Sacred Spaces

As spaces meant to be imbued with special significance for public reflection and the articulation of societal values, most memorials are in some implicit sense intended as sacred sites (with the attendant possibilities of desecration this entails). This chapter considers the manifestations of sacrality apparent in some of the projects discussed in earlier parts of the book, but then gives sustained attention to two main case studies: the Remember Me memorial in St Paul&s;s Cathedral and the Sanctuary memorial in Bedworth. The COVID-19 pandemic arrived after several decades of seemingly rapid secularisation, and these two case studies relate to opposing ends of the spectrum of how the event may relate to Britain&s;s religious-secular landscape. I Remember, it is suggested, speaks more to an instinct for public remembrance to be framed in Christian terms, while Sanctuary resonates with inclinations for personal meaning-making, open-ended spirituality, and a suspicion of organised religion.