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The Wiltshire Archaeological
and Natural History Magazine
Volume 100

2007

Published by

The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society
41 Long Street,

Devizes, Wilts. SN10 INS

Telephone 01380 727369

Fax 01380 722150

Email: wanhs@wiltshireheritage.org.uk

Website: http://www.wiltshireheritage.org.uk/

Founded 1853

Company No. 3885649

Registered with Charity Commission No. 1080096
VAT No. 140 2791 91

THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE
VOLUME 100 (2007)

ISSN 0262 6608

Hon. Editor: Andrew Reynolds, BA, PhD, FSA, FSA Scot.

Hon. Assistant Editor: Stuart Brookes, BA (Hons), MA, PhD, PGCTiLL.

Hon. Local History Editor: James Thomas, BA, PhD, FRHistS.

Hon. Natural History Editor: Michael Darby, PhD, FRES

Honorary Reviews Editor: Bob Clarke BA (Hons), Cert Ed, MIfL.

Editorial Assistant: Lorna Haycock, BA (Hons), PhD, FRHistS, Dip.ELH, Cert Ed.
Editorial Assistant: Elizabeth Blackwelder

We acknowledge with thanks grants towards the cost of publishing specific papers in this volume from the
following bodies: Bernard Phillips for ‘A Romano-British Villa at Stanton Fitzwarren (SU 1731 9004) by
Bernard Phillips, and Defence Estates Organisation (South West) for ‘A Romano-British roadside settlement
on Chapperton Down, Salisbury Plain Training Area’ by Caroline Malim and Anthony Martin.

The journals issued to volume 69 as parts of The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine (Part A
Natural History; Part B Archaeology and Local History) were from volumes 70 to 75 published under separate
titles as The Wiltshire Natural History Magazine and The Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine. With volume 76
the magazine reverted to its combined form and title. The cover title ‘Wiltshire Heritage Studies’ (volume
93) and ‘Wiltshire Studies’ (volume 94 onwards) should not be used in citations. The title of the journal, The
Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine, remains unchanged.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
permission of the Society and authors.

Cover illustration: Stonehenge, (back cover Stonehenge detail), photograph by Fay Stevens

Typeset in Plantin by Stuart Brookes

and produced for the Society by

Salisbury Printing Co. Ltd, Greencroft Street, Salisbury SP1 1JF
Printed in Great Britain

Contents

Foreword to Volume 100, by Bill Perry

NATURAL HISTORY, ARCHAEOLOGY and LOCAL HISTORY

A preliminary interpretation of Upper Jurassic silicified plant fossils from the Portland
Stone Formation of Chicksgrove Quarry, Wiltshire, by John E. Needham

Early Tertiary turtles in Wiltshire, by Justin Delair
Recent recording of Wiltshire’s flora, by ohn Presland

Large and special trees in the eastern part of Kennet District, by oan Davies and fack
Oliver

Palaeolithic Hand Axes from Warminster, Pewsey and Dinton: their place in the early
re-colonisation of the upper Salisbury Avon Valley, by Phil Harding

The Bronze Age barrow cemetery at Snail Down: a celebration and consideration, by Paul
Ashbee

Two possible Iron Age ‘banjo’ enclosures and a Romano-British villa and settlement at
Beach’s Barn, Fittleton, Salisbury Plain, by Phil Harding

A Romano-British Villa at Stanton Fitzwarren (SU 1731 9004), by Bernard Phillips

A Romano-British roadside settlement on Chapperton Down, Salisbury Plain Training
Area, by Caroline Malim and Anthony Martin

The former thirteenth-century vault paintings of Salisbury Cathedral: new evidence from
Lambeth Palace MS 2215, by Matthew M. Reeve

Faith, Hope and Charity: urban collectivism in late Georgian Devizes, by Lorna Haycock
Frederick George Bishop (1880 - 1949), coffin maker, by Marion Nixon

Training trenches on Salisbury Plain: archaeological evidence for battle training in the
Great War, by David Field and Graham Brown

Vill

721

104

170

NOTES and SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

The King Oak in Savernake Forest and its comparison with the living King of Limbs, by Foan
Davies and Graham Bathe

Some early petrological analyses of Neolithic and Bronze age lithics in Wiltshire Heritage
Museum, by Paul Robinson

An Earlier Neolithic site at Hackpen, Overton Hill, Avebury, by Nicola Snashall
A Middle Bronze Age Palstave from Broad Blunsdon, Wiltshire, by Martyn Barber
The North Italian fibula from Avebury Down, by Paul Robinson

The name Bedwyn, by Richard Coates

Britons and Saxons at Chittoe and Minety, by Andrew Breeze

A revised date for the early medieval execution at Stonehenge, by Derek Hamiltono, Mike Pitts and
Andrew Reynolds

A Medieval Base Cruck Hall at Westcourt Farmhouse, Shalbourne, by Fonathon Buxton

A Lye Pit in Savernake, by Graham Bathe and Dick Greenaway

Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine and its Editors 1854-2006, by Lorna Haycock
OBITUARIES

Isobel Foster Smith, by Rosamund Cleal

Isobel Foster Smith and her pursuit of prehistory: an appreciation, by Paul Ashbee

WANHS Archaeology Field Group: recent activities and future plans, by James Gunter,
Brian Clarke, Robin Holley, Christina Staff and Susie Stidolph

REVIEWS, edited by Robert Clark

EXCAVATIONS and FIELDWORK in WILTSHIRE 2005

Highlights from the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) in Wiltshire in 2005, recorded by Katie
Hinds

INDEX, by Philip Aslett

181

187

191

193

196

198

199

202

203

207

201

215

JAN

224

226

232

238

240

The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural
History Society

The Society was founded in 1853. Its activities include
the promotion of the study of archaeology (including
industrial archaeology), history, natural history and
architecture within the county; the issue of a Magazine,
and other publications, and the maintenance of a Museum,
Library, and Art Gallery. There is a programme of lectures
and excursions to places of archaeological, historical and
scientific interest.

The Society’s Museum contains important collections
relating to the history of man in Wiltshire from earliest
times to the present day, as well as the geology and
natural history of the county. It is particularly well
known for its prehistoric collections. The Library houses
a comprehensive collection of books, articles, pictures,
prints, drawings and photographs relating to Wiltshire. The
Society welcomes the gift of local objects, printed material,
paintings and photographs to add to the collections.

The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History
Magazine is the annual journal of the Society and is issued
free to its members. For information about the availability
of back numbers and other publications of the Society,
enquiry should be made to the Curator.

Publication by the Wiltshire Archaeological and
Natural History Society does not imply that the Society
endorses the views expressed; the factual content and the
opinions presented herein remain the responsibility of the
authors.

Notes for Contributors

Contributions for the Magazine should be on subjects
related to the archaeology, history or natural history of
Wiltshire. While there is no fixed length, papers should
ideally be under 7,000 words, though longer papers will be
considered if of sufficient importance. Shorter, note length,
contributions are also welcome. All contributions should be
typed/ word processed, with text on one side of a page only,
with good margins and double spacing. Language should be
clear and comprehensible. Contributions of article length
should be accompanied by a summary of about 100 words.
Please submit two copies of the text (with computer disk if
possible) and clear photocopies of any illustrations to the
editors at the Museum, 41 Long Street, Devizes, Wiltshire,
SN10 1NS. A further copy should be retained by the author.
The editors will be pleased to advise and discuss with
intending contributors at any stage during the preparation
of their work. When submitting text or graphics on disk,
Word or Rich Text Format files are preferred for text, jpeg
or tiff format for graphics. Contributors are encouraged

to seek funding from grant-making bodies towards the
Society’s publication costs wherever possible.

Referencing: The Harvard System of referencing (author,
date and page, in parentheses within the text) is preferred:
e.g. *... one sheep and one dog lay close together (Clay 1925,
69). References in footnotes should be avoided if at all
possible. Only give references which are directly applicable,
repeating as little as possible. All references cited in the
paper should be listed in the bibliography using the
following style, with the journal name spelled in full, and
the place and publisher of books/ monographs given :

For a paper:

PITTS, M. W. and WHITTLE, A. 1992. The development
and date of Avebury. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society
58, 203-12

(Note that in citations Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural

History Magazine is abbreviated to WANHM)

For a book or monograph:

SMITH, I.F, 1965, Windmill Hill and Avebury: Excavations
by Alexander Keiller, 1925-39. Oxford: Clarendon
Press

For a paper in a book or monograph:

FITZPATRICK, A., 1984, ‘The deposition of La Téne
metalwork in watery contexts in Southern England’,
in B. Cunliffe and D. Miles (eds), Aspects of the Iron Age
in Central Southern Britain, 178-90. Oxford: University
Committee for Archaeology

Endnotes can be used for specific information that cannot
otherwise be comfortably incorporated in the main body
of the text.

Illustrations need to be clear and easily reproducible, the
format and proportions following that of the Magazine. If
possible, all original artwork should not exceed A3 before
reduction. If not supplied as computer graphic files,
drawings should be produced on drafting film or high
quality white paper using black ink. Detail and lettering
should not be so small that it will become lost in reduction.
Mechanical lettering (dry transfer or computer generated)
is preferred over hand lettering. Photographs should
be supplied as good quality black and white prints, and
transparencies and colour prints avoided wherever possible.
Original illustrations and photographs should only be sent
once a contribution has been accepted.

Offprints: Ten offprints of each article will be given free (to
be shared between joint authors). Offprints are not given
for notes and shorter contributions.

WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL
AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

BOARD OF TRUSTEES (as at 1 January 2007)

Chairman
W A Perry, MSc

Deputy Chairman
D L Roseaman, BSc(Eng), CEng, MIMechE

Hon Treasurer/Company Secretary
Mrs W P Lansdown, FCA

Other Elected Trustees

Lt Col C Chamberlain

C R Chippindale, BA, PhD, MIFA, FSA
Miss K A Fielden, BA, D.Phil.

J A Gunter, BA (Hons)

Mrs V Knowles

A Reynolds, BA, PhD, FSA, FSA Scot.
Mrs J Triggs

Nominated Trustees

J N Fogg (Member, Kennet District Council)

A Molland (Member, Wiltshire County Council)

P R Saunders, BA, FSA, FMA, FRSA (Director, Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum)
Mrs J Swabey (Member, Wiltshire County Council)

Mrs K J Walling, BA (Hons), PGCE (Member, Devizes Town Council)

In attendance:
T Craig BA, MA, AMA, DipMgmt (Wiltshire County Council Heritage Services Manager)

OFFICERS

Curator P H Robinson, PhD, FSA, AMA

Assistant Curator Miss L Webb, BA, MA

Sandell Librarian and Archivist Mrs L Haycock, BA (Hons), PhD, FRHistS, Dip ELH, Cert. Ed.
Outreach Officer Miss A Siviter, BA, MA

Volunteer Co-ordinator Mrs H Ault, BA

Documentation Officer R C Watson, BA

Foreword to Volume 100

by W. A. Perry, Chairman of the Society

Volume 100 is a milestone in any publication’s
history and an occasion for celebration. It has
actually taken WANHM 152 years to get there, as
in the early years the journal was published twice a
year and a volume covered three or four issues. World
events too affected the frequency of publication and
there were gaps and delays during the two world
wars.

Today’s magazine is very different from the early
issues of the 19th century. Those readers fortunate
enough to possess a complete run or with access to
a library holding such will have noticed that many
of the early contributors — and indeed the members
of the Society — were clergymen. Their articles
have a distinct antiquarian flavour: transcripts of
manuscripts, pedigrees and descriptions of churches
and monuments, with little by way of discussion.
But we must remember that few historical records
were easily accessible in those days before Record
Offices; they were locked up in church vestries and
vicarages or the muniment rooms of large houses;
travel difficulties added to the difficulty of inspecting
them and readers may well have welcomed their
dissemination in this way. Another feature of the
magazine at this time was the large number of
obituaries included in every issue, many of them
for people with only tenuous if any connection at all
with the Society. Perhaps in similar vein in the early
years of the 20th century the editor took to including
long lists of ‘Wiltshire Portraits’, most of them
newspaper or magazine photographs of members of
the leading families in the county, though as time
went on a wider cross-section of people was included.
_ The magazine thus became for a while something of
a social calendar. We should, however, be grateful to
whoever it was who took cuttings of the over 6,000
people involved as these later found their way into
the Society’s extensive art collection, and are now

NOVEMBER, 1864,

WILTSHIRE
Arehooleyial md Botwal Wistory

MAGAZINE,

Publighex unter the Direction

| ,

| THE
|

OF THE

SOCIETY FORMED IN THAT COUNTY,

A.D. 1853.

DEVIZES:

| Priyrep anp SoLp ror THE Socrery By Henny Bury, Saint Joan STREET.
|
|

LONDON:
Berti & Daxpy, 186, Freer Srreet; J. R. Surry, 36, Sono Squares.

Price 4s. 6d.—Members, Gratis.

frequently consulted by family and local history
researchers.

The first major change to the format of the
journal came in 1958 with a larger page size not
very different from today’s, and a green and white
cover representing the county colours. The then

editor explained in his Introduction that the
decision to go for a larger page size was taken on
the advice of prominent archaeologists in order to
achieve a higher standard of illustration. It was also
decided to publish a single volume once a year at
a price to non-members of 25 shillings instead of
the previous two issues a year at half a guinea each
(members, as now, receiving their copy free). A
novel development was the inclusion of advertising
at the front and back, no doubt in order to offset
some of the production cost, though this experiment
only seems to have lasted for about three issues
— perhaps it is something we could think about
again? The Times Literary Supplement had some
reservations about the new look, commenting ‘the
rejuvenation of this centenarian...is accompanied
by certain growing pains. The layout is in places
awkward, there are too many misprints, the blocks
are often poor ...the editor, however, is to be
congratulated on having struck a good balance of
space between the historians, the archaeologists and
the topographers... Perhaps in the next volume the
manner will, in quality, match the matter.’ Further
criticism — this time from members - followed the
next major change of design — the move in 2000
to a brown cover and ‘modern’ trilithon logo in
line with the Society’s new house style. But with
the passage of time, and further minor design
changes, the new brighter look magazine came to
be accepted and indeed welcomed by the majority
of our members. The introduction of a full-page
illustrated cover in 2006 proved particularly popular.
Other recent innovations are the chronological
ordering of contents, the reintroduction of book
reviews (made possible again by the appointment
of our new Hon. Reviews editor, Bob Clarke BA
(Hons), Cert Ed, MIfL and annual reports on the
activities of the Society’s Archaeology Field Group
and the Portable Antiquities Scheme in Wiltshire.
The regular round-up of Fieldwork in Wiltshire also
has a new look from this volume. A map has been
added showing the location of the excavations listed.
We have been — and indeed continue to be — most
fortunate in the calibre of our contributors and the

magazine has always enjoyed a good reputation in
academic circles. The well known, and some less well
known authors whose work has appeared include:
Ken Annable, Paul Ashbee, R. J. C. Atkinson, June
Badeni, J. H. Bettey, Aubrey Burl, Humphrey Case,
John Chandler, Christopher Chippindale, Juliet
Clutton-Brock, Pamela Colman, Ros Cleal, Mark
Corney, O. G. S. Crawford, Elizabeth Crowfoot, D.
A. Crowley, several members of the Cunnington
family (William Cunnington III, his nephew Ben,
curator of the Museum, and Ben’s wife Maud, one
of the first women archaeologists and for many
years president of the Society, and their cousin R.
H. Cunnington), Bruce Eagles, John Evans, David
Field, Andrew Fitzpatrick, M Flinders-Petrie,
Peter Fowler, Christopher Gingell, Leslie Grinsell,
Margaret (Peggy) Guido, Phil Harding, Richard
Hatchwell, Lorna Haycock, Martin Henig, Ian
Hodder, W. G. Hoskins, E. M. Jope, Eric Kerridge,
Sir John Lubbock, Jacqui McKinley, J. V. S. Megaw,
Sam Moorhead, John Musty, A. D. Passmore,
Stuart Piggott, Augustus Pitt-Rivers, Mike Pitts,
Josh Pollard, R. B. Pugh, Andrew Reynolds, Julian
Richards, Paul Robinson, R. E. Sandell, A. Shaw-
Mellor, Hugh Shortt, D. D. A. Simpson, Isobel
Smith, Robin Tanner, Tim Tatton-Brown, Joan
Taylor, James Thomas, Nicholas Thomas, John
Thurnam, Alasdair Whittle, (with apologies to
others too many to name).

