Rosemary Hill begins a new four-part series looking at what people have thought about Stonehenge over the past few hundred years, and why it’s come to matter so much in the story of Britain. In the first episode she talks to architectural historian Vaughan Hart about how Inigo Jones and John Wood were inspired by Stonehenge in their designs for Covent Garden and Bath, and how those in turn had an enormous influence on the way British towns and cities look today, from squares and circuses to oversized acorns and the idea of architecture itself.
Buy Rosemary Hill's book Stonehenge here: lrb.me/stonehengebook
Vaughan Hart is the author of numerous books on the history of architecture, including Inigo Jones: the Architect of Kings; Christopher Wren: In Search of Eastern Antiquity and Nicholas Hawksmoor: Rebuilding Ancient Wonders.
Image: An aeriel view of The Circus in Bath, designed by John Wood, inspired by Stonehenge.
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Music by Kieran Brunt / Produced by Zoe Kilbourn and Anthony Wilks
