71-497: The Pilgrims' Way (also Pilgrim's Way or Pilgrims Way ) is the historical route supposedly taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire , England , to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent . This name, of comparatively recent coinage, is applied to a pre-existing ancient trackway dated by archaeological finds to 600–450 BC, but probably in existence since
142-849: A facsimile of the Domesday Book in the 1860s. Sir Henry has been called, by T. Owen, one of the greatest image builders the Ordnance Survey ever had, because Sir Henry made all the advances he and his department made freely available. This was taken up by many foreign governments who were suitably impressed, the Queen of Spain making him a member of the Order of Isabella the Catholic in 1863; which he added to his knighthood of 1860 for services to science. Sir Henry James continued using his photozincographic process to preserve historic manuscripts. He went on to publish
213-469: A few days at a time; within a few years appointments were extended internationally, formally designated as "pilgrims", and scheduled for twice-yearly, week-long visits at each local congregation. International Bible Students Association (IBSA) pilgrims were excellent speakers, and their local talks were typically well-publicized and well-attended. Prominent Bible Students A. H. Macmillan and J. F. Rutherford were both appointed pilgrims before they joined
284-554: A focal point for the pilgrimages of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism , Christianity , and Islam . According to a Stockholm University study in 2011, these pilgrims visit the Holy Land to touch and see physical manifestations of their faith , confirm their beliefs in the holy context with collective excitation, and connect personally to the Holy Land. Pilgrims and the making of pilgrimages are common in many religions , including
355-771: A gathering place for people of the pre- Inca culture Chavín to come together, to attend and participate in rituals, consult an oracle, worship or enter a cult, and collect ideas. Bahá'u'lláh decreed pilgrimage to two places in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas : the House of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, Iraq , and the House of the Báb in Shiraz, Iran . Later, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá designated the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahji, Israel as
426-532: A historic or architectural tour rather than – or as well as – a religious experience. Under communist regimes, devout secular pilgrims visited locations such as the Mausoleum of Lenin , the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong and the Birthplace of Karl Marx . Such visits were sometimes state-sponsored. Sites such as these continue to attract visitors. The distinction between religious, cultural or political pilgrimage and tourism
497-409: A journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system. Pilgrimages frequently involve a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith , although sometimes it can be
568-622: A magnet for travelers since medieval times. While Solomon's Temple stood, Jerusalem was the centre of the Jewish religious life and the site of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals of Passover , Shavuot and Sukkot , and all adult men who were able were required to visit and offer sacrifices ( korbanot ) at the Temple. After the destruction of the Temple, the obligation to visit Jerusalem and to make sacrifices no longer applied. The obligation
639-419: A metaphorical journey into someone's own beliefs. Many religions attach spiritual importance to particular places: the place of birth or death of founders or saints, or to the place of their "calling" or spiritual awakening, or of their connection (visual or verbal) with the divine, to locations where miracles were performed or witnessed, or locations where a deity is said to live or be "housed", or any site that
710-567: A physical and spiritual movement, similar to the concept of " tirtha yātrā" in Hinduism, where "tirtha" means "ford" or "crossing," and "yatra" signifies a journey or procession. While many pilgrims travel toward a specific location, a physical destination is not always a necessity. One group of pilgrims in early Celtic Christianity were the Peregrinari Pro Christ , (Pilgrims for Christ), or "white martyrs", who left their homes to wander in
781-638: A site of pilgrimage. The designated sites for pilgrimage are currently not accessible to the majority of Bahá'ís, as they are in Iraq and Iran respectively, and thus when Bahá'ís currently refer to pilgrimage, it refers to a nine-day pilgrimage which consists of visiting the holy places at the Bahá'í World Centre in northwest Israel in Haifa , Acre , and Bahjí . Places of pilgrimage in the Buddhist world include those associated with
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#1732852388259852-513: A strict, literalist interpretation of Islam and opposition to practices they consider innovations, such as shrine visitation. Ziyarat also includes the Ziyarat al-Imam, which refers specifically to the pilgrimage to the shrines of the Shia Imams, especially revered figures like Imam Ali and Imam Hussein . The Arba'in pilgrimage is the world's largest pilgrimage and largest annual public gathering in
