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LOCALE MELKSHAM Melksham is an excellent centre
for a variety of days out – whatever your interests, being in the heart
of Wiltshire. Wiltshire is widely regarded for its archaeology an ancient
history, with beautiful countryside, picture postcard villages and featuring
many splendid landscaped gardens, stately homes and a wealth of National
Trust Properties. Very close to Melksham are Also Close to
home Castle Combe, Biddestone,
Box tunnel created Isimbard Brunel,
Which the sun shines through once a year on his birthday.
While nearby Chippenham
was an occasional country base for King Alfred, who had a
hunting lodge there, Melksham was the place where
he did the business, it was but a small place in the middle of Chippenham Forest. Not only a great place for hunting but
also a useful hiding place from marauding Danes. Later as Melksham
grew it became increasingly known as A couple of hundred years later
Harold handed over the Kingdom without so much as batting an eye to the The forest must have been cleared
a bit by then as there were listed several farms and mills. In a big share
out of their newly gained wealth the As the forest made way for pasture and the town gradually began to grow, the cloth mills took on a greater importance. The area around Canon Square was formerly cottages for the weavers the church of St Michael is to one side and Church Walk the other, leads towards the river, which powered the mills. John Fowler was born in Melksham in 1826, the son of a Quaker merchant. He started
his working life at a corn merchants, but on
reaching 21 left to work at a Middlesborough
engineering company. He invented a stationary steam hauled plough for land
drainage and later set up his own engineering business in Gradually the weaving died out. The
cloth makers of Melksham found it increasingly
difficult to compete with more intensively mechanised
mills of the north yet were unable, or unwilling to produce cheaper quality
cloth. They resorted to paying their outworkers less, which led to street
fighting as the workers protested at their poverty. As the mills fell silent agriculture
and engineering grew. Along came the canal of the Wilts & Berks Co.
Followed by the railway. Neither made as great an impression on the town as
the motor car and the Avon Rubber Company who set up a tyre
manufacturing plant. During the last war giant grain silos were built between
the railway and the Holt road. The railway had private sidings serving this
and engineering works. The sidings are gone and now the most prominent
feature is the roundabout, testament to the rise in road transport and the
decline of rail. The railway had already killed off
the canal, but its route can still be traced through parts of the town. The
most obvious point being the remains of a humped bridge in The town has continued to grow, and
during the last sixty years or so has diversified greatly in the types of
businesses. It was at one time described as being only second to Swindon in its industry, before the coming of the Great
Western Railway, Melksham was some five times the
size of the little village of Swindon! Much of the
building that took place in the middle 1900's was pretty dire. Several fine
buildings in WILTSHIRE
The county has
been host to a number of notable battles, including Alfred`s
defeat of the Danes at Ethandune where despite
tremendous odds and a seemingly impregnable hill-fort, he used all his guile
and cunning to win a famous victory. The civil war battle of Roundway Hill near Devizes also
figures prominently in our 'warrior' history. In more recent
times, the county, especially Trowbridge in the west, was renowned the world
over for its quality woolen products. Alas, all mills are now confined to
memory and text, although Trowbridge now hosts a museum where details of this
aspect of the county's past can be explored.
LACOCK
Lacock abbey was
founded by Lady Ela the Countess of Another famous
resident of Lacock was William Fox Talbot in 1835.
He was one of the pioneers of photography, and discovered how to make prints
from negatives. Visitors to Lacock are shown the Oriel window from which he took his
first successful photograph. The Village has
many architectural designs from the early timber framework to the Georgian
pediment. The tithe barn, 14th century doorways and several old
weavers’ cottages make it a delight to explore. Lacock was given to the
National Trust in 1944 by Matilda Talbot. more info: http://www.yourguide.org.uk/lacock/index.html
CASTLE COMBE The Wiltshire Originally home to
a Roman Villa and then a castle as well. Castle Combe
is the Wiltshire Mecca of picturesque villages. There are many wonderful
buildings including the Dower House and the White Hart as well as the lovely
church. The church was
extensively restored in the 19th century but mostly remains the old work.
Round the top of the tower run 76 arches high and low. The parapet is carved
with nearly fifty stone heads. Looking down on the roof is a carving of a
shuttle and scissors the mark of the cloth industry put there by the
merchants who built the tower. Walter De Dunstaville
(1270) whose family owned the Castle after the Norman conquest has his tomb
in the church with effigy showing him in full chain armour
with angels at his head and a dog at his feet, and six small figures in the
panels of the tomb. The Scrope family moved in as Lords of the manor in the reign
of Richard II and stayed for nearly 500 years. The manor house along with
later additions became a hotel. Castle Combe did
develop as a weaving town along with the rest of Wiltshire in the fifteenth
century. It manufactured a red and white cloth known as 'Castle combe'. Weaving was carried out in the 50 or so weaving
cottages. Castle Combe is most famous for being portrayed as a
fishing-port in the filming of Dr Doolittle staring Rex Harrison and Anthony Newley. The television aerials were removed and a little
jetty was built on the banks of By Brook, to make the town into a seaport.
