The Stonehenge Letters. Harry Karlinsky
in London as Brevet Colonel of the Third Battalion. The couple’s only child, then seven, was also in London as a boarding student at a boys’ preparatory school.fn21 Despite such separations from her husband and son, Florence was content living in Amesbury. She had developed a profound connection to the countryside, and often walked to Stonehenge to admire the old stones. There, she would spend hours sketching, in her words, their ‘dark, mysterious forms’ at different hours of the day or, in a series of notebooks, writing the poems that the ‘magic of Stonehenge’ had inspired.
At the baronet’s request, Florence carefully escorted Nobel and Sohlman between the upright and fallen stones, sharing her knowledge of Stonehenge as they proceeded. She particularly wanted Nobel and Sohlman to appreciate the beauty of their surroundings, and described in great detail how the stones changed their colours with the shifting weather. Florence also provided a charming overview of the various theories addressing how Stonehenge had arisen. The earliest of these was a medieval legend that implicated the conjurations of Merlin the Magician. Subsequent ‘experts’ ascribed Stonehenge to the work of invading armies, most often the Romans or the Danes. According to Florence, the most popular current belief was that the Druids, the most prominent priests of ancient Britain, had erected Stonehenge as a temple. Pointing dramatically to a large flat stone lying on the ground, Florence ended the walkabout by announcing in a hushed voice, ‘it was upon this very Slaughter Stone that the Druids practised their ritual of human sacrifice’. Taking Nobel by the hand to steady his stride, Florence then cheerily provided her own caveat emptor: she herself was uncertain if any of the explanations were true and preferred simply to delight in the splendour and mystery of Stonehenge.
Nobel was captivated by Florence’s performance (or, as Sohlman would later assert, by Florence herself). After posing a number of questions related to whether the missing stones might have been deliberately demolished and, if so, how, Nobel then insisted on briskly climbing the wooden scaffolding supporting the tallest of the upright stones. The elevation afforded Nobel a splendid view of the adjoining acreage as well as the nearby River Avon.fn22
As Nobel thanked Florence, he surprised her by quoting from Lord Byron’s epic poem Don Juan, ‘The Druids’ groves are gone – so much the better’. Just as unexpectedly, Florence quickly finished the couplet, ‘Stone-Henge is not – but what the devil is it?’ To their delight, the two quickly discovered that each loved the English Romantic poets, Byron best of all. Sohlman was astonished. He had no idea that Nobel had read and memorised a great deal of poetry during his adolescence in St Petersburg. Moreover, when Florence shyly confided that she was also attempting to convey ‘feebly in words’ her poetic impressions of Stonehenge, Nobel shared that he, too,
had once written poetry as a young man. Unlike his own failed literary aspirations, however, Nobel assured Florence that he was certain it would one day be his pleasure to read her verse in print.
On returning to the continent, Nobel offered to purchase Stonehenge and the advertised acreage. Serious negotiations continued by both letter and telegram over the next few weeks. In dispute was the issue of grazing rights, which the baronet had hoped to maintain. Nobel was amused. Unless the baronet secretly intended to establish an outdoor abattoir, the presence of browsing sheep was dangerously incompatible with Nobel’s own intention of using the property as an oversized firing range. Though the baronet would concede this point, there was still the matter of establishing an agreed upon purchase price. The baronet was demanding £125,000. Given that downland was then worth only £10 per acre, it meant the ancient monument itself was being valued at over £100,000, a price Nobel viewed as highly inflated. Nevertheless, as Nobel had found himself strangely attracted to the presence of the old stones,fn23 his counter-offer was a still generous £90,000. The difference, however, would soon become a moot point.
Within days of his visit, rumours had reached Westminster that Nobel was about to acquire Stonehenge. Unfortunately for Nobel, there was now mounting concern throughout the United Kingdom that wealthy foreigners were seeking to buy structures of national importance just to dismantle them, either for the worth of their components or in order to transport and re-erect them upon foreign soil. The precipitant for such apprehension was the recent sale of Tattershall Castle in Lincolnshire. A consortium of American entrepreneurs had purchased the castle, only to remove its twenty-eight medieval stone fireplaces for immediate sale across the Atlantic. Members of Parliament and peers of the House of Lords, previously more concerned with the property rights of private citizens, were finally recognising the importance of preserving England’s historic monuments and properties. With the sale of Stonehenge to Nobel apparently on the horizon, and with no certainty of Nobel’s intentions, the British politicians acted quickly.
Figure 11. Stonehenge.
In early March 1894, the Parliament of the United Kingdom introduced the Ancient Monuments Protection Act. Although the Act was designed principally to preclude the injury or defacement of historic buildings and monuments, there was an additional caveat: the owner of any ‘ancient monument’ scheduled in the Act was no longer permitted to sell or gift the monument of interest to anyone other than a citizen or agency of the United Kingdom. Prominent on the list of sixty-eight prehistoric monuments mentioned specifically in the Act was ‘the group of stones known as Stonehenge, Amesbury, Wiltshire’.
Nobel was indignant. Though he had assured the baronet he had no intention of razing Stonehenge, he was well aware of the Act’s ramifications. Despite both men’s disappointment, there was little choice but to amicably end the negotiations.
Florence’s first letter to Nobel was dated two months later.
Amesbury Abbey
3 May 1894
Dear Mr Nobel,
I do hope you remember our meeting. I had the recent pleasure of introducing you to the grandeur of Stonehenge, those magnificent stones just beyond our Amesbury home. I confess I was pleased to hear that you are no longer their suitor, but not because you would be their unworthy guardian. No – it is only because I would miss the old stones so desperately, though they no longer stand as proud as they once did in ancient days.
I trust you do not think it overfamiliar of me to mention that I still recall with delight our spirited discussion – not only of Stonehenge but of Shelley, and Wordsworth and, of course, our dear Lord Byron.
Mr Nobel: when you departed, you encouraged my literary pursuits, fanciful as they may be, and I turn to you now for advice. Would you see fit to share your thoughts on the enclosed verse and prose? If so, you will find I have attempted to express my profound sentiments for the poetical aspects of Stonehenge. I hope I am not overstepping propriety by making this request, but I sensed in you a shared love of the written word – and I hope of Stonehenge itself.
Regardless of your interest in my minor ambitions, I do trust I can write to you from time to time. I am concerned about your health and encourage you to dress more warmly when outside.
Sincerely,
Florence C. M. Antrobus
P.S. Since your visit, the baronet has received no other offers for Stonehenge. Indeed, the Inspector of Ancient Monuments
fn24
has recently arrived – unannounced! – and has now presented the baronet with a ‘Preservation Order’. A number of stones must immediately be made safe, at the baronet’s expense, and the roadway for wheeled traffic that runs through the monument