WSHC blog

Tags >> wills

So, just what Do our visitors come to see?

Posted by: Blog Administrator on Oct 1, 2010

Tagged in: wool , Wiltshire Wills Project , Wiltshire , wills , William Small , Walter Long , wages account books , visitors , Victoria County History , Urban District Council Committee Minutes , trade , tithe awards , Swindon New Town , survey , student , strong rooms , servant , search rooms , samples , Salisbury , road , resignation , researchers , requests , records , quest , Quaker Meeting House , publication , production team , pre-order , pattern book , parish , papers , painter , original , ordnance survey , ordination , order , Methuen , material , marriage , maps , manorial , Maiden Bradley , Long family , Local Studies Assistant , letter , Julie Davis , Japanese , inventory , interest , household , history group , Helpdesk Team , glazier , genealogists , estate , Edward Seymour , documents , diary , curate , Corsham Court , correspondence , cloth , church goods , church , catalogues , Archivists , Archives , admissions registers

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

Comment (0) Read More...

100th Wiltshire Will Conserved!

Posted by: Blog Administrator on Jul 27, 2010

Recently the rather unprepossessing 17th century will of John Smith (P1/S/644), gained the distinction of becoming the 1000th will to be conserved as part of the Heritage Lottery funded Wiltshire Wills Project.


 The Will of John Smith

The Will of John Smith

This project is digitising, conserving and preserving the 100,000 plus wills and probate papers (an estimated half a million individual documents) held at the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre. To find out more, please 'read more'.




Comment (0) Read More...

Wiltshire Community History Scores a Century

Posted by: Blog Administrator on Jul 15, 2009

Tagged in: www.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/ , words , with Latin inscriptions , Wiltshire Community History web site , wills , Wick Hill in Bremhill , trust , short histories , school , Salisbury Diocesan Court , river Avon , property , prints , population tables , plotted , photographs , Maud Heath , maps , locations , local history questions , local authors , literary associations , Links , Langley Burrell , land , Kellaways , information , historic buildings , forebears , finance , early books , e-mailed replies , discovery , diarist Francis Kilvert , curate , county , civil parish , church , Chippenham Market , chapel , causeway , aerial , a three faced block sundial , 9 , 64 arches , 400 , 40 Mummers’ plays , 1966 Memorial plaque , 1870s , 1857 , 1773 , 1698 , 15th century pathway , 1530s , 1474 , 12 foot high monument , 100 completed communities , 000 folk songs

The Wiltshire Community History web site – http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/ - has scored a century this week. 100 completed communities are now on the site with the recent appearance of Langley Burrell. This is the parish where the diarist Francis Kilvert served his father as curate in the 1870s and recorded many local people and events.
The Church of St. Peter, Langley Burrell, where the diarist Francis Kilvert was curate
The Church of St. Peter, Langley Burrell, where the diarist Francis Kilvert was curate

Every completed community has short histories of the civil parish and of each church, chapel and school. There are maps from 1773, prints and photographs old and new, population tables, and information on historic buildings, local authors and literary associations. Links take you to all archaeological sites in each parish and to all wills proved at Salisbury Diocesan Court between the 1530s and 1857.
You can also ask us local history questions and get e-mailed replies, look at about 9,400 pages from important early books on Wiltshire, find the words of over 1,000 folk songs and over 40 Mummers’ plays collected in the county, and see locations of photographs and sites plotted on aerial photographs and maps.
Back in Langley Burrell you find information on another famous resident, Maud Heath. In 1474 she gave property and land to finance a causeway from the top of Wick Hill in Bremhill to Chippenham Market. The trust she set up continued to maintain it and you can still walk this 15th century pathway today.

Part of the 1811 structure of 64 arches that carries Maud Heath’s Causeway over the lowlands by the river Avon
Part of the 1811 structure of 64 arches that carries Maud Heath’s Causeway over the lowlands by the river Avon


In 1698 the Maud Heath Trust erected this 12 foot high monument by the river at Kellaways. This features a three faced block sundial with Latin inscriptions
In 1698 the Maud Heath Trust erected this 12 foot high monument by the river at Kellaways. This features a three faced block sundial with Latin inscriptions

1966 Memorial plaque to Francis Kilvert in Langley Burrell Church
1966 Memorial plaque to Francis Kilvert in Langley Burrell Church


Comment (0)

Expansion of the Wiltshire Wills On-line Service

Posted by: Blog Administrator on Jan 12, 2009

Hello I’m Claire Skinner, Principal Archivist at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre. From Monday 25 January the Wiltshire and Swindon Archives are launching a new “pay-per-view” approach to the thousands of digital images on the on-line Wiltshire Wills database. See: www.wiltshirewills.org

Access to the catalogue of over 100,000 individuals' wills and other probate records, from the time of Henry VIII to 1858, will continue to be free of charge. Below is a wonderful example of an informal hand written will, found on the reverse of an old letter. 

 Informal will of Henry White

Comment (0) Read More...