923-583: A variety of sacred and historically significant locations beyond Mecca. These include mosques, tombs, battlefields, mountains, caves, and other places where important spiritual or historical events in Islamic history took place. It holds deep spiritual significance for millions of Muslims around the world. One notable example is the Grand Magal of Touba , 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Dakar , Senegal. About four million pilgrims participate annually to celebrate
994-550: A whole series of English historical documents, the process of which continued on after his death. Similarly he ordered the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem which was commissioned to help improve the water supply to the city. A copy of this map still survives at the National Archives. Due to failing health Sir Henry retired in 1875 at the age of 72, having been Director General of the Ordnance Survey for 21 years. His retirement
1065-517: Is a Shia Muslim religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura . It commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali , the grandson of Muhammad , which falls on the 20th or 21st day of the month of Safar . Imam Husayn ibn Ali and 72 companions were killed by Yazid I 's army in the Battle of Karbala in 61 AH (680 CE ). Arba'een or forty days is also the usual length of mourning after
1136-419: Is not necessarily always clear or rigid. Pilgrimage could also refer symbolically to journeys, largely on foot, to places where the concerned person(s) expect(s) to find spiritual and/or personal salvation. In the words of adventurer-author Jon Krakauer in his book Into The Wild , Christopher McCandless was "a pilgrim perhaps" to Alaska in search of spiritual bliss. The main pilgrimage sites associated with
1207-423: Is one of the five pillars of Islam and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence. The Hajj is one of the largest annual gatherings of people in the world. Since 2014, two or three million people have participated in
1278-605: Is seen to have special spiritual powers. Such sites may be commemorated with shrines or temples that devotees are encouraged to visit for their own spiritual benefit: to be healed or have questions answered or to achieve some other spiritual benefit. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim. As a common human experience, pilgrimage has been proposed as a Jungian archetype by Wallace Clift and Jean Dalby Clift . Some research has shown that people who engage in pilgrimage walks enjoy biological, psychological, social, and spiritual therapeutic benefits. The Holy Land acts as
1349-571: Is the most famous sea goddess in the Chinese southeastern sea area, Hong Kong , Macau and Taiwan . Mazu Pilgrimage is more likely as an event (or temple fair), pilgrims are called as "Xiang Deng Jiao" ( pinyin : xiāng dēng jiǎo, it means "lantern feet" in Chinese), they would follow the Goddess's (Mazu) palanquin from her own temple to another Mazu temple. By tradition, when the village Mazu palanquin passes,
1420-554: The Athenian cemetery Kerameikos and from there the participants walked to Eleusis, along the Sacred Way (Ἱερὰ Ὁδός, Hierá Hodós ). In the early period of Hebrew history , pilgrims traveled to Shiloh , Dan , Bethel , and eventually Jerusalem (see also Three Pilgrimage Festivals , a practice followed by other Abrahamic religions ). These festivals, including Passover, Tabernacles, and Shavout, often involved journeys that reflected
1491-671: The English Channel to the important religious complexes of Avebury and Stonehenge , in Wiltshire, where it is known as the Harroway . The way then existed as "broad and ill-defined corridors of movement up to half a mile wide" and not as a single, well-defined track. The route was still followed as an artery for through traffic in Roman times, a period of continuous use of more than 3000 years. From Thomas Becket's canonization in 1173, until
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#17328523882591562-793: The Hajj annually. The mosques in Mecca and Medina were closed in February 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the hajj was permitted for only a very limited number of Saudi nationals and foreigners living in Saudi Arabia starting on 29 July. Another important place for Muslims is the city of Medina, the second holiest site in Islam, in Saudi Arabia, the final resting place of Muhammad in Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (The Mosque of
1633-642: The River Medway ). South of Rochester , the Pilgrims' Way travels through the villages of Burham , Boxley , Detling and continuing in a south-east direction to the north of the villages of Harrietsham and Lenham . The route continues south-east along the top of the Downs past Charing , to Wye and then turns north to follow the valley of the Great Stour through Chilham and on to Canterbury . Along some stretches
1704-508: The South Downs Way at Winchester. 51°17′N 0°4′E / 51.283°N 0.067°E / 51.283; 0.067 Pilgrim A pilgrimage is a journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin peregrinus ) is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on
