linguistic:paraphrasing, structural:scholar_edition, structural:reformatting, stylistic:tone
Saving the skyline

The plot bought by Chubb and gifted to the nation was only 30 acres (12 ha) in size, and various buildings stood within clear sight of the monument, the most prominent being Stonehenge Aerodrome. Some 300 metres (980 ft) from the stones, the aerodrome was built during the First World War for the Royal Flying Corps and its large stone and brick hangars dominated the skyline.

In the dry valley at Stonehenge Bottom, a main road junction was built between what would later be designated as the A303 and A344 roads, along with several cottages and a cafe.

In 1927 the land around Stonehenge was put up for auction in three plots. Plot A lay immediately west of the monument and included the (by now disused) Stonehenge Aerodrome, Plot B was to the south on the other side of the main road, and Plot C on the north side included part of the Stonehenge Cursus.

There was interest from developers, and in August 1927 a subscription fund was launched in order to "save the skyline" of the monument. The subscription made rapid progress, with George V as the lead subscriber, and by October 1927 £8,000 had been raised, which was enough to purchase Plot A and start the demolition of the aerodrome. The fund continued for a number of years to secure the remaining land around the henge for the nation, with fundraising for Plot C continuing through 1929.

The land was taken into the management of the National Trust to preserve. The last large aircraft hangar was removed in 1930, and by the middle of the 1930s the aerodrome site was cleared.

More recently the land has been part of a grassland reversion scheme, returning the surrounding fields to native chalk grassland.