I am currently researching items for my forthcoming talk at the History Centre on Crime and Punishment in Wiltshire (Thursday 14^th April) and come across a wonderful woodcut engraving of the pillory at Marlborough in an article on obsolete punishments by Llewellyn Jewitt in “The Reliquary” Quarterly Journal, January 1861.

The pillory was used for a range of moral and political crimes, most notably for dishonest trading - the modern equivalent of implementing trading standards.  Its use dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was known as “Healsfang” or “catch-neck”. In France it was called the pillorie.  It was well established as a use of punishment after the Conquest.  It was considered to be a degrading punishment with offenders standing in the pillory for several hours to be abused by fellow citizens, sometimes being pelted with all manner of organic material such as rotten eggs, mud and filth. If that was not enough, sometimes the offender was drawn to the pillory on a hurdle, accompanied by minstrels and a paper sign hung around his or her head displaying the offence committed.

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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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