Many are thousands of years old, this one is eight. And looking the worse for wear, according to our prehistoric patterns correspondent Angus Young.
Tucked away in a park in Bransholme is a nod to the past. The Foredyke Green Nature Area off Kesteven Way was created in 2017 when a group of residents decided to transform a long-neglected piece of open land on their doorsteps. With support from the city council, they created a new public greenspace complete with sculptures, walking trails, a pond and outdoor artwork. On a new grassed area they also laid out a labyrinth.
Unlike mazes which are deliberately designed to make people lose their way within them, labyrinths feature a simple circular route to a central point without any disruptions or dead-ends. They have been around for more than 4,000 years and are traditionally associated with being used for spiritual purposes, offering a calm journey of meditation and personal exploration. Formed by cutting away the ground surface to create turf ridges and shallow trenches, labyrinths are known to have existed in Britain since the late Medieval period.
As well as their religious heritage, folklore and surviving contemporary records suggest they were also once popular at village fairs and during festivities. Many were located on ancient village greens or commons as well as churches. Based at these popular meeting places they would have been regularly used – perhaps even as a form of entertainment – with regular maintenance a necessity.
Sadly, it seems the Foredyke Green labyrinth could do with a bit of TLC if our recent visit there was anything to go by. Its path currently features more weeds than grass while a nearby information board giving details about the project is difficult to read thanks to graffiti. Even so, the labyrinth does offer the chance to take a gentle stroll while contemplating the meaning of life.
It was inspired by a now lost labyrinth which once existed in Marfleet when it was still a rural village rather than part of suburban East Hull. The Marfleet circle was also known as the City of Troy, a common name once given to labyrinths as a reference to various popular maze games brought to Italy after the fall of Troy.
Another modern-day labyrinth can be found at the Pickering Road Orchard in West Hull while the grounds at Bridlington Priory also feature a planted labyrinth. You can also see a replica of a Roman labyrinth at the Hull and East Riding Museum in High Street in Hull. It was originally found at Harpham near Drifield in 1904 and the replica is installed in a re-constructed bath-house in the Roman section of the museum.