Writ in Water

An echo chamber of the senses

As part of a recent project, some of the team travelled to Runnymede just outside London: possibly the most important heritage site you have never heard of.

In 1215 Runnymede was witness to the sealing of the Magna Carta, a document that now symbolises the origins of democracy, a precursor to numerous constitutions and laws around the globe.

Fast forward more than 800 years later and contemporary artist Mark Wallinger, working with Studio Octopi and the site’s National Trust team, created ‘Writ in Water’. This major architectural artwork is inspired by, and inscribed with, one of the Magna Carta’s most important clauses, number 39:

“No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.”

The monument beautifully brings together natural local building materials, water, and a glimpse of the sky, in a tranquil, reflective space.

When we visited, a light rain tinkled the surface of the water, briefly obscuring the reflection of the clause inscribed around it, before it settled to its surface calm – a fitting meditation on the ongoing struggles to obtain and maintain freedoms and rights?