The Mysterious Stonehenge House That Defied All Maps!

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  • Опубліковано 3 чер 2024
  • Welcome to Stonehenge. Welcome to a story that I have been meaning to delve into for a long time. There is a picture.... and it's always baffled me as to not only the amount going on but also how little information there is surrounding the house.
    Significant thanks to Paul Clifton at The BBC. Credit as noted within the video. / paulcliftonbbc
    Join this channel to get access to perks:
    Patreon: / paulandrebeccawhitewick OR
    / @pwhitewick
    Credit:
    original image: T.L.Fuller - Amesbury.
    Paul Clifton - BBC images were stated.
    Filter: Snowman Digital and Beachfront B-Roll
    Maps: Google Maps
    Maps: National Library of Scotland
    Maps: OS Maps. Media License.
    Stock Footage: Storyblocks
    Music: Storyblocks
    Stonehenge Story as linked at the end: • Where did Stonehenge c...
    Chapters:
    0:00 - Context
    1:28 - The AA Box
    2:27 - The Car
    3:22 - The Sign
    3:56 - The Cafe
    5:31 - The House
    7:10 - The conclusion
  • Розваги

КОМЕНТАРІ • 664

  • @megalithicmaiden
    @megalithicmaiden 2 місяці тому +714

    That is the old Stonehenge custodian cottage. I live in the new one built in 1936 for the custodian. I'm the nearest residence to Stonehenge.

    • @naradaian
      @naradaian 2 місяці тому +33

      Wow - score 10
      Brilliant

    • @nathanboosman
      @nathanboosman 2 місяці тому +23

      How is it possible that this comment doesn’t have more likes?

    • @NomadicNight
      @NomadicNight 2 місяці тому +8

      Hi. I really like your videos. You have a very sweet nature, and a lovely, calming voice. Your videos are very original, and I hope you'll continue to make some more in the future.

    • @LIBERTYCAP2612
      @LIBERTYCAP2612 2 місяці тому +7

      So cool ! 😎

    • @mickmarsbar81
      @mickmarsbar81 2 місяці тому +8

      @@nathanboosman Because it was just made a day ago, the same day you made your comment? 😂

  • @nickreeve9644
    @nickreeve9644 2 місяці тому +292

    I rented the right hand thatched custodian cottage 1999-2000. It had some great walks outside the back door and I parked my car next to a burial mound, but the noise from the A303 was awful.

    • @megalithicmaiden
      @megalithicmaiden 2 місяці тому +57

      I live there now.

    • @g-r-a-e-m-e-
      @g-r-a-e-m-e- 2 місяці тому +20

      ​@@megalithicmaidenappreciating your name!

    • @charliesmith_
      @charliesmith_ 2 місяці тому +13

      When was the A303 built?
      It was 1959 when l last laid down on the 'altar stone' at the henge.
      Didn't like it.
      Parents thought it was fun.
      That stone is not a stone l want to ever be on again. (Fat chance now as its all fenced off.)

    • @alanmusicman3385
      @alanmusicman3385 2 місяці тому +7

      @@charliesmith_ A303 built mid 1930s as part of the Trunk Road building scheme. As road existed there before, but it was small. Like other trunk roads the A303 essentially joined up and upgraded a lot of pre-existing smaller roads with the aim of taking motor traffic away from town and city entres on major long distance routes. Prior to the 1930s teh London to Exeter route went through the middle of practiaclly every town in its path - although the A303 still went through the middle of Amesbury up until the 1970s.

    • @funjuror
      @funjuror 2 місяці тому +3

      @@charliesmith_ Yep, I did the same in 1962. Glad I did as you say now, all fenced off.

  • @motherfolkinrhymes3836
    @motherfolkinrhymes3836 2 місяці тому +216

    Lots of things don't get mapped because they simply weren't there long enough. I recently discovered that I have a WW2 searchlight installation in my field that once had a whole complex of buildings and bunkers but you would never know to look at it now. Just a few loose bricks in the ditch and one carbon arc searchlight rod remain. It doesn't exist on any map and the only way I know it was once there is from a 1944 Aerial photograph released last year by Historic England. By the time the next photo was taken in 1946, the whole site had been removed leaving barely a trace. I've been here 20 years and knew nothing about it until looking at that photograph and without that photo, there is a good chance that the history of the site would be completely forgotten about as there seems to be nobody local know knew of it's existance.

    • @bobroberts6155
      @bobroberts6155 2 місяці тому +21

      I knew of a farm where two of the fields were searchlight 1 and searchlight 2 but on the ground there was no trace of their WW2 use. I thought this was a great example of history being recorded by place names as has happened in England for centuries.

    • @motherfolkinrhymes3836
      @motherfolkinrhymes3836 2 місяці тому +28

      @@bobroberts6155I would like to do something similar with the name. I have a public footpath running along one edge of the site so i'm planning on placing a small information board showing the 1944 Aerial photo and some history of the searchlight battery. That way the location and history should gradually trickle back into the collective local memories and anyone who has an interest in such things will be able to learn a bit about it.

    • @MattsBrabus
      @MattsBrabus 2 місяці тому +7

      There is a hillock that quite a big navigation point north of Capel Curig that’s not on any map as it’s around 29 feet high and exists between the contour lines. Was right confusing when on my ML course a couple of decades ago :-)

    • @turokforever007
      @turokforever007 2 місяці тому +4

      Have you tried Britain from above

    • @knownothing5518
      @knownothing5518 2 місяці тому +7

      Perhaps reach out to English Heritage. They might want to take a look at it just for the sake of documentation.

