A little while back Wiltshire Buildings Record carried out a group-effort recording at Bushton, Clyffe Pypard. This was a day where members who are interested in picking up recording skills and recognising Wiltshire features in vernacular houses can go along and learn informally, whilst gathering information for the Record.

Cruck apex

The exterior of the main house is of 2 storeys of whitewashed brick and rubble with a netted thatched roof. Nothing was discerned of the medieval origins of this house from outside. Inside the old hall was a bacon smoking chamber, the lower part still accessible. There may have been access at first floor level to hang the meat for curing. The hearth there was of chalkstone and brick. What is curious is that in the centre are a group of taper burn marks, or hot poker marks alongside the initials ‘TP’. In the world of vernacular architecture debate has long ranged about how these marks came about and why. They are found in many farmhouses and cottages, not only in Wiltshire, but nationally. At last, with determined study by Nick Hill and others at English Heritage it is now thought that these singe marks were done deliberately to ward off accidental fires in the same way that we inoculate our children with a weakened disease agent to guard against a more virulent form taking hold later on. This may be difficult for us to comprehend in our largely secular, scientifically-run society, but in the not so very distant past people were superstitious, and as well as believing in witches they thoroughly believed in magic. It is instances like this that make our interpretation of the past so tricky as we instinctively judge with our own modern values until we learn better.

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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
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