Much of the credit for the continuing success of
WANHM however must go to the successive editors
(about whom an article follows later in this volume)
who have selected the articles and maintained the
high standard on which the journal’s, and indeed
the Society’s, reputation rests. I believe that in our
present editorial team at UCL, the magazine is in
good hands. It currently enjoys a print run of 1,100
copies and is taken by 132 libraries, museums and
societies worldwide, and we can look forward with
confidence to the next 100 volumes, though it is
less easy to predict whether these will continue to
appear in print or will follow the present trend to
‘e-publishing’.

Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 1-20

A preliminary interpretation of Upper Jurassic
silicified plant fossils from the Portland Stone
Formation of Chicksgrove Quarry, Wiltshire

by fohn E. Needham

A stratigraphically significant exposure of the Portland Stone Formation at Chicksgrove Quarry in south west Wiltshire
has yielded important fossils deriving from both marine and terrestrial environments. The latter includes the bones and
teeth of a range of reptiles and mammals, along with carbonised and silicified plant remains that occur in a horizon
overlying the Main Building Stones, now known as the Tisbury Member. The silicified specimens offer a rare insight
into the Portlandian vegetation of southern England, opening up a field of comparative studies with the Purbeck flora
of Dorset, the Morrison Formation flora of the western U.S.A. and the Cerro Cuadrado flora of Patagonia, while also

providing examples of previously undescribed forms.

INTRODUCTION

Chicksgrove Quarry (NGR ST 962296), sometimes
referred to as Upper Chicksgrove Quarry, is a
working building stone quarry situated by the
hamlet of Upper Chicksgrove about one mile to the
east of Tisbury in the Vale of Wardour, the most
southerly of Wiltshire’s vales. The site includes an
almost complete exposure of the Portland Stone
Formation and of the lowest beds of the overlying
Purbeck Limestone Group. These rocks are of
Tithonian age, more specifically belonging to the
local Portlandian sub-stage, laid down towards the
very end of the Jurassic Period which drew to a close
around 145.5+4 million years ago (Gradstein and
Ogg 2004). The stratigraphy of Chicksgrove Quarry
was described in detail by Wimbledon (1976), whose
bed numbers are adopted here. However, some
general revisions have since been made (see, for
example, Bristow et al. 1999), and for the purposes
of this work Wimbledon’s Tisbury Member and
overlying Wockley Member are taken as belonging
to the Portland Stone Formation and the horizon

separating them is taken to be that originally
described.

In 2002 quarrying operations exposed a very
localised series of small yellowish brown, highly
fossiliferous silt lenses, forming a discontinuous
layer with a maximum thickness of about 150
mm and extending horizontally for some 5m. In
terms of lithology, stratigraphy and palaeontology
these lenses appear to correspond to a ‘plant and
reptile bed’ of localised distribution discovered
and excavated in the early 1980s (Benton, Cook and
Hooker 2005). In common with that bed the newly
exposed lenses lay on an irregular erosion surface
at the top of Bed 24, a glauconitic sandy limestone
forming the uppermost unit of the Tisbury Member.
They form a basal component of Bed 25, the lowest
unit of the overlying Wockley Member, which
otherwise consists of micritic limestone.

An anonymous, unpublished report dated 1983
on the excavations of the early 1980s was produced
for the Nature Conservancy Council. Reported
fossils included carbonised and silicified plant
material, the latter including wood, conifer seeds

14 Cuffs Lane, Tisbury, Salisbury SP3 6LH

2 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

and spores (Benton, Cook and Hooker 2005). In
1987 Chicksgrove Quarry was notified as a Site of
Special Scientific Interest under Section 28 of the
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, with reasons
for notification including a vertebrate fauna of
dinosaurs, pterosaurs, crocodilians, fish, and
newly discovered multituberculate and pantothere
mammals. Plant material was not included in
this notification. In that same year a study of the
petrology of chert from the ‘plant and reptile bed’,
in which the bed was referred to as the ‘Chicksgrove
Plant Bed’, was published. Illustrated thin sections
showed spore grains and wood fragments with
cell walls intact (Astin 1987, Fig.4). Reference was
made to the preparation of a multidisciplinary
study of the bed. When the JNCC, successor to
the Nature Conservancy Council, published a
Geological Conservation Review (GCR) volume
on Mesozoic and Tertiary palaeobotany (Cleal,
Thomas, Batten and Collinson 2001) they neither
included Chicksgrove Quarry as a GCR site nor
made reference to it, indicating that no significant
assemblage of plant finds had been reported. The
GCR volume on Mesozoic and Tertiary mammals
and birds, however, did include Chicksgrove Quarry
as a GCR Mesozoic mammal site, although the
mammal finds notified in 1987 were reported as not
yet having been studied (Benton, Cook and Hooker
2005). Viewed overall, the limited available evidence
indicates that the plant fossils to be discussed in
this work are from a horizon of palaeontological
importance on which only one detailed paper, i.e.
Astin 1987, has been published.

Within the silt lenses exposed in 2002, small
pockets up to about 100mm in thickness contained
high concentrations of small gastropods along with
fish teeth, crocodile teeth, one pterosaur tooth,
and petrified plant remains. The fragmentary and
disarticulated plant remains had become petrified
through silicification, and included wood, shoots,
cone scales, seeds, lignotubers and indeterminate
material. Initially some damaged specimens
projecting from the face or lying in disturbed matrix
were removed and repaired with superglue, but as the
unusual nature of the finds became apparent silt was
carefully removed from the quarry face before the
often delicate plant petrifactions were separated from
the surrounding matrix and reversibly consolidated
where necessary with PVA. Two petrified plant
specimens were also found in 2004 partially
embedded in a limestone off-cut from the quarry’s
sawing shed, and one of these is illustrated in Plate
2, Figure 23 following removal from the stone.

Fossil plants are uncommon within the
Portlandian strata of Great Britain, silicified
examples including wood fragments from Helmsdale,
Sutherland (Thomas and Batten 2001) and conifer
and cycadeoid remains from the ‘Fossil Forest’
horizon in the Basal Beds of the Purbeck Limestone
Group of south Dorset (see for example Cleal,
Thomas and Batten 2001) and south west Wiltshire
(see for example Reid 1903).

Petrified floras are globally rare from the Jurassic
Period as a whole (Thomas and Batten 2001), with
Upper Jurassic examples including assemblages
from the Morrison Formation of the western USA
and from the Cerro Cuadrado ‘Petrified Forest’ of
Patagonia. In this introduction to the petrified plants
of Chicksgrove Quarry the links with the Purbeck
‘Fossil Forest’, with the Morrison Formation of the
western USA and with the Cerro Cuadrado ‘Petrified
Forest’ will be explored, and a brief look will also be
taken at a range of as yet unidentified material.

Described and illustrated specimens from
Chicksgrove Quarry, along with a single specimen
from Dorset, were collected by the author and
now belong to the Palaeontology Department of
the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London.
References to these fossils give the NHM specimen
numbers, which are prefixed with the letter “V’. Two
specimens from the Morrison Formation of Utah
(author’s collection, collected and presented by
Richard Dayvault) are illustrated for comparative
purposes.

Most of the photographs used in the plates
have been aligned so as to conform to illumination
conventions and do not indicate any suggested
direction of growth. Due to the plate editing a
small number of illustrations, specifically Figures
46, 49 and 50, are viewed with the light source to
the right.

SEEDS AND SEED-LIKE
STRUCTURES

At least ten named and unnamed species of
seed and seed-like forms are found within the
Chicksgrove Quarry flora along with some worn
and indeterminate material.

The word ‘seed’ is used loosely as some
specimens could be ovules dispersed prior to
fertilisation, and further study through sectioning
may well shed light on the presence or otherwise of
embryos. Seed descriptions are based for the most

UPPER JURASSIC SILICIFIED PLANT FOSSILS FROM CHICKSGROVE QUARRY, WILTSHIRE 3

part on the conventions employed by Brown and
Bugg (1975), with the first dimension, ‘length’,
measured along a longitudinal axis extending from
the micropyle to the centre of the hilar end. The
second dimension, ‘width’, is measured along a
major transverse axis, running at right angles to
the longitudinal axis across the broadest point on
the seed. The third dimension, ‘depth’, is measured
along a minor transverse axis, at right angles to both
of the previous axes. Where planes of symmetry are
described they are defined according to the two axes
which lie along them. It should be noted that the
words ‘plane’ and ‘symmetry’ are used in a notional
sense for the practical description of underlying
structures, and that geometrical perfection is not
inferred. Measurements are given to the nearest
0.5mm.

Carpolithes westi and Carpolithes cf. westi Brown
and Bugg
Forty three silicified specimens from Chicksgrove
Quarry bear a number of features in common, the
clarity of which varies due to probable abrasion.
Morphological variations grade into each other
across a range of examples. They are all wedge-
shaped with a pointed end and a broadened end,
and most have bilateral symmetry and between
two and four longitudinal ridges. Examples are
illustrated in Plate 1, Figure 1 (V.65175) and Figure
2 (V.65173). For measurements see Table 1.
Identification to the species Carpolithes westi
on the basis of morphological evidence can be
made for V.65175 through comparison with the
Type Specimen (V.44914) (Brown and Bugg 1975,
Plate 58, Fig. 1) from the ‘Fossil Forest’ horizon
of the Basal Purbeck Beds of Portesham Quarry,
Dorset. The less abundant form represented by
V.65173 is referred to here as Carpolithes cf. westi
and is similar to specimens from the Morrison
Formation of Utah, one of which is illustrated in
Plate 1, Figure 3 and was collected by Richard
Dayvault from the slopes of Mount Ellen in 2005.
The broad, squared off end is often indented into
a V-shape in the Morrison Formation specimens,
several of which have been illustrated by Dayvault
and Hatch (2003, Fig. 31). A number of similar
examples in the NHM’s Morrison Formation
collection are labelled Araucaria and Araucaria sp. It
is of note that the Morrison Formation specimens
are interpreted as ‘cone scales’ in the USA, with
a cavity sometimes exposed by separation of the
uneven ‘halves’ interpreted as a seed compartment
(Dayvault and Hatch 2003, 243). Brown and Bugg,

who worked with several sectioned specimens of C.
westi, considered it possible that the ‘seeds’ were
in fact the basal seed-bearing parts of cone scales
of the co-occurring Araucarian cone Araucarites
sizerae. Although there were reasons for doubting
this specific possibility, it remains likely that the
Chicksgrove Quarry specimens described above
are in fact cone scales. Brown and Bugg (1975, 434)
also referred to similar specimens from the English
Inferior Oolite as having been illustrated by Seward
in 1904 as ‘Araucarites’.

Table 1: Measurements of specimens of Carpolithes westi
and associated material

Chicksgrove
V.65175

Chicksgrove
V.65173

Portesham
General range

2mm (in
| typical
re

Morrison Pll, 8mm mm
| Fig.3 De | | ;

Carpolithes rubeola Brown and Bugg

The seed illustrated in Plate 1, Figure 4 (V.65155)
is one of ten similar specimens from Chicksgrove
Quarry with micropylar point, rounded hilar end,
lumpy surface texture and two planes of symmetry.
Some specimens have several surface ridges
radiating from the micropylar point.

Comparison with the Type Specimen of Carpolithes
rubeola (V.44908) (Brown and Bugg 1975, Plate 58,
Fig. 14) from the Basal Purbeck Beds of Portesham
Quarry permits a clear identification of V.65155
to that species on morphological evidence. There
is one discrepancy with the Portesham Quarry
diagnosis, which refers to three strong, irregularly
spaced ridges. Chicksgrove Quarry specimens have
two strong ridges in opposite or near opposite
alignment, sometimes beginning to split, as can
be seen in the SEM image in Plate 6, Figure 66
(V.65154). Although direct observation of the
Type Specimen (V.44908) at the NHM does indeed
confirm the existence of three strong ridges, two
of these are in almost opposite alignment and
apparently lie along one of the notional planes of
symmetry identified in the Chicksgrove Quarry
specimens. Under these circumstances the third
ridge can be seen as unlikely to have any key

THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Plate I

UPPER JURASSIC SILICIFIED PLANT FOSSILS FROM CHICKSGROVE QUARRY, WILTSHIRE 5

structural significance, and in fact the difference
between ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ ridges is not at all clear
on some of the Chicksgrove Quarry specimens. A
further four seeds from Chicksgrove Quarry fall
within a smaller size range and probably belong to
the species Carpolithes rubeola (see Table 2).

Table 2: Measurement ranges of Carpolithes rubeola, C.
gibbus and C. acinus

cf. C. rubeola Chicks-
grove (small seeds)

C. gibbus Chicksgrove

C. gibbus Portesham

C. acinus Portesham
(V.44919)

Carpolithes gibbus Brown and Bugg

One of five small seeds from Chicksgrove Quarry
with a markedly convex, keeled surface is illustrated
in Plate 1, Figure 5 (V.65166). The opposite surface
ranges from slightly concave to slightly convex and
the seed has a micropylar point and shouldered
hilar end.

Identification to the species Carpolithes gibbus can
be made through comparison with two specimens
from the Basal Purbeck Beds of Portesham Quarry.
These are the Type Specimen (V.44924) and a
second sectioned specimen (V.44923) (Brown and
Bugg 1975, 433).

It is proposed that on the basis of size (see Table
2) and morphology this seed and the four specimens
similar to it sufficiently match the diagnosis for
Carpolithes gibbus to be attributable to that species.

Carpolithes acinus Brown and Bugg

The seed illustrated in Plate 1, Figure 6 (V.65168) is
one of twelve similar specimens from Chicksgrove
Quarry. The photographed surface is convex with
fine longitudinal striations running between a
probable micropylar point and rounded hilar end.
The latter is typically flatter in other specimens.
The opposite surface of the seed is almost flat.

On key features the Chicksgrove Quarry
specimens match the diagnosis for Carpolithes
acinus made on the basis of two specimens from
Portesham Quarry (V.44918 and V.44919) (Brown

and Bugg 1975, 433). Although they are generally
larger (see Table 2) it is proposed that they be
attributed provisionally to C. acinus on the basis of
the compelling morphological similarity.

Carpolithes glans Brown and Bugg

The six seeds from Chicksgrove Quarry illustrated
in Plate 1, Figure 7 (V.65162), Figure 8 (V.65158),
Figures 9-11 (V.65165), Figure 12 (V.65159), Figure
13 (V.65163) and Figure 14 (V.65164) have been
selected from a group of twelve seeds representing
what is interpreted as one species in varying stages
of development. A number of distinctive diagnostic
features are present in all specimens, although not
all the seeds exhibit all these features.

From a micropylar point (Figures 7, 9 and 11)
longitudinal ridges (Figsures 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12)
extend outwards towards an irregular, lumpy basal
ridge (Figures 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 14). The ridge
surrounds a flattened area that is typically slightly
convex (Figures 8, 9, 1Z and 14) but that in one
specimen is concave (Figure 13). Two scars or small
projections are typically present at opposite points
on the boundary between the basal ridge and the
flattened area within (Figures 8 and 13), although
in one possibly malformed specimen three scars are
present (Figure 14) and in one specimen (Figure
12) no scars are present. One specimen (Figure
9) has a cover (Figure 10) which was attached at
the two scar points and became detached during
collecting. Seed and cover are seen reversibly
reassembled with PVA in Figure 11. In transverse
section the seeds range from rounded (Figures 7
and 13) to elliptic (Figure 8). In most specimens
a structural plane of symmetry incorporating the
longitudinal and major transverse axes passes
through the micropylar point and the basal scars.
Along this plane a ridge or split extends outward
from the micropylar point in several specimens
(not illustrated), although in one specimen (Figure
7) this feature is represented by a depression.

A possible developmental sequence for these
seeds begins with Figure 12 in which the cover
appears still to be fused to the seed, followed by
Figure 1] in which the cover is only held by two
attachment points. In the next stage (Figure 8)
the cover is shed and in the final stage (Figure
13) the seed opens out from elliptic to rounded
in cross section, length reduces and the flattened
basal area becomes concave. Whether the cover
originated from the integument or from partial
fusion of a cupule onto the seed is not yet clear.
A possible function was to maintain the seed in

6 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

a state of physical dormancy until the arrival
of environmental conditions favourable for
germination. Separation could have been triggered
by heat from a forest fire or by moisture. In the
case of moisture the cover could have functioned in
a comparable manner to the operculum or chalazal
cap found in some present-day seeds (see Baskin
and Baskin 1998, 39).