  • @jonlinin9682
    @jonlinin9682 2 місяці тому +71

    The house is shown on the o/s 6 Inch Wiltshire LIV.SW, revised 1923, published 1926.

    • @pwhitewick
      @pwhitewick  2 місяці тому +6

      ...and yet wasn't built until 1927 at the earliest!

    • @jonlinin9682
      @jonlinin9682 2 місяці тому

      @@pwhitewick only telling you what is on the map !. You can check it out on National Library of Scotland, online maps.
      Best regards

    • @user-rg5qm4qk5m
      @user-rg5qm4qk5m 2 місяці тому

      Slap my thighs..your right 😅

    • @janwarriner6554
      @janwarriner6554 2 місяці тому +8

      @@pwhitewickbut are we sure?

    • @daneast
      @daneast 2 місяці тому +1

      @@pwhitewick You said the store / restaurant was built 1927, but I don't remember you saying when the house was built. Obviously it must have predated it.

  • @solsticepilgrim
    @solsticepilgrim 2 місяці тому +62

    The photo is featured on the back cover of the 2004 book 'Stonehenge a History in Photographs' by Mike Pitts. The cottages are described in a bit more detail on page 48. I didn't know about the trees being planted to mark a Napoleonic battle.

  • @roderickmain9697
    @roderickmain9697 2 місяці тому +69

    Pretty sure I remember the AA box. In the early 60s the road to the right was still there and access to the stonehenge site was via an iron kissing gate. Park by the side of the road and let yourselves in. I've climbed over most of the (fallen) stones. These days they wouldnt let tykes like me anywhere near the stones and you have to pay for the "pleasure" of getting 20 meters away.. Nice thing about memories is you can relive them as often as you like even if you cant re-enact them.

    • @31446963048
      @31446963048 2 місяці тому +5

      I was on a school trip from the US in 87 or so and I can't remember if they had a rope fence around it or not. While I didn't climb on it, I touched it. There may or may not have been tickets, but they would have been paid for. I do remember a small building. It appears to be gone as well.

    • @michaelfoy
      @michaelfoy 2 місяці тому +7

      I lived in Portsmouth and We being Sunday historic places hunters, Regularly visited Salisbury and Stonehenge in our old Morris 1000 in the late 50's early 60's and you could indeed just go in and sit All over the stone's, no fee.....got the old B/W photos of my parants and and my granny doing just that! Don't recall the cottage, but DO recall old AA box because My Dad belonged to the RAC....Easy days for trip out then, roads were quiet.....and easy parking! Now live at the end of A303 in Exeter.....and traffic pretty Awful!

    • @AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq
      @AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq 2 місяці тому +3

      Here's me learning about a very ancient Law that says, 'once a road - always a road', which means if a road exists it cannot be removed, so what happened to the vanished road we see, how is it's removal legal ??

    • @roderickmain9697
      @roderickmain9697 2 місяці тому +2

      @@AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq What you will probably find is that "once a road, always a road" is dependent on it being a "right of way". The rules for maintaining rights of way have all sorts of provisos. Not least that the government can change the legal status of a road. However, as long as there is no government interference, and the road is used as a right of way, it will continue to exist.

    • @AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq
      @AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq 2 місяці тому

      @@roderickmain9697 "" Not least that the government can change the legal status of a road."" OK, this is new to me, there was an article recently about a Lady wanting to stop people using a road near to her home and a comment was made, 'once a road, always a road'. I thought that was set in stone but apparantly not.

  • @chapman_bookman
    @chapman_bookman 2 місяці тому +58

    Looks like the house is on the 1923 OS map! Great video, sir.

    • @pwhitewick
      @pwhitewick  2 місяці тому +23

      Epic, I will take a look.

    • @Canalsman
      @Canalsman 2 місяці тому +7

      ​@@pwhitewickIt is indeed!

    • @Canalsman
      @Canalsman 2 місяці тому +9

      Indeed it is. Well spotted!

    • @cujomojo2007
      @cujomojo2007 2 місяці тому +4

      And 1926.

  • @69waveydavey
    @69waveydavey 2 місяці тому +60

    I have a book written in 1933 "Stonehenge today and yesterday" Frank Stevens curator of Salisbury museum. Illustrated a little bit like a Wainwright. The opening page has "Stonehenge today looking west" almost identical POV as your picture, no house, no cafe.

    • @NickLea
      @NickLea 2 місяці тому +9

      Frank Stevens was the Custodian of Stonehenge since 1913 and lived in one of those cottages from the time they built in 1918

    • @charliesmith_
      @charliesmith_ 2 місяці тому +4

      ​@@NickLea
      1918👍🏻.... This is getting good... ❤
      The car in the pic might even be the perceived 'wrong' make/ wrong period.
      My dad (born 1914) had a car much like it as a 14 yearold, but not that model. He was racing cars on racetrack at 15.
      He was driving and parking up his father's Rolls in 1923. Was a VERY different time then. The driving test wasn't even invented then.

    • @AnoraJohnson
      @AnoraJohnson 2 місяці тому +3

      ​@@NickLeaThat's fascinating. It looks like the illustration in Stevens' book is from the same angle, but sketched a bit closer to the monument...as if Stevens sketched from his own backyard.

