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Photo by Tom Hendrickson
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On September 21,
1915, Master Mason Cecil Chubb, set out to purchase a set of dining room chairs
as instructed by his wife. Instead of chairs, on an impulse, he had the winning
bid for Stonehenge and the thirty acres surrounding the site.
His purchase of Stonehenge, and his later actions, were
a major turning point in the care and preservation of Stonehenge. His actions
would help transform Stonehenge from a 5,000-year-old neglected ruin to a
national treasure and probably one of the world’s most famous prehistoric
monuments, that almost one million people visit each year and people travel
from around the word to visit.
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Cecil and Mary Chubb
Photo by The Library of Congress |
Needless to say, at the time, his wife was not
thrilled with his purchase, as all she wanted were dining room chairs. But as with most things in life, there is more
to the story….
Brother Cecil Herbert Edward Chubb was born on April
14, 1876. He grew up in a working-class family in Shrewton, England a very
small English Village just four miles West of Stonehenge.
He attended Christ Church College Oxford and earned a
law degree. Brother Ceil became a successful attorney in Salisbury and served
on its City Council, and as a Justice of the Peace (Misdemeanor Court Judge). He
married in 1902 after meeting his wife Mary at a cricket match.
In 1905 Cecil became the Director of the Fisherton
Mental Hospital, a business his wife had inherited. The hospital was having
financial difficulties when he first assumed management of the hospital. During his direction and guidance, from 1905 the
institution became solvent and eventually grew to become the largest mental
hospital in Europe.
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| Photo by ART CARE-Salisbury District Hospital |
During that time Cecil oversaw construction of new
wards, which added more hospital beds.
Also, innovative, and modern treatments were introduced at the
hospital. During World War I the
hospital offered services to treat those soldiers who had experienced the
ravages of war, at Cecil’s direction. Cecil
even used his own home to house patients when the hospital was at capacity.
Cecil’s purpose was to help his fellow man and
veterans, return to their families and transition back to a normal life.
Cecil was a smart businessman and investor. However,
he also enjoyed the life of a country farmer, and he raised short horn cattle
and many successful racehorses.
Cecil Chubb was made a Mason in Lodge Elias de Durham
#586 in Salisbury. The Lodge is still active, and they meet on the second
Thursday of every month. The Lodge is named after the English Master Stonemason
who oversaw the construction of the Salisbury Cathedral. I can attest that the
Salisbury Cathedral is magnificent, and I am thankful I have been able to visit
the cathedral.
His Masonic Degrees: Entered Apprentice October 1905, became
a Fellowcraft November 1905, and a Master Mason December 1905.
He never held an office in the Lodge, nor belonged to
any appendant bodies. He thoroughly enjoyed being in the company of his Masonic
Brothers and remained a member until his death.
He was also an intelligent and prudent investor, and
his careful management of his finances provided the means for him have the
means to purchase Stonehenge.
Stonehenge had always been owned privately since
October 2, 1538, when King Henry VII confiscated the Amesbury Abby and
surrounding lands under his “Dissolution of the Monasteries. The ownership
transferred several times until the Antrobus family purchased it in 1824. When
the heir of the estate Lt. Edmund Antrobus was killed in combat during the
opening months during World War I, it was divided up into lots and put on the
auction block.
During the time of private ownership Stonehenge had
not always been a showcase of a neolithic monument or a honored sacred place or
always treated with reverence and respect as we are all led to believe.
During the 19th century tourists could rent
hammers and chisels at local hotels and blacksmith shops to chip away
souvenirs, carve their names into the stones as a keep’s sake or trophy. In the
modern day, staff found stones were graffitied, had chewing gum stuck to them
and had been subjected to urine, vomit, and excrement.
Over the centuries of private ownership many of the
stones had been propped up using wooden timbers, others had fallen, many became
twisted and were in a bad state of disrepair.
In the time leading up to the 1915 auction, many rich
Americans and Foreigners were sweeping across Europe buying up castles, monasteries,
and antiquities. Today we would call these items national treasures and they
would be protected. AT that time they were dismantled, boxed up and shipped
back to the states or whatever location was requested.
The 1915 auction was very well publicized in all the
local papers. This auction caused quit a buzz among the locals as they feared
the same thing might happen to their Stonehenge.
The auction was held on a Tuesday afternoon, on
September 21, 1915 (106 years ago). The auction was held at the New Theatre in
Salisbury England. The theater was filled with potential purchasers, interested
parties, and a lot of spectators and bargain hunters. The Estate Agents Messrs., Knight and Rutley (this
company is still in existence today) began the auction in the theatre at
When Auctioneer Sir Howard Frank announced Lot #15,
and gave the description, he began with “Would anyone offer 5000 pounds for
Stonehenge”. There was no response from the audience. Auctioneer Frank urged “surely
someone will offer me 5,000 pounds”.
