Hilton Turf Maze

Cut into the village green in 1660 by William Sparrow — as recorded on the central stone pillar that still stands — the Hilton turf maze is one of England's best-documented historic labyrinths. At 55 feet in diameter, it features a 9-circuit design surrounding the inscribed obelisk. Sparrow's act of creating a labyrinth during the English Civil War period suggests an esoteric preservation impulse. The village of Hilton in Cambridgeshire sits on the clay-and-gravel deposits of the Great Ouse valley. At 323.18° Giza bearing, the maze aligns with the East Anglian corridor shared by Saffron Walden. The pillar inscription — 'This was made by William Sparrow 1660' — makes it the most precisely dated turf maze in existence.