Edward Duke

Born in Hungerford in 1779, he was educated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, took degrees there, and was ordained in the Church of England. After clerical work in Gloucestershire and Salisbury, he inherited the Lake House estate in Wiltshire, where his interest in local antiquities deepened.

He wrote on Wiltshire history and archaeology, contributing pieces to The Gentleman’s Magazine and publishing books including The Druidical Temples of the County of Wilts (1846). His work focused especially on sites such as Stonehenge, Avebury, and Silbury Hill, and while some of his theories now seem highly speculative, they show the curiosity and enthusiasm of an early nineteenth-century antiquary.

He died in 1852. Today he is chiefly remembered as one of the colorful early interpreters of Britain’s prehistoric past, combining scholarly habits, local knowledge, and a vivid imagination.