Poster - Stonehenge - We Want Our Stones Back

Stonehenge - We Want Our Stones Back poster

From 1974 to 1984, the Stonehenge Free Festival was a radical gathering of travellers, anarchists, artists, and free spirits who turned the ancient stones into a site of countercultural celebration. Every summer solstice, thousands camped near the monument for weeks, creating a self-governing community with music, theatre, and communal living. For many, it was more than a party—it was a rejection of privatized land, consumerism, and state control, embodying the belief that sacred spaces should be open to all.

Thatcher’s government saw the festival as a threat—a symbol of disorder and defiance. Police harassment intensified, and in 1985, authorities imposed an exclusion zone around Stonehenge, banning the festival under the guise of "protecting" the site. But this was really about crushing a movement that challenged property norms and state authority. The message was clear: ancient history belonged to the elites, not the people.

On 1 June 1985, a convoy of travellers and festivalgoers en route to Stonehenge was ambushed by police in a field near Cholderton. In what became known as the Battle of the Beanfield, officers smashed vehicles, beat unarmed men and women, and arrested 537 people—including children and pregnant women. Media coverage was sparse, but witnesses described it as a paramilitary operation against a peaceful community. The crackdown marked the end of the free festival era—but not the spirit of resistance.

The slogan "We want our stones back" isn’t just about Stonehenge—it’s about who controls history, land, and freedom. Today, the monument is a heavily managed tourist attraction, with solstice access restricted and policed. Yet the demand remains: Should sacred spaces be locked away, or should they belong to the living culture that gathers around them? The Beanfield was a brutal lesson in state power, but the fight for collective rights—to land, to celebration, to autonomy—still burns.

This print is a recreation of an original poster. It is an A3 size (approx. 11.7" x 16.5") and is printed on good quality 170gm poster paper.

Printed by the Radical Poster Collective, UK

The Radical Poster Collective is dedicated to making good quality classic radical posters available at an affordable price. Posters are either digitally cleaned up to remove tears, stains, etc., or completely recreated to be as close as possible to the original.