History Daily - The Gift of Stonehenge

Episode Date: October 26, 2026

October 26, 1918. English lawyer Cecil Chubb donates a prehistoric stone circle to the British people. Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more. History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.

It's the afternoon of September 21st, 1915, at the Palace Theater in Salisbury in southwest England. 39-year-old lawyer Cecil Chubb takes the seat in the auditorium alongside dozens of other well-dressed men and women. This is a venue he visits often, but today he's not here to see a show. Local landowner Sir Edmund Antrobus has died, and his heir has put up much of his estate for auction. Cecil flips through the catalog resting on his knees. His wife has sent him here with one simple instruction, buy a set of dining chairs. Cecil examines the lots, looking for something else that might make a nice surprise gift, perhaps curtains, a painting, or some fine china.

But nothing seemed quite right. Then he turns another page, and a familiar name leaps out at him, Stonehenge. The prehistoric stone circle stands just a few miles from the village where Cecil was born. He's known that monument all his life, but he had no idea the end. Antibus family owned the land around it. And with a start, he realizes that Stonehenge is the lot up next on auction. On stage, the auctioneer sets the starting price at 5,000 pounds. A man, sitting a few rows in front, raises his hand.

Several other bidders increase the price, adding 100 pounds each time. Cecil watches caught up in the excitement. Finally, the bidding reaches 6,500 pounds. The auctioneer pauses, his hammer hovering above the tail. and eyes scanning the room for any more bids. Then a giddy impulse comes over Cecil. He thinks a local man should own the site. Before he has time to reconsider, he raises his hand.

The price is now up to 6,600 pounds, and the previous high bidder shakes his head. He's out. The auctioneer looks around the theater one last time and brings his hammer down. Seoul, one of the oldest and most famous monuments in Britain, now belongs to Cecil. Cecil Chubb returns home without the dining chairs his wife wanted.

But he does have an unusual gift for her. For more than the price of a thousand acre farm sold at the same auction, the Chubbs now owns Stonehenge. But they will not keep the new property for long. In a few years, Cecil will offer to donate Stonehenge to the British people, and the ancient stones will pass into the care of the nation on October 26, 1918. From Noisor and Airship, I'm Lindsay Graham. And this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is October 26, 1918, The Gift of Stonehenge. It's October 26, 1918, at Stonehenge near Salisbury, England, three years after the ancient site was put up for auction. A biting wind sweeps across the plane as Cecil Chubbs steps onto a raised wooden plight. platform. He pulls his coat close against the chill, then turns to Sir Alfred Mond. A small crowd applauds as the two men shake hands, a symbolic gesture marking the moment that Stonehenge

changes ownership for the second time in only three years. When Cecil visited his new purchase after the auction, he was shocked by its condition. The stone circle was crumbling. Many of the giant stones had toppled over, and some of the others still stood only because they were propped up with wooden poles. Stonehenge had deteriorated so much that Cecil worried it would soon collapse completely, and he didn't have the funds that would be needed to stop that from happening. So six weeks ago, Cecil wrote to the British government with a proposal. He wanted to donate Stonehenge to the nation on the condition that the site would be preserved properly and that the local residents would continue to be allowed free access. Commissioner of

Works Sir Alfred Mondd replied quickly and enthusiastically agreed to Cecil's terms. Now, only a few weeks later, Sir Alfred has traveled to Stonehenge from London to officially take ownership of the monument on behalf of the state. The two men pose for a photograph, and as they do, sunlight breaks through the gray clouds, catching the ancient stones and throwing long shadows across the grass. Ever since he was a child, Cecil has admired Stonehenge's haunting beauty, and that hasn't changed. But he's relieved that preserving it for future generations will no longer be his responsibility. Instead, the task falls to Sir Alfred and the British government. The first order of business is a detailed survey of the site, and the news isn't good. Several of the upright stones are dangerously close to falling over,

and the thousands of annual visitors who climb over the rocks and chip off fragments to keep his souvenirs are doing noticeable damage. Seeing this neglect, Sir Alfred becomes determined to protect and ultimately rebuild the stone circle. So in the fall of 1919, he appoints 68-year-old archaeologist William Hawley to lead the conservation work. William turned to archaeology after a career in the military. He's shy and reclusive by nature, but he quickly takes charge of the emergency works. Unstable stones are winched upright and concrete bases are installed to make sure they stay in place.

