Human Henge, ran between 2016 and 2018, led by the Restoration Trust in partnership with Richmond Fellowship, English Heritage, the National Trust, and Bournemouth University, and supported by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. It brought together archaeology and creativity through immersive experiences of historic landscapes to enhance mental health and wellbeing – read more here. Based at Stonehenge and Avebury, the programmes engaged people living in Wiltshire with mental health conditions in a creative exploration of the ancient landscapes. Over 10 sessions, participants participated in music, song, poetry, illustration, and working with clay whilst interacting with aspects of the historic landscape. Monitoring progress before, during and after the programmes, 65% of participants reported feeling an improved sense of health and wellbeing upon completion. Read more about the findings here.
Scaling Up Human Henge, part of the Mobilising Community Assets to Tackle Health Inequalities Research Programme, ran between 2022 and 2023. Its aim is to run and evaluate a Culture Heritage Therapy Programme based in the historic Stonehenge landscape and to produce a toolbox guide that will help professional and voluntary bodies develop and run similar programmes in other historic landscapes around Britain.
