Premiership turf gives new lease of life to worn-out ancient mazes

Shakespeare spoke for many when Titania, the queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream, delivered the line: "The quaint mazes in the wanton green, for lack of tread are indistinguishable." The unveiling yesterday of one the few surviving turf mazes, after refurbishment, shows that the Tudors' tricky problem of keeping the grass labyrinths of England in pristine condition is still an issue.

Julian's Bower, the 11-metre-wide medieval labyrinth in the Lincolnshire countryside, had been so heavily used by visitors treading its twisty path for the past 40 years that it was closed for three months to allow it to be recovered with fresh turf. The work was carried out on the scheduled (legally protected) ancient monument, with help from English Heritage. The new grass is the same as that used at Premiership football grounds.

The maze at Alkborough, overlooking the confluence of the rivers Trent and Ouse in north Lincolnshire, has long perplexed historians about its purpose.

Sited on a steep outcrop with sweeping views, the labyrinth consists of a raised circular path that can be viewed from above by spectators on a small mound. Although there were probably hundreds of such mazes in medieval and Tudor Britain, Julian's Bower is one of just eight that remain in use in Britain. Seven of them are scheduled ancient monuments.

Keith Miller, the inspector of ancient monuments for English Heritage, said: "The Alkborough relic is incredibly puzzling and its survival is nothing short of miraculous."

Julian's Bower, one of several across England that carried the same name, is seemingly copied from a maze set into floor of the Gothic cathedral at Chartres in northern France. Pilgrims followed the route, often on their knees, and there are suggestions that the Alkborough maze was first laid out by Benedictine monks from a nearby monastery as a mystical act of contrition.

But Jeff Saward, Britain's leading labyrinth historian, it is more likely Julian's Bower was used for later medieval and Tudor fun. "The majority were created in the 16th and 17th centuries and it is likely this one dates from around then. But rather than being religious sites, they were a form of rustic entertainment.