| WILTSHIRE |
| Avebury |
On A4361, 6 miles west of Marlborough |
Avebury, a very English village of thatch and brick, is necklaced with
the largest prehistoric stone circle in the world. The stones themselves are sarsens -
hard sandstone blocks of which the largest weighs nearly 60 tons. Of the total, only 49
stones survive above ground today, for many were buried or broken up by medieval villagers
who disliked their presence. The Avebury area is strewn with important prehistoric sites.
Finds from the Avebury area can be seen in the Alexander Keiller Museum, just outside the
earthwork rampart. |
| Barton Farm Country Park |
On western edge of Bradford-on-Avon |
The country park covers 36 acres of meadowland set in the wooded valley
of the River Avon and centring on the complex of Barton farmhouse with its medieval
outbuildings and packbridge. The stone-built tithe barn is among the finest in England.
Tithes and farm materials arrived by the old packbridge, which is today the starting point
of a pleasant 1.5 mile walk to Avoncliff. |
| Bowood House and Gardens |
Off A4, 2.5 miles west of Calne |
Bowood was once effectively two houses. The 'Big House' of 1755 proved
too expensive to run after the Second World War and was demolished in 1955. What visitors
see today is only the 'Little House' which once adjoined it. But the stone building is
neatly proportioned and survives in its own right as one of Wiltshire's noblest houses.
Visitors can see collections of sculpture, jewellery, Indian artefacts and Victoriana.
Costumes are displayed too. In the 1760s Capability Brown dammed two streams to create the
lovely serpentine lake seen today. |
| Bratton Camp |
Off B3098, 2 miles east of Westbury |
It was to the downland refuge of this Iron Age hill-fort that the Danes
fled in disorder after their defeat by Alfred the Great in the Battle of Ethandun in AD
878. Surrounded here, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain, the Danes were forced to
surrender, and to leave Wessex for good. The hill rises to 755ft and commands superb views
over the Bristol Avon valley. Cut into the chalk just below the ramparts is the Westbury
White Horse. |
| Corsham Court |
In centre of Corsham |
An Elizabethan manor dating from 1582, Corsham was substantially
altered in the 18th and 19th centuries. The supreme attractions, though, are the contents
which include furniture, china and, above all, an exceptional collection of old master
paintings in the Georgian state rooms. The collection was begun by Sir Paul Methuen
(1672-1757) and left to a cousin who acquired Corsham specifically to house it. |
| Great Chalfield Manor |
Off B3107, 3 miles south-west of Melksham |
The present manor was built in about 1480 for Thomas Tropnell, a
Wiltshire businessman. The approach is by the north front, with its symmetry of gables and
oriel windows, and inside is a two-storey great hall with staircases to the north bedroom
and solar. Squints or spy windows, hidden behind stone masks, overlook the hall and
another unusual feature is the very early screened-off dining room; in the 15th century
meals were usually eaten in the main hall. |
| Lacock Abbey |
Off A350, 3 miles south of Chippenham |
It was at Lacock that William Henry Fox Talbot, owner of the old abbey,
made his pioneering photographic experiments in the 1830s. The house is reached through a
Gothic-style arch of 1775, and the main hall is framed in the same style. Several
authentic medieval rooms still exist. The Fox Talbot Museum, in a 16th century barn, has
displays which tell the pioneer photographer's story. Lacock village, like the abbey, is
owned by the National Trust. |
| Littlecote Park |
Off B4192, 2.5 miles north-west of Hungerford |
Henry VIII courted Jane Seymour here; at Littlecote, too, William of
Orange rested during his advance on London in 1688. This is a truly historic home and yet,
with mock jousting and a miniature steam railway among its attractions, it is also a
modern leisure park. The house today re-creates its appearance in July 1642. Visitors pass
through a series of oak-panelled ground-floor rooms in which life-size wax effigies have
been set. Among the rooms is the only surviving example of a Cromwellian chapel.
Throughout Littlecote, staff go dressed in period costume. |
| Longleat House and Safari Park |
Off A362, 4.5 miles south-east of Frome |
Longleat House is a superb Elizabethan building which stands in
parkland landscaped by Capability Brown. The building was constructed by Sir John Thynne
and is sumptuously decorated inside in Italian Renaissance style. The walls are hung with
Thynne family portraits, there is much good furniture and the ceilings are almost
overwhelming in their gilded and ornamented grandeur. The safari park includes
drive-through reserves of lions, giraffes, elephants, rhinoceroses, monkeys, tigers and
wolves. A miniature railway takes visitors alongside the lake, where safari boats cruise.