1775-540: The Stone Age . The prehistoric route followed the "natural causeway" east to west on the southern slopes of the North Downs . The course was dictated by the natural geography: it took advantage of the contours, avoided the sticky clay of the land below but also the thinner, overlying "clay with flints" of the summits. In places a coexisting ridgeway and terrace way can be identified; the route followed would have varied with
1846-689: The apostles , saints and Christian martyrs , as well as to places where there have been apparitions of the Virgin Mary . A popular pilgrimage journey is along the Way of St. James to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral , in Galicia , Spain, where the shrine of the apostle James is located. A combined pilgrimage was held every seven years in the three nearby towns of Maastricht , Aachen and Kornelimünster where many important relics could be seen (see: Pilgrimage of
1917-467: The dissolution of the monasteries in 1538, his shrine at Canterbury became the most important in the country, indeed "after Rome...the chief shrine in Christendom", and it drew pilgrims from far and wide. Winchester, apart from being an ecclesiastical centre in its own right (the shrine of St Swithin ), was an important regional focus and an aggregation point for travellers arriving through the seaports on
1988-597: The five vices ." Eventually, however, Amritsar and Harmandir Sahib (the Golden Temple) became the spiritual and cultural centre of the Sikh faith, and if a Sikh goes on pilgrimage it is usually to this place. The Panj Takht (Punjabi: ਪੰਜ ਤਖ਼ਤ) are the five revered gurdwaras in India that are considered the thrones or seats of authority of Sikhism and are traditionally considered a pilgrimage. Mazu , also spelled as Matsu,
2059-621: The Firouzabad ruins sixty kilometres south of Shiraz in the province of Pars . Atash Behram ("Fire of victory") is the highest grade of fire temple in Zoroastrianism . It has 16 different "kinds of fire", that is, fires gathered from 16 different sources. Currently there are 9 Atash Behram, one in Yazd, Iran and the rest in Western India . They have become a pilgrimage destination. In India
2130-534: The Holy Land, to the places associated with the Lord's passion, death and resurrection. They go to Rome, the city of the martyrdom of Peter and Paul, and also to Compostela, which, associated with the memory of Saint James, has welcomed pilgrims from throughout the world who desire to strengthen their spirit with the Apostle's witness of faith and love. Pilgrimages were, and are, also made to Rome and other sites associated with
2201-477: The Ordnance Survey was controversial, as his father-in-law, Major General Edward Watson, RE, aided him above two more obvious candidates. He had married Anne Emma Watson, daughter of Major General Edward Watson, RE, at St John's, Paddington, London, the Rev. Capel Molyneux, on 13 February 1845. In 1854, at the age of 51, he became Superintendent of the Ordnance Survey, taking over from Lieutenant Colonel Lewis Hall. He
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2272-594: The Prophet). The Ihram (white robe of pilgrimage) is meant to show equality of all Muslim pilgrims in the eyes of Allah. 'A white has no superiority over a black, nor a black over a white. Nor does an Arab have superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab over an Arab - except through piety' - statement of the Prophet Muhammad. A different form of pilgrimage is ziyarat ( Arabic : زِيَارَة ziyārah , "visit"; Persian : زیارت , ziyārat ). Ziyarat generally refers to
2343-623: The Relics, Maastricht ). Marian pilgrimages remain very popular in Latin America . The Catholic priest Frank Fahey writes that a pilgrim is "always in danger of becoming a tourist" and vice versa, and describes pilgrimages as journeys containing "faith expectancy", a search for wholeness, that are often solitary and employing silence to create an internal sacred space . According to Karel Werner's Popular Dictionary of Hinduism , "most Hindu places of pilgrimage are associated with legendary events from
2414-650: The Tooth in Sri Lanka and the numerous sites associated with teachers and patriarchs of the various traditions. Hindu pilgrimage destinations may be holy cities ( Varanasi , Badrinath ); rivers (the Ganges , the Yamuna ); mountains (several Himalayan peaks are sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists); caves (such as the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia ); temples; festivals, such as
2485-445: The act of visiting holy places such as tombs or shrines, often associated with the Prophet Muhammad, his family, companions, and other revered figures like legal scholars and Sufi saints. Ziyarat is a voluntary act of pilgrimage practiced by both Sunni and Shia Muslims. Unlike Hajj, which is obligatory for Muslims who are physically and financially able, or Umrah, which is highly recommended but not mandatory, Ziyarat involves visits to