  • @PHDarren
    @PHDarren 2 місяці тому +6

    Not that it's great help but the house isn't listed with Stonehenge on the 1915 sale advert, it only mentioned West Amesbury Farmhouse. Yes if anyone didn't know 6400 acres of land including Stonehenge were put up for sale in 1915 in various sized lots. Stonehenge in 30 acres was knocked down for £6,600 to a Wiltshire solicitor as a birthday present to his wife, who later gifted it to the nation.

  • @user-pm8nj3mb6q
    @user-pm8nj3mb6q 2 місяці тому +9

    Being a foreigner, I wouldn't know the first thing about local cottage architecture. But it looks to me like the curious house has two front doors. Does that mean there was another keeper of the lands?

  • @ruthorgan5902
    @ruthorgan5902 2 місяці тому +57

    Lovely video. I walked from Stonehenge to Woodhedge following the same path you were using in the video. So many earthworks to see on my walk as well.

    • @pwhitewick
      @pwhitewick  2 місяці тому +12

      I've walked it a few times now. Never seen a sole

    • @ingemarolson3240
      @ingemarolson3240 2 місяці тому +23

      @@pwhitewickCheck the bottom of your boots! 🙂

    • @Jimfowler82
      @Jimfowler82 2 місяці тому +2

      Not even mr r. Sole

    • @garybell3924
      @garybell3924 2 місяці тому +1

      Woodhenge not woodhedge

    • @adambane1719
      @adambane1719 2 місяці тому +3

      Sole? I wouldnt expect to see any fish there mate !@@pwhitewick

  • @greenjack1959l
    @greenjack1959l 2 місяці тому +21

    It amazes me that you can find the footprint of a neolithic building but there seems to be no trace of a building demolished 80 years ago.

    • @pwhitewick
      @pwhitewick  2 місяці тому +5

      Level of interest I guess

    • @alexx0988
      @alexx0988 2 місяці тому

      I would guess the council or those in charge there thought of it as an eyesore and wanted it fully gone.

    • @markanthonyfebbo8602
      @markanthonyfebbo8602 2 місяці тому +7

      What do you mean? You can literally see the footprint in the aerial photos of the area. And you could dig the site and no doubt find other evidence but you’d need to get some historic archaeologists interested and funded to do the work.

  • @Anyone4music
    @Anyone4music 2 місяці тому +30

    Great bit of investigation Paul - Good job!

  • @DuncanBooth
    @DuncanBooth 2 місяці тому +12

    On the NLS map site the "Land Utilisation Survey, 1931-1938" map seems to show a building at that location. Also "OS 1:1m to 1:63k, 1920s-1940s" has a suggestive dot.

    • @pwhitewick
      @pwhitewick  2 місяці тому +3

      Ooooh, I didn't find those!

    • @DuncanBooth
      @DuncanBooth 2 місяці тому +3

      @@pwhitewick seems to match with the dates you worked out anyway.

  • @lopsidedpolygon
    @lopsidedpolygon 2 місяці тому +40

    This was wayyyy cooler than I expected and you managed to keep my attention! When I started the video I was convinced I was going to quit or skip to the end within ten seconds! 😆

    • @pwhitewick
      @pwhitewick  2 місяці тому +9

      Er... thank you. 😊

  • @julianb5844
    @julianb5844 2 місяці тому +20

    What a fascinating story. Love this kind of history. Drove out about 40km from my home on Saturday into what we call the “platteland”, or farming district. Went to visit a dairy farm that produces cheese and were recommended to go for coffee to a nearby shop on a crossroads. The roads that cross there link 4 towns. I had seen the shop before but never thought twice about it. On visiting I found a piece of cultural history. What is now a crafts/farm stall and coffee shop, was the only general dealer for 40km servicing the surrounding farms more than 100 years ago. The wooden floors are the original Oregon pine and the shelving is era accurate although I could see sections had been recreated with reclaimed wood. The shop if full of bric-a-brac from the last 100 years. Outside a separate building has an old sign declaring it was a wine depot. It is built like a prison and probably for decades would have been the local off-sales. Not a shop as we know it now, and only open on Fridays when the local farm laborers would have visited to get their measure or “drop” (wine). Part of a very old system called the “dop” system. The dealer would also have been the local hub acting as a post office and a place you could leave a message for the local court official if you needed to register a death or birth. He would then ride out to the farm to do the paperwork as many people were still illiterate. Once the telegraph and later telephone became common this would have also been the stop to send a telegram or make a call. I was so happy to have got to see this piece of history that I was not even aware had been preserved.

    • @AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq
      @AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq 2 місяці тому +2

      "" into what we call the “platteland”, " That's a dutch language word meaning,' flat land.'

    • @AJansenNL
      @AJansenNL 2 місяці тому +1

      That's a very literal translation. In reality, it means countryside. ​@@AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq

    • @AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq
      @AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq 2 місяці тому

      @@AJansenNL Would you call Limburg ,'Platteland', ? or Heuvelland ?

    • @user-xw7kq1fk8d
      @user-xw7kq1fk8d 2 місяці тому

      I'd heard that the trees around Stonehenge were planted in the positions of the ships at the Battle of Trafalgar

    • @philtucker1224
      @philtucker1224 2 місяці тому

      @@user-xw7kq1fk8dwhy?

  • @britishlongbarrows
    @britishlongbarrows 2 місяці тому +26

    I've seen John Moffat noted as the custodian in 1936 in one of the Inspectors of Ancient Monuments notebooks🙂 Did not know about the Nile clumps though - fascinating 🧐

    • @Truthseeker2772
      @Truthseeker2772 2 місяці тому

      The mounds are identical to the sky above. I grew up less than 15 miles away and never heard that story once until this video. I still go to Stonehenge and Avebury regularly. New one on us who are 50+

  • @MultiVogon
    @MultiVogon 2 місяці тому +12

    I can see what looks like the cottage on a 1920's map - there's also a second building near it on the same side of the road too, nearer the fork. Interesting to see the outlines of the cottages/cafe in the satellite view (use bing maps, as it looks like it was imaged in the summer, so the outlines are quite clear!)

