New exhibition Your Stonehenge – 150 years of Personal Photos launches

Your Stonehenge – 150 years of Personal Photos at Stonehenge Visitor Centre features 148 images which have been sent in by the public. Ten of the images were specially selected by guest curator Martin Parr.

English Heritage historian Susan Greaney says: “This is the first time we have done a photographic exhibition and it is the first time we have done anything like this, asking people to contribute their images,” said Susan.

A website was set up last year to mark 100 years of public ownership of the monument and members of the public were invited to send in their own pictures at the site along with the stories behind them. More than 1,000 pictures were submitted.

“It was quite a tough decision to choose the best ones and the ones with the most interesting stories,” adds Susan.

“We hope the whole thing together will be really intriguing for our visitors and they can see that they are in a long line of people who have been coming to Stonehenge and taking photographs.”

The exhibition features a selection of photographs dating from around 1878 up until modern day.

Susan says the exhibition not only captures changes in fashion but also photography in terms of technology and the way people pose for pictures as well as changes at the heritage site itself.

One of her favourite pictures is of a group of women sat on the stones knitting from the 1950s.

Susan said: “I just love it because it is so bizarre seeing people just sitting there on the stones just knitting and that they brought their knitting with them on a day out to Stonehenge, which just makes me laugh.”

But, some of the photographs have a more emotional story attached to them for example one of the pictures of a brother and his young sister was the last one to be taken of them together as the brother went off to war and was killed in a bombing raid in the Mediterranean.

Susan says: “They chart the changing fashion, tourism and the way people interact with the monument and have their picture taken there. It is a really lovely photographic exhibition.” “It is a really nice collection of stories and a lovely way of being able to look at the site in a bit of a different way,” she continues.

“Going through all the memories and the stories it makes you realise how much members of the public have strong memories of visiting and have a real connection to the site.”

“We are very grateful to members of the public who have submitted photographs” for submitting their photographs.”

The exhibition runs until August 2020.