2556-775: The board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania ; the IBSA later adopted the name Jehovah's Witnesses and renamed pilgrims as traveling overseers . The purpose of Christian pilgrimage was summarized by Pope Benedict XVI in this way: To go on pilgrimage is not simply to visit a place to admire its treasures of nature, art or history. To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves in order to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendour and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe. Above all, Christians go on pilgrimage to
2627-520: The cathedral fire temple that houses the Iranshah Atash Behram , located in the small town of Udvada in the west coast province of Gujarat , is a pilgrimage destination. A modern phenomenon is the cultural pilgrimage which, while involving a personal journey, is secular in nature. Destinations for such pilgrims can include historic sites of national or cultural importance, and can be defined as places "of cultural significance: an artist's home,
2698-467: The death of a family member or loved one in many Muslim traditions. Arba'een is one of the largest pilgrimage gatherings on Earth, in which up to 31 million people go to the city of Karbala in Iraq . The second largest holy city in the world, Mashhad , Iran, attracts more than 20 million tourists and pilgrims every year, many of whom come to pay homage to Imam Reza (the eighth Shi'ite Imam). It has been
2769-400: The destruction of the Temple, there is a mitzvah to make a pilgrimage on holidays. Sikhism does not consider pilgrimage as an act of spiritual merit. Guru Nanak went to places of pilgrimage to reclaim the fallen people, who had turned ritualists. He told them of the need to visit that temple of God, deep in the inner being of themselves. According to him: "He performs a pilgrimage who controls
2840-564: The early example of Origen in the third century, surviving descriptions of Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land date from the 4th century, when pilgrimage was encouraged by church fathers including Saint Jerome , and established by Saint Helena , the mother of Constantine the Great . Beginning in 1894, Christian ministers under the direction of Charles Taze Russell were appointed to travel to and work with local Bible Students congregations for
2911-504: The faiths of ancient Egypt , Persia in the Mithraic period , India , China , and Japan . The Greek and Roman customs of consulting the gods at local oracles , such as those at Dodona or Delphi , both in Greece , are widely known. In Greece , pilgrimages could either be personal or state-sponsored. The Eleusinian mysteries included a pilgrimage. The procession to Eleusis began at
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2982-464: The film. Anyone walking the 'Pilgrims Way' from Winchester would have started along the Roman road east following the route through New Alresford , Four Marks , Alton and Bentley to Farnham. This roughly follows the modern A31 . The ancient main streets of towns along the route from Farnham (where the old trackway converges with the pilgrims' route) through Guildford , Dorking and Reigate align west to east, strongly suggesting that this
3053-560: The inventor of the process known as Photozincography or Zinco . Sir Henry also played a part in the resolving of the battle of the scales. Born in 1803 at Rose in Vale , Mithian , Cornwall , he was the fifth son of John James of Truro and Jane, daughter of John Hoskers. He attended a grammar school in Exeter , going on to study at the Royal Military Academy , Woolwich. Upon leaving he
3124-405: The less than full approval of his superiors. James created a photography department to the Ordnance Survey in 1855 as a means of reducing the scale of maps. He claimed to have invented photozincography , a photographic method of producing printing plates. In fact, the process had been developed by two of his staff. However James was the driving force behind using the process to create and publish
3195-490: The life and teachings of Cheikh Amadou Bamba , the founder of the Mouride brotherhood, who established the order in 1883. The pilgrimage begins on the 18th of Safar , the second month of the Islamic calendar. While ziyarat is viewed as permissible and spiritually enriching by most Sunni and Shia traditions, some fundamentalist movements, such as Salafism and Wahhabism, discourage or oppose it. These movements are characterized by
3266-552: The life of the historical Buddha : his supposed birthplace and childhood home ( Lumbini and Kapilavastu in Nepal ) and place of enlightenment ( Bodh Gaya in northern India ), other places he is believed to have visited and the place of his death (or Parinirvana), Kushinagar , India. Others include the many temples and monasteries with relics of the Buddha or Buddhist saints such as the Temple of
3337-403: The lives of various gods.... Almost any place can become a focus for pilgrimage, but in most cases they are sacred cities, rivers, lakes, and mountains." Hindus are encouraged to undertake pilgrimages during their lifetime, though this practice is not considered absolutely mandatory. Most Hindus visit sites within their region or locale. The Ḥajj ( Arabic : حَـجّ , main pilgrimage to Mecca)
