The maze at Wing is one of eight remaining turf labyrinths in England. It stands at the side of a minor road just outside the village. I love the way you can come across such rarities and find them well tended but hardly signposted. As to how old it is... Britain's Historic Sites says it "may be well over 2500 years old", the Stone Circles site says it is Medieval, while the interpretation board beside the maze makes much of the Viking derivation of the village's name. Anyway, we know Shakespeare was familiar with turf labyrinths, even if he knew them in decline: "The nine men's morris is fill'd up with mud and the quaint mazes in the wanton green for lack of tread are undistinguishable." Certainly, the Genuki page for Wing says: By the 19th century the maze seems to have lost some of its magic, for the Leicester and Rutland Directory of 1846 talks of: "An ancient Maze, in which the rustics run at the parish feast".

Turf mazes are labyrinths made by cutting a convoluted path in an area of short grass or lawn, and were once a common feature of the English...

The maze at Wing is one of eight remaining turf labyrinths in England. It stands at the side of a minor road just outside the village. I love the way you can come across such rarities and find them well tended but hardly signposted. As to how old it is... Britain's Historic Sites says it "may be well over 2500 years old", the Stone Circles site says it is Medieval, while the interpretation board beside the maze makes much of the Viking derivation of the village's name. Anyway, we know Shakespeare was familiar with turf labyrinths, even if he knew them in decline: "The nine men's morris is fill'd up with mud and the quaint mazes in the wanton green for lack of tread are undistinguishable." Certainly, the Genuki page for Wing says: By the 19th century the maze seems to have lost some of its magic, for the Leicester and Rutland Directory of 1846 talks of: "An ancient Maze, in which the rustics run at the parish feast".

The Wing Maze in Rutland is an ancient turf maze. Its origins may be religious but it was later used for games and recreation.

Explore mattadamwilliams' 456 photos on Flickr!

The maze at Wing is one of eight remaining turf labyrinths in England. It stands at the side of a minor road just outside the village. I love the way you can come across such rarities and find them well tended but hardly signposted. As to how old it is... Britain's Historic Sites says it "may be well over 2500 years old", the Stone Circles site says it is Medieval, while the interpretation board beside the maze makes much of the Viking derivation of the village's name. Anyway, we know Shakespeare was familiar with turf labyrinths, even if he knew them in decline: "The nine men's morris is fill'd up with mud and the quaint mazes in the wanton green for lack of tread are undistinguishable." Certainly, the Genuki page for Wing says: By the 19th century the maze seems to have lost some of its magic, for the Leicester and Rutland Directory of 1846 talks of: "An ancient Maze, in which the rustics run at the parish feast".