Ten Commandment Stones at Buckland Beacon

Ten Commandment Stones at Buckland Beacon

In 1927, Parliament voted to reject a revised Book of Common Prayer in which the ten commandments would have been replaced by Jesus' two new commandments. This pleased the traditionalist Lord of Buckland Manor, Mr. Whitley, and to mark the occasion he arranged a stonemason from Exeter, a Mr. W.A. Clements to carve the words of the Ten Mosaic Commandments on stone at Buckland Beacon. Mr. Clements started work on 15th December 1927, and finished on 14th June 1928. Mr. Whitley provided him with a cow shed to live in on site during the work, and a loaf of bread a day. In actual fact, there are 11 Commandments carved on the stones at Buckland Beacon. The eleventh commandment is the words of Jesus, found in John 13 v. 34: "A new commandment I give unto you that ye love one another". This photograph was taken in September 194.

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