Britton Cabinet

This was made as a talking piece for a gentleman͛s drawing room, once owned by the travel writer John Britton. In the top is a model of Stonehenge as it was when the cabinet was made in 1824. The sides of the glass are coloured red and orange so that shining the light of a candle would show how Stonehenge looks at dawn or dusk. In one of the drawers is a model of Stonehenge as it may have been if it was complete. In a second drawer is a model of the Avebury landscape, based on a plan by the antiquarian William Stukeley. The drawer fronts are set with watercolours by John Britton and leading artists of the day. The remaining drawers and cupboards held books, maps, plans and drawings. The cabinet and many of John Britton͛s books and papers formed the founding collection of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society. Today the Society runs the Wiltshire Museum. Caption: David Dawson (Wiltshire Museum)