Wiltshire and Swindon Historic Environment Record

Details for record number MWI76875

Type

Monument

Title / Name

Site of Battle of the Beanfield

Summary

Site of the 1985 'Battle of the Beanfield', when 'New Age' Travellers seeking to attend the Stonehenge Free Festival, despite it's banning by English Heritage, were coralled and assaulted by elements of Wiltshire Police.

Monument Types and Dates

SITE, Late 20th Century (1985 to 1985)

Other Details

Source Detail: Worthington, A., 2005

Title: The Battle of the Beanfield

Summary: Book Source ID: SWI28513

Description: Site of the 1985 'Battle of the Beanfield', when so-called 'New Age' Travellers seeking to attend the Stonehenge Free Festival, despite it's banning by English Heritage, were coralled and assaulted by elements of Wiltshire Police. Damage to the buses used by the travellers and the spreading of their possessions is likely to have resulted in a fascinating debris field. The site should be regarded as part of the wider Stonehenge landscape.

© Crown copyright and database rights 2026 Ordnance Survey AC0000812613

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