A gentlemen’s hand went up whose bid was accepted by
the auctioneer. Then several others joined in the bidding in the increasing
amounts of 100 pounds. On a mere impulse or whim, Brother Cecil raised his hand
and bid 6,600 pounds. The Auctioneer raised his hammer and hearing no other
offers, the hammer descended with a clear sharp rap. The audience applauded
Brother Cecil’s new unintended purchase.
In today’s dollars, Brother Cecil bid about one
million dollars.
Immediately following the sale, a newspaper reporter interviewed
Brother Cecil, who remarked that when he entered the sale “he had no intention
whatsoever of buying Stonehenge”. But he also added “while I was in the room, I
thought that a Salisbury man ought to buy it, and that is how it’s done”.
When asked if he had any plans regarding the future of
Stonehenge Brother Cecil replied, that the situation was new to him, and he
didn’t have any time to think of any plans. He went on to say that all should be
assured that every means of protecting Stonehenge will be taken.
The second highest bidder at the auction was Isaac
Crook, a local farmer who wanted to purchase the land for the purpose of grazing
sheep.
Cecil’s wife was not thrilled with his purchase. I can
imagine she may have reminded him of why she sent him to the auction in the
first place. “But Cecil darling where are the dining room chairs”?
Personally, I think as Cecil waiting for the auction
of the dining chairs, he was filled with anxiety and doubt about the fate of
Stonehenge. He was quoted latter as saying, “he was born close to it, and
during my boyhood and youth visited it at all hours of the day and night, under
every conceivable condition of weather-in driving tempests of hail, rain and
snow, fierce thunderstorms, glorious moonlight and beauitful sunshine”. I think
that his love for Stonehenge caused him to become an impulse buyer that day.
Three years after the auction and influenced by the
Ancient Monument Act, Cecil wrote a letter to the Office of the Works (a predecessor
of English Heritage). In the letter he offered Stonehenge “as a gift to be held
for the nation”.
The First Commissioner of the Works, Sir Alfred,
accepted Cecil’s offer with great pleasure. He must have been excited for he
informed the Prime Minister and the King of the offer.
On October 26, 1919, Cecil and Mary Chubb passed
Stonehenge into the public’s hands for safekeeping, at a special ceremony held
at Stonehenge, where the Chubb’s signed a deed of gift to the nation. By giving
Stonehenge to the government, it gave the government the responsibility of the conservation
of Stonehenge. The conservation task today is performed by English
Heritage. However, the Chubb’s set some
special conditions, for their gift, that are still in effect today. The conditions were that local residents have
free access to the site; and entrance fees for all others were not to exceed one
shilling. (With inflation increases have occurred and today the entrance fee is
14.50 pounds or $ 27.20 American dollars.)
As a token of a grateful nation, Prime Minister David
Lloyd George awarded Brother Cecil with Knighthood, and the title of Sir Cecil
Chubb First Baronet of Stonehenge. His local nick name was Viscount Stonehenge.
Brother Cecil died of heart disease on September 22,
1934. He was the last private owner of Stonehenge. When Cecil Chubb made his
generous gift of Stonehenge to the nation, this marked a critical turning point
in the care and restoration of this iconic Neolithic monument. Between 1919,
1964, and 2021 there were a series of major restoration projects, accompanied
by archeological excavations, and scientific studies.
Brother Cecil Chubb’s gift helped Stonehenge go from a
little-known unprotected ruin to a national treasure that is recognized and
visited by millions of people all over the world.
Brother Chubb’s Masonic Values……
While
Brother Chubb’s actions occurred over a hundred years ago and his gift of
Stonehenge was a grand gesture for his community and his country, Brother Cecil
Chubb demonstrated, through his actions, the masonic ideals of:
Brotherly
Love - devotion to and the caring for each other and our community; and
Relief
- caring for and selflessly giving to those in distress; and
Truth
– using knowledge, honesty and understanding to build ourselves into men.
These
are the same masonic principles that we practice, and that Red Wing Lodge
demonstrates today. While Red Wing Lodge
may not have some great monument to donate, it is not the monetary value that
makes any action valuable, it is the contribution to the betterment of the
community and assisting mankind. When a mason participates and contributes in
their own way to their community, that is equally important. Red Wing Lodge has
displayed compassion our fellow men, a public minded spirit and has been an
active part of the community.
By
our participation in Salsalicious, awarding scholarships, serving meals for
Loaves and Fishes along with Books for Bikes, these are but a few of the things
that Red Wing Lodge has done that demonstrate our masonic ideals. I think we, as a lodge, have a lot to be
proud of.
And
here is one last thing to think about:
As
individual Freemasons we need to stay on the path in our daily advancement of
becoming a better man, so we can make our community and our world a better
place.
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