Amesbury Museum and Heritage Trust

Last weekend we celebrated the end of the dark days at Stonehenge by lighting the Solstice lantern (as sun set) and walking it to Amesbury, where it stood near the sacred warm springs and over 200 lantern bearers circled it and commemorated this special moment in the year when the days start to get lighter. Our Solstice fairy this year was Naomi Coles whose family have supported this event since it was founded by the Amesbury 2012 committee back in 2011. We were so grateful to Stonehenge the Amesbury History Centre and The Stonehenge Chamber for all their support and to Win Scutt for joining us. We wish everyone a most enjoyable Christmas season and a successful 2026.

The 15th Amesbury Lantern Procession to the warm springs at Amesbury Abbey will take place at 5.15pm on Saturday 20th December, celebrating the end of the dark nights and welcoming the return of the light 🌙➡️🌞

For more details or to sign up, visit Amesbury History Centre or The Stonehenge Chamber 🏛️

https://www.stonehengechamber.co.uk/event

🕯️ Lanterns available from Amesbury Filling Station

A huge thank you to the Cornelius-Reid family for their generous support and refreshments along the way 🙏✨

🕯️💛

The 15th Amesbury lantern procession to the warm springs at Amesbury Abbey celebrating the end of the dark nights takes place at 5.15pm on Saturday 20th December. For more details or to sign up see Amesbury History Centre The Stonehenge Chamber lanterns available at Amesbury Filling Station. Thanks go to the Cornelius-Reid family for their support and refreshments on the way.

The solstice lantern was lit at Stonehenge at sunset today and was then walked to the warm Springs at Amesbury Abbey . The 14th Solstice fairy is Amelia Jane who has taken part in the ceremonies every year.

Happy mid winters eve and solstice everyone! Today at sunset the lantern will again be lit to capture the dying embers of light from the shortest day and kept burning through the longest night and at sunrise it will extinguish itself as we celebrate the return of the light.

The 14th Mid Winter’s Eve Solstice Lantern lighting at Stonehenge will take place on Friday 20th December and the procession to Amesbury Abbey Spring will start at 5.15pm from Amesbury Central Car Park. Once again we thank Stonehenge, Amesbury History Centre, Amesbury Filling Station, Stonehenge Chamber and The Amesbury Abbey Group for helping us make this wonderful Christmas time event happen. And special thanks to the Cornelius Reid family for refreshments on the way!

Rest in peace Professor Tim Darvill OBE

And thank you for all your support over the years.

Tim Darvill at Amesbury Museum 20th September 2013 low res Andy Rhind-Tutt, Mayor of Amesbury 2011-2012 with Professor Tim Darvill and students at the future Amesbury Museum

Sad news today from Cotswold Archaeology. Tim was a great supporter of our trust and the winter lantern procession taking part every year.

It is with genuine sadness that we share the news that our Chairman, Tim Darvill, has passed away from cancer at the age of 66. Tim was a founding trustee of Cotswold Archaeology in 1989 and served as Chairman for 35 years, guiding us from our early days in Cirencester to becoming one of the UK’s leading archaeological organisations.

Tim was one of the foremost archaeologists of his generation, renowned for his work on Stonehenge, cultural heritage, and advancing commercial archaeology. His leadership, vision, and unwavering passion for "doing good archaeology" made him a brilliant mentor to many, and laid the foundation for all that we have achieved and all that we aspire to be at CA.

He will be profoundly missed by all of us, and our thoughts are with his family, friends, and the countless people he has inspired.

For more on Tim’s remarkable life and contributions, please read this statement from Tim's friend and colleague, and our CEO, Neil Holbrook: https://cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk/tim-darvill-1957-2024/