Image copyright Getty Images 
 
 Today Stonehenge is England's most important monument, but 100 years ago it was up for sale. The man who bought it helped seal its fate. 
 
 Standing on Salisbury Plain, its stones visible from afar, Stonehenge has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1986 and attracts a million visitors a year. 
 
 So it's strange to think that England's most significant monument was once bought by a barrister as a present to his wife. Or so one theory goes. Another is that he feared a rich American might take it. 
 
 Whatever his motivation, 100 years ago, on 21 September 1915, Cecil Chubb paid £6,600 for the monument at an auction in Salisbury, Wiltshire. It happened, he said, "on a whim". 
 
 Chubb's wife Mary was reportedly less than grateful for the romantic gesture, possibly because the price equated to as much as £680,000 in today's money. "It's said that Mary wanted Cecil to buy a set of curtains at the auction," says Stonehenge's curator, Heather Sebire. "And he came back with something rather different." 
 
 Image copyright Library of Congress Image caption Lady Mary and Sir Cecil Chubb on board the RMS Aquitania, 1926 
 
 On 26 October 1918, 16 days before the Armistice ended World War One, Chubb passed Stonehenge into public ownership, via a deed of gift. 
 
 The next year Prime Minister David Lloyd George recognised his generosity with a title, Chubb becoming Sir Cecil Chubb, First Baronet of Stonehenge. 
 
 To mark this Chubb had a coat of arms made up, bearing a silver lion's leg grasping two branches of mistletoe - a plant regarded as sacred by the druids who (people believed) worshipped at Stonehenge. The coat of arms bore the motto "Saxis Condita", meaning "Founded on the stones". 
 
 Chubb had come from humble origins. Born in 1876, his father was a saddler and harness-maker in the village of Shrewton, a few miles from Stonehenge. 
 
 He attended a grammar school, working his way, via a stint as a student teacher, to Cambridge University. He became a barrister and amassed a considerable fortune. 
 
 Chubb didn't forget his roots when he gave Stonehenge away. His deed of gift stipulated the public shouldn't pay "a sum exceeding one shilling" per visit. A separate agreement with the parish council said local people should get in for nothing. 
 
 The story of Stonehenge 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images 
 
 Large-scale human activity first seen around site around 7000 BC; first large earthwork was built around 3100 BC and second stage of construction around 2150 BC 
 
 Third stage happened 150 years or so later, with the arrival of sandstones, probably from north Wiltshire, the largest weighing 50 tonnes - men dragged stones using sledges and leather ropes 
 
 Stones were arranged into the present horseshoe and circle shape around 1500 BC 
 
 Purpose of Stonehenge remains mystery - suggestions include royal burial ground, temple, site for human sacrifices, or building capable of predicting eclipses 
 
 Site is aligned so sun shines through to particular point on summer and winter solstices, but no academic consensus over why prehistoric Britons thought this important 
 
 BBC History: Stonehenge 
 
 Now run by English Heritage, some 30,000 people living near Stonehenge still get free entry. But, for outsiders, an adult's ticket is £14.50. English Heritage argues that, given wage inflation over the past century, it costs less in real terms today than it did then. 
 
 The reason Stonehenge and a 30-acre triangle of adjoining land came on to the market in 1915 was the death of Sir Edmund Antrobus, the only male heir of the family who had owned it since the 1820s. A lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards, he had been killed in Kruiseik, Belgium, in October 1914, during one of the first battles of World War One. 
 
 Perhaps this sad tale, as much as love for Mary or a desire to be rewarded for good works, motivated Chubb to buy Stonehenge. 
 
 "I think there must have been a strong local element in Chubb's thinking, as he was from nearby," says Sebire. "It's not certain that he knew the Antrobus family, but he's likely to have known of them." 
 
 Ahead of the auction, there was speculation that a wealthy foreigner might buy Stonehenge, dismantle it and transport it abroad, as happened to London Bridge more than 50 years later, when it was shipped to Arizona. 
 
