By the end of this year the volunteers of Purton Historical Society are hoping that the name and achievements of Nevil Maskelyne will be known throughout the land (or at least Wiltshire!).

The Society has managed to secure a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to commemorate the life of one of Purton’s greatest sons, the Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne who died 200 years ago in 1811.

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I’m Victoria Barlow and I’m the County Conservation and Museums Manager. Before moving to Wiltshire three months ago, I worked as Collections Manager for a maritime museum in Kent and have worked in museums for 15 years. During my first few weeks in post I visited all of the 18 museums that we work with and I was struck not only by the welcome I received but by the professionalism and enthusiasm of everyone working in Wiltshire’s museums.

Volunteer Mike Asbury of Pewsey Museum and Photographer Simon Harris collect an award at the recent Voluntary and Community Sector Awards. Copyright Wiltshire Council.

Many of our museums are run by volunteers and even those which do have excellent professional staff, rely on volunteers to some extent to run their services. You will have heard the government talking a lot about volunteers recently and the concept of The Big Society. Here in Wiltshire we have been doing that since the 1970s! Wiltshire Council doesn’t run a museum but instead we have a Museums Advisory Service and a team of Conservators who work with museums small and large across the county, supporting and helping them to look after their collections and meet professional standards. 

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Whilst the snow still lay on the ground I, and a couple of volunteers, made a trip out to the east of Wiltshire, almost on the Berkshire border, to Shalbourne. Our job this time was not to look at any listed buildings, but to scrutinize a couple of barns at Ropewind Farm on the Rivar Road.
Shalbourne is a quiet village mostly filled with neat, detached houses set back on leafy lanes. The agriculturalist Jethro Tull lived here at Prosperous Farm, but Shalbourne was also briefly the home of Karl Parson, a stained glass artist who was apprenticed to Christopher Whall, a leading light in the Arts & Crafts Movement. He helped Whall to illustrate Stained Glass Work (1905) and was involved in designs for Cape Town Cathedral (1908), Pretoria (1909-10) and for many churches in the USA. He later designed some of the stained glass in St Michael’s parish church in Shalbourne.

 
Ropewind Farm

Parsons came to live in Shalbourne between 1930 and 1933, setting up a studio at Ropewind Farm where he converted a mid-18^th century 3-bay barn, adding a large, porch-like window to let in natural light on the north side. He also incorporated a small granary on rather unusual brick and timber staddles into a larger purpose-built storage building and garage, giving access directly from Rivar Road. The house he lived in adjoined the site. He was forced to return to London through ill-health in 1933 and died there the following year. 'Read more' to find out about the farm's more recent history...

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In October 2009 Castle Combe Museum was awarded Accredited status by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

This is an excellent achievement for the volunteers who run the museum and means they are meeting nationally agreed standards for how a good museum should be operated. This is the same standard that all museums across the country work to so is a great success for Castle Combe. To continue, please 'read more'...

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No day is ever exactly like another for archivists, which is one of the reasons I went into the profession. It offers variety, challenge and a fascination for anyone interested in the past. The day below is a fictional one, a composite of many days in my life and those of my colleagues, designed to give a brief glimpse of just some of our many duties.

 
The Principal Archivist, Claire Skinner at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre Open Day, 2007

Today begins with our monthly team meeting – an opportunity for staff in both archives and local studies to talk about the operation of the search room and see if we can improve our procedures. Following this I unlock the front door at the usual time of 9.30 am and let in the people already waiting patiently outside, obviously eager to come in and begin or continue their research! 'Read more' to find out what else the day brings......
 

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As the year moves on we are preparing to undertake a major study into Wiltshire farmsteads. Some interested observers might be aware that the traditional farmstead in Britain is rapidly disappearing under the pressures of changes in agricultural practice. Sadly our traditional farm buildings have become largely redundant, either falling into disuse or being converted into desirable dwellings or light industrial units in the country. Only a handful of hobby farmers preserve the farmstead as it used to be, and only then because it enhances their product, be it traditional Wiltshire ham, or the kinds of speciality preserves sold only in posh farm shops. They maintain a certain image that harks back to the ‘good old days’.

Farmsteads are still very much part of the British landscape and this is very true in Wiltshire where agriculture has played such a key role throughout our history, at one time sending our milk, cheese and bacon to London and beyond. As a consequence there is an urgent need to record for posterity these buildings before it is too late. In order to undertake much of the work we need volunteers. Please read on to find out how you could help……

Haydon Farm at Haydon Wick near Swindon - one of the last farms on Haydon End Lane to be engulfed in modern development and its remaining old buildings converted to other uses.
 

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In the last two years the Archaeology Service staff have been involved in a really exciting project just outside Chippenham. About five years ago, the remains of a small Roman building came to light, located in a hidden valley near Castle Combe. 

Below  is the plan of Truckle Hill Roman bath house: the three phases of construction as discovered in 2007.

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