The Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre has recently been officially recognised as providing one of the best archive services in the country. It was awarded a maximum four stars overall in an assessment by The National Archives, which acts as the government watchdog for archives. We are listed as seventh out of a total of 124 services in England and Wales.

See: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/our-services/self-assessment-results.htm for more details.

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WBR’s latest exploits have led us to Highworth, in the north-east of Wiltshire. This pretty Cotswold town was planted in the 13^th century with a market place, main street and a church behind, laid out in a regular pattern. The property boundaries of the original burgage plots are still to be seen preserved in the modern boundaries.

We were called to look at 23 High Street, coincidentally just next door to the rather spectacular Inigo House, (which had no connection with Inigo Jones by the way, it is merely a very distinguished-looking town house) which Wiltshire Buildings Record looked at two years before.

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I feel I can safely say that almost no town, village or hamlet in the county has been untouched by fire at some point during its history. It must have been an ever-present fear for every community; all that was needed was one little spark. Barns and hayricks were often to be found in the proximity of dwellings, and fire could quickly spread…

 
Ramsbury Fire Brigade attending a house fire in Oxford Street, Ramsbury, early 20th century
Ref: P6106

All houses were constructed of flammable materials, with thatch roofs being particularly vulnerable. When added to this the presence of naked flames, it presented a high degree of risk to person, property and livelihood.

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2010 is a significant year for several of Wiltshire’s museums, as they celebrate anniversaries of one sort or another.

To give you a reminder of some of the fantastic museums and collections on our doorstep here in Wiltshire, here is a rundown of the 2010 celebrations:

 
Medieval chess piece
Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum

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2010 is a significant year for several of Wiltshire’s museums, as they celebrate anniversaries of one sort or another.

To give you a reminder of some of the fantastic museums and collections on our doorstep here in Wiltshire, here is a rundown of the 2010 celebrations:

 
Medieval chess piece
Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum

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I thought it may be of interest to take a look on your behalf at the kind of original documents visitors order out when they visit our search rooms, to give you an idea of the wide range of requests we receive for documents each day. I chose a day last week at random, and got peeking!

 
Pattern Book, Ref: 947/1802

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A few weeks ago I visited this small village with Dr Alex Craven, who is researching it for the latest volume of the Victoria County History. I was invited along in my capacity of building archaeologist. The village is found just off the A30 Shaftesbury to Salisbury road. Blink and you miss it. It was obviously once a much more bustling community; Alex found that instead of one long village street with a couple of lanes off, there were once parallel streets. The street near Compton House was removed for the convenience of the Penruddockes, Lords of the Manor, to improve the view! Since then it has lost its pub (the King’s Elm) and latterly the village shop. Silence now reigns, punctuated only by the muted sound of passing traffic from the main road and sheep bleating. It could be oppressive to the average townie, or heaven, depending on your persuasion.

 
The Cemetery in Compton, which contains the graves of a number of ANZAC troops who died of influenza in 1919. 


Look down the street towards the church and the manor, which lie close together secretively behind high walls, and you will see quaint little houses of the local greensand covered in thatch, or a later replacement for it. A steep bank on one side lours over the street, and green wooded hills on the far side of the pleasure grounds to Compton House add to the sense of seclusion. The interiors of some of the houses that the owners kindly granted access to were fascinating: Combe House dating from the later 17^th century retained an original stair, an insanely steep, tortuous thing winding around a central newel post and rising to the attics. Climbing on all fours is the natural mode of ascent, a fact that the present owners, now into their retirement, no longer find attractive. Well Cottage is dominated by a large hearth taking up almost one entire wall. Now arranged with flowers, knick-knacks and pictures, the heat and light from the fire would once have been an important focus for the household. The present modern kitchen is now tucked away at the rear of the house, in a lean-to. Time moves on, even in sleepy Compton Chamberlayne, but the absence of many of the sounds of civilisation contribute more to the feeling of timelessness than more ostentatiously ancient places like Lacock, with its hordes of tourists.

Dorothy Treasure

To view additional images of Compton Chamberlayne, please go to:

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An American journalist once said that a picture is worth a thousand words; very true but only if you know what the picture is showing you. Here at the History Centre we have tens of thousands of photographs, most we can identify but a few are a mystery. Some are really good photographs but their historic value would be much greater if we could identify the places and people.

 Image No. P32082
                 To take a look at the other images, please 'read more'...

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You can learn a lot just by walking around a village, thinking about how it evolved and picking up clues from remains on the ground and in buildings. If you looked at both old and new maps before your walk you’ll make even more deductions. Most of our Wiltshire villages date from Saxon times, although some are on earlier settlements; again most have Saxon names and the study of street and field names can also be very rewarding. (see The Place-names of Wiltshire by J.E.B. Gover, 1939; and English Field Names by the appropriately named John Field, 1989)

On 18^th March at 2.15 the History Centre afternoon lecture will be Looking at Villages with Michael Marshman, who will talk about some of the skills that help you to become a landscape detective. Apart from his day job at the History Centre Michael has been writing the Village Life articles for Wiltshire Life for the last eight years! Some tickets are still available (Tel. 01249 705500).


Lacock [F0018] A 15^th century cruck building showing where the roof was later raised to allow the insertion of an upper floor.
 
All our villages are different and can be one of a number of types apart from the nucleated, linear or agglomerated that we may remember from geography lessons. Some villages, such as Shrewton, can be several medieval villages that have grown into one; these are known as polyfocal villages but others, such as Inglesham, may have shrunk and be much smaller than they were in earlier times. In others, like West Ashton, a landowner has cleared the original village from the proximity of his manor house and rebuilt it further away.

 
Steeple Ashton [F0045] The village green contains the market cross of 1679, when an attempt was made to revive the market, and the blind house (lock up) of 1773. Indications of the market site and of the hundred court of Whorwellsdown
To find out more, please 'read more'...

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We have just been entertained by the children of our local school, Monkton Park Community Primary School, with Christmas carols and songs for History Centre staff and users. They ended with We Wish You a Merry Christmas and we would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Peaceful New Year. That set me thinking about earlier Christmas times in our county.

            
Adverts in Wiltshire Newpapers, 1909

For glimpses of Christmases past in Wiltshire you need to look in the writings of Francis Kilvert, Alfred Williams and A.G. Street. In Kilvert you will find the entertainments and activities of the clergy and minor gentry – dancing and games, late night parties, skating, and seasonal decorations in the church. Williams presents us with a view of the farm labourer’s Christmas while Street provides a mixture of famers’ and farm workers’ celebrations. To find out more please 'read more'...

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