Table 3: Measurements of Carpolithes glans

eS ee ea ss

Fig.7
Fig.9
Fig.12

Two seeds from Portesham Quarry from which
the species C. glans was described (Brown and
Bugg 1975, 431-432) possess key diagnostic features
found in the Chicksgrove Quarry specimens.
These include the protruding micropylar point,
longitudinal ridges, lumpy basal ridge and

flattened area within. The diagnosis does not

refer to the scars or projections, but examination
of the Type Specimen at the NHM (V44911)
reveals one very distinct such projection and a scar
marking the apparent position of a second one.
The morphological similarities thus lead to a clear
interpretation of the Chicksgrove Quarry seeds
as Carpolithes glans. Measurements of the Type
Specimen and some of the Chicksgrove Quarry
specimens are given in Table 3.

Undescribed forms attributable to the genus
Carpolithes Schlotheim

One round, saucer-shaped seed from Chicksgrove
Quarry (V.65169) measures only 1mm across and
is illustrated in Plate 1, Figure 15. It is referred
to here as Carpolithes sp. and could well merit
comparison with round to oblate seeds measuring
between 0.5mm and 2.0mm in diameter from the
Morrison Formation at Mount Ellen, Utah. The
latter seeds are found in association with cone scales
comparable to the Carpolithes westi and Carpolithes
cf. westi specimens from Chicksgrove Quarry, and
have been described as probably originating from

Chicksgrove V.65163 Pl.l, |4mm |8mm _ |8mm
Fig.13 |

these scales (Dayvault and Hatch 2003, 243).

Three other seed and seed-like forms from
Chicksgrove Quarry are to the author’s knowledge
undescribed and, in line with the taxonomic
approach adopted by Brown and Bugg (1975), can be
placed provisionally in the form genus Carpolithes.
Each form is represented by two specimens and,
as none has been sectioned, they are not formally
described at this stage but are referred to as
Form A, Form B and Form C. A number of other
specimens from Chicksgrove Quarry of a worn or
indeterminate nature can be classed as Carpolithes
Sp.. |

Form A is represented by two seed-like
structures measuring 3.5mm in length between
what are provisionally interpreted as a micropylar
point and a hilar point, 3mm in width and 1.5mm
in depth. One of these specimens (V.65157) is
illustrated in Plate 1, Figure 16. They are rounded
between the micropyle and the hilar end and
symmetrical on two planes.

Form B is represented by two specimens
measuring 5.5mm in length between what are
provisionally interpreted as a micropylar point
and a concave hilar end, 3mm in width and 1mm
in depth. One of these specimens (V.65156) is
illustrated in Plate 1, Figure 17. Symmetry is as
with Form A above, and when viewed parallel to
the major transverse axis the structure can be seen
as boat-like with thickened outer rims running
between the micropylar point and the outer edges
of the double-pointed hilar end.

Form C is represented by two damaged
specimens, both of which were possibly partially
eaten prior to fossilisation. The more complete
of these specimens (V.65177) is illustrated in
Plate 1, Figure 18. The intact end is provisionally
interpreted as a micropylar point, and the missing
end of the seed as the hilar end. The length of what
survives of the seed is 6mm, width is 4mm and
depth 3mm. A key defining characteristic of this
seed is four raised longitudinal ridges arranged in
two almost symmetrical opposite pairs

cf. fensensispermum Chandler

The three seeds from Chicksgrove Quarry
illustrated in Plate 1, Figures 19-21, share the
common features of a broad groove on each side
running from between two projections at one end
to a more rounded opposite end. Shape ranges
from sub-elliptic to sub-globular. The largest seed
with the best preserved surface detail (Figure 19,
V.65170) is 10mm long and has a cavity on each side

UPPER JURASSIC SILICIFIED PLANT FOSSILS FROM CHICKSGROVE QUARRY, WILTSHIRE 7

in the groove towards the rounded end. Two small
longitudinal ridges with nascent splits run from
each of the two projections. The seed illustrated
in Figure 20 (V.65171) is flattened, possibly due
to compression along the plane of the photograph.
With a length of 65mm it is provisionally
interpreted as an abraded seed of the same species as
V.65170, as is the more rounded seed illustrated in
Figure 21 (V.65172) and one other similar specimen
not illustrated.

Seed casts from the Morrison Formation of
Utah with some similar diagnostic features were
described by Chandler (1966) as Fensensispermum
redmondi and considered as possibly belonging to
an unknown Cycadophyte family. One specimen,
described as ‘apparently referable to this species ...
with most of the integument preserved’ (Chandler
1966, Plate 5, Figure 47) had projections similar to
those on the Chicksgrove Quarry specimens. These
were referred to as ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ jaws and seen
as marking the micropylar end, with the opposite
end the hilar end. The grooves were described as
_ lying on a plane of weakness and cavities towards
the hilar end were noted. More rounded Morrison
Formation specimens of 7 redmondi also possess
the plane of weakness and are similar to but not
identical to V.65172 (Figure 21). Some features
described by Chandler, such as a differentiation
between endosperm on one side and chalazal region
on the other side of the plane of weakness, are not
identifiable in the Chicksgrove Quarry specimens.

The similarities in shape and structure between
the Chicksgrove Quarry specimens illustrated
in Plate 1, Figures 19-21 and certain specimens
from the Morrison Formation provisionally or
definitely attributed to Fensensispermum redmondi
require further research. Comparative size ranges
(see Table 4), with width measured parallel to the
plane of illustration in the Chicksgrove Quarry
specimens, reveal similarities in length and width
but a discrepancy in terms of depth. Evidence
suggests a close relationship but not a species match.
Under these circumstances it is proposed that the
Chicksgrove Quarry specimens be provisionally
referred to as cf. Fensensispermum.

Table 4: Measurement ranges of Fensensispermum
redmondi and cf. Fensensispermum

Morrison (Chandler | 6-l0mm | 5-9mm_ | 5-9mm
1966)

Chicksgrove Quarry 4-4.5mm

SHOOTS

Petrified shoots from Chicksgrove Quarry display
considerable variation in size and morphology and
ten specimens are examined here. Several other
specimens have been collected, although many of
these are incomplete, damaged or badly abraded.
None appears to match previously described
material from the Jurassic strata of Great Britain.

Behuninia provoensis (Chandler) Tidwell and
Medlyn

Four shoots illustrated in Plate 2, Figures 22-23 and
25-26, all taper to pointed or rounded apices and each
has an attachment or foot. In Figure 22 (V.65128),
in which the apex is missing from the photograph,
the attachment is incomplete and abraded and
the shoot, 25mm long and 10mm in diameter, has
an irregular surface with occasional longitudinal
furrows. Transverse sectioning of V.65128 reveals
an internal structure of pith surrounded by
radiating secondary xylem tracheids with weak
concentric rings, illustrated in Plate 6, Figure 67
(V.65128$1). A longitudinal section illustrated in
Plate 6, Figure 68 (V.65128$2), shows the central
pith and secondary xylem, and a longitudinal
detail of the pith is illustrated in Plate 6, Figure
69. The shoot illustrated in Figure 23 (V.65108),
31mm in length, has a better preserved attachment
although there is some damage to the shoot, which
occurred prior to collecting. Longitudinal grooves
are clearly discernible. A shoot 18mm in length
(V.65180) is illustrated in Figure 25, with a swelling
towards the tapered apex. The specimen illustrated
in Figure 26 (V.65101) is 60mm long and also has
a swelling towards the tapered apex. Direction of
growth appears to have changed at the first of a
series of three small knot-like scars. In contrast to
the three previously described specimens V.65101
is not rounded in transverse section but essentially
three-sided. Fine longitudinal striations mark the
surface.

The Holotype of a rounded-obconical ‘seed’
from the Morrison Formation of Utah described by
Chandler (1966) as Carpolithus provoensis shares key
diagnostic features with V.65128 (Figure 22), having
a length of 26mm, a diameter of 9-11mm, a tapered
apex and longitudinal furrows. The attachment
is absent. C. provoensis was later emended to
a short shoot species, Behuninia provoensis,
probably of a conifer (Tidwell and Medlyn 1992),
following the discovery in Utah of specimens with

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UPPER JURASSIC SILICIFIED PLANT FOSSILS FROM CHICKSGROVE QUARRY, WILTSHIRE 9

internal preservation. The shoots were usually
decorticated and composed of central pith with
radiating secondary xylem tracheids (Tidwell and
Medlyn 1992, Plate 2, Fig. 3), as is the case with
V.65128$1 (Figure 67). The weak ring structure in
a Utah specimen, once again comparable to that in
V.65128$1, was interpreted as pseudo rings in the
secondary xylem (Tidwell and Medlyn 1992, Plate
2, Fig. 2).

More recent collecting from Utah has produced
large quantities of B. provoensis shoots, several
of the more spectacular specimens having been
illustrated by Dayvault and Hatch (2003) and
Daniels and Dayvault (2006). A specimen from the
Henry Mountains of Utah is illustrated in Plate 2,
Figure 24, with a 17mm long shoot attached to a
stalk. The comparison with Figure 23 (V.65108)
demonstrates the way in which the Chicksgrove
Quarry specimens would have looked prior to
becoming detached.

A specimen of B. provoensis with attachment
and swelling towards the tapered end (Tidwell and
Medlyn 1992, Plate 1, Fig. 14) compares closely with
V.65180 (Figure 25). Similar specimens from Utah
in varying stages of development are illustrated by
Dayvault and Hatch (2003, Fig. 8).

It is proposed that the three Chicksgrove
Quarry specimens illustrated in Plate 2, Figures
22, 23 and 25 are attributable to the species B.
provoensis on the basis of morphology and internal
structure. V.65101 (Figure 26) is more enigmatic.
The fine striations could be what were interpreted
as needle scars by Tidwell and Medlyn (1992) on
Utah specimens, but this is not clear and in view
of the different outline in cross section it is here
referred to as Behuninia cf. provoensis.

Behuninia cf. joannei (Chandler)

Two examples of bulbous and rounded shoots
from Chicksgrove Quarry are illustrated in Plate
2, Figures 27 and 28. Figure 27 (V.65111) is
provisionally interpreted as a pair of shoots on
a longitudinally split section of stalk, with the
stalk truncated at both ends. Length is 31mm and
maximum width 22mm. Seen from the opposite
side to that illustrated, however, the two lobes are
not separately distinguishable and the appearance is
of a single large swelling. The specimen appears to
have undergone considerable abrasion. Figure 28
(V.65141) is interpreted as a single shoot on a stalk.
The stalk is 15mm long, the shoot has a maximum
width of 6mm, and the specimen is flattened and
was probably compressed prior to silicification.

Casts from the Morrison Formation of Utah
with similar morphologies were described by
Chandler (1966) as seeds of the family Cycadales
under the name Behuninia joannei. A specimen
illustrated by Chandler (1966, Plate 4, Fig. 37) with
a maximum width of 21mm exhibits a number
of similar characteristics to V.65111 (Figure 27),
including two lobes with a stalk that swells as it
passes between them. This specimen remained
allocated to the species B. joannei when Tidwell and
Medlyn (1992) emended Behuninia to a short shoot
genus, probably coniferous.

A specimen similar in many respects to V.65141
(Figure 28) with a shoot width of 8mm was also
illustrated by Chandler (1966, Plate 1, Fig. 7) as
B. joannei. Common features include direction of
growth at the top of the stalk angling away from
the direction of growth of the shoot. This latter
specimen was reallocated by Tidwell and Medlyn
(1992) to the new species Behuninia scottii. The
species diagnosis for B. scottii described the shoots
as ‘detached or oppositely attached’ (Tidwell and
Medlyn 1992, 230), neither of which applies to
the Chicksgrove Quarry specimen. The emended
diagnosis for B. joanne: specified opposite to
sub-opposite attachment, but in the light of an
illustration of a single and opposite pair of shoots
on a single stalk (Dayvault and Hatch 2003, Fig.
21 bottom left) and of other illustrations of newly
discovered material the comparison with B. joannei
is seen as more valid.

With an insufficient range of specimens from
Chicksgrove Quarry for formal identification of the
species B. joanne, it is proposed that the specimens
described above with some matching diagnostic
features be referred to as Behuninia cf. joannet.

Steinerocaulis radiatus (Chandler) Tidwell and
Medlyn

Two peltate specimens from Chicksgrove Quarry
with short stalks and a diameter of approximately
8mm are illustrated in Plate 2, Figure 29 (V.65143)
and Figures 30-31 (V. 65150). The surface of the
former is marked by radiating ridges and furrows
leading to a rim that on one section is heavily
indented. The latter is a broken half which exposes
a central canal and exhibits fine surface detail in
the form of small striations extending from the
stalk to the flattened top and down into the canal.
Of four specimens similar in basic morphology
collected from Chicksgrove Quarry one is now in
the Dayvault collection and has been illustrated by
Daniels and Dayvault (2006, 290)

10 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Similar specimens from the Morrison
Formation of Utah were described by Chandler
(1966) as seeds and named Carpolithus radiatus.
A specimen similar to V.65143 (Figure 29) with
a ‘sharply angled circumference (abraded) was
illustrated by Chandler (1966, Plate 9, Fig. 96).
Illustrated Utah specimens all appear to be more
abraded than V.65150 (Figures 30 and 31), but
in general morphology the specimen matches
a Syntype described by Chandler (1966, Plate
9, Figures 93-95). Most C. radiatus specimens
described by Chandler were later reallocated to a
probable short shoot species Steinerocaulis radiatus
(Tidwell and Medlyn 1992).

Steinerocaulis radiatus is one of the more readily
identifiable of the Chicksgrove Quarry species,
although larger specimens and fig-shaped or
bulbous specimens attributed to the species in
the western U.S.A. (Chandler 1966, Dayvault and
Hatch 2003, Daniels and Dayvault 2006) appear to
be absent at Chicksgrove Quarry.

Unidentified shoots

An unidentified fragment from Chicksgrove Quarry
(V.65183) that is probably part of a short shoot is
illustrated in Plate 2, Figure 32. With a diameter of
3mm to 4mm it shows a strong radial structure that
is typical of short shoots, lignotubers and associated
stalks. This structure is more pronounced in smaller
specimens (Daniels and Dayvault 1996, 289), as is
the case here. The specimen illustrated in Plate 2,
Figure 33 (V.65187) has a diameter of 3mm and
demonstrates a similar structure, with the central
canal particularly prominent. This fragment was
collected from the Cherty Freshwater Member
of the Lulworth Formation, Middle Purbeck, at
Durlston Bay, Dorset, and is thus of Berriasian age
and from the Lower Cretaceous. There is thus some
evidence that plants producing the types of shoots
found at Chicksgrove Quarry were present across
the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition and well into
Purbeck times.

The unidentified short shoot from Chicksgrove
Quarry (V.65139) illustrated in Plate 2, Figure
34, measures 13mm in length and a maximum
of 8mm across the bulbous terminal swelling.
In many respects it is similar to the specimen
illustrated in Plate 2, Figure 26, interpreted as
Behunima cf. joannei. Both have relatively slender
and slightly flattened stalks terminating in swollen
shoots and both, on the side not illustrated, are
distinctly bulbous. The unidentified specimen is
much smaller and shows no evidence of division

into a pair of shoots. Its most distinctive feature
is the socket-like indentations, so unlike the
tiny indentations on some Morrison Formation
specimens interpreted by Tidwell and Medlyn
(1992) as the scars of conifer needles. Whether
this particular short shoot has been the subject of
disease or predation, or is leaf or seed bearing, is at
present unclear.

The long, slender, pointed shoot (V.65106) from
Chicksgrove Quarry illustrated in Plate 2, Figure
35, is 50mm long and 5mm across at its broadest
point. Although resembling in some respects a fully
elongated B. provoensis shoot as illustrated from the
Morrison Formation by Dayvault and Hatch (2003,
Fig. 8), this specimen cannot be assigned to that
species. The base is unlike the typical attachments
on B. provoensis, consisting of a short rounded
section some 5mm long beneath a swelling, at
which point there is a slight change in the direction
of growth. Towards the tip or apex the shoot bears
a resemblance to an unopened bud, and the cross-
section is three-sided rather than rounded as in
most B. provoensis specimens.