Local inhabitants became 'extras' at 50s. per day,
with meals, alcohol, and clothes all thrown in. One local who was
in the film used to sit by the market cross and recant the stories of the
filming. "Tell 'ee wot, zome
o' them vilm volk, they
be all right" more info: http://www.castle-combe.com/
THE WHITE HORSES
more info: http://wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk/westbury.html CORSHAM Corsham has been home to
several armed forces, especially during the second world war. Prior to that
it was a typical West Wiltshire weaving town, tastefully built of In 1801 it was
the eighth most popular town in the county jealously preserving a number of
ancient rights, which included the right to hold a court leet and have its own
coroner. The parishioners were exempt from jury service and the vicar was
empowered to hold his own consistory court. In and around Corsham is a group of several distinguished country
mansions. The finest and
most imposing of those in the district is Corsham
court A Royal Manor to the Saxon Kings
more info:
http://www.corsham-court.co.uk/
BOX A hill-top
village above a deep combe. It is best known for
its long railway tunnel, the work of Brunel, and
for its extensive stone quarries. It used to have
tallow and brewing industries. A villa of the roman period, with tessellated
pavement has been found here, while another was discovered at Atworth, nearby as recently as 1938. BRADFORD ON Tucked into the
western corner of Wiltshire the little town of The 'broad ford' across
the River Avon was replaced in medieval times by a sturdy stone bridge,
complete with chapel for the use of the pilgrims. The view from the bridge
encompasses the hill above the town where the old weavers' cottages are
situated, and along the river bank 19th century cloth mills, all built of
local stone. CALNE Currently the
town centre is going through transition, following the demolition of the
Harris Factory. A new supermarket is under construction and the intention is
that the town centre will be landscaped. Historically,
Doctor Joseph Priestley discovered Oxygen while living in Calne
from 1772-1779. There is a memorial to him by the Doctors pond, not far from
St Mary's Church. Walter Goodall George (1858-1943) was born near Calne also has St
Mary's Calne is one of the
very few towns where you can stand in the centre, look up and see hills
around you, towards the White Horse. CHIPPENHAM Alfred the Great
is said to have bequeathed Chippenham to his
daughter Elfrida and it is mentioned in the
Doomsday book as one of the manors held by St. Edward. Granted its
charter in 1554 Chippenham used to be home to a saxon market place between the forests, Chippenham, Melksham and Braden
and was the favorite hunting grounds of the It has a mix of
historic housing including timber-framed houses of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, as well as Georgian stately homes. The town was the
stop off point for coaches traveling from TROWBRIDGE Trowbridge began
life as a settlement on a ridge of stoney subsoil
by the little river Biss. Its growth to urban
status started with the building of a castle by the 'De Bohuns'
early in the twelfth century. The town was well developed when the wool trade
took off, and shared in the general wealth associated with weaving mills.
When the wool trade died out industry was replaced by a factory making steam
engines, some breweries and a bed making factory. Trowbridge's chief
distinction is that it houses Wiltshire's county offices. For all practical
purposes it is the county town and has been so since 1893. To visitors this
may seem a little strange what with The reason for
this is due to communications, throughout the county communicating was always
a problem because of the WARMINSTER Warminster is
located 400 feet (120 meters) above sea level. It's
local surroundings are well known for several alleged sightings of Unidentified
Flying Objects especially Clay hill to the west. Warminster used to be a
great corn market in the days before motor vehicles. The carters usually
ended up bringing back coal which was brought to Warminster from Radstock. Sadly Warminster is no longer considered a
market town but it serves as a shopping centre for the surrounding villages
and military establishments, as well as people stuck on the A36. The name
Warminster remains a mystery. It should mean 'The minister or monastery
church by the river Ware or Were' but there is no trace of a church and
residents even argue about there being a river of that name. LONGLEAT HOUSE AND SAFARI PARK Set in more than
900 acres of ‘Capability’ Brown landscaped parkland with a
further 8,000 acres of woodlands, lakes and farmland, Longleat
combines the magic of the old with the marvels of the new. As well as being
the first stately home to open its doors to the public, Longleat
was also the first place, outside From Safari Park
to Stately Home, Mazes to Murals and Simulator Rides to Safari Boats
there’s always something new to discover round every corner. Photographs by
kind permission from Longleat Estate www.longleat.co.uk |
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Copyright Moorlands
2007 |
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