Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Mar 31, 2009
I am Helena Cave-Penney the Assistant County Archaeologist. I have been dealing with the residential development on the south-eastern side of Amesbury for well over ten years. Over these years the site has produced some the spectacular finds including the ‘Amesbury Archer', a large timber circle and a woman and child in a stone sarcophagus, complete with shoes. Prior to each phase of houses being built a team from Wessex Archaeology has been examined the areas striped of topsoil and excavated any archaeological features found. The most northern phase of the housing was nearing completion last year when the announcement was made of the economic crisis in America. Overnight the development at Amesbury stopped which had an immediate effect on the archaeological team. Since September of last year work has now continued, but only at a slow pace leaving insufficient work for the archaeological team. However work is continuing on the post-excavation analysis of the site.
The photo shows a series of prehistoric pits on the left-hand side, in the northern part of the development where it meets the existing houses.
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Mar 24, 2009
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An excerpt from the diary of Rebecca Smith who was hanged for killing twelve of her children
1840 Sunday 10 Aug
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Mar 24, 2009
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Dairy entry from Henry Talbot
Monday 10th March 1881
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Mar 24, 2009
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Devizes Prison
Devizes Prison ‘The new Bridwell’ was built in 1810 and then demolished in 1922. It was a Polygonal Shape and cost £30.000 to build with Henry James Evans as the Governor.
Posted by: Terry Bracher
on Mar 24, 2009
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An excerpt from the diary of Rebecca Smith who was hanged for killing twelve of her children
1840 Sunday 10 Aug
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Mar 24, 2009
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Prison
I can’t believe how a child of 3 yrs old ends up imprisoned for contempt of court.
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Mar 16, 2009
Work has progressed significantly since our last blog entry – as a result of a lot of hard work from our Contract Conservator! The shield boss has now been excavated along with a large iron object which has two copper alloy rings placed alongside it. The identity of this is unknown but one suggestion has been that it might be a large knife or sword that has been bent in half.
a large knife or sword bent in half
The excavation of the largest block is coming on in leaps and bounds, with a section of the helmet now exposed and several of the small hanging attachments. It’s really exciting to finally see the artefacts for real after weeks of painstaking excavation work.
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Mar 3, 2009
We need your help.
One of the services we provide here at the History Centre is access to the county Historic Photograph and Print collection. This is made up of around 60,000 photographs and prints that show the changing face of Wiltshire over the years. Most of the images that we have we are able to identify, but there are a few that have come to us without much information that we would like to know more about. Can you help with these two examples?
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Mar 2, 2009
Tagged in:
terms of surrender ,
Sir Edward Hungerford ,
Royalist ,
Protestantism ,
Parliamentarian soldiers ,
memoirs ,
Lady Brilliana Harley ,
Lady Arundel ,
garrison ,
first siege of Wardour Castle ,
English Civil War ,
Edmund Ludlow ,
document ,
defenders ,
Charles I ,
Catholics ,
Catholicism ,
Calvinistic ,
Brampton Bryan ,
besieged ,
army camps ,
Archbishop Laud ,
8th May 1643
Hello, my name is Terry Bracher and I am the Archives and Local Studies Manager here at the History Centre. Since joining the team in 2007 one of most interesting aspects of my work is being introduced to the wonderful array of archives that are held in our building by the Wiltshire and Swindon Archives Service. But when I was asked to choose my favourite document, from a selection of eight miles of historic records, it appeared an impossible task. I am always drawn to documents that show how ordinary people help shape national and international events, or the way our diverse communities have evolved. The documents I keep returning to are those that on the surface tell a simple story, but actually give us a far deeper insight into events of a particular period of our history. One such document, and my current favourite, is the terms of surrender at the end of the first siege of Wardour Castle on the 8th May 1643, during the English Civil War.
Terms of surrender, Wardour Castle 8th May 1643
