Luton Henge opened on Saturday 26 July 2025 with an all day Festival with activities and events for all ages: poetry, music, craft workshops, dance.
The event received some amazing coverage from the regional press.
BBC news article: New henge artwork hopes to connect people
ITV news video: Community gathering space 'Luton Henge' unveiled at site with ancient neolithic history
Matthew Rosier’s ‘Luton Henge’ is a new permanent chalk Henge land artwork for gathering and connecting communities inspired by its ancient sites and stories. Set in Luton near the Chilterns National Landscape, it has been commissioned for Nature Calling
“I’m interested in the power of sacred spaces to connect people and nature over generations. What are our sacred spaces? How can they embody the diversity that makes this place so special? How can they connect us to the landscape?” Matthew Rosier
The Luton Henge site
Inspired by the Chilterns’ landscape and ‘Waulud’s Bank’, an ancient earthwork over 4,000 years old at the source of the River Lea, Luton Henge is a new sculptural Henge and land artwork by award winning artist Matthew Rosier. Made of local natural materials and created in collaboration and conversation with Luton’s community, Luton Henge opens in July 2025 with a dawn-to-dusk launch festival.
This new permanent artwork fosters a special connection between the community and the local Chilterns landscape. ‘Luton Henge’ was commissioned by the Chilterns National Landscape for Nature Calling and produced by Luton arts charity Revoluton Arts. Executive producers are the National Landscape Association and Activate Performing Arts. It is supported by Arts Council England and DEFRA.
With sculptures and landworks made from chalk, stone, earth and wood, Luton Henge will respond to the Chilterns and Luton landscapes using the same local materials that would have been used in prehistoric times. Luton Henge will act as a compass, physically marking and celebrating key moments of the year like the solstices and important global and historic local features. Luton Henge is a series of new landscape features; eight standing stones made from Totternhoe chalk clunch will be oriented toward key seasonal, local, and global landmarks.
A central chalk circle will be surrounded by a level grass space for gathering. An accessible chalk path will lead from the Marsh House community centre to the site, and ten benches made from local wood and carved during community workshops will be placed along the perimeter of the site. The new features will allow viewing of the site and support social activities, and the existing undulating landscape will be replanted as a chalk grassland meadow in collaboration with a range of local partners and volunteers.
Matthew Rosier said: “Chalk defines so much of all we love in this landscape, and many others across England. It's meadows, trees, wildlife, rivers, hills, its inhabitants. The Chilterns are covered in human imprints from across time; people have been drawn here over and over again for thousands of years. This is why I wanted to use forms of chalk to make Luton Henge. A connecting material between distant, current and future occupants of this landscape. The chalk ‘clunch’ stone quarried at Totternhoe is one of the only forms of chalk nationally that is strong enough to be used to build with, and we will be using the last ever stones from this ancient quarry, which has been used since Roman times.”
Members of the Marsh Farm Outreach Group by the standing stone
Lutonian writer and poet Lee Nelson was commissioned to respond to the project, hosting walks in the Chilterns with Luton residents to develop his short poetry collection ‘Sharpenhoe Begins’ inspired by the landscape and heritage. Rosier attended some of these walks, understanding Luton and the area more deeply through Nelson’s words and in solidarity with those who attended.
Lee Nelson said: “The initial research locally suggested that at least part of the issue of people not using the local landscape was not feeling 'invited' or 'permitted' or that they had the time, space or wherewithal and right to get out to the green spaces. Starting this project, there was the need to communicate the simple stuff: the freshness, the freedom, the fairness, the space, the time, and the chances that being outdoors can bring. The work itself needed to be welcoming and accessible. My job was drawing out and setting down in words real feelings from the responses of people to the earth beneath, the sky above and the self between.”
Matthew Rosier hosted a series of guided walks, workshops and community consultations, exploring ‘What is a Luton Henge?’ through the local landscape, craft and social histories with Luton residents. These workshops have cultivated the ‘Luton Henge Collective’, a community group interested in the Luton Henge project and has supported the development of the artistic work.
The chosen site for Luton Henge is a former BMX track north of Marsh House, situated to draw attention to the heritage of Waulud’s Bank. The BMX track is a Marsh Farm earthwork that is now largely unused. Rosier wanted to recognise and celebrate the efforts of the group of young people who fundraised to create the BMX track over twenty years ago. Through local consultation and agreement for this change of use on the site, Luton Henge will become embedded in the Marsh Farm community. The existing earth will be reused to minimise disruption to the site, and it will be rewilded as a chalk grassland meadow, introducing native wildflowers, grasses, plants and shrubs in collaboration with the parks team, local environmental groups and residents.
Matthew Rosier said: “This was going to be a temporary artwork originally, but through the process of working on-site, the community workshops and researching the history, the idea for Luton Henge evolved. A contemporary new gathering space for the residents in and around Luton to host activities and festivals plays to what is important to our wellbeing in these times - a connection to the landscapes and the people around us. It feels important and timely to create a permanent place for these interactions to happen in Luton, and I would love for this timeless form to speak to the present communities of this landscape and beyond.”
The space will be free to use as a formal and informal community gathering and leisure space. The legacy group ‘Luton Henge Collective’ has formed through the project creation process, which includes key local stakeholders. They will manage and maintain the site over its life and support the ongoing programme of events managed by Revoluton Arts.
Dr Elaine King, CEO at the Chilterns National Landscape, said: “Connecting people to nature and heritage is an important ambition for the Chilterns National Landscape, and this project brings that to life in the most inspiring way. Green spaces are vital for our health and wellbeing and should be open, welcoming, and meaningful for everyone. We are so thrilled to have commissioned this work, which is being delivered with such passion and creativity by artist Matthew Rosier, writer Lee Nelson, and an incredible team of producers and creatives. It’s a wonderful celebration of people, place, and shared history.”
“Luton’s heritage – from ancient earthworks to 90s rave culture – might not be what people might associate with the countryside, but it’s all part of our connection to the land. That’s what Luton Henge is about: creating a nature-rich community space for everyone and recognising that the landscape belongs to us all. Working with Luton’s communities has been a joy. Their enthusiasm and ideas have shaped something truly special. And with plans to make this a lasting feature, we hope it continues to offer a space to reflect and connect for years to come.”
Kate Wood and Bill Gee, Activate Performing Arts, said: “Lee Nelson and Matt Rosier were absolutely the right artists to commission in Luton. Lee’s deep-rooted connection and love for the place exudes with abundance in his writing. Matt’s inspired idea for the henge draws on the heritage of Luton and the Chilterns and creates a special new space for future gatherings. Securing the permission for the new henge to become a lasting legacy for the Chilterns National Landscape and the people of Marsh Farm and the wider Luton is a fantastic outcome”
Lindsey Pugh, Creative Director, Revoluton Arts said: “Matthew Rosier’s vision to create a henge chimes beautifully with Revoluton’s work responding to the unique heritage of Lea Marsh - from the spiritual gatherings of neolithic times, at the source of the River Lea, to the societal and spiritual movements that connect Luton’s communities in contemporary times. It’s beautiful to now witness people’s engagement with this project. From the passion of Lee Nelson’s poetry came a spring of hope that flows through the community coming together to co-create a landmark, which we hope will connect people to each other and the landscape for years to come.”
Nature Calling is a national arts project over six National Landscapes to inspire and connect new and existing communities with National Landscapes in England. The project provides new ways for people to access and engage with the countryside on their doorsteps. Through six significant new artworks and writing commissions, the project inspires and improves wellbeing locally, fostering a sense of belonging to these special landscapes for more people.