Following a recent visit to Stonehenge I wrote a letter to English Heritage, who manage the site, expressing my disappointment that the audio tours (recorded commentaries played on individual handsets which visitors carry around the monument) gave all the dimensions of the henge in metres.
My complaint was mainly based on the notion that imperial measures were as much a part of English heritage as the stones themselves. I also made a suggestion that commentaries could be provided in metric and imperial so that visitors may chose the system that they understand best.
A letter dated 17 August, 2001 from Mrs Clews Everard, Director of Stonehenge, in reply reads:
"Dear Mr Heath
Thank you very much for your recent letter regarding the use of imperial and metric units. I am looking into how we can make the necessary adjustments to include both in future publications and at the possibility of changing the existing audio tour.
Yours &c....."
Although this is not a definite commitment it is slightly encouraging. As I am unlikely to return to Stonehenge in the foreseeable future could any members that do visit it update this notice with any improvements in the tour and possibly write to English Heritage just to encourage them.
The address is English Heritage, South West Region, Stonehenge, 1st Floor Abbey Buildings, Abbey Square, Amesbury, Wiltshire, SP4 7ES. There are also a couple of web sites www.stonehengemasterplan.org and www.english-heritage.org.uk
In the 1970s, the forerunner to BWMA was the Anti-Metrication Board, based in Somerset. One of the founders was John Michel who has written extensively about ancient monuments and their relationship to the dimensions of the earth. Michel showed that the use of traditional measures was an integral part of this relationship and that the metre, which did not exist at that time, is an unnatural invention.
BWMA will add further weight by following up with a further letter to English Heritage (sounds like a contradiction in terms if they do not use English measurements).