal rather than maintaining the transitory existence of the nomadic hunter gatherer.

This change in lifestyle was a critical part of human development and much of what we see as modern society was created during this time.

Perhaps the most significant of these social changes was the creation of the first large scale communal structures probably built for religious gatherings.

Central Henge

Thornborough

The best known of these religious structures are the henges, these were built in ancient Britain some 5,000 years ago during the time known as the "Neolithic". These large circular structures are thought of as places for communal religious gatherings - places of ceremony and power.

The largest "complex" of henges in Britain lies within the Vale of Mowbray. These monuments create the largest and potentially the most important ancient religious landscape in Britain - our one time "Henge Capital", a place where religion has left a 5,000 year old legacy of change and continuity.

Following the prehistoric period, religion continued to play a central role in the life of the people of the Sacred Vale.Water played a central role in early religions and the Vale is bounded by two great sacred rivers, the Ure and the Swale. In addition the limestone that underpins much of the region is the source of springs that had great religious significance in the Iron Age (700 BC). The Roman's adopted these sacred springs and used them as the site of temples. Later, these sites were used for the founding of Christian sites. The result of this 5,000 year legacy is a landscape littered with remains of a strong religious bias - a Sacred Vale.