LIGNOTUBERS, CORM-
LIKE SPECIMENS AND
SEEDLINGS

The fig-like specimen from Chicksgrove Quarry
illustrated in Plate 3, Figure 36 (V.65123) has a
diameter of 14mm and a truncated stalk with
a diameter of 3.5mm. The top, not illustrated,
is slightly concave. A specimen with two
swellings (V.65120), possibly compressed prior
to silicification, is illustrated in Plate 3, Figure
37. Total length is 24mm and the diameter of the
truncated stalk 5mm. A similar swelling attached
laterally to a stalk 25mm long with a diameter at
the base of 6mm is illustrated in Plate 3, Figure 38
(V.65112).

The above three specimens are interpreted as
lignotubers on the basis of comparison with Cerro
Cuadrado specimens. V.65123 (Figure 36) is directly
comparable with a much larger but morphologically
all but identical specimen interpreted as an aerial
lignotuber by Stockey (2002, Fig. 1). V.65120 (Figure
37) is similar to a much larger Cerro Cuadrado
specimen interpreted as a lignotuber with two
swellings (Stockey 2002, Fig. 4), but differs in that
the swellings appear to be at a more advanced stage

UPPER JURASSIC SILICIFIED PLANT FOSSILS FROM CHICKSGROVE QUARRY, WILTSHIRE

Wi) /
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Plate 3

12 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Plate 4

UPPER JURASSIC SILICIFIED PLANT FOSSILS FROM CHICKSGROVE QUARRY, WILTSHIRE 13

of separation. The swelling on V.65112 (Figure 38)
is similar to those described above, other than in
details of the attachment to the stalk.

The Chicksgrove Quarry specimen illustrated
in Plate 3, Figures 39 and 40 (V.65113) measures
26mm along the truncated axis or stalk. A large
double swelling wraps around two sides of the stalk
(see Figure 40, right and top of truncated axis),
which also has two small swellings (see Figure 39,
left, and Figure 40, left). The specimen could be
a lignotuber and buds, but is atypical and can be
compared with ‘unusual siliceous wood structures’
from the Morrison Formation of Utah illustrated
by Daniels and Dayvault (2006, 303).

Specimens from Chicksgrove Quarry illustrated
in Plate 3, Figure 41 (V.65126, length 18mm),
Figure 42 (V.65134, length 35mm) and Figure 43
(V.65133, length of bud 5mm) are swellings and
buds that are provisionally interpreted as early
stage lignotubers. Small projections, probably
the apices of developing lignotubers, are visible in
Figure 41 and, at the junction between the bud and
the stalk, in Figure 42. Figure 43 is a view looking
along a stalk to a developing bud.

Of five small corm-like specimens from
Chicksgrove Quarry by far the best preserved
(V.65148) is illustrated in Plate 3, Figure 44.
Measuring a maximum of 8mm across, it has many
similarities with a much larger corm-like specimen
from the Cerro Cuadrado illustrated by Calder
(1953) under the heading ‘Seedlings (cf. Araucaria
mirabilis)’. It also resembles a larger specimen from
the Morrison Formation illustrated by Tidwell and
Medlyn (1992, Plate VI, Figs. 7-11) and compared
by Stockey (2002) with lignotubers and specimens
of Steinerocaulis. In the case of Chicksgrove Quarry
specimens a clear differentiation between small
corm-like structures and specimens of S. radiatus
can be made.

A specimen that in many ways resembles a
Behuninia provoensis short shoot is illustrated in
Plate 3, Figure 45 (V.65144), but it lacks the typical
attachment and is more rounded at the broader
end. It could be a swollen hypocotyl comparable
with elongated carrot-like structures from the
Cerro Cuadrado (Stockey 2002).

The specimen (V.65145) illustrated in Plate 3,
Figure 46, is more enigmatic. With a total length
of 19mm, it could be a small corm-like structure or
lignotuber that has begun to root. The scarred area
at the bottom right of the illustration could be a
contact area with the ground. The small 12mm long
specimen (V.65184) illustrated in Plate 3, Figure 47,

may represent an earlier stage of development.

A more detailed interpretation of many of
these specimens is needed. What is very noticeable
about several Chicksgrove Quarry specimens is the
considerable resemblance to Cerro Cuadrado and
Morrison Formation specimens but in miniature
form. The plants from which they came were either
juveniles or dwarf species, or the material had been
sorted by size during transport and deposition.

WOOD

The largest single plant petrifaction from
Chicksgrove Quarry collected by the author is a
piece of wood (V.65098) measuring some 300mm
in length with a diameter ranging from 50mm to
72mm. It is illustrated in Plate 4, Figure 48. The
preservation of surface detail along the left hand
side of the illustration is good, with fine lines that
might represent cracks or insect traces. A detail
is illustrated in Plate 4, Figure 49, centred on the
small knot visible along the right hand edge of the
previous illustration some two thirds of the way
up. Within the depression to the right of the knot
bundles of fibres can be seen, and it appears that the
process of silicification was only partially complete
at this point. A transverse thin section of the
specimen (V.65098$1) illustrated in Plate 6, Figure
70, reveals a clear ring structure with irregular
spacing comparable to that illustrated by Francis
(1984, Figs. 5b and 5c) for Protocupressinoxylon
purbeckensis from the Purbeck ‘Fossil Forest’
horizon.

The smaller piece of wood (V.65100) illustrated
in Plate 4, Figure 50, measures 85mm in length
and is flattened in cross section, with the diameter
ranging from 8mm to 14mm. The broken end
was found exposed in the quarry face following
quarrying operations and an unknown amount of
the specimen had been lost. The view on to this
truncated end illustrated in Plate 4, Figure 51,
shows both radiating secondary xylem tracheids
and fine concentric rings.

The twig with lateral branching twigs or
shoots (V.65122) illustrated in Plate 4, Figure 52,
measuring 25mm in length, is probably an abraded
piece from a short shoot/long shoot system. It can
be compared to the centre part of a Behuninia sp.
stalk from the Morrison Formation illustrated
by Dayvault and Hatch (2003, Fig. 18) and to B.
provoensis specimens illustrated by Daniels and

14 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Dayvault (2006, 286). The two truncated branches
are in the typical positions of a pair of opposite
shoots.

The small twig (V.65182) illustrated in Plate
4, Figure 53, is 15mm long and has a truncated
branching twig about half way along its length. It
is unusual in the apparent preservation of a layer
of bark around a thin core, exposed at the centre,
measuring about 1mm in diameter.

MISCELLANEOUS
MATERIAL

A range of unidentified material from Chicksgrove
Quarry is introduced here with only a brief
examination of some of the more distinctive
specimens. Once again only sectioning and
examination under the microscope will reveal the
possible significance of much of this material,
which includes a number of forms that are so far
represented by a single specimen.

A possible example of a complete cone (V.65186)
is illustrated in Plate 5, Figure 54. Measuring
15mm in length, the specimen is very abraded but
in overall morphology can be compared with a cone
of Pararaucaria patagonica with pedicel illustrated
by Calder (1953, Plate 6, Fig. 62).

Aspecimen 13mm in length with traces ofa scale
pattern (V.65135) is illustrated in Plate 5, Figure 55,
the pointed end interpreted as marking the point of
attachment to the parent plant. The opposite end
appears degraded and is characterised by lumps
and recesses, with a possible seed exposed. The
smaller specimen (V.65136) illustrated in Plate 5,
Figure 56, is 9mm long and, although similar to the
previous specimen in general shape, is different in
surface texture with a few small lumpy projections.
The pointed end is interpreted as the point of
attachment and at the opposite end the sides slope
upwards to a distinct apex.

The underside of a detached scale (V.65132)
measuring 14mm from base to apex is illustrated
in Plate 5, Figure 58. The upper surface, not
illustrated, is fairly flat with a slight ridge running
off-centre from the base to the apex. A smaller,
narrower scale (V.65146), 12mm in length and with
a distinct groove, is illustrated in Plate 5, Figure
57. It is more worn than the previously illustrated
specimen and is bilaterally symmetrical.

Another possible yet very different type of
scale (V.65114), measuring 21mm from base to

apex, is illustrated in Plate 5, Figures 59 and 60.
Figure 59 is of the outer surface, clearly showing .
the asymmetrical structure. Viewed in conjunction
with Figure 60 the apparent manner in which the
scale could interlock through overlapping and
underlapping with adjacent scales in a whorl or
spiral arrangement can be seen.

The specimen (V.65130) illustrated in Plate 5,
Figure 61, is 33mm long and is distinguished by
its prominent rounded projections. A similarity
between these and the robust rhizomes of the
Morrison Formation fern Solenostelopteris has been
pointed out by Dayvault (2004, pers. comm.). These
protrusions arise from the side of the specimen
illustrated but not from the opposite side.

The small, hollow, slightly flask-like specimen
(V.65179) illustrated in Plate 5, Figure 62, is 6mm
long.

The specimen (V.65147) illustrated in Plate 5,
Figure 63, has a maximum length of 16mm and
at first sight resembles a gall or fungal growth on
the end of a worn stalk. Two round holes with a
diameter of 1mm, one of which is visible in the
illustration, are typical of larval borings.

The specimen (V.65115) illustrated in Plate 5,
Figures 64 and 65, resembles a cluster of shoots
growing on the end of a stalk. An apparent single
shoot is growing from near the base of the stalk, a
pair on either side of the stalk at the centre, and a
single terminal shoot that appears to be in an early
stage of dividing into two at the apex. The possibility
that the ‘shoots’ are developing lignotuber-like
structures has also to be considered.

Many of the forms described in this section are
represented by a single specimen, demonstrating
the potential for more new finds should quarrying
operations at Chicksgrove Quarry expose further
beds yielding plant petrifactions.

THE CHICKSGROVE
FLORA IN CONTEXT

The relationship between the Chicksgrove Quarry
flora and the ‘Fossil Forest’ horizon of the Basal
Purbeck Beds, which includes the lagoonal clay
at Portesham Quarry (Cleal, Thomas and Batten
2001) with fossils possibly originating from a
marginal coastal flora, deserves much further
study. Some 8m of limestone is all that separates
the plant-yielding Bed 25 at Chicksgrove Quarry
from the base of the Purbeck Limestone Group

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UPPER JURASSIC SILICIFIED PLANT FOSSILS FROM CHICKSGROVE QUARRY, WILTSHIRE 17

at Bed 34 (Wimbledon 1976), and the similarity
of the seed assemblages at Chicksgrove Quarry
and Portesham Quarry indicates some common
environmental conditions. The presence of
Carpolithes glans with its specialised if not explained
developmental mechanism particularly reinforces
this interpretation, as does the similarity of ring
structures in wood from Chicksgrove Quarry and
the Basal Purbeck Beds. When set against the
Purbeck plant macrofossil record, described as
‘rather poor’ apart from the stumps and trunks of
the ‘Fossil Forest’ (Batten 2002, 13), the potential
importance of the Chicksgrove Quarry flora can
be fully appreciated. Tentative evidence presented
here suggests that short shoot bearing plants could
have continued through to Berriasian times within
the Purbeck Limestone Group. The accumulated
understanding of the complex and changing
Purbeck ecosystem, with its abundant vertebrate
fauna including 28 mammal species (Milner and
Batten 2002), can only be reinforced by findings
from the marginally earlier Portland Stone
Formation of south west Wiltshire.

In view of the similarities between the seed
assemblages of Chicksgrove Quarry and Portesham
Quarry it is perhaps unexpected to find short shoots
from the former that belong to genera and species
previously only definitively identified from the
western U.S.A. Shoots have been recorded from the
Purbeck ‘Fossil Forest’ horizon, but they are mostly
of the species Cupressinocladus valdensis interpreted
as the foliage of Protocupressinoxylon purbeckensis
(Francis 1983). There are, however, other common
elements between the Morrison Formation and
English Portlandian floras, examples being twigs
of the form-genus Brachyphyllum from the Basal
Purbeck Beds (Brown and Bugg 1975) and Morrison
Formation (Tidwell 1990) and seeds or cone scales
of or similar to Carpolithes westi described above.

The links between the Chicksgrove Quarry flora
and the Cerro Cuadrado ‘Petrified Forest’ are limited
but significant. The lignotuber illustrated in Plate
3, Figure 36 (V.65123) and the corm-like specimen
in Plate 3, Figure 44 (V.65148) are the clearest
examples of a shared floral element. Comparisons
made between specimens of Behuninia from the
Morrison Formation and shoot like specimens from
the Cerro Cuadrado (Tidwell and Medlyn 1992,
Stockey 2002) introduce a potentially significant
further link with Behuninia from Chicksgrove
Quarry. With further work likely to take place in
the future on reconstruction of the Cerro Cuadrado
conifers as whole plants, incorporating the study of

shoots, lignotubers and seedlings (Stockey 2002),
further light should be cast on similar specimens
from the quantitively far more limited Chicksgrove
Quarry material.

In interpreting the climate during the time of
the Chicksgrove Quarry flora a considerable body
of evidence points to semi-arid conditions with
seasonal and year on year variations. Irregularly
spaced rings on the Chicksgrove Quarry wood
(Plate 6, Figure 70, V.65098$1) indicate similar
conditions to those from the Purbeck ‘Fossil
Forest’ interpreted by Francis (1984) as indicating a
seasonal, Mediterranean-style lowland climate with
erratic rainfall and droughts. This interpretation
largely supports a proposal that the Upper Jurassic
climate underwent dramatic aridisation along
a broad belt that includes southern England
(Vakhrameev 1991). Short shoots from the Morrison
Formation have been interpreted as growing on
probable conifers in a large forest on a flood plain
(Tidwell and Medlyn 1992). The climate on this
flood plain has been proposed as close to arid with
long dry periods and short wet periods (Peterson
and Turner-Peterson, 1987). Hot, dry summers
with fires characterise the environments in which
lignotuber producing species most commonly grow
(del Tredici 1998, cited in Stockey 2002).

Some evidence points to the alternative
interpretation of a moist climate. Lack of or
faintness of growth rings in short shoots, as seen
in the Chicksgrove Quarry specimen illustrated in
Plate 6, Figure 67 (V.65128$1), has been interpreted
by Tidwell and Medlyn (1992) from Morrison
Formation specimens as indicating a moist climate
without any substantial yearly changes. Daniels
and Dayvault (2006) refer to the need for the
Morrison Formation forests to have supported the
associated dinosaur fauna, and suggest that such
a forest would have been unlikely to grow in an
arid environment. The Chicksgrove Quarry fauna
includes a range of dinosaurs (Benton, Cook and
Hooker 2005). The Purbeck ‘Fossil Forest’ has been
described as occupying a thickly forested luxuriant
coastal swamp (Barker, Brown, Bugg and Costin
1975) and as a ‘Jurassic Jungle’ in which luxuriant
cycads and ferns flourished (Brunsden (ed.) 2003).
It is possible that the answer lies somewhere in
between these two interpretations and that some
species such as the short shoots grew on plants
with a broader climatic range than other plants
represented by seeds such as Carpolithes glans.

The discovery of an Upper Jurassic petrified
flora such as that at Chicksgrove Quarry is a rare

18 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

occurrence, offering a tantalising glimpse into
a plant world that still holds many secrets. The
material that links the Upper Jurassic forests of
southern England with those of the western U.S.A.
and Patagonia is remarkable enough in itself, and
there remains to be studied material that could
produce further discoveries. When Chandler first
described in detail in 1966 specimens from the
Morrison Formation of Utah, she did so on the
basis of the misleading resemblance of some of the
fossils to angiosperms, her key area of expertise. No
angiosperms were found, but the period is one in
which their early ancestors were almost certainly
present somewhere. What is possibly the earliest
known angiosperm leaf was found in Middle
Jurassic deposits in southern England, at Stonesfield
in Oxfordshire (Cleal, Thomas and Batten 2001),
having probably grown along a coastal fringe.
Among suggestions for preangiosperm growth
habits discussed by Stewart and Rothwell (1993) are
semi-arid and seasonally dry environments. These
are proposed characteristics of the Purbeck coastal
environment, possibly similar to or the same as
the environment represented by the Chicksgrove
Quarry flora. This is a potentially significant area
for future study.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The support, help and advice of a number of
individuals have been essential for the collection
of the Chicksgrove Quarry material and for the
preparation of this paper. Thanks are due to quarry
proprietress Sally Collins for permission to collect
from the site on numerous occasions and to manager
Bill Maynard for help and assistance. To fellow
collector Dr Vivian Stevens FGS thanks are due
for his enthusiastic encouragement, for his input
‘into discussions on the sedimentology at the site,
and for his detailed comments on the first draft of
the manuscript. The librarians at Tisbury Library
and Wiltshire Inter-Library Lending never failed
to supply rquested books and papers essential to
the research work. Professor William D. Tidwell of
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, identified
photographs of Chicksgrove Quarry lignotubers
and pointed me towards Stockey’s (2002) work on
Cerro Cuadrado material. A special thanks is due to
geoscientist Richard Dayvault of Grand Junction,
Colorado, whose collecting expertise and knowledge
of Morrison Formation material has been invaluable
and who has sent over for comparison a number

of specimens of short shoots from Utah. Dr Paul
Kenrick at the NHM offered access to the Morrison
Formation and Cerro Cuadrado collections and to
the Portesham Quarry material to help with the
identification of some of the Chicksgrove Quarry
seeds. Dr Kenrick also photographed the thin
sections, which were prepared by Tony Wighton
of the NHM Mineralogy Department, and read
through and commented on the manuscript prior
to preparation of the final draft. Dr Peta Hayes
at the NHM provided specimen numbers for
Chicksgrove Quarry material included in this work
and produced the SEM micrograph reproduced
in Plate 6, Figure 66. John Morley of Stalbridge,
Dorset, deserves a special thanks for producing
the high quality digital photographs reproduced in
Plates 1 to 5 and for assembling the plates.

