Devizes
 Castles |
It has been suggested that Devizes is the only market town in Wiltshire without an ancient history, for the town did not exist before the Norman Conquest of England in the mid 11 th century. In 1080 Bishop Osmund built Devizes Castle, this was a wooden structure that all too easily succumbed to fire and was replaced by a more solid stone edifice in 1138. This latter castle, built by Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, was sited between two local manors, which in turn produced the town's name Devizes, a corruption of the Latin ad divisas - at the boundaries. After a long and often turbulent history Devizes Castle was eventually dismantled by Parliamentary forces during the Civil War, surrendering to Cromwell in 1645 at the end of a lengthy siege.
The present 19 th century castle stands on the site of its Norman predecessor, incorporating some of the original stonework; it is currently in private hands and not open to the public.
Despite there being nothing pre-Norman within the confines of Devizes, there are nevertheless many fine historical buildings, including a number of splendid churches, that are well worth the visit. St John's Church was built by Bishop Roger in 1150, as the castle church, and designed along typically Norman lines. The 15 th century witnessed a number of alterations made to St John's, most especially a complete reconstruction of the naïve. Over time the church has accrued many interesting memorials and some notable tombs in the adjacent churchyard; located around the church precinct are a number of intriguing old buildings including the 17 th century Sexton's House.
Situated just beyond St John's is Long Street, boasting a lengthy row of elegant Georgian houses, and the town's rather wonderful museum. Considering the size of the town, Devizes Museum enjoys a ‘big city' reputation due to its outstanding prehistoric collections excavated from various parts of Wiltshire. The museum is the archaeological treasure house where finds from Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age sites in various parts of the county are brought for display. Weapons, jewellery, tools, metalwork and pottery record and illustrate the history of Man's achievements in Wiltshire from pre-history until the Roman occupation in the 1 st century. AD. There are exhibits from all the major archaeological excavations in the county including Avebury, Woodhenge and West Kennett long barrow; of particular significance are the Bronze Age artefacts exhumed from graves. Although the museum's reputation is built around its collections of ‘ancient' finds, it does also give house room to some fine exhibits from the Saxon period, and has galleries devoted to the town's own historical record from the Norman period and on.
Bishop Roger was also responsible for building St Mary's Church, located in New Park Street, in the same year that St John's was constructed, 1150. St James' Church, in Southbroom, is dated to the 15 th century and still bears the scars of a Cromwellian cannonball, inflicted during the tempestuous years of the Civil War. The market place, centre of old Devizes, is a lovely spot from which to view a number of the town's older buildings. The Town Hall, Corn Exchange and the Bear Hotel, the latter formerly a 16 th century coaching inn, are seen to best effect from the foot of the market cross. This same market cross includes a panel bearing an inscription that relates the salutary tale of one Ruth Pierce, local stall-holder. In 1753, in reply to the accusation of cheating a customer on her market stall, Ruth retorted "...and may I drop down dead if I am lying" upon which she promptly fell dead on the spot.
On the town wharf is a warehouse exhibition telling the story of the renowned Kennet and Avon Canal and of the Trust, which helped ‘reclaim' the canal in recent times. Originally the design of engineer John Rennie, the canal at its full extent linked the cities of London and Bristol, and was a veritable hive of industry in the 19 th century. On a hillside west of Devizes, a flight of sixteen closely built locks carry the canal over the 230ft high Caen Hill, an incredible feat of engineering so typical of the Victorian age. After extensive restoration work on the numerous ageing lock gates, this most famous stretch of canal in Britain has been restored to full navigation. Alongside each lock is a large pond created as a natural habitat for wildlife, making the walk along the canal towpath doubly enjoyable. In addition, the local information centre provides explanatory leaflets on all the points of note along the whole of the Devizes flight of twenty-nine locks. At Lower Wharf, in Northgate Street, is a working canal forge together with an exhibition of Blacksmith's tools and a display of hand-forged ironwork.