    • @thesteelrodent1796
      @thesteelrodent1796 2 місяці тому +2

      they are indeed very clear on the Bing satellite image. And while looking at that, there are also signs of several other buildings on the other side of Stonehenge, at a 45 degree angel to A303. If Time Team has taught me anything, it looks like that other building could be Roman

    • @NickLea
      @NickLea 2 місяці тому +1

      @@thesteelrodent1796 Unfortunately, they're a bit newer. They date to world war one when there was an RAF aerodrome there.

  • @PeterWasted
    @PeterWasted 2 місяці тому +8

    To my knowledge, there is no one King Barrow. The King Barrows are the cluster of four in a near straight line and the two nearby on the other side of the track. It's also worth noting that the, "house", is actually two semi-detached houses. As a child in the early1980s, there were crop marks of both the house and the old cafe.

    • @PiousMoltar
      @PiousMoltar 2 місяці тому +1

      Hm yes it appears to be two semi-detached houses, but Jean mentions having no neighbours. Maybe they were using the whole building as one house? Or perhaps half of it was just unoccupied?

    • @charliesmith_
      @charliesmith_ 2 місяці тому +1

      Maybe two parts of afamily living next door to each other. Grandma and Grandma next door. Worth a look at the CENSUS of that period.

  • @WC21UKProductionsLtd
    @WC21UKProductionsLtd 2 місяці тому +6

    That’s great work, Paul. I’ve long been haunted by this picture, and it’s surprising to learn that the cottages and cafe were so short lived, but it makes sense. The way you narrowed down the date of the picture was brilliant.

  • @fredflintstoner596
    @fredflintstoner596 2 місяці тому +9

    Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view !"
    Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam ."
    Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!"
    Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window ? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..."
    Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!"
    Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky."
    Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction."
    Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment ?"

    • @Sweetlyfe
      @Sweetlyfe 2 місяці тому +1

      😂😂😂 A brilliant show, I could hear it in John Cleese’s voice, with his rising tone and indignation. Thank you for the laugh

    • @fredflintstoner596
      @fredflintstoner596 2 місяці тому

      @@Sweetlyfe FORGET ABOUT THE HORSE YOU KNOW NOTHING !

  • @bradarmstrong3952
    @bradarmstrong3952 2 місяці тому +23

    Quite interesting exploration, sir. Keep posting your explorations and I expect I'll keep looking on --- thanks!

  • @radiosnail
    @radiosnail 2 місяці тому +4

    Always very interesting. Excellent research too. Visited the Stones once. The proximity of the road detracted from it somewhat. Was told by my companion, that a Japanese tourist photographed my 2CV. An American tourist apparently observed that is "must be some sort of traditional British car". Not sure I believed her though . I'll get my coat.

  • @R08Tam
    @R08Tam 2 місяці тому +16

    Those cottages look uncannily like the farm cottages that I grew up in in the West Midlands. Probably a generic design.

  • @Truthseeker2772
    @Truthseeker2772 2 місяці тому +4

    I have a photograph of my Grandfather in 1936 stood beside his Singer Car cottages in the background. So it was there, just saying

  • @marczakian3511
    @marczakian3511 2 місяці тому +12

    Nice video. One detail, they are Bronze Age round barrows, not long barrows which are generally earlier.

  • @StormwatchDruid
    @StormwatchDruid 2 місяці тому +14

    Very interesting little video. Thanks Paul.

  • @tenxyou5547
    @tenxyou5547 2 місяці тому +9

    Could you possibly do a video on the old airfield that used to be located on the Stonehenge site. There isn’t much information remaining about what went on there!

    • @Zzyzx--
      @Zzyzx-- 2 місяці тому

      The Netheravon Airfield? It's about 15 minutes from the monument site, major RFC/RAF training site dating from before the First World War. Do a search on Netheravon Airfield, there's a lengthy Wikipedia article about it

    • @curlysue3620
      @curlysue3620 2 місяці тому +1

      I remember seeing a photo of a army land rover on top of the standing stones about 15yrs ago. Went looking online for it last year and couldn’t find it.

  • @AFV85
    @AFV85 2 місяці тому +2

    On 11 July 1919 local newspaper, The Western Gazette, contained an announcement stating that an auction of building materials, huts and equipment, tools and utensils was to be held on the airfield site over 30 July until 01 Aug 1919. This included timber, roofing materials, stoneware pipes, scaffolding, beds and bedding etc.
    The last remaining flying unit at Stonehenge was C Flt No.4 Sqn. The School, moved south to Old Sarum on the outskirts of Salisbury in October 1920 and by the following January a decision to close Stonehenge airfield altogether had been made. Instructions were issued for the Stonehenge airfield itself was to be demolished in slow time and it was well into the 1930s before the last evidence remaining above ground level was removed; and for many years the scars on the landscape remained the cottage could have been built from these build materials as it is not standing in any 1919 photographs

  • @yippee8570
    @yippee8570 2 місяці тому +14

    Those are some huge tree trunks! Really interesting video. Subscribed

  • @unclerojelio6320
    @unclerojelio6320 2 місяці тому +4

    I sat down to watch this video with my snacks. I had a drink. I was just starting to get invested and then it was over.