REFERENCES

ASTIN, T.R., 1987, ‘Petrology (including fluorescene
microscopy) of cherts from the Portlandian of
Wiltshire, U.K. — evidence of an episode of meteoric
water circulation’, in J.D. Marshall (ed.), Diagenesis
of Sedimentary Sequences, 73-85. London: Geological
Society of London Special Publication 36

BARKER, D., BROWN, C.E., BUGG, S.C. and COSTIN,
J., 1975. Ostracods, Land Plants, and Charales from
the basal Purbeck Beds of Portesham Quarry, Dorset.
Palaeontology 18, 419-436

BASKIN, C.C. and BASKIN, J.M., 1998, Seeds: Ecology,
Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination.
San Diego: Academic Press

BATTEN, D.J., 2002, Palaeoenvironmental Setting of the
Purbeck Limestone Group of Dorset; Southern England.
The Palaeontological Association: Special Papers in
Palaeontology 68, Life and Environments in Purbeck
Times,

BENTON, M.J., COOK, E. and HOOKER, J.J., 2005,
Mesozoic and Tertiary Fossil Mammals and Birds of Great
Britain. Peterborough: Joint Nature Conservation
Committee, Geological Conservation Review Series
32

BRISTOW, C.R., BARTON, C.M., WESTHEAD, R.K.,
FRESHNEY, E.C., COX, B.M. and WOODS, M.A.,
1999, The Wincanton district — a concise account of
the geology. Memoir for 1:50 000 Geological Sheet 297
(England and Wales). London: British Geological
Survey, HMSO

BROWN, C.E. and BUGG, S.C., 1975, ‘The Land Plants’
in D. Barker, C.E. Brown, S.C. Bugg, and J.Costin,
Ostracods, Land Plants, and Charales from the
basal Purbeck Beds of Portesham Quarry, Dorset.
Palaeontology 18, 427-435

BRUNSDEN, D. (ed.), 2003, The Official Guide to the Jurassic

UPPER JURASSIC SILICIFIED PLANT FOSSILS FROM CHICKSGROVE QUARRY, WILTSHIRE 19

Coast. Wareham: Coastal Publishing

CALDER, M.G., 1953. A Coniferous Petrified Forest
in Patagonia. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural
History) Geological Series 2(2), 99-138, P1.1-7

CHANDLER, M.E.J., 1966. Fruiting Organs from the
Morrison Formation of Utah, U.S.A.. Bulletin of the
British Museum (Natural History): Geological series 12,
139-171, Pl.1-12

CLEAL, C.J., THOMAS, B.A., BATTEN, D.J., 2001, ‘The
Jurassic Palaeobotany of Southern England’, in C.J.
Cleal, B.A. Thomas, D.J. Batten, and M.E. Collinson
(eds), Mesozoic and Tertiary Palaeobotany of Great Britain.
Peterborough: Joint Nature Conservation Committee,
Geological Conservation Review Series 22

CLEAL, C.J., THOMAS, B.A., BATTEN, D.J. and
COLLINSON, M.E., (eds), 2001, Mesozoic and
Tertiary Palaeobotany of Great Britain, Peterborough:
Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Geological
Conservation Review Series 22

DANIELS, ER. and DAYVAULT, R.D., 2006, Ancient
Forests: A Closer Look at Fossil Wood, Grand Junction:
Western Colorado Publishing Company

DAYVAULT, R.D. and HATCH, H.S., 2003. Short
Shoots from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of

Southeastern Utah. Rocks and Minerals 78: 4, 232-247

FRANCIS, J.E., 1983. The Dominant Conifer of the

Jurassic Purbeck Formation, England. Palaeontology
26, 277-294

FRANCIS, J.E., 1984. The Seasonal Environment
of the Purbeck (Upper Jurassic) Fossil Forests.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 48,
285-307

GRADSTEIN, EM. and OGG, J.G., 2004, A Geologic
Timescale. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

MILNER, A.R. and BATTEN, D.J., 2002, ‘Preface’, in
D.J. BATTEN (ed.), Palaeoenvironmental Setting of the
Purbeck Limestone Group of Dorset, Southern England.

FIGURES

PLATE 1

All specimens are from Chicksgrove Quarry except Fig.3.

Scales vary.

Fig. 1 Carpolithes westi. Actual length 9mm. V.65175.

Fig. 2 Carpolithes cf. westi. Actual length 8mm. V.65173.

Fig. 3 Cone scale. Actual length 8mm. Morrison
Formation, Henry Mountains, Utah. Author’s
collection, collected Dayvault.

Fig. 4 Carpolithes rubeola. Actual length 7.5mm. V.65155.

Fig. 5 Carpolithes gibbus. Actual length 3mm. V.65166.

Fig. 6 Carpolithes acinus. Actual length 3.5mm. V.65168.

Fig. 7 Carpolithes glans. Actual diameter (width and
depth) 7mm. V.65162.

Fig. 8 Carpolithes glans. Actual width 6mm. V.65158.

Fig. 9 Carpolithes glans. Actual length 7mm. V.65165.

Fig. 10 Carpolithes glans. Cover of Fig.9 above. V.65165.

Fig. 11 Carpolithes glans. Figs.9 and 10 above as re-

The Palaeontological Association: Special Papers in
Palaeontology 68, Life and Environments in Purbeck
Times.

PETERSON, F and TURNER-PETERSON, C.E., 1987.
The Morrison Formation of the Colorado Plateau:
Recent advances in sedimentology, stratigraphy, and
paleotectonics. Hunteria 2(1), 1-18

REID, C., 1903, The Geology of the Country around Salisbury.
Memoirs of the Geological Survey, London: HMSO

STEWART, W.N. and ROTHWELL, G.W., 1993
Paleobotany and the Evolution of Plants. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press (2"4 edition)

STOCKEY, R.A., 2002, ‘A Reinterpretation of the Cerro
Cuadrado Fossil “Seedlings”, Argentina’, in U.
Dernbach, W.D. Tidwell, M. Barthel, J. Galtier, W.
Jung, H. Kerp, R. Noll, R. Rossler, G.W. Rothwell, A.
Selmeier, R.A. Stockey, V. Wilde and W.W. Wright,
(eds), Secrets of Petrified Plants: Fascination from Millions
of Years. Heppenheim: D’ORO Publishers

THOMAS, B.A. and BATTEN, D.J., 2001, ‘The Jurassic
Palaeobotany of Scotland’, in C.J. Cleal, B.A. Thomas,
D.J. Batten and M.E. Collinson (eds), Mesozoic and
Tertiary Palaeobotany of Great Britain. Peterborough:
Joint Nature Conservation Committee Geological
Conservation Review Series 22

TIDWELL, W.D., 1990. Preliminary Report on the
Megafossil Flora of the Upper Jurassic Morrison
Formation. Hunteria 2 (8), 1-11

TIDWELL, W.D. and MEDLYN, D.A., 1992. Short shoots
from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, Utah,
Wyoming and Colorado, USA. Review of Palaeobotany
and Palynology 71, 219-238

VAKHRAMEEY, V.A., 1991, Jurassic and Cretaceous floras
and climates of the Earth. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press °

WIMBLEDON, W.A., 1976. The Portland Beds (Upper
Jurassic) of Wiltshire. WANHM 71, 3-11

attached. V.65165.

Fig. 12 Carpolithes glans. Actual length 6mm. V.65159.

Fig. 13 Carpolithes glans. Actual diameter (width and
depth) 8mm. V.65163.

Fig. 14 Carpolithes glans. Actual diameter 6-6.5mm.
V.65164.

Fig. 15 Carpolithes sp.. Actual diameter lmm. V.65169.

Fig. 16 Carpolithes. Form A. Actual length 3.5mm.
V.65157.

Fig. 17 Carpolithes. Form B. Actual length 5.5mm.
V.65156.

Fig. 18 Carpolithes. Form C. Actual length 6mm.
V.65177.

Fig. 19 cf. Jensensispermum. Actual length 10mm.
V.65170.

Fig. 20 cf. Fensensispermum. Actual length 6.5mm.
V.65171.

Fig. 21 cf. Jensensispermum. Actual length 6mm.
V.65172.

20 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

PLATE 2

All specimens are from Chicksgrove Quarry except Figs.

24 and 33. Scales vary.

Fig. 22 Behuninia provoensis. Actual length 25mm.
V.65128.

Fig. 23 Behuninia provoensis. Actual length 31mm.
V.65108.

Fig. 24 Behuninia provoensis. Actual length of shoot
17mm. Morrison Formation, Henry Mountains,
Utah. Author’s Collection, collected Dayvault.

Fig. 25 Behuninia provoensis. Actual length 18mm.
V.65180.

Fig. 26 Behuninia cf. provoensis. Actual length 60mm.
V.65101.

Fig. 27 Behuninia cf. joannei. Actual length 31mm.
V.65111.

Fig. 28 Behuninia cf. joannei. Actual length of stalk
15mm. V.65141.

Fig. 29 Steinerocaulis radiatus. Actual diameter 8mm.
V.65143.

Fig. 30 Steinerocaulis radiatus. Actual diameter 8mm.
V.65150.

Fig. 31 Steinerocaulis radiatus. As Fig.30, side view.

Fig. 32 Unidentified fragment. Actual diameter 3mm.
V.65183.

Fig. 33 Unidentified fragment. Actual diameter 3mm.
Cherty Freshwater Member, Lulworth Formation,
Purbeck Beds, Durlston Bay, Dorset. V.65187.

Fig. 34 Unidentified shoot. Actual length 13mm.
V.65139.

Fig. 35 Unidentified shoot. Actual length 50mm.
V.65106.

PLATE 3

All specimens are from Chicksgrove Quarry. Scales vary.

Fig. 36 Lignotuber. Actual diameter 14mm. V.65123.

Fig. 37 Possible double lignotuber. Actual length
24mm. V.65120.

Fig. 38 Lignotuber branching from stalk. Actual length
23mm. V.65112.

Fig. 39 Stalk with possible lignotuber and swellings.
Actual length 26mm. V.65113.

Fig. 40 As Fig.39 above, view onto truncated base.
Actual maximum width 16mm.

Fig. 41 Bud and possible lignotuber on stalk. Actual
length 18mm. V.65126.

Fig. 42 Possible lignotuber bud on stalk. Actual length
35mm. V.65134.

Fig. 43 Stalk with bud. Length of bud 5mm. V.65133.

Fig. 44 Corm-like specimen. Actual diameter 8mm.
V.65148.

Fig. 45 Possible seedling. Actual length 18mm.
V.65144.

Fig. 46 Unidentified. Actual length 19mm. V.65145.

Fig. 47 Unidentified. Actual length 12mm. V.65184.

PLATE 4

All specimens are from Chicksgrove Quarry. Scales vary.

Fig. 48 Wood. Actual length approx. 300mm. V.65098.

Fig. 49 As Fig.48 above, detail.

Fig. 50 Small truncated branch. Actual length 85mm.
V.65100.

Fig. 51 As Fig.50 above, truncated end. Actual diameter
8mm to 14mm.

Fig. 52 Branching wood from shoot system. Actual
length 25mm. V.65122.

Fig. 53 Twig with bark. Actual length 15mm. V.65182.

PLATE 5

All specimens are from Chicksgrove Quarry. Scales vary.

Fig. 54 Possible abraded cone. Length 15mm. V.65186.

Fig. 55 Unidentified. Length 13mm. V.65135.

Fig. 56 Unidentified. Length 9mm. V.65136.

Fig. 57 Scale. Length 12mm. V.65146.

Fig. 58 Scale. Length 14mm. V.65132.

Fig. 59 Possible scale. Length 21mm. V.65114.

Fig. 60 As Fig.59 above, side view.

Fig. 61 Possible fern fragment. Length 33mm. V.65130.

Fig. 62 Unidentified. Length 6mm. V.65179.

Fig. 63 Unidentified. Length 16mm. V.65147.

Fig. 64 Group of possible shoots. Length 29mm.
V.65115.

Fig. 65 As Fig.64 above, side view.

PLATE 6

All specimens are from Chicksgrove Quarry and

photographs reproduced courtesy of the Natural History

Museum. Scales vary.

Fig. 66 Carpolithes rubeola. V.65154. Vacuum SEM
micrograph by Dr. Peta Hayes.

Fig. 67 Behuninia provoensis. V.65128$1.Transverse thin
section, diameter 10mm approx.. Section Tony
Wighton, photograph Dr. Paul Kenrick.

Fig. 68 Behuninia provoensis. V.65128$2. Longitudinal
thin section. Section Tony Wighton, photograph Dr.
Paul Kenrick.

Fig. 69 Behuninia provoensis. V.65128$2. Longitudinal
thin section, detail of pith. Section Tony Wightman,
photograph Dr. Paul Kenrick.

Fig. 70 Conifer wood. V.65098$1. Part of thin section
with ring structure. Section Tony Wightman,
photograph Dr. Paul Kenrick.

Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 21-26

Early Tertiary turtles in Wiltshire
by Fustin Delair

Except for an hitherto unnoticed bony fragment of a chelonian carapace collected during the late 1870s from a now
overgrown brickpit (NGR SU 000 000) north-east of Hamptworth Lodge in south-eastern Wiltshire, fossil remains of
chelomans (turtles and tortoises) have not been recorded from the county’s early Tertiary deposits. The recent acquisition
of additional early Tertiary chelonian material (22 fragmentary bones) originally obtained during or before the 1920s
from a long disused brickyard (NGR SU 000 000) at Redlynch, therefore constitutes a palaeontological development
meriting the present correction.

Wiltshire’s early Tertiary strata Though not now much exposed or exploited,

early Tertiary clays and sands were formerly dug
Deposited between 50 and 55 million years ago, for the production of bricks, tiles and earthenware
subsurface sands, clays and pebble beds representing pipes at several Wiltshire localities south-east
(in ascending order) the Reading Beds, the London of Salisbury, were penetrated at many others by

Clay, and the Bagshot Sands, comprise Wiltshire’s well sinkings and, during the 1850s, bisected
early Tertiary strata. Of these, the Reading Beds at Clarendon and Alderbury by the then new

and the lowest horizon (or Basement Bed) of the Southampton-Salisbury railway line.

London Clay are classed as Palaeocene sediments. The literature contains disappointingly few
The overlying remainder of the London Clay is, records of Wiltshire’s early Tertiary exposures,
together with the Bagshot Sands, classed as Eocene and those that do exist exclude the Hamptworth
sediments. Collectively forming the northernmost and Redlynch brickyards, despite both pits being
limit of the much more extensive Hampshire Basin active when the region’s first geological memoir
deposits, these are confined to Wiltshire’s extreme was published’ and clearly delineated on several
south-eastern region (Figure 1). contemporary editions of the relevant Ordnance

This strata succession - in particular the London Survey (O.S.) maps.’

