Mizmaze (or Miz-Maze or Miz Maze) is the name given to two of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

's eight surviving historic

turf maze Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

s, and also to a third, presumably once similar site (at

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

in Dorset) that is now merely a relic. Of the two which survive, one is at

Breamore Breamore ( ) is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish near Fordingbridge in Hampshire, England. The parish includes a notable Elizabethan English country house, country house, Breamore House, built with an E-shaped ground plan. T ...

, in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

; the other is on top of St Catherine's Hill, overlooking the city of

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

. A mizmaze forms a pattern unlike conventional

maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lea ...

s and is classed as a

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

because the path has no junctions or crossings. The pattern appears more like a very long rope, neatly arranged to fill the area.

Breamore Mizmaze

The ''Breamore'' Mizmaze, set on a hill close to

Breamore House Breamore House is an Elizabethan manor house noted for its fine collection of paintings and furniture and situated NW of Breamore village, north of Fordingbridge, Hampshire, England. Though it remains in private hands, it is open to visitors from ...

, is a quartered labyrinth similar in design to the labyrinth at

Chartres Cathedral Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Roman Catholic church in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres. Mostly con ...

. It is enclosed by a grove of yew trees; close to it is a Bronze Age barrow or

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

. The Mizmaze itself is fenced which aids its conservation. In early 2010 a few surrounding trees were felled as water falling from overhanging branches was eroding part of the maze, but the overall character of the setting is unaffected; as it is difficult to date turf mazes, it is in any case possible that there was no woodland when it was created. The turf labyrinth itself is well-maintained. (Location just south of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

, off A338).

St Catherine's Hill

The ''Winchester'' Mizmaze is most unusual, being roughly square, although its paths curve gently and it has rounded corners. It is also one of only two surviving historic English turf mazes where the path is a narrow groove in the turf (the other is at

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

). More commonly the turf itself forms the raised path, which is marked out by shallow channels excavated between its twists and turns; this is the case at ''Breamore'', where the mizmaze is circular (a version of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

design) and surrounded by trees. (The ''Winchester'' mizmaze is visible in

Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...

atop St. Catherine's hill. Google Maps co-ord
51.045662, -1.311743
(+51° 2' 44.38", -1° 18' 42.27".)The official website is https://www.google.com/earth/index.html, where one can begin by downloading the free Google Earth application program. See

article.

Mount Ephraim Mizmaze

A large modern Mizmaze has been created by

garden designer A garden designer is someone who designs the plan and features of gardens, either as an amateur or professional. The compositional elements of garden design and landscape design are: terrain, water, planting, constructed elements and buildings, p ...

Sarah Morgan at

Mount Ephraim Mount Ephraim ( he, הר אפרים), or alternately Mount of Ephraim, was the historical name for the central mountainous district of Israel once occupied by the Tribe of Ephraim (), extending from Bethel to the plain of Jezreel. In Joshua's time ...

, a garden near

Faversham Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British t ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. Although based on a traditional labyrinth design, the layout incorporates some dead-ends, making it a hybrid between a maze and a labyrinth. The pattern of the grass paths is marked out with combinations of tall-growing

ornamental grass Ornamental grasses are grasses grown as ornamental plants. Ornamental grasses are popular in many colder hardiness zones for their resilience to cold temperatures and aesthetic value throughout fall and winter seasons. Classifications Along ...

es and colourful herbaceous

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

References

External links

{{Commons category, Mizmaze, St. Catherine's Hill
W.H.Matthews, ''Mazes and Labyrinths'' (1922)
online version of this classic book
Labyrinthos
Jeff Saward's website
Labyrinth SocietyThe Megalithic PortalLabyrinth Locator (Veriditas & Labyrinth Society)Mount Ephraim Gardens
Mazes Mazes in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Hampshire Geoglyphs

Breamore Mizmaze

St Catherine's Hill

Mount Ephraim Mizmaze

See also

References

Further reading

External links