Stonehenge bringing back its Grand Dahlia Show for second year
English Heritage has revived a tradition from the 1840s
A field of flowers will welcome visitors to Stonehenge this weekend.
English Heritage is hosting a dahlia festival from today (Friday 27th September) until Sunday 29th, harking back to a popular event from the 1840s.
The annual flower shows were the highlight of the Autumn calendar back then and were brought back to life last year.
This year's spectacle will showcase stunning floral artistry and fashion, recreating the atmosphere of a grand day out, as our teams of florists show off their floral interpretation of Victorian fashion.
Emily Parker, English Heritage Landscape Historian, said:
"People have been visiting Stonehenge for centuries, for all sorts of reasons. A flower festival might be one of the more unexpected things to draw people to the ancient monument but, in their day, these Dahlia shows would have been really spectacular. To see them make a comeback after all this time is so exciting and it offers us a unique opportunity for us to step back in time to the Victorian elegance and grandeur of the 1840s.”
Dating back to the 1840s, the Stonehenge dahlia shows were a magnet for crowds of up to 10,000 people.
In keeping with the tradition of the original shows, everyone is invited to cast their votes for their favourite floral "devices" or sculptures on display.
There'll also be music from the Shrewton Silver Band.