Clay - reflects ancient cycles of sedimentation. These Very fortunately measured vertical sections
were associated with the presence of shallow inshore (Figures 2 and 3) at both brickpits were made when
seas, and the successive formation and removal at they were operational during the last quarter of
various coastal localities of littoral features such the 19th century by Ernest Westlake (1855-1922)
as deltas, lagoons, and estuaries. On the evidence of Fordingbridge.* Previously unpublished, these
of changes in the facies of the observable deposits, occur in two of Westlake's 16 surviving field-
these cycles were often rapid and sometimes affected notebooks held until recently by the Geology
wide areas.! Each cycle produced different types of Department of Southampton University; they are
sedimentation associated with coeval forms of life, now preserved at Oxford.

chelonians included.

4 Willowdene Close, Ashley, New Milton, Hants BH25 5BX

Z2 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Y Tertiary beds
i) (undifferentiated)

The Tertiary beds of the
Hampshire basin are

duplicated again further
@ost inthe London Basin
(not shown).

yep;

English

€hannel

Fa. VR 2
= L5G; yy

Fig. 1 (left) The geographical extent of the Hampshire Basin, and the limit of the Lower Tertiary strata in Wiltshire. 1. Redlynch
brickyard, 2. Hamptworth brickyard. (right) The distribution of Wiltshire’s Palaeocene and Lower Eocene deposits (‘Clay with
funts’ included)

The brickyard sections

Five deposits, A - E (Figure 2),° were recorded
as being visible at Hamptworth in November
1879. Bed A, composed of post-Eocene gravel, is
outside the ambit of this essay. Beds B - E, since
they conform in character to the officially mapped
geographical extent of the London Clay deposits in
the Hamptworth area, are thus almost certainly of
London Clay age. Westlake’s notes do not indicate
the age of these deposits other than that they are
'Eocene'’. It is uncertain when this brickyard closed,
but the 1927 revision of the 6" to 1 mile O.S. map
of south-east Wiltshire shows the pit in outline
only suggesting that brickmaking had ceased there
before that year but after 1911 - the date of the
map's preceding edition which shows the brickyard
apparently still active.

Westlake measured the Redlynchsection(Figure
3) in April or May 1883, noting that a Mr.Plashett
or Plaskett owned or worked the brickpit then.
Judging from the gradient of the present degraded
slope of what was originally the deepest sector of
the pit (now very much derelict), Westlake's section
was apparently that of the pit's then southern face.
The section records 24 separate beds, A - X, with A

again being a post-Eocene deposit. It is immediately
noticeable that beds I-L seemingly correspond
to beds B-E at Hamptworth, although an exact
contemporaneity between the two stratal suites is
not necessarily implied. If, however, beds B-E and
I-L do broadly correspond, and because, as just
noted, the Hamptworth beds are almost certainly

Grant —(2 F)

(6%!
SEM

Een annrst clay

Laud — (453
Lowney car was 8
Blue olay —(6"-8'

Fig. 2 Vertical section (Nov. 1879) Hamptworth brickpit.
Copied from E. Westlake’s Field Notebook 10

hace “ah secre

EARLY TERTIARY TURTLES IN WILTSHIRE

Tan mw vO rs

Blue clay

oP @O@UAOZZTr s«

Yellen olay —(""0") 7 |
re ae opt caren as

gi ee es 9 —~{\'10")
Sau (yeltor) —(6")

Rapti, Greenish ~ ney Atm [rth gute prance) ——{..1240')

€<c

P.4

Slight pan’ ——(6"
Pune ytHtn-) Stud (aegh dillles sawn a hase ag Sti) ;

Fig. 3 Vertical section (April or May 1883) Plashett’s or Plaskett’s brickyard, Redlynch.
Copied from E. Westlake’s Field Notebook 14

of London Clay age, the Redlynch deposits, at least
from bed B down to the base of L, can likewise be
reasonably accorded a similar antiquity.

Whether all the Redlynch beds below L are
also of London Clay age is unknown; indeed, it is
credible that some may belong to the Reading Beds
series, particularly as beds U - X show the wide lithic
variability generally characteristic of the Reading
Beds as a whole.® In that respect, it is significant

that geological maps of the Redlynch area show
the natural junction of the Reading Beds and the
London Clay as literally underlying Plashett's
brickyard. It is again uncertain when the brickyard
ceased production. Marked as an apparently active
yard on the 1925 edition of the 6" to 1 mile O.S. map
of the Redlynch area, its eventual closure evidently
post-dated that year.

24 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 4 SSWM 6147. External aspect of costal plate from old
brickpit at Hamptworth. Ex. E. Westlake collection.

Brief history of the Hamptworth
specimen

Collected by Westlake in or around 1879, this
specimen became part of a small but interesting
assemblage of local Cretaceous and Tertiary fossils
lodged in the Salisbury and South Wilts Museum
during the early 1890s, when Westlake served there
as an honorary curator.’ Westlake unfortunately
omitted to indicate the horizon which had yielded
it. The specimen is now registered in the Salisbury
geological collection as SSWM 6147.

Brief history of the Redlynch
material

The existence of the Redlynch chelonian remains
was first made known to this writer in 1997 by
the botanist Brenda Chadwick (now deceased) of
Laverstock. She had previously viewed them at the
Wellow residence of Mrs Amelia Webb (a widow),
in whose care they had reposed since the demise in
1963 of Mrs Webb’s elder brother, Joseph Fullard.
A pencil note preserved with the remains states
that Mr Fullard had ‘obtained’ them as long ago as
March 16th, 1921. The horizon which had hosted

Fig. 5 SSWM 6147. Internal aspect of costal plate from old
brickpit at Hamptworth. Ex. E. Westlake collection.

the remains is not indicated.

The precise circumstances of acquisition are
regrettably vague: it is impossible to establish if Mr
Fullard had personally discovered the remains in
situ or had, perhaps, purchased them from, or been
gifven them by, some member of the brickyard’s
personnel. Nor is it clear whether the remains were
disinterred in 1921 or on some undocumented
earlier date.

An occasion to acquire the material at Wellow
did not arise until February 2001, mere weeks
before Mrs Webb’s relocation to Surrey, when Mrs
Webb still hoped that a safe permanent home could
be found for them. Considering the extreme rarity
of such remains in Wiltshire, little doubt existed
that a suitable repository would be quickly found.
This shortly proved to be the Salisbury and South
Wiltshire Museum, where the remains are now
registered as SSWM 7051/1-22.

General description

SSWM 6147 from Hamptworth is an incomplete
costal plate (Figure 4), perhaps no: 6 or 7 in the
usual chelonian carapace. Its outer surface is very
faintly ridged and its inner one distinguished
by the remnants of an anchylosed rib (Figure 5).

EARLY TERTIARY TURTLES IN WILTSHIRE

Fig. 6 Key to arrangement of bony elements in a typical
chelomian ‘shell.’ Carapace (upper left) plastron (upper
right), and lateral view, to show shell structure of chelonians.
Structures in solid line; outline of overlying horny scutes in
dashed lines. Carapace, bony elements: c, costal plates; m,
marginal plates; n, neural plates; nu, nuchal; p, pygal. Plas-
tron: en, entoplastron; ep, epiplastra; hy, hyoplastra; hyp,
hypoplastra; x, xiphiplastra. Original about 39 inches long.
After C.W. Andrews

The plate is comparatively thick with a cancelous
internal structure (visible in a line of fracture). A
rather small turtle is represented.

The Redlynch remains consist of twenty-

Inches

SET
PE) BES

two apparently associated carapace and plastron.
fragments (SSWM 7051/1-22) belonging to a
much larger turtle than SSWM 6147. None of the
fragments are apparently contiguous, although
one (SSWM 7051/2la-b) is broken into two
almost equally-sized portions. Fragments SSWM
7051/1-4 are apparently plastral bones: probably
hypoplastron (SSWM 7051/1-2), epiplastron (SS
WM 7051/3), and xiphiplastron (SSWM 7051/4).
The remaining fragments seem to be carapacic
marginal and costal elements (Figure 6), four or
which (SSWM 7051/6-9) exhibit evidence of thick
anchylosed ribs on their ventral surfaces. Bone
thicknesses, which naturally vary relative to their
position in the original chelonian shell, range
from comparatively thin to robustly thick. As in
the Hamptworth turtle, the cancelous internal
bone structure is clearly visible along lines of post-
mortem fracture in several carapacic fragments.

All these fragments possess smooth outer
surfaces devoid of ornamentation, in contrast to
their inner surfaces which, where not abraded (as
in SSWM 7051/13 and 7051/20), often feature fine
lateral striations.

Possible bite marks

Of more than passing interest is the presence of
small shallow circular depressions, arranged as arcs
(or parts thereof), on fragments SSWM 7051/2 and

Fig. 7 SSWM 7051/2 and 7051/4. External aspects of two associated ?carapacic plates exhibiting possible marks of predation from
a disused brickpit at Redlynch. Ex. 7. Fullard collection.

26 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

7051/4. Four occur on the former and three, slightly
smaller, on the latter (Figure 7, a-b). While the
precise origin of these depressions is conjectural,
their consistently circular configuration and
arc-like disposition suggests that they represent
punctuating tooth marks. If so, the bite was that of a
moderately large carnivore only. Likely candidates
include crocodiles? and primitive whales,’
contemporary aquatic predators well known from
London Clay deposits beyond Wiltshire’s confines.
Furthermore, it is not possible to determine
whether these depressions, if actual bite marks,
were sustained while the turtle was alive, whether-
they contributed to its demise, or if they resulted
from post-mortem scavenger activity. If indeed
genuine evidence of predation, these marks are not
only unique in the annals of Wiltshire geology, but
are also exceedingly rare in those of the London
Clay generally.

Discussion

Various kinds of small and large marine and marsh
turtles (some with smooth shells) are now on record
from the Palaeocene and lower Eocene deposits
of western Europe!’ and North Africa,!! so it is
unsurprising to encounter similar turtles at those
horizons in Wiltshire. While it is highly likely
that the present chelonians are of London Clay age
(inferentially at Hamptworth and very probably so
at Redlynch), it is also clear that both were smooth-
shelled forms too. The absence of critical skull
elements in the present material, however, renders
generic identification hazardous. The Hamptworth
fragment (SSWM 6147) is in fact too meagre for
positive identification.

Regarding the Redlynch remains, however, a
general review of more complete coeval chelonid
material from elsewhere in southern England
suggests possible affiliation with one or other of at
least two named London Clay pelomedusid turtles
(Eosphargis and Puppigerus) and, conceivably, with
another (Podocnemis) more loosely recorded from
the ‘Lower Eocene’. Features suggesting such
affiliation concern apparent overall size and shell
and rib thicknesses. Although size alone is not
a safe criterion, two of the larger London Clay
turtles, Eosprrgis and Podocnemis, like the smaller
Puppigerus, possessed thick carapacic plates and
ribs reminiscent of those characteristics in the
Redlynch turtle. Closer comparison, however, is not

possible. The Redlynch remains, therefore, cannot
presently be identified beyond having belonged to
a typical pelomedusid turtle.

Acknowledgements

The writer wishes to acknowledge the help
accorded him over several years by the following
individuals: the late Brenda Chadwick, Amelia
Webb, the late Dr Aubrey Westlake for temporary
loan of Ernest Westlake’s unpublished geological
field-notebooks, the late Professor Michael House
for helpful discussions about Hampshire Basin
stratigraphy, Peter Saunders for access to the
Hamptworth carapace fragment in the Salisbury
and South Wilts Museum and John Cresswell for
his excellent photography.

References and notes

1 R.V. Melville and E.C.Freshney, The Hampshire
Basin and Adjoining Areas (4" edn 1986), p. 90.

2 C. Reid, The Geology of the Country Around Salisbury
(1903).

3 Ordnance Survey 6”-to-1 mile sheets for the Redl ynch
and Hamptworth areas of Wiltshire editions of 1881,
1911, 1925; and 1927.

4 J.B. Delair, Ernest Westlake (1855-1922): Founder
Member of the Hampshire Field Club. Proceedings of
the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society 41,
(1985), 37-44.

> Letter sequence added by present author to both this
and the Redlynch section.

6 Melville, R.V., and E.C.Freshney. 1986. Op. cit. in n.
1, p. 94.

7 Anonymous. Annual Report of the Salisbury and South
Wilts and Blackmore Museum for 1892-1893 (1893).

8 A.S. Woodward, The History of Fossil Crocodiles.
Proeedings of the Geological Association 9, (1887), 288-
344, p. 329-330.

° L.B. Tarlo, A Primitive Whale from the London Clay
of the Isle of Sheppey. Proceedings of the Geological
Association 74, (1964), 219-223.

10 E.g., ENGLAND (Berkshire; Middlesex, London,
Essex, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, and Dorset),
BELGIUM, DENMARK, GERMANY, FRANCE,
and SPAIN. See also R.T.J. Moody, The Distribution
of Turtles in the British Palaeogene, in J.J. Hooker,
A.N. Insole, R.T-J. Moody, C.A.Walker, and D.J.Ward,
The Distribution of Cartilaginous Fish, Turtles,
Birds, and Mammals in the British Palaeogene.
Tertiary Research, 3 (1), (1980), 1-45.

‘Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya.

Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 27-41

Recent recording of Wiltshire’s flora

by Fohn Presland

After an initial presentation of evidence for the importance of Wiltshire’s botanical heritage, the history of botanical
recording in the County is briefly described. Methods used for drawing up lists of records of plant species to publish in
Wiltshire Botanical Society’s scientific journal are described and illustrated. Attention 1s drawn to both a recent and
a forthcoming issue of the journal in which the results of recording selected species from 1992 to 2003 inclusive (i.e.
since recording for the 1993 Wiltshire Flora was completed) are summarised and analysed. ‘Portraits’ of a number
of plants with a special association with Wiltshire are presented, and include data from the summarised results. The
plants include examples of nationally rare and nationally scarce plants, plants of some of the more interesting habitats
found in Wiltshire, and plants thought to be extinct but refound. Readers are invited to join in the continuation of the

recording work described.

The importance of Wiltshire’s
botany

Wiltshire’s botanical heritage is of great significance
and interest. In particular, the county is home to
a number of plants of national importance. The
first British record for the nationally rare Tuberous
Thistle (Cirsium tuberosum) was in Wiltshire and,
of the fourteen 10km squares in Britain in which
the plant has been recorded since 1987, nine are
entirely within Wiltshire. There are also several
nationally scarce plants particularly well represented
in the county. For instance, Wiltshire holds around
80% of the total native British population of
Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris), and North Meadow
at Cricklade may have several million in flower in
a good year. Summer Snowflake or Loddon Lily
(Leucojum aestivum) has its finest British site in
damp willow carr at Woodford Green on the Avon
north of Salisbury, with something like 2000 plants
considered to be native. At Parsonage Down in
Wiltshire, it has been estimated that more than
30,000 flowering Burnt Orchids (Orchis ustulata)
sometimes appear, perhaps the most important

surviving single population in Northwest Europe.
The uncommon Juniper (Juniperus communis) has its
largest population in England at Wiltshire’s Porton
Down, where more than 14,000 bushes have been
reported growing amongst heather.

However, Wiltshire’s botanical importance
extends well beyond individual plant species.
Gillam and Woodruffe (1993) describe the range
of plant habitats found in the county - woodland,
unimproved grassland (including chalk downland,
limestone downland and neutral lowland meadows),
water-meadows, rivers and wetlands, cultivated
land (including arable farming, livestock farming,
organic farming, market gardening and horticultural
nurseries), and man-made habitats (including urban
development, rubbish tips, walls, road verges,
ponds, quarries and chalk pits). All these have their
own characteristic communities, providing a wide
variety of plant life. Some habitats are particularly
rich. West Woods near Marlborough are among the
best bluebell woods in Great Britain. The military
training areas on Salisbury Plain have been protected
from much of the agricultural developments which
have reduced wild plant life and are particularly

175c Ashley Lane, Winsley, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire BA15 2HR

28 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

rewarding. Areas of ancient chalk downland
elsewhere are also of special interest.

Recording plants in Wiltshire

Clearly the plant life of such a rich county needs
to be recorded as thoroughly as possible. This has
been going on for over 200 years in some form or
another (Presland et al. 2002). However, the first
modern flora of Wiltshire was that of Donald Grose
(1957). Records after Grose’s flora were published
annually and eventually gathered together into a
supplement (Stearn 1975). The most recent flora is
The Wiltshire Flora (Gillam, Green and Hutchison
1993). This covered the two botanical vice-counties
into which Wiltshire is divided - Vice-county 7 in
the North and Vice-county 8 in the South, with the
Kennet and Avon Canal as the boundary between
the two. It was written on the basis of the Wiltshire
Flora Mapping Project, begun in 1983. The project
was run by a Steering group in which the two vice-
county recorders worked with other interested
bodies. There was a huge number of recorders and
data handlers were able to make use of computers
through the involvement of the Wiltshire Biological
Records Centre, formerly at the Wiltshire Heritage
Museum, and then at the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust
headquarters in Devizes, where the Flora Mapping
data are still held.