  • @QALibrary
    @QALibrary 2 місяці тому +4

    very interesting - I saw your posting on Twitter and wondered what you were up to - resulted another great video

  • @Quasihamster
    @Quasihamster 2 місяці тому +17

    Interesting to see people back then talked about the café in much the same way we might speak today if a run-of-the-mill Burger King was put up next to Stonehenge.

    • @AaronOfMpls
      @AaronOfMpls 2 місяці тому +8

      And yet today, between its age and its style, that cafe would probably seem quaint and charming. 🙂

    • @terrynixon2758
      @terrynixon2758 2 місяці тому +1

      ​@@AaronOfMpls Does this mean current buildings are going to be considered the same some day?

    • @AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq
      @AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq 2 місяці тому +3

      @@terrynixon2758 Very unlilely, current buildings would have crumbled to dust long before !

    • @mikem3695
      @mikem3695 2 місяці тому +2

      And yet they had no problem with a major roadway being built.

    • @dubious6718
      @dubious6718 2 місяці тому +2

      @@mikem3695 They had no say in that.

  • @neilthehermit4655
    @neilthehermit4655 2 місяці тому +11

    Nice one Paul. I never knew there was a nafe Cafe there. - And now I'm going to have to find my Spinal Tap DVD. Curses Whitewick ! 🙂

  • @nickphipp1949
    @nickphipp1949 2 місяці тому +2

    The cottage isn't shown on the 1901 OS map, but is shown on the 1926 map. This narrows down the building of the cottage to 25 years.

  • @naradaian
    @naradaian 2 місяці тому +1

    First day I ever came accross your channel - congratulations - no clikbaiting at all, not too many silly face pulls on your various vids and utterly fab and nutty stories - well done SUBSCRIBED

  • @TheDavidfallon
    @TheDavidfallon 2 місяці тому +2

    A truly fascinating little puzzle, entertainingly and economically told. Well done, sir!

  • @davidberlanny3308
    @davidberlanny3308 2 місяці тому +11

    Hi Paul, Very well spotted detail that house. Amazing that you were able to come across someone who actually lived there.
    Very enjoyable to watch, well done!!

    • @madphil69
      @madphil69 2 місяці тому +1

      I saw that lady on a news feature a few years ago. That's what we saw. I don't know if she's even still alive at this point. She was very old when she gave that interview.

  • @JesseP.Watson
    @JesseP.Watson 2 місяці тому +4

    Oh my, "Custodian of The Stones" ...I was born for this.

    • @zacmumblethunder7466
      @zacmumblethunder7466 2 місяці тому +3

      I wasted my working years not knowing that was a job option.

    • @JesseP.Watson
      @JesseP.Watson 2 місяці тому

      @@zacmumblethunder7466 Back off, it's not an option for you, it's mine! All mine! 😉 [I may call on you if the Taliban come knocking however... Then you can say "Oh well, it's too late now, should have let me in on it before, no, you're on your own matey boy!" 😆
      ...Sad to say that may not be such an absurd possibility the way things are going in Britain today... no-one's thinking about that not entirely implausible ramification of a certain religion moving swiftly towards dominance here (apart from those born custodians of the stones). But hey, best not go there... too much historical realism and I risk giving zealots ideas by just speaking that thought aloud.]

  • @philthycat1408
    @philthycat1408 2 місяці тому

    Excellent 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Your enthusiasm is encouraging.

  • @derek-press
    @derek-press 2 місяці тому +1

    fascinating video,40 years ago i was living in Weymouth but working in Oxford,I would set off on a Monday morning at 4am and pass by Stonehenge ,almost always misty or foggy gave me Goosebumps every time ,and then Friday evening back home the same thing,there is something spooky about that place,just to add on the Monday morning drive to get over the hill and see Salisbury Cathedral was like ...big breath out

  • @joshweinstein5345
    @joshweinstein5345 2 місяці тому +5

    Great historical investigation! Plus, we get naval battle trees as a bonus!

    • @pwhitewick
      @pwhitewick  2 місяці тому +1

      Haha... not really my thing, but quite the quirk I thought.

  • @stuartbridger5177
    @stuartbridger5177 2 місяці тому

    Great work Paul. Nice to see more recent history of such an iconic location.

  • @GreatGreebo
    @GreatGreebo Місяць тому +1

    Well done you! This is the second video of yours I have watched. I’m now *SUBSCRIBED* .

  • @malcolmrichardson3881
    @malcolmrichardson3881 2 місяці тому +6

    Great piece of detective work. Well done!

  • @Hairnicks
    @Hairnicks 2 місяці тому +1

    Well that different, really interesting and a marvellous capture of a tiny piece of history otherwise forgotten, all credit to you Paul.

  • @wbbartlett
    @wbbartlett 2 місяці тому +1

    Fascinating slice of history. Hard to imagine in this age of modern comfort how hard life was in that cottage. I don't think of Stonehenge as a remote location but just a couple of generations ago it was its own little island world.

