Archaeologists from the Wiltshire Archaeology Service, which is based in the History Centre, have been involved with agreeing and monitoring work at Durrington that has revealed important remains from the Ice Age through to the modern period. The site had been home to buildings and staff of the Ministry of Defence (and its predecessors) since the 19^th century. Excavations on the site (which are still going on) have shown, however, that its history goes back even further. The site is still being excavated by Wessex Archaeology on behalf of Persimmon Homes South Coast as part of their planning permission.

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A year into my one and a half year contract I am responsible for locating and collecting the files and papers produced by the District Councils. Spanning a period from 1974 to 2009 this means some of the files are 35 years old. Unsure what to expect, it has and continues to be a very rewarding role meeting lots of people in a great many roles and locations, who are all passionate about preserving the history of the county.

                                                                     North Wiltshire District Council Minute Books

Why start collecting now?

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Some of the most popular talks I give are those dealing with the meaning of inn and pub names. Currently we don’t have a great variety of pub names in Wiltshire but we do still have some interesting ones. The Green Dragon at Alderbury was used by Charles Dickens in Martin Chuzzlewitt, as he was staying nearby while writing this novel. Dickens used many hostelries in his books and in this case he renamed it the Blue Dragon; perhaps the sign was somewhat faded to a pale blue and he misinterpreted it as it would have been unlikely that the name was on the building.

 
The Green Dragon at Alderbury

The green dragon came from the earls of Pembroke and many of the early names used the badges of great families. The red lion of John of Gaunt, the black bear of the earls of Warwick and the white hart of Richard II are still common today. From the 18^th century the full coat of arms was often used so that in Fovant we have the Pembroke Arms. The association with the badge or coat of arms often indicated that the family owned the property or were the chief landowners in the area.

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Just before Christmas WBR looked at a farmhouse in the hamlet of Southcott, within the parish of Pewsey. It was the usual story – an old farm which was worked by generations of farmers is no longer viable. The lands are sold off and the farmhouse is turned into a country hideaway for busy people. The transition from rural dwelling to sophisticated mansion necessitates a good lot of tweaking of the original fabric to bring it up to date, as well as extending the accommodation to provide services such as our rustic forbears would never have dreamed of (Southcott has a swimming pool and sauna!).

The hamlet of Southcott, c.1960
Ref: P48999

Part of our remit is to look into the history of those that lived there before, and take a peek at what they were doing, partly to inform us as to how the building might have been used at a particular time, and although not strictly necessary, what sort of people they were.

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