NEW STONEHENGE EXHIBITION AND VISITOR FACILITIES TO OPEN ON 18 DECEMBER
English
Heritage announced today (30th September) that the first phase
of the long-awaited improvements to the setting and visitor experience of Stonehenge will be launched to the public on Wednesday, 18 December 2013.
Visitors
will be welcomed at a new visitor building, located 2.1km (1.5 miles) to the
west of Stonehenge. For the first time ever
at the site, they will be able to learn more about this complex monument in a
stunning, museum-quality permanent exhibition curated by English Heritage
experts. A 360-degree virtual, immersive experience will let visitors ‘stand in
the stones’ before they enter a gallery presenting the facts and theories
surrounding the monument through various displays and nearly 300prehistoric
artefacts.
The
archaeological finds on display are on loan from the Salisbury and SouthWiltshire Museum, the Wiltshire Museum, and the Duckworth Collection, University ofCambridge.
All were found inside the World Heritage Site and many are on public display
for the first time.
Set in
Stone? How our ancestors saw Stonehenge, will be the first special temporary exhibition. It will chart over 800 years of ideas and
debate - from 12th-century legends to radiocarbon dating reports in
the 1950s - on who built Stonehenge and when, and features objects on loan from many national museums.
Simon
Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said: “This world famous
monument, perpetually described as a mystery, finally has a place in which to
tell its story. The exhibition will change the way people experience and think
about Stonehenge forever -
beyond the clichés and towards a meaningful inquiry into an extraordinary human
achievement in the distant past. It will put at its centre the individuals
associated with its creation and use, and I am very proud with what we have to
unveil to the world in December.”
Visitors
will have a heightened sense of anticipation when they arrive at the visitor
building as Stonehenge is not
immediately visible; it will only emerge slowly on the horizon during the
10-minute shuttle ride to the monument.
At the
stones, there will be opportunities to walk and explore the surroundings of the
monument including the Avenue, Stonehenge’s
ancient processional approach, guided by new interpretation panels specially
developed with the National Trust. The Avenue will have been reconnected to the
stone circle after being severed by the A344 road for centuries, the whole area
will be free of traffic, and newly sown grass will be establishing on the
former route of the road.
The new
visitor building, designed by leading practice Denton Corker Marshall, is
reaching the final stages of construction and interior fit out has started. It
is a low key structure featuring many enhancements over what is on offer now,
including
· an environmentally sensitive and
fully accessible building with a high BREEAM rating (the industry standard assessment system for
sustainable building design and construction). There
are a number of green features such as an open loop ground source heating
system, mixed mode ventilation and a treatment system for recycling grey water;
· dedicated education space;
· a bright and spacious café with
indoor and outdoor seating for up to 260;
· a bigger shop;
· a visitors carpark with space for 500
vehicles and 30 coaches;
· ample toilets, including disabled
toilets;
· a pre-booked timed ticket system to
help minimise queues and avoid over-crowdedness at peak times; and
· new, downloadable and hand held free
audio guides in 10 languages
In Easter
2014, visitors can look forward to the opening of a group of reconstructed
Neolithic houses. The Neolithic houses are the highlight of the outdoor gallery
and will be built from January 2014 onwards by volunteers based on houses where
the builders of Stonehenge may have
lived, complete with furniture and fittings.
The final
phase of the project – the restoration of the landscape aroundStonehenge – will be completed in the Summer of 2014. Work to demolish the existing
facilities and return the area to grass will begin immediately after the new
visitor centre has opened and will continue for a few months.
The
£27-million Stonehenge Environmental Improvements Programme is the largest
capital project ever undertaken by English Heritage. It is financed almost
entirely by Heritage Lottery Fund money (£10m), English Heritage commercial
income and philanthropic donations including significant gifts from the
Garfield Weston Foundation, the Linbury Trust and the Wolfson Foundation.
