Stonehenge: Celebration and Subversion [Paperback]

'likely to remain the definitive work on the subject, because of the depth of coverage and range of viewpoints'

'wonderful and often funny... the oddest tale ever told about the most famous ancient place of them all'

'This is a fine book in every way, well written, carefully researched and with a remarkable story to tell'

'This is a well-written and well-researched study of a fascinating subject and is highly recommended'

'an essential read for anyone who wants a better understanding of how we got where we are'

[This book is] ... the most complete, well-illustrated analysis of Stonehenge's mysterious world of Druids, travellers, pagans and party-goers...

This is a well-written and well-researched study of a fascinating subject and is highly recommended.

... an honest, fastidious and heartfelt contribution... pointing towards a freer, glorious Albion.

'[A] readable and well-researched cultural history.'

'It's by far the best bit of modern British social history I've seen.'

This innovative social history looks in detail at how the summer solstice celebrations at Stonehenge have brought together different aspects of British counter-culture to make the monument a ‘living temple’ and an icon of alternative Britain. The history of the celebrants and counter-cultural leaders is interwoven with the viewpoints of the land-owners, custodians and archaeologists who have generally attempted to impose order on the shifting patterns of these modern-day mythologies.

The story of the Stonehenge summer solstice celebrations begins with the Druid revival of the 18th century and the earliest public gatherings of the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the social upheavals of the 1960s and early 70s, these trailblazers were superseded by the Stonehenge Free Festival. This evolved from a small gathering to an anarchic free state the size of a small city, before its brutal suppression at the Battle of the Beanfield in 1985.

In the aftermath of the Beanfield, the author examines how the political and spiritual aspirations of the free festivals evolved into both the rave scene and the road protest movement, and how the prevailing trends in the counter-culture provided a fertile breeding ground for the development of new Druid groups, the growth of paganism in general, and the adoption of other sacred sites, in particular Stonehenge’s gargantuan neighbour at Avebury.

The account is brought up to date with the reopening of Stonehenge on the summer solstice in 2000, the unprecedented crowds drawn by the new access arrangements, and the latest source of conflict, centred on a bitterly-contested road improvement scheme.

Andy Worthington is a historian, who specialises in looking at how people in the modern world relate to ancient sacred sites and the wider landscape, particularly through paganism and political dissent. He has written for several magazines in the UK, and has lectured in Britain and Malta. He lives in south London with his wife Dot and their son Tyler. This is his first book.