During the Flora Mapping, plants were
recorded for their occurrence in each tetrad
(group of four 1km squares of the National Grid),
with progressively more precise locations for less
common species. The records were entered into a
database and distribution maps were made from it.
The Flora was prepared from these data.

Though the Flora was completed, members
of the newly formed Wiltshire Botanical Society
continued to record plants, and a database of these
records was set up and and maintained. Indeed,
that was one of the purposes for which the society
was formed. Eventually, the Flora Mapping records
at the Biological Records Centre were transferred
to the Botanical Society’s database. There is now
a process of communication between the two
bodies which enables sharing of records through a
common database.

Publishing records

From early on, the most interesting of these records
were published - at first in the Society’s newsletter

and, from 1995 onwards, in its scientific journal
Wiltshire Botany. Gradually a process emerged for
selecting records for publication to maximise the
usefulness and interest of this feedback. Two criteria
were established for publication of a record. They are
framed in terms of the taxon (plural taxa), a general
concept encompassing the genus (plural genera),
species, subspecies and variety. They were:

e The taxon was recorded in 3% or less of the
1km squares in the County in the Wiltshire
Flora Mapping Project and as noted in the 1993
Flora;

e The taxon had not previously been recorded
either during the Flora Mapping or subsequently
for the tetrad in which the record was made.

To facilitate the process, a list was eventually drawn
up of what were termed eligible taxa, which were
taxa to which the 3% criterion applied at the time
of publication of the 1993 Flora. Taxa which had not
been included in the Flora at all but recorded since
were added. Then, each year, any further “new taxa”
were added, so that the list was continually being
enlarged. Tetrads newly noted for each taxon since
the Flora were enumerated in the list, and then,
each year, the new ones were inserted. Subsequent
records in those tetrads could then be omitted at
publication. The form of the list, henceforward
referred to as the Record List, was gradually improved
to increase its usefulness. Its state at the beginning
of 2004 was published in Wiltshire Botany (Wiltshire
Botanical Society 2006), along with analyses of the
data, covering the period up to the end of 2003.
These will be supplemented by further analyses
of the same set of data in the next issue (Wiltshire
Botanical Society 2007).

The Record List

The taxa are listed in alphabetical order by their
scientific names. Common names can be found
in the 1993 Wiltshire Flora, in any of the floras by
Stace (1993, 1997 or 1999) or, for alien species, in
Clement and Foster (1994). The data are presented
as tetrad labels, each tetrad being identified by its
southwest component lkm square. The form of the
Record List is shown in the illustrative sample in
the box. The following key shows what the various
entries mean:

e *- the taxon is not native to Wiltshire, though it may
be native to Britain;

RECENT RECORDING OF WILTSHIRE’S FLORA

¢ A page number on its own - there is a distribution
map by tetrads in the 1993 Flora on the page given;

¢ slo followed by a page number - the Flora mentions
some specific localities on that page, but without
identifying the tetrads;

e nrif followed by a page number - the Flora refers to
the taxon, but mentions no specific localities;

e nif - the taxon is not in the 1993 Flora, nor in Grose’s
1957 Flora, nor in Stearn’s 1975 supplement;

¢ nifg - the taxon is not in the 1993 Flora, but included
in Grose’s 1957 Flora;

e nifs - the taxon is not in the 1993 Flora, nor in
Grose’s 1957 Flora, but included in Stearn’s 1975
supplement.

¢ [ ]- there is no distribution map in the Flora, but
the taxon was recorded in the tetrads in the brackets
during the Wiltshire Flora Mapping Project for the
1993 Flora;

e Tetrad references not in brackets - these are new
tetrads in which the taxon has been recorded since the
Flora Mapping and up to the end of 2003 inclusive;

e ve followed by 7, 8 or 78 - these are the vice-counties
in which there is a record for a taxon either during or
after the Flora Mapping for the 1993 Flora or both.

To use the list for a particular taxon, it is first
necessary to look at either the distribution map
in the 1993 Flora or the list of tetrads in square
brackets. These show the tetrads in which the taxon
was recorded during the Flora Mapping. Then look
at the unbracketed tetrads to see which tetrads have
been added since the Flora Mapping. The tetrad
records also allow identification of 1** 10km square
records, and the vc items tells us the vice-counties
in which the tetrad has been recorded since the
Flora Mapping began, so that recent 1“ county and
vice-county records (i.e. since the Flora Mapping
began) can be identified. The nifg and nifs items
indicate that earlier records can be found in the
publications quoted, so that they can be compared
with records during and after the Flora Mapping.
This enables identification of records which are the
first in the county or vice-county for all time.

Illustrative sample from the Record List

Abies cephalonica * nif SU 0638, vc8

Abutilon theophrasti * nrif [ST 8068, SU 3880], vc7

Acer platanoides * p226, vc78

Aceras anthropophorum slo p362 [SU 0418] ST 9052,
vc8

Aconitum napellus ssp. napellus p136 SU 0478, 9434,
vc78

Acorus calamus * slo p307 [ST 97, 9860] ST 8042, vc78

Adiantum capillus-veneris slo p124 [SU 0858], vc78

Adonis annua * p139 SU 1422, 1434, vc78

Aesculus carnea * nrif [SU 1670, 1680] SU 2662, vc78

Agrimonia procera slo p195 [ST 8868, 9054, 9426,
9426, SU 1222, 1266, 1454, 1456, 1458, 1462, 1464,
1652, 1844, 1846, 1848, 1852, 1856, 2026, 2030,
2044, 2046, 2060, 2068, 2226, 2228, 2286, 2420,
2422, 2428, 2458, 2466, 2622, 2664, 2664, 2818]

SU 1022, 1222, 2066, 2238, 2264, 2266, 2420, 2470,
2618, 2862, vc78

Agrostemma githago * slo p156 [ST 8650} ST 8260,
8656, SU 1284, vc78

Allium triquetrum * nifs SU 2428, vc8

Ambrosia artemisiifolia* nifg ST 8650, SU 0638, 1430,

2872, vc78

Analysing the data

The data in the Record List can be analysed in many
different ways, some of which are described in the
special issue of Wiltshire Botany and some which
are awaiting further articles in the following issue.
Here, we look at what they can tell us about some of
Wiltshire’s most interesting plants. Their scope is
limited by the facts that the information represents
only recorded additions to the distribution of each
taxon covered; and that it is based on individual
interests and targeted surveys, rather than on a
systematic study of the flora as a whole. Sometimes,
the data are meaningful only when taken in
conjunction with information from other sources.
General sources used for this purpose are Stewart,
Pearman and Preston (1994), Marren (1999), Mabey
(1996), Preston, Pearman and Dines (2002) and the
BSBi Atlas Update Project provided on-line by the
Botanical Society of the British Isles. One consistent
feature of the analyses is that issues are constantly
raised which are in need of further thought or
investigation.

Nationally rare plants

A nationally rare plant is one that is found in 15 or
fewer of the 2,800+ 10km squares into which the
British Isles can be divided. There are 13 such taxa
which have been recorded in Wiltshire since 1983,
and there are additional tetrads since the Flora for
6 of these. Indeed, for Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)
there are 4 such tetrads (though at least one came
from deliberate sowing of wild flower seed). For
Corncockle (Agrostemma githago) there are 3, and
there are two for Pheasant’s-eye (Adonis annua). The
locally famous Tuberous Thistle (Cirstum tuberosum)
is explored more fully below as an example.

Tuberous Thistle (Cirsium tuberosum) has been

30 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 1 Colony of Tuberous Thistle (Photo by Valerie
Headland)

recorded in Wiltshire in 9 of the fourteen 10km
squares in Britain in which the plant has been
recorded since 1987. It is a knapweed-like perennial
of old chalk and limestone grassland with softly
spiny leaves, and can be 2 feet tall. It was recorded
in 16 tetrads during the Flora Mapping, most of
them in the Salisbury Plain Training Area, with an
additional one in North Wiltshire and a few others in
the South. It has been noted in two more since. One
of these was in a tetrad adjacent to one that had been
recorded in the Flora Mapping, but the other was
in a completely new part of the Ministry of Defence
Salisbury Plain Training Area. Are these new sites or
just new records of plants formerly not noticed? The
question is complicated by the readiness of Tuberous
Thistle to hybridise with the more common Dwarf
Thistle (Cirstum acaule) the hybrid being known
as C. x medium. This was in 14 tetrads in the Flora
Mapping, but in no new ones since. Everett (1993)
states that, in the Flora Mapping, the hybrid was
found in 6 Tuberous Thistle sites, and was also found
in nine other sites on its own, raising the possibility
that hybridisation caused the extinction of originally
“pure” colonies. This may be because the Dwarf
Thistle has been able to invade areas where the long
grass formerly prevented it but Tuberous Thistle

survived. Ironically, this could be because nature
conservation measures have increased grazing, —
though it could also be because of an increase in the

stemmed form of Dwarf Thistle, which is better than

the normal form at growing in long grass (Marren
1999). However, Everett also reported variations

in what is seen at the same site on different visits,

depending partly on grazing intensity, and thought

it possible that the pure species might persist unseen

on some of the hybrid sites. So perhaps the new

tetrads do not mean new sites. The main message

here, apart from being encouraged that we can still

find it in new places, is that we need to keep looking.

Tuberous Thistle is most easily distinguished from

Dwarf Thistle by the flower head being broad and

rounded in the former and elongated and cylindrical

in the latter. The hybrid shows a range of conditions

in between.

Fig. 2 Shape of flower head in (left to right) Dwarf Thistle,
hybrid and Tuberous Thistle (Drawings by Valerie Headland)

Nationally scarce plants

A nationally scarce plant is one which occurs in 16-
100 of the 10km squares in the British Isles. There are
57 such taxa which have been recorded in Wiltshire
since 1983, and 28 of them have additional tetrads
since the Flora. Early Gentian (Gentianella anglica)
has eight additional tetrads, Stinking Hellebore
(Helleborus foetidus) six, Blue Pimpernel (Anagallis
arvense ssp. foemina), Green-flowered Helleborine
(Epipactis phyllanthes), Burnt Orchid (Orchis ustulata)
and Round-headed Rampion (Phyteuma orbiculare)
have five each, Dwarf Sedge (Carex humilis) and
Fine-leaved Fumitory (Fumaria parviflora) have
three each, and Monkshood (Aconitum napellus
ssp. napellus), Summer Snowflake or Loddon Lily
(Leucojum aestivum), Spiked Star-of-Bethlehem or
Bath Asparagus (Ornithogalum pyrenaicum), Field
Fleawort (Zephroseris integrifolia), Bastard Toadflax
(Thesium humifusum), and Spreading Hedge-parsley
(Torilis arvensis) two each. A number of these are dealt
with more fully below.

RECENT RECORDING OF WILTSHIRE’S FLORA

Nationally scarce plants of chalk
downs

Some of our most interesting nationally scarce plants
are on the chalk downs with which Wiltshire is so
well blessed. The following are examples which are
plants with a special association with Wiltshire.

Fig. 3 Early Gentian

Early Gentian (Gentianella anglica) is restricted to
chalk and limestone soils in South and Southwest
England and occurs on a number of chalk downs in
Wiltshire, which is one of its strongholds. Of the
72 x 10km squares in which it has been recorded in
Britain since 1987, twenty are wholly or partly in
Wiltshire. It does best where the soil is shallow and
the grass closely grazed. It is so rare being a British
endemic, never having been found as a native outside
Britain. In appearance, it is like a miniature Felwort
(Gentianella amarella), with its purple tubular flowers
dividing into four or five lobes at the top, but the
two are rarely seen together because Early Gentian
has usually finished flowering well before the

earliest Felwort plants in mid-July. This difference
is often enough for an identification, but the two
species can occasionally flower together and even
hybridise. Early Gentian can, when necessary, be
distinguished by the number of internodes varying
from 0-4 (as opposed to 4-11), and by the terminal
internode constituting 40-100% of the stem (as
opposed to 1-35ish%) (Rich et al. 1997). Some
experts think that Early Gentian is just an early
flowering form of Felwort, and recent DNA studies
appear to confirm this. In the Flora Mapping, it was
recorded in 19 tetrads, 16 of them in the South. It
is easily overlooked, since, as an annual or biennial,
it is not consistent in its appearance, and can grow
from nothing obvious, flower, fruit and disappear
within a few weeks. Marren (1999) suggests that
its unpredictability is due to the setting of a large
amount of seed, which germinates only when the
right conditions occur, namely disturbance and a
wet winter followed by a warm, wet spring. Yet is
has been found in eight new tetrads, perhaps partly
because it has been much looked for. None of them
are very far from its Flora Mapping tetrads, and the
possibility that it has spread cannot be dismissed.

Fig. 4 Early Gentian

Burnt Orchid (Orchis ustulata) has been recorded
in 370 10km squares in Britain from 1987 onwards,
and 23 of these are wholly or partly in Wiltshire.

32 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 5 Burnt Orchid

However, this does not reflect its abundance on
chalk downland in Wiltshire, which is its main
stronghold. At Parsonage Down, for instance, it
has been estimated that more than 30,000 flowering
plants sometimes appear over an area approaching 95
hectares, perhaps the most important surviving single
population in Northwest Europe. It was recorded in

Fig. 6 Burnt Orchid

31 tetrads in the Wiltshire Flora Mapping, mostly
in the South of the county. Since then it has been
found in a new tetrad adjacent to a Flora Mapping
tetrad at Pewsey Down and at two adjacent tetrads at
Porton Down, where it had not been seen previously.
Porton Down, however, is a vast area where it could
have been overlooked, perhaps because of the young
plant’s not infrequent habit of remaining below
ground as a tuber for ten or more years feeding on
its associated fungus before appearing above ground.
We cannot assume that these records indicate an
extension of range. It seems most likely that it
occurs only in its earlier sites or very near them.
Nationally, it is a declining species due to such
agricultural practices as ploughing, herbicides and
artificial fertilisers - or even cessation of grazing. It is
not known how far this decline applies to Wiltshire
(Foley 1990). The situation is not helped by the
plant’s being poor at competing with other plants.
However, a positive feature is that it can reproduce
by short rhizomes to form clusters of plants as well
as from seed. Its appearance is typically orchid-like,
but distinguishable by the dark maroon colour of the
hoods of the young flowers, most noticeable in the
unopened flowers at the tip of the spike. Look out
for a change of name to Neotinea, following recent
DNA studies.

Round-headed Rampion (Phyteuma orbiculare)
is a perennial of chalk grassland and scrub found
only from Dorset to Kent, including a few sites in
Wiltshire, mainly in the North, though colonies of
something like 5,000 plants have been found in both
Wiltshire vice-counties. Of the 42 10km squares in
which it has been recorded in Britain from 1987
onwards, 10 are wholly or partly in Wiltshire. It

Fig. 7 Round-headed Rampion

RECENT RECORDING OF WILTSHIRE’S FLORA

Fig. 8 Round-headed Rampion

has blue scabious-like flower heads on a stem up to
perhaps a foot high, but the flower heads are borne
singly at the top of the stem, whereas the Devil’s-
bit Scabious with which it is most likely to be
confused has several heads, and is typically a much
taller plant anyway (Gillam and Green 1993). In
the Flora Mapping, it was recorded in 20 tetrads, of
which 17 were in the North in the vicinity of Calne,
Devizes and Pewsey and areas between. Outlying
sites were on the downs north of Tidworth, near
the Winterslows and on the downs near Martin in
what is geographically Hampshire but in Wiltshire’s
Vice-county 8. Since then there has been a new tetrad
far from any others in the middle of Salisbury Plain,
another near Pewsey, two in the Porton Down area
and, very surprisingly, one in the New Forest, where
chalk downland is unlikely. Plainly we have added
significantly to its known range, but we do not know
how far this is because it was overlooked earlier.

