From the archive: Stonehenge as a cemetery

From The Times: August 28, 1924
Stonehenge, the most impressive monument of its kind in Europe, now belongs to the nation, and the question has arisen whether private persons shall be allowed to use this publicly-owned and publicly-maintained piece of territory as a burial-ground. In any other country the answer could hardly be in doubt; the sense of congruity, if not of reverence for a place of such extraordinary archaeological interest, would be too strong.
But the First Commissioner of Works, to whom the duty of protecting Stonehenge falls, seems to think otherwise. Mr Jowett sees no reason why the interment (of ashes) should not be permitted within the precincts, “provided that there is no serious disturbance of the ground”.
The persons seeking to commit ashes there are a body of so-called Druids, otherwise known as the “Church of the Universal Bond”, who have been accustomed to regard Stonehenge as their religious centre. Their claim to burial rights is strongly resented by the Wiltshire Archaeological Society, but protest has proved unavailing, and unless Mr Jowett rescinds his decision the ceremony may take place next month.
Presumably he will take steps to ensure that there is no disturbance, but there is a distinct difference between giving rights of burial to a sect within Stonehenge and allowing it, as the Druids have been allowed by the Office of Works since 1919, to hold religious congregations there. Religious tolerance must have its limits on sites which are public property.
Archaeologists look upon the Druids’ projected action as an intrusion and a trespass. Nor are they wrong. The main reason why Stonehenge was given to the nation by Sir Cecil Chubb, and why the nation rejoiced at the gift, was so that the site would be safeguarded. Anything more inappropriate than allowing it to become an amateur burial-ground can hardly be imagined.
The site has been the scene of much desecration in the past but it was thought that, with Government protection, it would be free from interference. No wonder the Wiltshire archaeologists are up in arms. They know the stones better than Whitehall; their county is the birthplace of English field archaeology, and it is their voice, rather than that of an extraneous sect, which ought to carry the day.
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