But Britain is recovering from World War I and funds for the restoration are short. But when the money runs out, William continues working off in the loan. He digs trenches and excavates the site, searching for clues about Stonehenge's origins. The monument's exact age and function are a mystery. In the past, many scholars thought it was an ancient temple built by druids, the pagan leaders of an Iron Age civilization. Others claimed it was the ruins of a Roman place of worship. More recently, some experts have suggested that the site is far older, dating as far back as the stone. own age, but no one knows for sure. In his search for the truth, William moves into a wooden

hut on the site. He spends scorching summer days, carefully digging through the soil around the stone circle, and he uses the long winter evenings to sort through the piles of stone fragments and pottery shards. But despite his hard work, William struggles to interpret what he finds, and progress is slow. But then, in 1923, a major breakthrough is made. Geologists working with William analyzed Stonehenge's blue stones, the smaller rocks arranged inside and around the bigger stones. They reveal that the blue stones originated far from Stonehenge, more than 140 miles away in Wales and must somehow have been transported to Salisbury Plain from there. This discovery suggests that Stonehenge was a more important site than anyone realized. It

clearly wasn't just one isolated monument. It was the center of a vast, interconnected ritual landscape. After seven years of work, William Hawley finally puts down his tools in 1926. He's helped stabilize the monument and begun uncovering many of its hidden secrets. But he feels that, if anything, his excavations have only unearthed more questions. It will fall to a new generation of scientists to answer those. Using new technology, William Hawley's successors will be able to dig deeper and look closer and eventually transform the world's understanding of the origins of Stonehenge. It's late in the afternoon of July 10, 1953 at Stonehenge, 35 years after Cecil Chubb donated the monument to the British nation. Thirty-three-year-old archaeologist Richard Atkinson adjusts a tripod,

angling the camera on top toward a sunlit stone. This rock towers over him like a weather-beaten giant, its rough surface modeled with gray lichen. Richard removes his thick glasses and peers through the viewfinder. After William Hawley's excavations ended in 1926, conservation efforts at Stonehenge stall, with many of the mysteries about the site unanswered. Historians and archaeologists couldn't say how the huge stones were transported to Salisbury Plain, why they were placed there or who built them. Three years ago, though, the Society of Antiquaries commissioned a team to try to answer some of those questions. And as part of that team today,

Richard is capturing detailed photographs of stone number 53. Looking through the viewfinder again, Richard notices a name carved on the stone. That's not unusual. For centuries, visitors have been leaving graffiti on the ancient monument. But just below that name is a faint dark shadow. Thinking it might be a smudge on the lens, he steps away from the tripod and approaches a stone for a closer look.

He crouches down, gently rubbing a patch of lichen. It's definitely not a problem with his camera. There's a shallow indentation in the rock. Unlike the sharp, straight edges of the more modern graffiti, the edges of this mark are smooth, and that suggests it's much older. Stepping back, Richard shifts slightly to the side to get a better view and stops cold.

Here, the shadow cast by the sun reveals the clear profile of a carved dagger. Richard carefully examines the rest of the stone. He runs his fingers across the surface and views it from different angles. And the more he looks, the more he sees. He can make out several distinct outlines of what look like axes. In fact, the stone appears to be covered with carvings. Richard has seen similar things before. Axe carvings are commonly found on Bronze Age monuments in Britain.

