'It was my playground': Daughter of 1930s Stonehenge custodian shares memories for new project

Jean Grey (pictured, inset) was five-years-old when she moved to Stonehenge. Credit: PA / English Heritage

The daughter of a former Stonehenge custodian has shared her memories of the mysterious landmark for a new project.

Jean Grey, who is 91-years-old and now living in Melbourne, Australia, grew up among the stones in the 1930s thanks to her father Jon Moffat.

She contacted English Heritage through her granddaughter to share her memories of living at the cottage that stood at Stonehenge Bottom in the 1930s.

Ms Grey was just five-years-old when she moved to the landmark and her story will feature in the charity's Your Stonehenge photographic exhibition later this year.

Jean contacted English Heritage through her granddaughter to share her memories. Credit: English Heritage

Ms Grey said: "Dad was the custodian of the stones. He cut the grass and maintained the area round the huge monoliths and made sure no-one damaged them.

"Occasionally, school groups would arrive by charabanc for a conducted tour and sometimes visitors who were wealthy enough to have their own transport.

"Most of the time it was a quiet, safe place for me to play around the Stones. No neighbours. No other children. No electricity and only an outside earth toilet.

"There was no rubbish collection - a pit was dug in the far corner of the back garden and everything was buried, including my father's old, chain-driven motorbike."

An aerial view of Stonehenge in the 1930s, when Jean lived there with her family. Credit: English Heritage

She added: "In the autumn we'd go mushrooming. We were told the circles they grew in were fairy rings. Even now, seventy years later, Stonehenge has a lasting place in my memory - the summer days and the skylarks."

The house Ms Grey lived in was demolished in 1938 - however, the remnants of the hedge are said to appear every year.

Susan Greaney, English Heritage historian, explained: "People have been visiting Stonehenge for centuries, but there's not very many people who can say they lived there - it must have been an amazing place to grow up.

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain

"We're really pleased to now be able to tell the story of someone who did."

The Your Stonehenge exhibition has been extended until August 2022 and will feature a series of new displays over the coming months.