Henry
Browne was the first keeper of Stonehenge, after Sir Edmund Antrobus purchased
the monument in 1824. In addition to monitoring the condition of the monument,
Mr. Browne painted a series of Stonehenge watercolours to sell to tourists.
Mr. Browne believed that Stonehenge had been constructed prior to the Biblical
flood, and referred to the monument as an 'antediluvian temple'. Mr. A.D.
Passmore donated the watercolours of Mr. Browne’s that are in the Ashmolean
collections.
One is, in accordance with Dr.Stukeley's ideas, as it is supposed to have been when first erected, and the other as in its present condition. The diamter of the outer circle is 90 feet, and the height of the stones, including the imposts on cross pieces was 14 feet. The height of the highest pair at the back of the altar including the top stone, was 24 feet. The length of the altar stone 10 feet.
Stonehenge is situated on Salisbury Plain at about 11 miles from that city. Its erection is generally said to have been by the Druids, but it has also been attributed to the Romans, Saxons, Danes and attempts have been made to show that it may have been standing before the flood. But whatever opinion may be adopted on this head, there can be no doubt that it was a place of worship on a magnificent scale, although [illegible] in early times. The models were made and presented 1824, by the Revd William Richards, Rector of Chevenell, Wilts., and formerly a fellow of Trinity College, Oxford.