  • @heartland96a
    @heartland96a 2 місяці тому +1

    So great you using those fades on the photos then and now

  • @alecbrown66
    @alecbrown66 2 місяці тому +5

    I have lived locally to stonehenge all my life (nearly 60yrs), and this tale all unfolds around what was left from ww2, and the major drug craze/hippies in the 70's, and what is behind the stones (and now removed right road spur). And in a way, underneath on the hill b3hind.
    There is Boscombe down USAFB, and underground complex, and Boscombe Down uk army homepage.
    The house is typical estate housing (slate roofed, white washed or fake stone), and were actually very modern compared to the nearby big towns and villages around it.
    Love Boscombe Down purely for its fake haystacks rising and falling at will. If you were not local, you would think aliens.
    Last point of interest is the council put a row of council houses in the nearby valley, replacing the removed cafe

    • @retiree1033
      @retiree1033 2 місяці тому +6

      RAF Boscombe Down, not USAFB. The airfield is managed by QinetiQ and is where we test all our secret aircraft bits.

    • @ianmclaren5297
      @ianmclaren5297 2 місяці тому

      I believe before then it was the home of the empire flying school, and boscombe down was also a outstation of the RAE

  • @johnmcdermott9516
    @johnmcdermott9516 2 місяці тому +1

    Great vid Paul. Spending more time on the fascinating comments.

  • @MrTreblue
    @MrTreblue 2 місяці тому +2

    I have the same image and always wondered about that building myself. I just never got around to researching it. So thank you so much for this video Paul! 😊

  • @resnonverba137
    @resnonverba137 2 місяці тому +1

    Very interesting and well investigated. Thanks for upload.

  • @robinwatling6538
    @robinwatling6538 2 місяці тому +4

    I was always fascinated by pictures of the old house, mystery solved thank you, excellent video

  • @shirleylynch7529
    @shirleylynch7529 2 місяці тому +1

    Wow. That was so interesting. Fascinating information. What a research. Thank you. Most enjoyable explore of history.

  • @jameswalksinhistory3848
    @jameswalksinhistory3848 2 місяці тому

    Totally enjoyed this-Thank you Paul

  • @746laurie
    @746laurie 2 місяці тому +3

    The footprint of the cottages is just visible in the Google Earth view at 7:17 time mark. Closed off road to the right used to be the A360 to Devizes where it became the A361 to Swindon. My Dad would sometimes go that way just for a change of scenery when we went from Didcot to visit relatives in Salisbury.

    • @r.h.8754
      @r.h.8754 2 місяці тому

      No, the A360 still runs from Salisbury to Devizes, it is about a mile west of Stonehenge at its closest point (where the Visitor Centre is). The closed road (if I remember correctly it was closed in 2013) was the last remaining section of the A344 Andover to Warminster road, which gradually disappeared beneath the A303 (the section west of Shrewton became the B390 around 1979).

    • @746laurie
      @746laurie 2 місяці тому

      @@r.h.8754 I was using a 1950s Nuffield Atlas of Great Britain where the stretch of road between the fork and Shrewton is clearly labelled A360. As with so many other roads as they were rerouted or straightened it must have been renumbered at some stage after the 1950s when the Atlas was published which would have been when my father occasionally used that road to Salisbury.

    • @r.h.8754
      @r.h.8754 Місяць тому

      @@746laurie The A360 used to start at the A36 in Stapleford and followed the current route of the B3083. The B3086 used to start in Salisbury, crossed the A344 at Airman's Corner (AKA Airmans' Cross) but was then 'upgraded' between Airmans' Corner and Salisbury and became the 'new' A360, the northernmost section remaining as the B3086 between the A344 / A360 junction at Airmans' Corner and the A360 at the southern end of Shrewton High Street (so the B3086 links the A360 to the A360...).
      If your atlas is labelled A360 west of Airmans' Corner that would be correct, the A344 and A360 used to be a multiplex until 1979 but the A360 would have been the more important road so that is what would have appeared on maps.
      The other explanation is that it could be a deliberate mistake, something that cartographers sometimes do to discourage unauthorised copies.

  • @malverncarvell4153
    @malverncarvell4153 2 місяці тому +1

    The Daily Chronicle of 9th April 1929 reports that 640 acres were purchased by the National Trust the previous month and that "The two cottages, which have been set up close to the stones might be unoticeable in a London suburb of small villas, but they strike a discordant note, built as they are on the very doors of Stonehenge". Also "... the Office of Works might have put up less offensive buildings for its caretakers."

  • @twobearsontour
    @twobearsontour 2 місяці тому +2

    Amazing detective work there! Great history. Another brilliant video! Thank you 🧸🐻

  • @BigBailBikesandBeer
    @BigBailBikesandBeer 2 місяці тому

    Great interesting video detective Paul!. Love the way you narrowed down the date. The street signs being covered up during war was an ace way of dating pre/ war time. Something I would have forgotten about but a great bit of info to help date the pic.

  • @sianwarwick633
    @sianwarwick633 2 місяці тому

    Nice détection work, Paul. I actually like the info about the uncovered signs. I had forgotten road signs were altered durjng wartime.

  • @SwiftyDeejay
    @SwiftyDeejay 2 місяці тому +4

    Really enjoyed this video and it’s not a video I would normally find on my feed. New subscriber 👍🏼

    • @pwhitewick
      @pwhitewick  2 місяці тому

      Welcome aboard!

    • @sagittarius3363
      @sagittarius3363 2 місяці тому +1

      UA-cam suggesting something interesting for a change, imagine that! ❤

  • @davie941
    @davie941 2 місяці тому +4

    great video again Paul , love these type of videos , was very interesting , well done and thank you 😊

  • @chrish5319
    @chrish5319 2 місяці тому +1

    Interesting video, thank you. Love the walk you did, almost never anyone there and you get a much better sense of the landscape history than if you just go to Stonehenge.

    • @pwhitewick
      @pwhitewick  2 місяці тому +1

      Yup, I think so. It affords quite the view.