3408-569: The location of a pivotal event or an iconic destination". An example might be a devotee of the Beatles visiting Liverpool in England. Destinations for cultural pilgrims include Auschwitz concentration camp , Gettysburg Battlefield or the Ernest Hemingway House . Cultural pilgrims may also travel on religious pilgrimage routes, such as the Way of St. James , with the perspective of making it
3479-414: The most familiar ones are in the province of Yazd . In addition to the traditional Yazdi shrines, new sites may be in the process of becoming pilgrimage destinations. The ruins are the ruins of ancient fire temples . One such site is the ruin of the Sassanian era Azargoshnasp fire temple in Iran's Azarbaijan Province. Other sites are the ruins of fire temples at Rey , south of the capital Tehran , and
3550-502: The peripatetic Kumbh Mela , in 2001 the biggest public gathering in history; or the tombs and dwelling places of saints ( Alandi , Shirdi ). In India and Nepal , there are four places of pilgrimage which are tied to the life of Gautama Buddha : Other pilgrimage places in India and Nepal connected Gautama Buddha's life are: Savatthi , Pataliputta , Nalanda , Gaya , Vesali , Sankasia , Kapilavastu , Kosambi , Rajagaha . Other famous places for Buddhist pilgrimage include: In
3621-448: The pilgrims' journeys. The numbers making their way to Canterbury by this route were not recorded, but the estimate by the Kentish historian William Coles Finch that it carried more than 100,000 pilgrims a year is surely an exaggeration; a more prosaic estimate—extrapolated from the records of pilgrims' offerings at the shrine—contends an annual figure closer to 1,000. A separate (and more reliably attested) route to Canterbury from London
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#17328523882593692-429: The pilgrims' route left the ancient trackway to encompass religious sites, examples being Pewley Down, near Guildford, where the later way passed St Martha's Hill and St Catherine's chantry chapel , some 500 metres to the south. At Reigate the thirteenth-century chapel of St Thomas and a hospice were built for the pilgrims' use, although they were not on the route. Boxley Abbey , with its revered Rood of Grace ,
3763-490: The residents would offer free water and food to those pilgrims along the way. There are 2 main Mazu pilgrimages in Taiwan, usually held between lunar January and April, depending on Mazu's will. Zoroastrians have as their main pilgrimage destinations the city of Yazd and the temples of Pir-e Sabz and Pir-e Naraki in Iran , as well as the cities of Navsari and Udvada in India. In Iran , there are pilgrimage destinations called pirs in several provinces, although
3834-428: The route as shown on modern maps is not only unsuitable for the mass movement of travellers but has also left few traces of their activity. The official history of the Ordnance Survey acknowledges the "enduring archaeological blunder", blaming the enthusiasm for history of the then Director, General Sir Henry James . However, F. C. Elliston-Erwood, a Kentish historian, notes that tithe records dating from before 1815 use
3905-402: The route was "little studied" and that "very many persons in the neighbourhood had not been aware of it", he nonetheless caused the name to be inserted on the Ordnance Survey map, giving official sanction to his conjecture. Romantic writers such as Hilaire Belloc were eager to follow this up and they succeeded in creating "a fable of...modern origin" to explain the existence of the Way. In fact,
3976-401: The season, but it would not drop below the upper line of cultivation. The trackway ran the entire length of the North Downs, leading to and from Folkestone : the pilgrims would have had to turn away from it, north along the valley of the Great Stour near Chilham , to reach Canterbury. The prehistoric trackway extended further than the present Way, providing a link from the narrowest part of
4047-480: The south coast. It is "widely accepted" that this was the route taken by Henry II on his pilgrimage of atonement for the death of Bishop Thomas, from France to Canterbury in July 1174, although this has been disputed and some evidence points to his having taken a route via London. Travellers from Winchester to Canterbury naturally used the ancient way, as it was the direct route, and research by local historians has provided much by way of detail—sometimes embellished—of
4118-399: The spiritual literature of Christianity , the concept of pilgrim and pilgrimage may refer to the experience of life in the world (considered as a period of exile) or to the inner path of the spiritual aspirant from a state of wretchedness to a state of beatitude. Christian pilgrimage was first made to sites connected with the birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus . Aside from
4189-542: The spiritual teacher Meher Baba are Meherabad , India, where Baba completed the "major portion" of his work and where his tomb is now located, and Meherazad , India, where Baba resided later in his life. The Yazidism has numerous pilgrimage sites and holy sites, with the most important being located in Sinjar such as Lalish . Some prominent literary characters who were pilgrims include: Henry James (Ordnance Survey) Lieutenant General Sir Henry James Kt FRS MRIA FGS (1803 – 1877)