 In its preview story, the Daily Telegraph noted that the news of Stonehenge's sale was "enough to rouse the envy of all American millionaires who are bitten by the craze for acquiring antiques". Preventing this might have influenced Chubb's purchase. 
 
 "Cecil Chubb did a great thing in trying to return Stonehenge to the people and to ensure a legacy of free and unfettered access," says Frank Somers, of Stonehenge and Amesbury Druids. "I do not believe that this has been honoured by the authorities who have taken upon themselves the mantle of its guardians." 
 
 Image copyright Salisburyareaplaques/Flickr Image caption A plaque commemorates Sir Cecil's birthplace, along with his mistletoe-sporting coat of arms 
 
 Stonehenge had been privately owned since being confiscated from a nearby abbey during Henry VIII's reign. But by the time of Chubb's involvement, the duty of preservation was being more keenly felt. 
 
 The Ancient Monuments Act of 1913 allowed for the first time the compulsory purchase of historic sites. As World War One was coming to a close, officials would have more time to implement it. Stonehenge was an obvious candidate. In Chubb's mind it might have become a "liability", says Sebire. Even so, he gave it away rather than sell it. 
 
 Chubb died in 1934. His son, Sir John Chubb, died in 1957, leaving no heir, meaning the baronetcy ended there. 
 
 Few today have heard of Sir Cecil Chubb, but there is a plaque on the house where he was born and grew up in Shrewton. 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The new visitor centre at Stonehenge 
 
 The area around Stonehenge is undergoing a £27m transformation. The A344 nearby has closed and the visitor centre and car park have been moved away from the stones. The fence surrounding the ruins is being pulled down. 
 
 In his gift of deed, Chubb asked for the site to remain as open as possible. A hundred years after he bought it, this appears to be happening. 
 
 But the druids say more needs to be done. "Families used to picnic at Stonehenge," says Somers. "Lovers met there beneath a full moon. Children would touch the ancient stones in wonder. Druids would gather to lead public and local events." 
 
 "Stonehenge for her part would embrace, inspire and nurture all those who visited with good intent," he adds. "Stonehenge has not lost her integrity but perhaps, in the modern age where money rules over everything, we have." 
 
 The stones remain in their majesty, any debate about their future being over access rather than preservation. 
 
 "I've been here when it's quiet, at different times of year," says Sebire. "It never ceases to impress. No one can really say why Chubb did what he did. You might say it's as mysterious as Stonehenge itself." 
 
 More from the Magazine 
 
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 How Stonehenge became the world's biggest military training camp (November 2014) 
 
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 On 21 September 1915 a barrister – sent to auction by his wife to buy some chairs – bought one of the world’s most important historical sites 
 
 
 
 
 
 He had been sent to the auction by his wife, so legend has it, to buy a set of dining chairs. Instead, barrister Cecil Chubb’s eye was caught by lot No 15: a few acres of Wiltshire downland – plus one ancient, crumbling, mysterious monument. 
 
 Exactly 100 years ago, Stonehenge was sold to Chubb for £6,600. Three years later he gave the magnificent stones to the nation and since then it has become one of the most beloved and most visited historical sites in the world. 
 
 “It is odd to think that just 100 years ago you could bid for Stonehenge,” said curator Heather Sebire. “Who knows what would have happened to it if someone else had bought it? It was in a pretty perilous condition at the time and it appears that Chubb stepped in to make sure Stonehenge stayed in local ownership. Now it’s under the guardianship of English Heritage and is safe forever.” 
 
 Stonehenge had been a popular attraction since the Middle Ages but by the late 19th century tourists were regularly chipping away at the monument for souvenirs. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Stonehenge pictured in about 1870. By the late 19th century tourists were regularly chipping away at the monument for souvenirs Photograph: Historic England/NMR/PA 
 
 In 1900, one of the upright sarsen stones fell and the massive horizontal lintel it held in place snapped in two. There was an outcry, leading to the monument being fenced in and an admission charge introduced towards its upkeep. But the stones remained in a worrying condition. 
 
