unhurried atmosphere in which Ambrose could devote himself more fully to
cultivating his experience with the Triune God.
Second, Weddicre was more than just a relaxing landscape for Ambrose. On
May 17, 1648 he speaks of the specific influence that nature had on his experience of
God, “I went into the solitary Woods, to practice the secret Duties of a Christian: No
sooner stepped in, but the green Trees and Herbs, and the sweet singing of Birds,
stirred up my soul to praise God.”^216 This nicely reinforces Sheldrake’s principle of
the spiritual nature of place, “landscapes frequently have a capacity to carry us
beyond ourselves and beyond the immediate. They are often our first intimations of
the sacred.”^217 Apparently not only the specific spiritual duties but also the unique
location provided a space in which to experience God. Later in War with Devils
Ambrose would reinforce this reality:
Much of my time I have spent in eminently famous and publike places, but at
last weary of those hurries, jars, envies, pride, discord, and policies of men in
streets and towns, I resolved to spend the remainder of my time, for the most part, in the silent gardens, fields and woods; there sometimes I was taken with
the various tunes of melodious birds, and occasionally they have lifted up my
heart in spiritual songs, and Psalms, and Hymns.^218
Significantly, Ambrose recognizes that nature provided far more than just a setting for
his retreat, it also served to actually encourage and inspire his experience of God. Not
surprisingly, Halley comments that for Ambrose the woods were “his best school of
theology.”^219 Further, Ambrose also spent time at Hoghton Towers as a guest of Lady
Margaret Hoghton, one of his benefactors. While there are no diary entries that
record his retreats at Hoghton Towers he does mention his visits there during his
(^216) Ambrose, Med (^) ia (1650), 79. This reflects Watkins’ third level. (^) Puritan
Experience 217 , 64.
218 Sheldrake, Spirituality and Theology, 168.^
219 Ambrose, Halley, Lancashire: Puritanism and NonconformityWar with Devils, 171.^ , 2:200.