Seals and hippos swim free alongside the craft, whilst an island on the lake has a
colony of gorillas. |
| Lydiard Country Park |
Off A3102, 3 miles west of Swindon |
Lydiard Mansion was the country home of the St John family for more
than 500 years before being bought by the former Corporation of Swindon in 1943. It has
since been much renovated. The classical design results from extensive remodelling in the
1740s, and the main rooms include a handsome hall, library, drawing room and state
bedchamber. The house and 13th century Church of St Mary are set in a 260 acre country
park, with woods, farmland, lakes and children's play area. |
| Salisbury Cathedral |
Centre of Salisbury |
Salisbury grew up around its graceful cathedral, which rises from the
sward of a spacious and secluded close. Begun by Bishop Herbert Poore in 1220, the
cathedral was completed 38 years later and is noted for its Early English pointed arches
and tall windows. The cathedral's crowning glory, its tower and slender spire, soars 404ft
into the sky, the tallest spire in England. The Close is entered through medieval gateways
and contains some fine ecclesiastical and private residences. |
| Old Sarum |
Off A345, 2 miles north of Salisbury |
The ruins of Old Sarum - a 56 acre site containing the foundations of a
Norman castle, cathedral and bishop's palace - stand on a hilltop. The buildings were the
work of Bishop Osmund, who in 1078 chose a hill-fort site which had been known to Iron Age
tribes and the Romans. Old Sarum languished and fell derelict. Today the castle's inner
bailey can be reached by a wooden footbridge over a deep moat. |
| Sheldon Manor |
Off A420, 2 miles west of Chippenham |
A delightful stone manor house, Sheldon is all that remains of an
abandoned medieval village and has served for seven centuries as a family home. Much of
the gabled building dates from 1659, but the house also possesses a large and remarkable
two-storey porch surviving from the 13th century. Inside are collections of local Nailsea
glass, porcelain, Persian saddle bags and much good oak furniture. Outside are terraced
gardens, ancient yew trees and a water garden. |
| Silbury Hill |
On A4, 1 mile south of Avebury |
Hard by the main road looms the flat-topped green cone of Silbury Hill,
a baffling landmark which is the largest artificial mound raised in prehistory to be found
anywhere in Europe. The grass-grown monument rises to 130ft and covers 5.5 acres at its
base; it has been calculated that 8.75 million cubic feet of chalk rubble, clay and other
material must have been moved to make it. The mound was set up in about 2500 BC and
required the labour of at least 700 men, working over a period of ten years. |
| Stonehenge |
Off A303, 2 miles west of Amesbury |
From a car park visitors pass through a tunnel to reach the monument. A
rope barrier protects the stones, but the visitor is close enough to them to experience
their magic. Some blocks have been squared off with extraordinary precision; others are
more weatherbeaten and haggard. No comparable prehistoric monument exists elsewhere in
Europe. Stonehenge is incredibly ancient, it was begun in about 3100 BC - before Egypt's
pyramids were built. |
| Wilton House |
Off A30, at Wilton |
Wilton House, home for 400 years of the Earls of Pembroke, is a place
rich in historic associations. The present building dates from the time of William
Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, in the 1540s. But the south front was created in the 17th
century with advice from Inigo Jones, who also contributed to the design of the eight
state rooms. The house contains various old master paintings, Chippendale furniture
and classical sculptures lend further distinction. |
| Windmill Hill |
Off A4361, 1.5 miles north-west of Avebury |
The hill rises to some 640ft above sea level and is crowned by a 21
acre enclosure with three concentric rings of banks and ditches. It is known as a
'causewayed enclosure' because the ramparts are interrupted for access, and is famed both
for its exceptional size and as the first of its type to be investigated. Excavated in
1925-29, Windmill Hill has given its name to a certain type of Stone Age pottery and
provided some of the first true insights into Stone Age life. Begun in about 3250 BC, the
enclosure probably served as a communal gathering place and pen for cattle barter. |