  • @Idespairofyouall
    @Idespairofyouall 2 місяці тому +11

    I was fabulously offended when they closed off the right hand fork of the road. It was stated that it was an "accident black spot." In reality, it had a long layby that folks used to pull in to to have a quick look at the stones, only to realise that they were somewhat underwhelming and probably not worth the entrance fee, therefore access was removed to hopefully increase income for the visitors centre. Now of course the plan is to send traffic under a tunnel so as not to let people driving by get a look at the stones and obviously be put off visiting altogether. They want the place to be hidden from view until payment is made to further bloat the income of English Heritage's golden cash cow.
    I guess as the member of a well established Druid group, I shouldn't be talking like this, but due to the ruthless pimping out of this ancient meeting place, it has sadly lost the magical energy I'm sure it once had.

    • @itsnome7750
      @itsnome7750 2 місяці тому +1

      What do druids have to with the stones? Couple of 1000yrs after right? And there are druids now? I didnt think we knew anything about them other than ceasars diary?

    • @itsnome7750
      @itsnome7750 2 місяці тому +1

      Ok had a read... not sure paying £1000s to am organisation established 50yrs ago to be a bard or druid or whatever really gives any claim to prehistoric monuments over anyone else.

    • @Idespairofyouall
      @Idespairofyouall 2 місяці тому +2

      @@itsnome7750 I absolutely agree.

    • @zacmumblethunder7466
      @zacmumblethunder7466 2 місяці тому +2

      ​@itsnome7750 The druids that the Romans saw were nothing to do with the builders of Stonehenge. Research has shown that even the famous big stones that distinguish from other stone circles are nothing to do with the original builders.

  • @paulinehedges5088
    @paulinehedges5088 2 місяці тому +24

    Fascinating. Well done for all that research and sharing it with us . Another really interesting video. Thank you.😊

  • @Stepokedur
    @Stepokedur 2 місяці тому

    Fascinating as always mate :)

  • @davidking9707
    @davidking9707 2 місяці тому +6

    I have seen that image a few times. I haven't any evidence of a house being there or on any of my old OS maps. This is very interesting.

  • @user-fl1pc7zu7f
    @user-fl1pc7zu7f 2 місяці тому +1

    Thank you so much for your investigative research.

  • @janwhite6038
    @janwhite6038 2 місяці тому +1

    This was a very informative and interesting video. Thx

  • @mikebarrow157
    @mikebarrow157 2 місяці тому +11

    You can't diss the "little ones from Wales" when talking Stonehenge, boyo!!! 😉

    • @pwhitewick
      @pwhitewick  2 місяці тому +1

      Haha... fair!

    • @zacmumblethunder7466
      @zacmumblethunder7466 2 місяці тому +2

      I thought that too! Especially after seeing the BBC4 documentary about them on Monday.
      How did the algorithm know that I'd seen that?!?!

  • @abhalluk
    @abhalluk 2 місяці тому

    I'd have never known these buildings had been there and I've driven past so many times. I remember the road going off to the right and the right turn before this was removed. Loved the video.

  • @stealthbanana
    @stealthbanana 2 місяці тому +1

    Aaah I thought I recognised someone who liked a comment of mine on a dull Facebook group that was calling for a revolution ✊. Another very interesting and fascinating video, keep up the great work.

  • @charliesmith_
    @charliesmith_ 2 місяці тому +3

    Look forward to the next video. Vintage cars, history, archaeology? Am hooked!!
    'People' looked after their cars in those days. Garaged them like one stabled horses. *If* one could afford a car, one never put one's car away wet!! They were chamois leather hide wiped down before we got indoors. They weren't built to rot straight off the factory 'line' like modern cars since the 60s but we respected them immensely.
    They were carriage built. You _never_ slammed their doors shut. Didn't have to. _You still_ don't have to need to slam modern car doors shut today. That's just a bad practice (childs' life - don't SLAM the ruddy door) bad habit. 😅 Those 1930s cars still looked new and immaculate - even in 1964. Not many people today understand how well things were built before the 60s. You paid more because things lasted longer.
    Hope the car's dating wasn't affected by modern vehicle terms.
    My 2001 car is still immaculate after 23 years stabled care.
    Looking forward to the next video.... and SUBSCRIBED.

    • @pwhitewick
      @pwhitewick  2 місяці тому +1

      Quite the mix. We have filmed: Atmospheric Railway failures, Boudica's last battle location and Trespassing in Cirencester!

  • @LandscapesDronescapes
    @LandscapesDronescapes 2 місяці тому

    Interesting video. I had seen that image pop up on various Facebook groups over the years. I suppose everything was scaled back to keep the landscape around the stones clear

  • @Msax50
    @Msax50 2 місяці тому +1

    Very interesting. Thank you . I remember the road but the buildings were long gone.

  • @hedleythorne
    @hedleythorne 2 місяці тому

    Love that method of narrowing down the photograph.

  • @BritishBeachcomber
    @BritishBeachcomber 2 місяці тому

    Great detective work Paul 👍

  • @macaidwin
    @macaidwin 2 місяці тому +1

    Lovely video, I like this kind of historic investigation 😍

  • @lauraleecreations3217
    @lauraleecreations3217 2 місяці тому +2

    Awesome historical information ❤❤❤❤

  • @Rail_Focus
    @Rail_Focus 2 місяці тому +1

    Excellent video, proper investigation work 👌

  • @thomasdieckmann5711
    @thomasdieckmann5711 2 місяці тому +3

    Nice investigation!