But the dagger is different. He's only ever seen a carved dagger like this once on the royal graves of the Mycenaeans in ancient Greece. The implication of his discovery is incredible. The person who carved the dagger thousands of years ago might have been influenced by a civilization from the distant Mediterranean. Further examination reveals a dozen or more axe-head carvings on stone 53, and within days more Bronze Age carvings are discovered on other stones, too. These finds trigger an academic and media frenzy. In the excitement, theories circulate that an ancient Greek architect helped design Britain's most famous monument, and the story runs in newspapers

around the world. Determined to capitalize on this wave of publicity, Richard launches a campaign for the better conservation of Stonehenge, and the government eventually takes notice. Five years later, Richard oversees a new round of restoration that attempts to partially return the site to its original form. And once the work starts, standing inside the circle, he can only watch nervously as a crane lifts a giant stone wrapped in protective felt pads. It slowly maneuvers the rock up toward two upright stones where it will be balanced across the top. Even the modern machinery strains against the enormous weight, and Richard marvels at how an ancient civilization could have lifted these giant stones

using only manpower and rudimentary tools. They soon discovered that the achievement is even more spectacular than they thought. Scientific analysis has carried out on charcoal, and other organic material associated with the stones and new dating techniques revealed that the monument's origins predate even the Bronze Age. These newest findings indicate that the date of construction was around 2,500 BCE during the Neolithic or New Stone Age. This means the prehistoric circle was created at roughly the same time

that the ancient Egyptians built the giant pyramid at Giza. It's a discovery that rewrites not only the story of Stonehenge, but the early history of England as well. Stone Age Britain was a far more advanced and complex society than previously thought. And over the next few decades, technological improvements and new archaeological investigations at the site will continue to refine experts' understanding. But archaeologists aren't the only people drawn to Stonehenge. And in the decades ahead, thousands of other visitors will gather at Stonehenge twice a year to celebrate the passing of the seasons. Among them will be druids, pagans, and a man who calls himself King Arthur.

It's shortly before dawn on June 21, 2018, at Stonehenge England, 100 years after Cecil Chubb donated the monument to the nation. 64-year-old Arthur Pendragon joins hands with the people next to him. All draped and flowing white robes, they stand in a tight circle and await the dawn. The first rays of sunlight appear above the heel stone, just beyond the main circle. The sun then climbs slowly into the sky, casting a long shadow deep into the center of the ring of stones. Modern druid groups have been holding ceremonies at Stonehenge since the early 20th century. But during the 1960s and 70s, the monument became a gathering site for wider countercultural groups as well.

Now, every year, thousands of hippies, pagans, and druids mark the summer and winter solstices at Stonehenge. And as the self-declared reincarnation of the mythical king Arthur, Arthur Pendragon, is a regular participant. As the sun rises, the red dragon embroidered on to Arthur. tunic catches the light. He's not the only one whose clothes seem to shine. Countless people have dressed in vibrant colors to witness the dawn of the year's longest day. By gathering at Stonehenge to celebrate the summer solstice, modern revelers believe that they are continuing a tradition that stretches back thousands of years. And although the exact nature of the prehistoric rituals carried out at Stonehenge remains a mystery, new discoveries continue to be made. In 2024,

scientists discovered that the so-called altar stone at the center of the circle originated in northeast Scotland more than 460 miles away. But whether the altar stone was moved part of the way south by natural forces like glaciers or was carried the entire way by ancient people is still unknown. It's another discovery that only prompts new questions. Thousands of years after it was built, Stonehenge still keep some of its secrets. Yet after a century of restoration and investigation, far more is understood than on the day Cecil Chubb entrusted Stonehenge to the nation on October 26, 1918.

Next on History Daily, October 27, 1964. Actor Ronald Reagan endorses Republican Barry Goldwater for president, launches his own political career in the process. From Noisor and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham. Audio editing by Mohamed Shazzy. sound designed by Molly Bogg. Music by Thrung. This episode is written and research by Angus Gavin McCarrn, edited by Scott Reeves, managing producer Emily Burke. Executive producers are William Simpson for airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.