Building a road tunnel for the A303 at Stonehenge. Would it be cheaper to move Stonehenge?

I was pleased to see my letter to the Western Daily Press regarding the proposed road tunnel at Stonehenge was published on August 5.  I reproduce it below.

Why not just move historic Stonehenge?

It appears the government’s plans for a road tunnel in the vicinity of Stonehenge have been ruled unlawful.

Be that as it may, I am not convinced it is worth spending £1.6 billion, in order to cut 15 or 20 minutes off the journey times of those in London and the South East who feel the need to hurtle through Wiltshire and Somerset on their way to and from their holiday destinations in Devonshire and Cornwall.

Furthermore, it does not seem fair to disappoint those travellers on the A303 who wish to catch a glimpse of England's most historic monument.

However, as such eye-watering sums are involved in the tunnel project, I cannot help wondering if it might be less expensive to dig up Stonehenge and move it instead.

S. W. 

Ilminster, Somerset.

Marcus Fysh, MP for Yeovil, calls for further dualling of the A303 and A358.

Following the recent fatal crash on the A303 just west of Ilminster Marcus Fysh, the MP for Yeovil, has reiterated his call for further dualling of both the A303 and A358.*  The 3 lane Ilminster bypass section of the A303 is a dreadful stretch of road and does indeed need dualling as well as having, in my opinion, a speed limit of 50 mph.  Furthermore, many drivers approach and enter the roundabouts each end of the bypass – Southfields and South Petherton – at uncomfortably high speeds, both for themselves and those already on the roundabout.  As for the A358, I hate to think what turning right to join it will be like if it is dualled – such a manoeuvre is difficult enough now!         

As a former Bristolian I well remember the Long Ashton bypass on the southwest approach to Bristol and the awful accidents which occurred there until the layout of its 3 lane section was improved.

Unfortunately, I suspect dualling of the single carriageways on the A303 and A358 will only lead to traffic reaching the next bottleneck slightly quicker than before, and the extra capacity created will soon be filled by travellers from new towns such as the one proposed to straddle the A303 near Yeovilton.**

Even if Mr Fysh’s calls are heeded I doubt if the A303/A358 will be any less hazardous overall while an awful lot of money will have been spent just to cut a few minutes off the journey between London and the Southwest.  Perhaps drivers should simply be made to slow down, and allow their passengers to enjoy the wonderful scenery as they pass through Wiltshire, Somerset and Devonshire!

*http://www.chardandilminsternews.co.uk/news/16601929.a303-fatal-crash-causes-mp-to-issue-fresh-dual-carriageway-calls/

**https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/a303-garden-town-radical-plan-1002907

King Alfred's Tower on the Stourhead Estate. Commemorating the gathering of the Anglo-Saxons before the defeat of the Danes at Edington.

This month saw the anniversary of the Battle of Edington when King Alfred the Great’s Anglo-Saxons decisively defeated the Danish army of King Guthrum between the 6th and 12th July in 878, so I decided to visit King Alfred’s Tower on the National Trust’s Stourhead Estate.  

Stourhead is well signposted from the A303.  On reaching the main entrance, signs for Alfred’s Tower direct you to carry straight on then guide you west along narrow and potholed country lanes.  Eventually you will see the spacious National Trust car park just over the hedge in the woods on the northern side of the lane, but be advised to drive slowly or you may not spot it.  From the car park cross the road and you will see an information board with Alfred’s Tower standing an easy walk to the west.

King Alfred’s Tower, a 160ft high brick built folly, stands at the summit of Kingsettle Hill just inside the county of Somerset and is said to be near the spot where Alfred rallied the Anglo-Saxons before the Battle of Edington.  It was designed in 1765 by Henry Flitcroft for the banker Henry Hoare II and completed in 1772.  Hoare conceived the tower as a commemoration of the end of the Seven Years War and the accession to the throne of King George III, as well as a tribute to Alfred the Great.

King Alfred's Tower on the National Trust's Stourhead Estate, viewed from the east.

Approaching the tower from the east, along a wide straight and level grassed area between the trees, you will see the carved figure of King Alfred above a commemorative stone tablet.  I could not read the words on the tablet with the naked eye as they have become weatherworn over time, but they read:

ALFRED THE GREAT

AD879 on this Summit

Erected his Standard

Against Danish Invaders

To him We owe The Origin of Juries

The Establishment of a Militia

The Creation of a Naval Force

ALFRED The Light of a Benighted Age

Was a Philosopher and a Christian

The Father of his People

The Founder of the English

MONARCHY and LIBERTY

Presumably Hoare or his stonemason got the date of the Battle of Edington wrong, but the words are inspiring none the less.

King Alfred's Tower on the National Trust's Stourhead Estate, viewed from the west.

War in a more modern age intruded upon the tranquillity of the tower when on the 10th July 1944 a USAAF Noordyun UC64A Norseman single-engine light transport aircraft hit the top of the tower in thick fog.  The pilot had intended to land at the nearby wartime airfield of Zeals, but was unable to do so because of the bad visibility.  Tragically the Norseman crashed just west of the tower on Hillcombe Farm, South Brewham killing the five Americans on board.

I spent a peaceful and relaxing two hours under a clear blue sky strolling around the tower and the surrounding woods.  During that time I came across only a dozen or so people, half of them walking their dogs, all were pleasant and no one disturbed the calm – even the dogs were silent!

For the drive home I decided to head west from the car park rather than return the way I came.  It was an interesting, to say the least, drive down Kingsettle Hill.  The road was steep and narrow, and even more badly potholed than before.  Several times I had to squeeze into bank or hedgerow on the approach of oncoming traffic, but the going was firm and everyone was being considerate – and careful.  Unfortunately I could not take in much of the wonderful scenery as the twists and turns in the narrow country lanes meant concentrating on what might be around the next corner!  

