21 September 1915: Man buys Stonehenge for his wife

Stonehenge

(Image credit: Getty Images)

What might make a good wedding anniversary present for your wife, do you think, presuming you have one? Jewellery, perhaps? Perfume? Dinner at a swanky restaurant? How about 30 acres of Wiltshire and the world's most famous Neolithic monument? Possibly not.

But that's what Salisbury man Cecil Chubb decided on a whim when he found himself at Messrs Knight, Franck and Rutley's auction in the Palace Theatre on this day in 1915.

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Cecil paid the bargain price of £6,600 (the equivalent of some £475,000 in today's money) for the monument and associated bit of Wiltshire. Unfortunately for Cecil, his wife wasn't too enthused by her romantic gift. So, after enjoying it for just three years, Cecil decided to give it to the nation. And in return, Cecil became Sir Cecil.

But his gift did come with a few conditions, including that the entrance fee should be a "reasonable sum per head not exceeding one shilling for each visit". In 1921, local residents were guaranteed free access in a deal between Parliament and the local Parish Council. To this day, 30,000 locals are entitled to a pass giving them free access. The rest us have to pay rather more than a shilling: the current entrance fee for adults is just over £30.