THE sign inside the porch of St John the Baptist's church at Aston Ingham proclaims it a site of Christian worship for 800 years but the site may well have been holy centuries prior to that.

So says Glan Jones, training officer for the South Herefordshire Dowsers, who has dowsed the church extensively himself and who led an organized training evening there for other club members by kind permission of the vicar.

The patterns of natural water and energy lines in and around the church are in keeping with configurations found under some ancient stone circles and their strategic positioning in relation to key spots inside the church, such as the font and altar, suggest that the early church architects were aware of their presence and were seeking to incorporate them to enhance the experience of worship there.

SHD members had the opportunity to dowse a variety of different lines, including ones which have formed from human activity, such as what Glan calls a 'church line' which energetically connects St John the Baptist's church with other rural churches in the area. The dowsing session was followed by discussion in the village hall of the participant's findings.

On September 7, Cardiff dowser Grace Edgar will be sharing the results of the Cardiff Dowsers survey of Cardiff city.