  • @tooyoungtobeold8756
    @tooyoungtobeold8756 2 місяці тому +6

    Interesting video, thank you. Re. the car. I bought a perfectly running 1936 Hillman Minx in 1972.

    • @pwhitewick
      @pwhitewick  2 місяці тому +2

      Ha. Brilliant. I had them down as 10 years max 😬😂

    • @charliesmith_
      @charliesmith_ 2 місяці тому

      No, neighbour had one for 25 years!

  • @shaunlaverick5793
    @shaunlaverick5793 2 місяці тому +4

    Excellent little video.😀👍

  • @Kualabear02
    @Kualabear02 2 місяці тому +1

    How and why you landed in my recommendeds I’ll never know but I’m glad you did! Loved the video and subscribed.

  • @stuartlipo7332
    @stuartlipo7332 2 місяці тому +1

    Brilliant video

  • @Concurr
    @Concurr 2 місяці тому +2

    Love your channel mate.
    400k views in 3 days; and only 110k subs!
    All the best.

    • @pwhitewick
      @pwhitewick  2 місяці тому

      It's doing alright isn't it!

  • @Sim0nTrains
    @Sim0nTrains 2 місяці тому +1

    interesting mystery video, honestly enjoyed it

  • @benji.B-side
    @benji.B-side 2 місяці тому +1

    Very interesting, excellent research.

  • @nilo70
    @nilo70 2 місяці тому

    I had absolutely no idea there were buildings anywhere near Stonehenge !
    Thank you for sharing this with me !
    Cheers From California 😎

  • @pras12100
    @pras12100 2 місяці тому +3

    I am rather confused by the title this week. When I looked on the National Library of Scotland's collection of OS maps I found a building right where the building in the photo was.
    If you look at "Wiltshire LIV 14" and choose the version labelled "Revised: 1923, Published: 1924" there is a building on the far right (east) that seems to fit the bill. The café has not been built yet but the house is there. Confusingly, the road junction where the photo was taken is on the next map eastwards "Wiltshire LIV 15".
    I looked on the corresponding map versions "Revised: 1899, Published: 1901" and "Revised: 1938, Published: 1940" and they do not have a building in that position. The café does not appear at all.
    I hope this helps.
    PS: Forgot to say I was looking at the 25 inch to the mile maps.

    • @pwhitewick
      @pwhitewick  2 місяці тому

      Odd. I'd looked at about 20 different maps and not one showed it.

    • @pras12100
      @pras12100 2 місяці тому

      @@pwhitewick You need to get to "Ordnance Survey Maps - 25 inch England and Wales, 1841-1952" then select "As individual sheets using a zoomable map of England and Wales".
      I then search for "Amesbury, Wiltshire" as this gets me to "Wiltshire LIV 15".
      "Wiltshire LIV 14" is to the west of "Wiltshire LIV 15".
      When you select a rectangle you get the list of available maps.
      The building is about halfway up on the far right of OS "Wiltshire LIV 14" revised 1923.
      The road junction is about halfway up on the far left of "Wiltshire LIV 15".
      OS maps do not overlap (at least at that time) so the building does not appear on "Wiltshire LIV 15".

    • @IAMPLEDGE
      @IAMPLEDGE 2 місяці тому

      @@pwhitewick when the thing you are looking for is on the border of two maps you need to move your cursor several times to make sure you capture all of the maps and all of the scales.

  • @pauljackson1368
    @pauljackson1368 2 місяці тому

    I saw the photo in The Guardian (?) a few weeks ago and it fascinated me. I tried to research the buildings but without success. Well done. You’ve answered my questions. Very interesting video.

  • @AlexanderTheEvenGreater
    @AlexanderTheEvenGreater 2 місяці тому +3

    Weird; I was thinking about that exact house earlier today as I had seen it in a picture after reading Tom Fort's book, "A303: Highway to the Sun", and was wondering what had happened to it! ;-)

  • @tomlee812
    @tomlee812 2 місяці тому

    A fascinating investigation, thank you. Incidentally, when I started driving in 1972, the AA still issued keys to their phone boxes (although the boxes were more modern than those old ones). there's so much hidden history around us if you know where to look.

  • @supplement420
    @supplement420 2 місяці тому +1

    I am pretty sure i've seen that or another house in Arial footage from the Royal Engineers around 1900...including the 2 other Stonehenge-like circles they removed from the site.

  • @simonwoodward438
    @simonwoodward438 2 місяці тому +1

    I love puzzles like this, there's quite a bit of industrial revolution period remains where I live on the edge the West Midlands and South Staffordshire, i love exploring them.

  • @perrydowd9285
    @perrydowd9285 2 місяці тому

    It just occurred to me that I love these little finds in UK history even though I've never been to within a hemisphere of Great Britain.
    Thanks Paul. This was a great piece of detective work.

  • @andrewlamb8055
    @andrewlamb8055 2 місяці тому

    Fascinating Paul! 👏⭐️👋⚔️

  • @Dakiniwoman
    @Dakiniwoman 2 місяці тому

    Thanks for your video, I found it interesting.

  • @Mrch33ky
    @Mrch33ky 2 місяці тому +3

    Brings the whole historical existence of Stonehenge into question then doesn't it? Re-arranged stones in the circle, civil constructions and demolitions. Who knows what else was re-arranged to bring in the punters and their coin, eh?

  • @kate2.0.
    @kate2.0. 2 місяці тому +1

    Such a beautiful house as well