Back on the B3081, heading for Wincanton and the A303, I came upon Wincanton Racecourse.  It was a race day.  If I had started my day out a little earlier I could have spent the afternoon at the races! 

Road tunnel plan to hide Stonehenge from those travelling on the A303 "severely flawed".

It seems that not everyone is as enthusiastic about the proposed £1.6 billion A303 road tunnel at Stonehenge as the National Trust, English Heritage and Historic England, the agencies which care for the ancient site.  According to the Museums Association, Peter Marsden chairman of the International Council on Monuments and Sites UK has suggested the project should be put on hold as it is “severely flawed”.*

Sir Simon Jenkins, former chairman of the National Trust, has also criticised the 1.8 mile tunnel in a letter to The Times.  He, quite rightly in my opinion, questions why those travelling on the A303 should be deprived of an appreciative glimpse of the stones.  Below is his letter which I came across in the May 5 edition of The Week. 

    

Don’t hide Stonehenge.

To The Times

There seems to be an assumption that Stonehenge belongs to archaeologists and English Heritage.  Most people who enjoy the stones do so from vehicles on the A303.  The stones look magnificent from this distance.  They have no need of close inspection.  They can be appreciated at a glimpse, without need of visitor centres, car parks and multi-million pound tunnels. 

Why should the overwhelming majority of those who enjoy Stonehenge be deprived of this pleasure at vast public expense to satisfy a profession and a quango?

Sir Simon Jenkins, National Trust chairman, 2008-2014.

* https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/02052018-icomos-uk-stonehenge-road-tunnel-criticised

Viewing the "Letters" columns. Another opinion on burying the A303 in a tunnel at Stonehenge in Wiltshire.

The various arguments over burying the A303 in a tunnel at Stonehenge usually focus on cost, the effect on the landscape or the design and route of the tunnel.  However, putting the A303 out of sight of Stonehenge will deny travellers a glimpse of one of England's most, if not the most, ancient structures.  Is it right to deprive millions of such an historic view?

My favourite memory of  Stonehenge is of seeing it rising ghostlike above a low mist on an early summer's morning while driving east on the A303.  So, I have great sympathy with the opinions expressed in the letter below which appeared in the The Week on 17th February.


 Don't Hide the Henge.

To The Guardian.
    

One of the childhood experiences that vividly opened my mind to the narratives of British history, culture and geography was the view of Stonehenge from my parents’ traffic-jammed car on the A303.  It has imprinted itself and, in the poetic life of the subconscious, offers myriad insights, emotions and questions.  A tunnel will deny all future generations the opportunity to simply see Stonehenge, to “feel” it in the landscape of childhood and to allow it to seep into their thoughts.  The tunnel will give English Heritage a cash-cow monopoly, and turn history into a consumer product.

Bert Biscoe, Truro, Kernow.

Speeding through a tunnel at Stonehenge, but crawling through South Somerset. The future on the A303?

The consequences of building a tunnel at Stonehenge and a garden town between Yeovilton and Babcary.

The £1.6 billion plan to bury a new dual carriage way section of the A303 in a tunnel at Stonehenge (Western Daily Press, February 8) may or may not come to fruition, but if it does I doubt it will improve journey times to and from the south west.  I suspect any time saved by a road tunnel at Stonehenge will be lost due the proposed new “garden town” of 15,000 homes straddling the A303 between Yeovilton and Babcary.  It will bring with it thousands of additional car owners many of whom will, of necessity, need to use the A303. 

If both plans are realised road traffic will hurtle westward past Stonehenge only to come to a crawl 40 miles down the road as citizens of South Somerset’s new “garden town” join the A303 while going about their daily affairs. 

Meanwhile, according to the 2017 Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey from the Road Surface Treatments Association there is a national backlog of pothole repairs costing £12.6 billion.  Furthermore, the RAC Foundation reports almost 3,500 council maintained road bridges are sub-standard and £934 million would need to be spent restoring them.  Rather than use £1.6 billion trying to “reconnect the World Heritage landscape” at Stonehenge, surely it would be a better use of taxpayers’ money to spend it on helping maintain existing roads.

'New £1.6 billion tunnel plan to bury the A303 at Stonehenge.' states the Western Daily Press front page.

The Western Daily Press front page headline on the 12th September announced the £1.6 billion plan to bury the A303 40 metres below ground in a 1.8 mile long tunnel at Stonehenge.

The WDP reported that The National Trust, Historic England and English Heritage said in a joint statement:
"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reunite this ancient landscape which is currently severed by a huge volume of road traffic.  We welcome the amended route and believe it can, if designed and located with the utmost care, deliver a lasting legacy for the world heritage site and restore peace and tranquillity to the Stonehenge landscape."

Roads minister Jesse Norman said it would provide an economic boost to the entire South West by improving traffic flow between London and the region.

I am not convinced it is worth spending £1.6 billion, the cost of 3 NHS hospitals, in order to cut 15 or 20 minutes off the journey times of those in London and the South East who wish to hurtle through Wiltshire and Somerset on their way to and from their holiday destinations in Devonshire and Cornwall.

Furthermore, it does not seem fair to deprive travellers on the A303 of a glimpse of England's most historic monument.

I had this brief letter, written only partly in jest, published in the Western Daily Press on the 14th September.

It may be cheaper to move Stonehenge!

The cost of building a 1.8 mile tunnel to bury the A303 out of sight of Stonehenge is reported to be an eye watering £1.6 billion – almost £1 billion per mile.  I wonder if it may be less expensive to dig up and move Stonehenge instead?

S.W., Ilminster.