Stonehenge News

["Sharon Henderson" <sharon@intercon.com>]

Poster: "Sharon Henderson" <sharon@intercon.com>

Noble Cousins,

	I bethought me to share this piece of heartening news with all of you, 
sent to me this morning by the good and gracious Master Ioseph of Locksley, 
who did receive it from some other gentle.  Some of you may have seen the 
original note that came down the rumor mill, to wit: that the British 
government was going to allow a theme park to be created around Stonehenge. <
gack!>  Apparently, the opposite is true, as you will see below.

	It is comforting to hear news like this, for a change! :-)

	Blessings,
	Meli



------ Forwarded Message

About a month or so ago, someone (I *think* it was Skadi) posted a message
about the British Government planning to make a "theme park" a Stonehenge.
There was an e-mail address to send comments to, so I did. Guess what! I
actually got a response from someone at The Department of National
Heritage! (It wasn't a "form letter", either...It specifically addressed
some of the items I expressed in my message to them) Anyway, for those who
might be interested, here is what the letter said:

"Stonehenge is, of course, Britain's most important pre-historic monument
as well as being a World Heritage Site, and the Secretary of State for
National Heritage is personally determined to ensure that decisions over
its future presentation are right. English Heritage manage the site on this
Department's behalf. Far from commercialising the site, their overall and
long-term aim-The Stonehenge Millenium Scheme-is to return this great
archeological landscape to its original chalk downland and to allow the
public to explore the Stones and other nearby monuments freely and in
safety. this can only be achieved by removing local roads, the existing but
inadequate visitor centre and all other 20th century clutter in the
vicinity of the Stones."

The letter continued...Basically, what the British Government is planning
is to move all the parking areas and visitor information buildings 3km
(roughly 5 miles) from the Stones, and outside the Site altogether. The
only problem is, English Heritage has yet to submit any proposals for the
development.

Personally, I think this might actually be a good idea, if it is done the
way this letter presented the scheme.

------ End of Forwarded Message

=======================================================================
List Archives, FAQ, FTP:  http://sca.wayfarer.org/merryrose/
            Submissions:  atlantia@atlantia.sca.org
        Admin. requests:  majordomo@atlantia.sca.org