Future of the Rollright Stones finally secure

Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 02 May 2001  Page Views: 15423

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Thanks to a £45,000 grant from the Hanson Environment Fund through the Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment (TOE), one of Britain's best known stone circles and an adjacent burial chamber can be acquired by the Rollright Trust.

The British Society of Dowsers have provided third party funding and a substantial contribution is also being provided by the Rollright Trust itself, using funds raised in a public appeal three years ago. The present owners, Nat le Roux and Nick Cavalla, are donating some of the proceeds of the sale back to the Trust, to support its future work.

The acquisition lays the foundation for a number of improvements in the management and presentation of the Rollright Stones prehistoric complex, set out in a detailed Conservation and Management Plan prepared by the Rollright Trust. A key element of the plan is to acquire and lease further land around the Stones to improve their setting and amenity and to bring the third monument, a standing stone and associated burial sites, under the management of the Trust. Other initiatives include access improvement, repairs, the production of educational material and ongoing site management.

The plan will be presented on Saturday 5th May to a forum of the Trust's sponsors, neighbours, supporters, local authorities and statutory agencies, who have already been consulted in its preparation. It is expected that English Heritage, the official guardian of the Stones, will be contributing to the implementation of the plan.

Robin Buxton, Chairman of the Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment, said: "In the Middle Ages, the Rollright Stones were classed as one of the Miracles of Britain. They are a national as well as local treasure - the earliest visible evidence of the long interaction between people and the environment in Oxfordshire, reflecting our deepest cultural roots. This is a strategic, flagship project for TOE and we wish the Rollright Trust every success in implementing its conservation and access plans, which we will follow with interest."

George Lambrick, Chairman of the Rollright Trust and Director of the Council for British Archaeology, said: "Apart from their obvious archaeological interest and fascination for thousands of visitors, the Rollright Stones have a very special atmosphere and deep spiritual resonance for an extraordinarily wide range of people. The Trust is dedicated to preserving that special character, and this acquisition sets us on the path to securing it for the long term. We are enormously grateful to everyone whose contributions have made this possible."

The present owners, Nat le Roux and Nick Cavalla, said: "When we bought the Stones in 1997, it was to make sure that they did not become just any other heritage attraction. We were delighted to find a group of people who already cared deeply for the site and shared our vision of retaining its special character. We helped to set up the Trust and are delighted to be handing the Stones on to an organisation dedicated to conserving them in a sensitive way."

Notes:
1. The Rollright Stones are a group of three prehistoric megalithic monuments built from large natural boulders, which form part of a multiperiod complex of archaeological sites straddling the Oxfordshire/ Warwickshire border on the edge of the Cotswolds north east of Chipping Norton.
· The Whispering Knights is the remains of a "portal dolmen" burial chamber, probably built around 3800-3000 BC.
· The King's Men is a ceremonial Stone Circle probably built around 2500-2000 BC.
· The King Stone (in Warwickshire) is a large standing stone, probably erected to mark a Bronze Age cemetery within which it stands, and may date to c.1500 BC.

2. The Hanson Environment Fund is one of the largest funds set up as part of the landfill tax credit scheme, with grants made from the fund currently amounting to £12,054,300. Hanson is the world's largest producer of aggregates, employing nearly 30,000 people. The company has operations in the UK, USA, Europe, Asia Pacific and Australia. Hanson set up its environment fund using the landfill tax credits accumulated by the company.

The Hanson Environment Fund is managed by the Royal Society for Nature Conservation (RSNC). RSNC is a registered charity, incorporated by Royal Charter, to promote conservation and manage environmental programmes throughout the whole of the UK. It has established management systems for holding and distributing funds to projects that meet Landfill Tax regulations.

3. The Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment is an independent non-profit- making company established to enable and encourage waste companies to put landfill tax credit money into environmental projects for the benefit of Oxfordshire. It is part of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.

4. The Rollright Trust was established in 1997 following the sale of the Stones to Messrs Nat Le Roux and Nick Cavalla. As owners they were closely involved in the Trust's foundation. Its objectives are to protect and conserve the Rollright Stones and other sites and to facilitate and promote research and educational activities related to them.

5. The British Society of Dowsers supports the practice of dowsing in a wide range of contexts, including the investigation of ancient prehistoric sites such as Rollright.

6. The Rollright Stones were amongst the first monuments in Britain to come under legal protection in 1883, when the Stones themselves were covered by a deed of Guardianship. The site is a scheduled ancient monument. Although English Heritage is formally the Guardian of the Stones, the monuments have always been in private ownership, and the day-to-day management has been carried out locally. For many years this was undertaken by the former owner (the late Pauline Flick) and since 1997 by the Rollright Trust.

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The Rollright Stones
http://www.rollright.demon.co.uk
Enquiries phone/fax 01295 277244
PO Box 333, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 4XA, England