Amesbury History Centre

About

CURRENTLY CLOSED DUE TO EXTENSIVE BUILDING WORK

Due to re-open Autumn 2022

The Amesbury History Centre is the place to visit to find out all you need to know about the oldest continually inhabited settlement in Britain.  The centre though small is superbly laid out allowing locals and tourists alike to learn the story behind Amesbury's unique heritage, its connections to Stonehenge and the origins of its rise to military importance.

Go back to the Mesolithic period and see how Amesbury's earliest known ancestors lived by a spring in the shelter of Vespasian’s Camp from 7596-7542 BC. View the exclusively displayed artefacts from the internationally important excavations at Blick Mead including worked flints, bones from the aurochs and other animals; the magical flints that turn a beautiful pink colour when taken out of the water.

Learn about the discovery of the Amesbury Archer, his known journey and others who were drawn to the area throughout the centuries from Anglo- Saxon to Tudor times. Many were of Royal status, including the wife of Henry III, Queen Eleanor of Provence, who is buried somewhere in the grounds of Amesbury Abbey, the only Queen of England with no known grave.

The dedicated volunteers will share their thoughts on the existence of this oldest settlement, its possible role and why different people from far and wide met to hunt and feast together, its links to why Stonehenge was built where it is, its draw to those who sought religious solitude at the Abbey, and its military importance from the late 19th century onwards.

Amesbury History Centre at Church Street, Amesbury, Wiltshire, SP4 7EU.

• Free entrance and limited free parking.

• Friendly and knowledgeable volunteers.

• Visit our café.

• Support our shop, which sells books about local history, and souvenirs.

• Group visits are welcome with advance notice.

• A programme of talks and exhibitions.

• For all the latest news visit our Facebook page.