Obituary notice
We are very sad to bring you the news that Dohn Prout our indefatigable site manager passed away at the end of April. Dohn’s contribution to the work of the Trust has been immense. Everyone who has visited the Rollright Stones in the past few years will be aware of how much has been done to improve access and give the Stones more space within their surroundings. Many who visited the site, who volunteered in various capacities to help with work parties or act as wardens, or who used the site for events from handfastings to plays and films will have met Dohn in person. Many others will have become familiar with his open-mindedness, good sense and querky sense of humour over the phone or by email.
In 2001 the Trustees had developed a conservation and management plan for the Stones, but as individuals with other busy lives we were failing to make our ideas take shape on the ground. We badly needed someone with flair and initiative, and a lot of practical knowledge of how to get things done to take up the challenge. Dohn was a godsend – with a vast wealth of can-do project management behind him and an immensely inventive flair for finding solutions, he also had the patience and good humour to deal with the highly varied and idiosyncratic interests of people who value the Stones and a board of trustees who sometimes needed some cajoling and prodding to make decisions. Dohn not only was the person who turned our vision for the Stones into reality, but was also the inspiration for a lot of ideas that the Trust has taken up, like having the first downloadable audio tour and story-telling for an ancient site in Britain.
As Site Manager Dohn not only dealt with a great deal of day-to day business, but was also the buffer and foil for a whole series of setbacks due to vandalism of which the paint spattering in 2004 and the burning down of the hut in 2006 were the most conspicuous and posed the greatest challenges. Typically, Dohn threw himself into finding solutions: he carried out experiments to find the best way of removing the paint without damaging the lichens and was taken on by English Heritage to remove it, painstakingly picking it off by hand. It was Dohn’s ideas that after a great deal of debate have inspired the scheme for the new hut – which, when we finish it as he envisaged will be less visible from the Stones, more secure and more roomy inside than the old one, and yet ultimately removable if need be.
Much of what Dohn achieved for us was not just a matter of inventiveness and practical implementation: he also proved himself adept at finding and securing many valuable grants, favours and special deals to help pay for the work and keep costs down. He was also at the heart of our negotiations with neighbouring landowners to secure additional areas of land under the Trust’s management to improve the amenity of the Stones.
All of us who value the Stones owe an immense amount to Dohn and he will be very sorely missed. We send Ba and the rest of Dohn’s family our deepest sympathy.
George Lambrick
Chairman
|