Avebury. Focus on 18th century vandalism

"Charles Lucas was a curate in Avebury for several years in the 18th century, during his time there he wrote a long poem about the stones called The Old Serpentine Temple of the Druids at Avebury, which was published in 1795. He was angered at the destruction of the stones by local farmers and also heavily influenced by reading William Stukeley’s book, Abury, A Temple of the British Druids so that the idea of druids and serpents lay at the heart of his interpretation and writings about the great stone circle and henge of Avebury."

Full article by Moss here -

http://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/avebury-focus-on-18th-century-vandalism/

The Avenue by Anna Dillon

Anna Dillon. Landscape Artist

Anna Dillon was born in 1972 and grew up in a small Wiltshire village called Winterborne Monkton which is about one mile from the World Heritage site of Avebury. She studied illustration and Graphic Design at Falmouth School of Art in Cornwall and then worked as a graphic designer for over 15 years in London and the Middle East. Anna is now a full time, professional artist.

The dramatic countryside of the South of England continually inspires Anna to paint vibrant, colourful and semi abstract landscapes in oil paints. In 2009 she decided to fulfill a personal ambition to walk The Ridgeway. This ancient track holds huge significance for her because it builds a bridge between many of the places she has lived in her life. Starting at Avebury and connecting with the small village of Ashbury near the Uffington White Horse, then on toward her home village of Aston Tirrold on the Berskhire Downs and ending at Ivinghoe Beacon near the village where she bought her first house. As a consequence of this inspirational walk she is working on about twenty large oil paintings of views seen from the Ridgeway. Anna is planning her solo exhibition for 2012.

As a painter she is inspired by the post war artist Paul Nash and the Austrian artist Friedrich Hundertwasser.

Anna Dillon’s work is regularly exhibited at various galleries throughout the West Country and she also has work in private collections around the world from Australia to Finland. Four of her decorative paintings were donated as a gift for his Royal Highness Sultan Qaboos of Oman in the Middle East.

Website: http://www.annadillon.com/#

Anna, along with Bruce Bignold, John Stephen, Judith Payne, Nicky Jones and Jane Ryan will be exhibiting original paintings, prints and cards at Warwick Hall, Church Lane, Burford, Oxfordshire, OX18 4SD on Friday, 16 April 12.00pm – 5.00pm and Saturday, 17 April 10.00am – 5.00pm.

Researching Stonehenge & Avebury

A seminar at Devizes Town Hall on Saturday, 22 May 2010 from 10:00 am

"A joint research seminar organised by the Prehistoric Society and the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society in association with the Avebury Archaeological and Historical Research Group

"Recent work in the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site has transformed our understanding of both landscapes, demonstrating how much we can still learn from well-focussed research about even the best-known aspects of prehistoric Britain. With major projects like the Stonehenge Riverside Project, the Longstones Project, and the Silbury Hill Conservation Project recently published or in the post-excavation stage, this seminar will present and assess what we have learnt, and discuss future research directions. It will also inform the revision of the Avebury Research Agenda and aid integration between the two parts of the WHS, which are too often treated entirely separately. A range of speakers, all of whom are currently engaged with research at Stonehenge or Avebury, will discuss what we know and what we still need to know about the landscapes, monuments and material culture of this most significant area for British prehistory."

More here -

http://www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk/events/index.php?Action=2&thID=511&prev=1

Avebury - megaliths & myths

"A lecture at the University of Bath will explore the theories and myths surrounding Avebury stone circle.

"In the lecture on Wednesday 24 February, Roger Vlitos will give an illustrated lecture that compares and contrasts the beliefs of those who manage the site, with others who claim it as

their traditional shrine."

More here - http://www.bath.ac.uk/news/2010/02/15/pl-avebury/

Pubs: The Who'd a Thought It

Well, who’d a thought it!

The Who’d a Thought It pub* is just off the A4 on the left-hand side of the road if heading towards Avebury from Marlborough (from Marlborough about 5 miles). The pub has a small bar and drinking area, and a nice little restaurant with an open fire. There's a sheltered beer garden at the back of the pub which is a pleasant place to sit when the weather's fine (though the garden furniture could do with a bit of an upgrade). Good food, beers and wine, and not too expensive. Probably the best ham, egg and chips to be had in the County of Wiltshire. Downside is the heating, and I spent a miserable hour or so in there one Christmastime with my hat and coat on because the radiators were turned off to 'economise'.

The Who’d a Thought It is just about close enough to Piggledene to be able to park at the pub and walk back there. In the opposite direction the sarsen drift at Lockeridge is about five minuets' drive away, and that road will also take you to Alton Priors and Alton Barnes, with a magnificent view of the Vale of Pewsey on the way. Alternatively, if you're heading directly for Avebury, once past the Lockeridge sarsen drift look out for a road on your right signposted for East Kennet. From the top of the hill this road will give you a lovely surprise view of Silbury in the distance and take you past footpaths leading to East Kennet Long Barrow.

* "Wiltshire County Council widened the A.4 in the early 1930s, in so doing demolishing an old row of cottages at George Bridge Overton. Also flattened were a number of cottages in Fyfield, together with the local pub, ‘The Fighting Cocks’. Lockeridge already had one pub ‘The Mason’s Arms’, now a private house. When the landlady heard that another was to be built next to Meux Cottage she remarked “Well, who’d a’thought it”. The name stuck."

From the PARISH OF OVERTON CUM FYFIELD AND EAST KENNETT booklet of 1987. More here -
http://www.upperkennetnews.co.uk/Heritage/VillageHeritage.htm#ABOUT_THIS_BOOKLET