4260-399: The well established name "Pilgrims' Way" to reference and locate pieces of land. Earlier still, surviving thirteenth century documents show a "Pilgrim Road" by the walls of Thornham Castle , Kent, on what is today considered the route. The Pilgrims' Way is at the centre of the Powell and Pressburger film A Canterbury Tale , with the camera panning along a map of the route at the start of
4331-402: The world, where millions of Shia Muslims travel to Karbala to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein during the 40-day mourning period after Ashura. Al-Arba‘īn ( Arabic : ٱلْأَرْبَـعِـيْـن , "The Forty"), Chehelom ( Persian : چهلم , Urdu : چہلم , "the fortieth [day]") or Qirkhī , Imāmīn Qirkhī ( Azerbaijani : İmamın qırxı ( Arabic : إمامین قیرخی ), "the fortieth of Imam")
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#17328523882594402-483: The world. This form of pilgrimage, akin to the concept of " hajj " in Islam, which means "procession," was an ascetic religious practice, as the pilgrim left the security of home and the clan for an unknown destination, trusting completely in Divine Providence . These travels often resulted in the founding of new abbeys and the spread of Christianity among the pagan population in Britain and in continental Europe. The ceremonial center Chavín de Huántar served as
4473-449: Was a Royal Engineers officer who served as the director-general of the Ordnance Survey , the British Government mapping agency, from 1854 to 1875. Sir Henry was described by the agency itself as "perhaps Ordnance Survey's most eccentric and egotistical Director General". Sir Henry spent most of his life working for the Ordnance Survey and after becoming its head he introduced the new science of photography. He also would later claim to be
4544-459: Was another recognised detour. The North Downs Way National Trail parallels the old Pilgrims' Way between Farnham and Canterbury. Much of the traditional route of the Pilgrims' Way is now part of the modern road network and the Ramblers have previously advised walkers wishing to follow it to use St. Swithun's Way between Winchester and Farnham and the North Downs Way between Farnham and Canterbury as an alternative. The route also links with
4615-400: Was by way of Watling Street , as followed by the storytellers in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer . Conversely, the concept of a single route called the Pilgrims' Way could be no older than the Victorian Ordnance Survey map of Surrey, whose surveyor, Edward Renouard James, published a pamphlet in 1871 entitled Notes on the Pilgrims' Way in West Surrey . While acknowledging that
4686-446: Was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 22 September 1826. He was promoted to captain in 1846 and then to Colonel in 1857. In 1827 he joined the Ordnance Survey and spent the majority of his career working for it, mainly in Ireland, though after a brief stint at the Admiralty, he eventually climbed through the ranks to take charge of the Edinburgh Office of the Ordnance Survey in 1850. His appointment to head of
4757-449: Was far more experienced than his predecessor having worked most of his life for the Survey. Upon assuming the directorship, Sir Henry became involved in the battle of the scales. While the Ordnance Survey had surveyed a large part of the country, the scale at which the maps should be made and what was the most useful had yet to be decided. Sir Henry was a firm believer in the 1:2500 scale, and he used his position to effect this change despite
4828-429: Was off-limits to Jews from 1948 to 1967, when East Jerusalem was under Jordanian control. There are numerous lesser Jewish pilgrimage destinations, mainly tombs of tzadikim , throughout Israel and Palestine and all over the world, including: Hebron ; Bethlehem ; Mount Meron ; Netivot ; Uman , Ukraine ; Silistra , Bulgaria ; Damanhur , Egypt ; and many others. Many rabbis claim that even today, after
4899-434: Was restored with the rebuilding of the Temple , but following its destruction in 70 CE, the obligation to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices again went into abeyance. The western retaining wall of the Temple Mount , known as the Western Wall or "Wailing" Wall, is the remaining part of Second Jewish Temple in the Old City of Jerusalem is the most sacred and visited site for Jews. Pilgrimage to this area
4970-418: Was the most important route that passed through them. On modern Ordnance Survey maps, part of the route is shown running east from Farnham via the heights by Guildford Castle , then north of the village of Shere , north of Dorking , Reigate , Merstham , Chaldon , Godstone , Limpsfield and Westerham , through Otford , Kemsing and Wrotham , north of Trottiscliffe , towards Cuxton (where it crossed
5041-416: Was welcomed by his colleagues and soon after his departure a thinly veiled attack on his running of the survey was released in the Hampshire Independent in 1875. Sir Henry James died on 14 June 1877, at the age of 75, at his home in Southampton. Despite his death, his mark remained on the Ordnance Survey—a plaque with his name and the date being attached to every building at the Ordnance Survey offices that
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