Your Stonehenge 150 years of personal photos
Since its earliest invention, photography has been associated with tourism and travelling. Seeing a photograph of a famous and iconic site like Stonehenge creates a desire to travel and see that place, and put yourself into the picture.
The photographs in our latest exhibition, all taken by visitors to Stonehenge, capture how our lives have altered over the last 150 years.
Open daily at the Stonehenge Visitor Centre.
Smile! Click! Flash!
This special exhibition, created entirely from photos sent in by visitors, offers a fascinating glimpse of the recent social history of Stonehenge. These snapshots from family albums chart the changing of fashions, poses, photography and the way that the monument itself has changed.
From glass plates to film cartridges, monochrome to colour, snapshots and selfie sticks, the technology of photography has also radically changed. Through photographs, Stonehenge has been woven into a web of countless stories and memories.
Do you remember your first visit to Stonehenge? Did you come as a child with your family, or was it a school trip? Did you make or receive a proposal of marriage here or was this a stop on your honeymoon? For millions of people around the world, Stonehenge holds special memories. Your Stonehenge tells the story of just a few of them.
Where it all started
In 1918, local barrister Cecil Chubb and his wife Mary gave Stonehenge to the nation. This public-spirited decision marked a turning point in the history of Stonehenge and its fortunes.
Throughout 2018 we remembered and celebrated that gift, discovering what this iconic monument means to people today. We asked you to send us photos and stories that captured your time at Stonehenge. The response to the appeal was incredible, with uploads of more than 1400 images dating as far back as the 1870s.
There were so many amazing submissions we decided to create an exhibition. We wrote to everyone who had sent in their photographs and from the replies received we selected 144 we felt best represented Stonehenge's recent history.
Come and see for yourself the bonnets and boaters, carriages and bicycles, portraits and selfies on display in this fascinating exhibition, open now.
More about the centenaryStonehenge Stereographs
When English Heritage launched Your Stonehenge: 150 Years of Personal Photos, an 1875 photo of the Routh family’s day out was the oldest family photo contributed to the exhibition.
The charity issued a challenge for people to sort through their old photos and find an even earlier image. Among the pictures sent in was a stereo card from the early 1860s, discovered in the collection of rock legend Dr Brian May.
A popular 19th century invention, the stereograph shows two images of the same scene which are taken from slightly different perspectives. Using a stereoscope viewer, each eye sees its respective image separately; the brain perceives depth and fuses the images into a single 3-D image.
Dr May is an avid collector of stereoscopic images, amassing the world’s largest collection of over 100,000 in his archive. Some early Stonehenge stereoviews can be seen below. Best viewed through a stereoscope to create the 3D effect.
Memories of Stonehenge
One of the pictures in the exhibition was submitted by Richard Woodman-Bailey who had a unique role to play in the restoration of Stonehenge in the 1950s. At 8 years old, Richard placed a 1958 coin under one of the great sarsens during the seminal restorations led at the time by his father, the Chief Architect T. A. Bailey. Prompted by pictures of the restoration work, Richard recalls the events of 60 years ago through his unique perspective.
Don't Miss Your Stonehenge
Entrance to Your Stonehenge 150 years of personal photos is included with a standard Stonehenge admission ticket. Your ticket also includes entry to our permanent collection where over 250 archaeological objects and treasures discovered in the landscape, are displayed, ranging from jewellery, pottery and tools to ancient human remains.
All of the photographs displayed in this exhibition have been provided by members of the public, who kindly uploaded them to our Stonehenge 100 website. Thank you to everyone for sharing their wonderful photographs, moving stories and powerful memories of Stonehenge.
We would also like to thank Martin Parr for providing a commentary on his favourite photographs from the collection and submitting his own contribution, which is on display in the exhibition.
Thinking of coming on a school visit? There is a learning resource available here to accompany this exhibition.
Extend your visit and discover more about the story of Stonehenge at one of our partner museums. Salisbury Museum’s collections span the history and archaeology of south Wiltshire from prehistoric times to the present day.
Wiltshire Museum in Devizes offers award-winning displays of gold from the time of Stonehenge that belonged to people who worshipped inside the stone circle.
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