Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeenshire druid appears in court over Stonehenge protest

Post Thumbnail

A north-east druid who was part of a group demanding ‘Free Stonehenge’ has been convicted of trespassing in the ancient stone circle.

Lisa Mead, 52, twice stepped over barriers and touched the stones along with two other pagans at the ancient site, breaking the rules which govern it.

Also convicted were witches Angela Grace, 46, and Maryam Halcrow, 56.

It is understood the group were concerned by English Heritage’s monetisation of the site, including charging large sums for Summer Solstice events.

Mead, of Banff in Aberdeenshire, and Halcrow of Swindon, Wilts, were part of an 11-strong group from the Free Stonehenge movement who ignored signs and warnings and walked up to the stones on February 4.

They had been warned by police they were contravening regulations but did so again on May 6, with Mead, Halcrow and Grace once more stepping over the rope barrier.

Swindon Magistrate’s Court heard that “solitary hedgewitch” Halcrow had wandered about singing and touching the stones.

The three women were found guilty of entering an inner cordon at Stonehenge, near Amesbury, Wilts, twice without reasonable excuse.

Judge Simon Cooper told them that future generations had the right to enjoy Stonehenge undamaged.

The court heard that English Heritage holds Summer Solstice when people can walk around the Stonehenge for a fee of £38.50.

Halcrow said the numbers of people, food stands, urinals and buses at this year’s Summer Solstice sickened her.

Judge Cooper told them: “Unseen, uncontrolled access to the site prejudices the rights of others to enjoy them for another 8,000 years.

“I have heard descriptions of the Solstice events and I can quite understand Miss Halcrow’s evidence that for her they were terrifying.

“They certainly destroy the sense of spirituality for those who wish to worship.”

But he said it was not for the magistrates’ court to deliberate on whether English Heritage’s policies were correct.

All thee pagans received a six-month conditional discharge and walked free from court.