 Stonehenge had been owned by the Antrobus family since the early 1800s but when the heir to the Antrobus baronetcy was killed in the opening months of the first world war, the Amesbury Abbey estate was divided into lots and put up for sale. 
 
 The auction catalogue described Stonehenge as a “place of sanctity dedicated to the observation or adoration of the sun” and dated it to around 1800BC (actually it is now thought that the first phase was constructed as long ago as 3000BC). 
 
 At 2pm on 21 September 1915, the New Theatre in Salisbury was full. According to a report in the Salisbury and Winchester Journal: “Interest quickened when the auctioneer announced lot 15.” Auctioneer Sir Howard Frank began bidding at £5,000. It quickly reached £6,000 but then stalled. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sir Cecil Chubb, with his wife, Mary. She apparently did not approve of the purchase and three years after buying it he donated Stonehenge to the nation. Photograph: Library of Congress/English Heri/PA 
 
 Frank was not impressed. “Gentlemen,” he said, “it is impossible to value Stonehenge. Surely £6,000 is poor bidding, but if no one bids me any more, I shall set it at this price. Will no one give me any more than £6,000 for Stonehenge?” 
 
 The auction limped on until the hammer came down at £6,600. A clerk made his way along the dimly lit stalls and returned with the purchaser’s card in his hand. Frank announced the identify of the buyer to applause. 
 
 Chubb remarked to a reporter that he had not intended to acquire the ancient site. He added: “While I was in the room, I thought a Salisbury man ought to buy it.” Asked if he had any plans for the stones, he replied that he would protect the monument. 
 
 Apparently, Chubb’s wife, Mary, was not pleased when he broke the news and three years later in 1918, he donated it to the nation, writing: “I became the owner of it with a deep sense of pleasure … [but] it has been pressed upon me that the nation would like to have it for its own ...” 
 
 A special handing-over ceremony took place and Chubb received a knighthood, gaining the local nickname “Viscount Stonehenge”. One of the conditions was that local people would still be able to visit for free, which English Heritage honours. 
 
 But what would have happened if Chubb had not won the auction? It had already been afforded protection under the Ancient Monuments Act of 1883 so probably could not have been shipped overseas as London Bridge was half a century later. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Farmer Richard Crook, the grandson of the second-highest bidder Isaac Crook, with his grandfather’s copy of the auction catalogue. Photograph: Sam Frost/English Heritage/PA 
 
 The second-highest bidder was farmer Isaac Crook. His grandson, Richard, still farms nearby fields today. “He was going to put sheep on to it. It’s quite a thought that our family might have owned Stonehenge. But who knows what he’d have done with the stones? He was interested in the land rather than the stones but I like to think he’d have cared for them.”
– One of history's more grand misplaced romantic gestures involves a British wife who was hoping for new curtains and instead got a bunch of rocks. A century ago, on Sept. 21, 1915, Cecil Chubb set off for an auction "and came back with something rather different" than the practical household items wife Mary was hoping for—that being Stonehenge, for which he plunked down £6,600 "on a whim," reports the BBC. That works out to just over $1 million in today's currency, which didn't exactly thrill Mary. No one knows the true motive behind Chubb's splurge, but there was talk of a wealthy American who wanted to dismantle what is now an iconic tourist destination and ship it overseas, and Chubb, a local, may have wanted to keep it in its original home. Chubb, born in 1876 to a saddler and harness-maker in the village of Shrewton just a few miles up the road, worked his way up to Cambridge University, became a lawyer, and made a fortune. When he gave Stonehenge away just three years later in October of 1918, he stipulated that the general public should get in for less than a shilling a visit and locals should get in for free. "Cecil Chubb did a great thing in trying to return Stonehenge to the people and to ensure a legacy of free and unfettered access," one local says. The Guardian reports that Chubb wrote at the time: "I became the owner of it with a deep sense of pleasure … [but] it has been pressed upon me that the nation would like to have it for its own." (As for why Stonehenge was built, there's a theory involving stilts.)