Whitesmith maze

50°54′22″N 0°10′43″E / 50.90611°N 0.17861°E / 50.90611; 0.17861

A plantation of willows near

In the 1990s, Peter Gunner, a committed Christian, was inspired by his faith to plant a maze on his farm near Whitesmith, East Sussex.[1] He selected a passage from his favourite verse from the Bible: the 14th chapter of the Gospel of John.^[2][1] In this verse, Jesus responds to Thomas the Apostle's question: "How can we know the way?" with "I am the way, the truth and the life". Gunner designed the maze on a computer, substituting the at sign (@) for the word "the" and prefacing the quote with Jesus' name.^[1] Gunner marked out the design in the field using a tape measure and string.^[2] He first mowed the design into the grass before planting, with the assistance of volunteers, thousands of willow trees.^[1] His first attempt failed, as it became overgrown with thistles, so he pulled up the trees and started afresh.^[2]

The Whitesmith maze is not a true maze, as people can walk freely between the individual letters of the quotations.^[3] Gunner also installed posts in the maze, carrying quotations from other biblical verses.^[2] He stated that he intended people to get lost in the maze as a metaphor, and has said that "the maze is a lot like life: no one knows what it looks like from above. You can wander through life confused, when in fact it makes sense from a different perspective".^[4][2] He opens the maze up regularly for his friends and fellow churchgoers.^[2] Gunner has also written the word "rejoice" on the top of his barn using coloured tiles.^[2]

Despite a public footpath running alongside the site of the maze, it initially attracted little attention.