Bastard Toadflax (Thesium humifusum) is restricted
to chalk and limestone soil in the North and

Fig. 9 Bastard Toadflax

South Downs, Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire,
Gloucestershire, East Anglia and Lincolnshire.
Wiltshire has more unimproved chalk grassland than
any other county and probably supports the largest
number of colonies. The taxon has been recorded
in around a hundred 10km squares in Britain from
1987 onwards, and 30 of these are wholly or partly
in Wiltshire. Walker and Pywell (2000) found it in
71 sites on the Salisbury Plain Training Area alone
in 1996-7. The plants are rather hidden in the turf,
where the prostrate stems from the woody rootstock
have many wiry branches, and, with the linear leaves,
form yellow or olive-green mats. The white flowers
are tiny and star-like. It is a perennial hemiparasite
attached to the roots of grasses and other herbs by
food-absorbing structures called haustoria. It prefers
grazed areas, and can die out if scrub is allowed to
develop. It is tolerant of drought - by the autumn
of 1990, it was almost the only species not to have
wilted on steep, south-facing slopes after a summer
of almost tropical heat (Gillam 1993). In the Flora
Mapping it was recorded for 77 tetrads, but there is
only one new tetrad since, not far from one of the

34 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 10 Bastard Toadflax

Flora Mapping Tetrads. Though it is not hard to
overlook, the indications are that it has not increased
its range.

Nationally rare and scarce plants in
other habitats

Our nationally rare and scarce plants well illustrate
some of the other habitats which combine to make
Wiltshire’s flora of so much interest. Woodland,
wetland and arable plants all feature. A selection is
discussed below.

Spiked Star-of-Bethlehem or Bath Asparagus
(Ornithogalum pyrenaicum) is typically a bulbous
perennial of Ash and Elm woods, but is also found in
fields, hedges and by roadsides. Though nationally
scarce, it has by far its largest number of plants within
an area around Bath. The taxon has been recorded
in 41 10km squares in Britain from 1987 onwards,
and 12 of these are wholly or partly in Wiltshire. It
is not easily overlooked when in flower, because of
its crowded spikes of creamy flowers on stems up to

a metre high. In dark woods, it flowers reluctantly,
but, in the early part of the year, its narrow whitish
green basal leaves, much longer than Snowdrop, are
also distinctive - though withered (as in the photo)
or absent at flowering time. The Flora map showed
it as present in 29 tetrads, with 20 of them in West
Wiltshire within about 10 kilometres of the border
with Somerset. Other populations were noted near
Devizes, southwest of Swindon, near Marlborough
and at Farley in the Southeast. Most locations were
in ancient woods but also along lane verges. Only
one new tetrad has been noted since - in a tetrad
bordering on the one at Farley. This suggests that
it has hardly spread at all beyond its range at the
time of the Flora Mapping. This may be associated
with having large seeds, which do not easily move
around. There does also seem to be an association
with habitats that have been undisturbed for many
years, which are in increasingly short supply so
that suitable locations for spread are not available.
Where it does occur, however, it can be remarkably

Fig. 11 Spiked Star-of-Bethlehem

RECENT RECORDING OF WILTSHIRE’S FLORA 35

Fig. 12 Spiked Star-of-Bethlehem

abundant, because the germination rate of seeds is
high and there is also vegetative reproduction from
lateral buds of the bulbs, and it is a common plant
in some areas. In the parish of Winsley alone, for
instance, over 2,500 flowering spikes were found
along roadsides and easily accessible footpaths in
2002, whilst in 2003 less accessible woodlands not
visited in 2002 yielded several thousand leaf clusters
(Presland 2005). A visitor looking for it alongside
roads in the locality in late June or early July would
encounter it very frequently and often in large
colonies. In woods, however, too much shade can

prevent it from flowering, so that only leaves are
observable (Aisbitt 2004, 2005).

Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) is a nationally
scarce plant which typically grows in periodically
_wet, unimproved hay meadows where haymaking is
followed by grazing. The taxon has been recorded in
approaching 150 10km squares in Britain from 1987
onwards, and only 11 of these are wholly or partly in
Wiltshire. However, many of the nationally recorded

36 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

sites are of introductions, with not many more than
30 regarded as native - though there are some doubts
even about this for a plant which has been cultivated
in Britain since the 16" Century. Wiltshire holds
around 80% of the total native British population
and 30% of the 20 or so sites in Great Britain with
more than 100 plants. North Meadow at Cricklade
may have several million in flower in a good year.
It is a perennial plant well-known from its narrow
leaves and large drooping flowers, either chequered
pink to purple or uniformly white. It reproduces
by seed and division of bulbs. It was recorded in
13 tetrads during the Flora Mapping, of which 11
were in the Thames Valley area in the North of the
county. The other two were in West Wiltshire, one
of them in an overgrown garden and probably an
introduction. The single tetrad since (in Southwest
Wiltshire) almost certainly was. Its typical habitat
is disappearing, so that there is little opportunity to
colonise new sites (King and Wells 1993).

Summer Snowflake or Loddon Lily (Leucojum
aestivum) is a nationally scarce plant which grows
best on seasonally flooded ground containing
much silt and with some shade. It has long linear
dark green leaves and a stem up to about two feet
high bearing clusters of three to six snowdrop-like
flowers drooping from the base of a leaflike spathe.
The native taxon is ssp. aestivum, which has been
recorded in only eleven 10km squares in Britain
from 1987 onwards, one of which is in Wiltshire.
It has its finest British site in damp willow carr at
Woodford Green on the Avon north of Salisbury,
where something like 2000 plants considered to
be native have been reported and where it is still
abundant. It was recorded in nine tetrads in the Flora
Mapping, largely in damp situations, but also in one
or two other places where it could well be a garden

Fig. 15 Summer Snowflake

Fig. 16 Summer Snowflake

throwout. It was possibly also planted at one time
in at least one of the damp places. Since then, it has
been recorded in college grounds at Marlborough,
where it is probably a garden throwout, and
somewhere unspecified south of Salisbury. There
is little evidence of spread from its Flora Mapping
locations. With modern reclamation and drainage
techniques, its survival is potentially threatened, and
its presence needs to be clearly signalled to prevent
this. In the process, it is important to distinguish
between ssp. aestivum, which is thought to be native
and the escaped garden subspecies pulchellum. Ssp.
aestivum has translucent scarious teeth along the
edges of the spathe, whereas ssp. pulchellum has a
perfectly entire edge. A lens may be needed to see
this, but the subspecies can usually be distinguished
by flower size - 25-27 mm long in ssp. aestivum and
14-15 mm in ssp. pulchellum (Fitzgerald 1993).

Arable weeds

It is hard to identify arable weeds with any
special association with Wiltshire, though they
are an important part of the flora. Nationally rare
arable weeds like Pheasant’s-eye (Adonis annua),
Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) and Shepherd’s
Needle (Scandix pecten-veneris) are particularly
important species because they are considered to be
in danger of extinction, but they are so infrequent

RECENT RECORDING OF WILTSHIRE’S FLORA

and unpredictable in their appearance that it is hard
work to take an active interest in them - though
they have appeared in new tetrads since the Flora.
There is perhaps more hope of seeing Corn Marigold
(Chrysanthemum segetum), another nationally rare
species which has occurred in rather more new
tetrads. However there is probably more appeal
in fuller detail of a species which was regarded
as nationally scarce a few years ago but has now
recovered sufficiently to have the label removed
- Rough Poppy (Papaver hybridum).

Rough Poppy (Papaver hybridum) is one of the
many annual agricultural weeds that used to flourish
in land that was cultivated, because cultivation
produced soil where they could grow with little
competition from vigorous perennials and because
the seeds were often inadvertently harvested with
the crop and consequently sown with it. With the
advent of herbicides and seed cleaning techniques,
they became less common. Rough Poppy survived
in scattered locations, mainly in South and East

Fig. 17 Rough Poppy

Fig. 18 Rough Poppy

England. The rise of conservation has given it new
opportunities. Strips at field edges are sometime
left unsprayed to allow growth of weeds and
some farmers now deliberately sow them. Rough
Poppy is well-equipped to take advantage of such
opportunities. It is normally self-pollinated, so a
single plant is all that is needed for a new generation.
The seeds remain viable in the soil for at least 80
years, so it is very likely that some will be there
ready to germinate when conditions become right.
The taxon has been recorded in 160+ 10km squares
in Britain from 1987 onwards, 17 of them wholly
or partly in Wiltshire. There is evidence that it is
becoming more common in at least some localities.
A study in Oxfordshire found that it occurred in
two out of 156 fields in 1962, but was in 12 of the
original 104 fields that remained in 1997 (Stevenson
et al 1999). In Wiltshire, Rough Poppy was recorded
in 41 1km squares in the Flora Mapping, which is
roughly 2% of all such squares in the County, but
they were virtually all in the south-west quarter. In
this area, it was sometimes locally common. A 1999
survey concluded that it was “possibly increasing”
in Wiltshire, mainly on the basis of new sites (Banks
2002). There were an encouraging 14 new tetrads
added to the Flora Mapping count of 41 during the
subsequent period up to 2003 - 34% of that original

38 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

number. The species can be distinguished from other
poppies by a fruit about as long as broad covered in
bristly hairs and a smallish, distinctively crimson
flower. The fruits of other species are either not
bristly or much longer than wide.

Plants of man-made habitats

Most plants growing in man-made habitats in
Wiltshire are just as likely to be found in many
other counties. The dry stone walls of the West and
Northeast provide environments for such interesting
plants as Rue-leaved Saxifrage (Saxifraga tridactylites)
and occasionally Round-leaved Cranesbill (Geranium
rotundifolium), which are otherwise uncommon in the
County. Danish Scurvy-grass (Cochlearia danica) is
a native coastal plant which had not been recorded
in Wiltshire at all at the time of the Flora, but has
since spread in hundreds along a number of our dual
carriageways, particular the central reservation - but
this is a national phenomenon associated with heavy
salting of main roads. Keeled-fruited Cornsalad
(Valerianella carinata) is a species formerly thought
of as rare, but which has increased dramatically
nationally since around 1960, and is now cropping up
in wall-pavement angles in many places in Wiltshire.
It is, however, on the side of a single lane at Redlynch
that we find a Wiltshire speciality - Asarabacca
(Asarum europaeum).

Asarabacca (Asarum europaeum) is almost certainly
an introduction, despite claims to the contrary. It
is a scarce and declining medicinal perennial herb
of shady places, originally introduced from the
European mainland in 1640 and naturalised in a
few places. It is easily recognised from its shiny
cyclamen-shaped leaves and hidden purplish or

Fig. 19 Asarabacca

Fig. 20 Asarabacca

greenish brown flowers with the sepals joined to
form a three-lobed tube and no petals. The taxon
has been recorded in only ten 10km squares in
Britain from 1987 onwards, one of them in Wiltshire,
where Redlynch is one of its more notable sites,
known since 1820. Another site in South Wiltshire
was noted in the Flora, but there have been no new
tetrads since. This is not surprising, since its flowers
lurk in semi-darkness beneath the leaves where they
are pollinated by woodlice and other invertebrates.
Production of seeds and seedlings is unusual, though
the Redlynch colony does have them (Marren 1999),
reproduction being mainly by rhizomes which give
rise to dense masses of plants. It is interesting that
there were fifty-nine 10km squares recorded for this
plant in Britain before 1970. It has, since ancient
times, been used for a staggering number of medical
conditions, though apparently validated for none.
Nowadays it is sold rarely, either for herbal use
with a health warning about its poisonous nature or
as a ground cover plant for shady parts of gardens.

RECENT RECORDING OF WILTSHIRE’S FLORA

There may be fewer sources for garden escapes than
formerly.

Refound plants

A refound taxon is one that was in Grose’s (1957) flora
or Stearn’s (1975) supplement, but not in the 1993
Flora. Such taxa were thought of as possibly extinct
in the County, so it is a particular delight when one
is found. Such plants are of most interest because of
their tenuous relationship with Wiltshire. One such
is Chiltern Gentian (Gentianella germanica).

Chiltern Gentian (Gentianella germanica) was
thought to have become extinct in Wiltshire, but
caused some excitement when it was refound in 2001.
It is an annual or biennial chalk grassland species
reproducing by seed whose distribution centres on
the Chilterns, where most plants occur, with outliers
in a number of other counties. Since 1987, it has
been recorded in only twenty-five 10km squares

Fig. 21 Chiltern Gentian

Fig. 22 Chiltern Gentian (photo by Nigel Kendall)

in the British Isles, which places it at the rare end
of nationally scarce plants. An obvious question to
ask about a refound taxon is whether or not it was
refound in one of its pre-Flora Mapping locations or
not. Most of them were not. However, Grose’s flora
gave a record for Chiltern Gentian at Mere Down
in 1898, and the 2001 record’s grid reference was so
close to the original as to make it clear that it was
a refind of the original population. G. x pampliniz,
its hybrid with G. amarella (Felwort), was found at
the same place in 2001. It was amongst G. amarella
plants, which were widespread. This was a remote
spot. G. germanica is not obviously different from
G. amarella, which was reported as common in the
district generally by Grose and recorded in both
tetrads concerned in the Flora Mapping, and the

40 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

abundant hybrids could have masked the existence
of two separate species. It therefore seems likely
that G. germanica has been there all the time and
simply overlooked. The hybrid was not recorded
here in Grose’s time, but among populations of the
two very similar parents it could have been missed.
Grose’s only record of the hybrid was miles away.
Rich and McVeigh (2002) suggest that it may also
be worth looking for Chiltern Gentian in the part of
Wiltshire which borders on Berkshire, particularly
Ham Hill near Shalbourne, since there are other old
sites in that area. They provide detailed distinctions
between these two similar and overlapping species
and the hybrid. Briefly, however, G. germanica is
usually 15-40 cm tall, is often branched only above,
usually has 7-12 internodes, has middle stem leaves
1-3 times as long as wide, and corollas 22-30 cm long,
1.9-2.7 times as long as the calyx and with a funnel-
shaped tube. G. amarella is usually 7-20 cm tall, is
often branched above and below, usually has 6-10
internodes, has middle stem leaves 2.5-5 as long as
wide, and corollas 14-19 cm long, 1.25-2.3 times as
long as the calyx and with a cylindrical tube.

Conclusions

The emphasis in this article has been on plants
with a special relationship with Wiltshire. However,
the recording and publishing processes concern
themselves with all plants growing in the county
or in parts of neighbouring counties which are in
vice-counties 7 and 8. The information assembled
could, along with the original Flora Mapping data,
be regarded as a kind of “flora” of the county’s less
common plants over the period 1983-2003. Analyses
of the results for many of this wider range of plants
and “portraits” of plants not covered here can be
found in the two issues of Wiltshire Botany referred to
earlier. The journal is free to members, but otherwise
available from Rosemary Duckett, 50A The Butts,
Westbury, Wiltshire BA13 3EX (Tel 01373 858296;
email; rosemary.duckett@virgin.net). The cost is
£5.00 post free and cheques should be made out to
“Wiltshire Botanical Society.’ Earlier issues are also
available.

Members of Wiltshire Botanical Society will
continue to add to the information assembled so far
and, indeed, already have in their recording since
the end of 2003, which has included a number of
exciting finds. Anyone can join in, but membership
of the Society provides the support and guidance

of knowledgeable botanists distributed throughout
the county. Details of events are available from Pat
Woodruffe, Tel: 01794 884436, and membership
information from Rosemary Duckett (as above). The
objectives of the Society and information on events
and on the contents of both the journal and the
newsletter can be found on our website at http://www.

communigate.co.uk./wilts/wiltshirebotanicalsociety/

- or search for ‘Wiltshire Botanical Society’.

References

AISBITT, R. 2004. The survival of Ornithogalum
pyrenaicum in a coppiced woodland. Wiltshire Botany
6, 23-27

AISBITT, R. 2005. Monitoring Ornithogalum pyrenaicum
at Clouts Wood. Wiltshire Botany 7, 31-34

BANKS, J. 2002. Rare arable weeds in Wiltshire. Wiltshire
Botany 5, 13-16

CLEMENT, E. J. and FOSTER, M. C., 1994, Alien Plants
of the British Isles. London: Botanical Society of the
British Isles

EVERETT, S., 1993, ‘Cirsium tuberosum (L.) All. Tuberous
Thistle’, in B. Gillam, D. Green and A. Hutchison A,
(eds), The Wiltshire Flora, 83-90. Newbury: Pisces

FITZGERALD, R., 1993, ‘Leucojum aestivum L. Summer
Snowflake’, in B. Gillam,D. Green and A. Hutchison A,
(eds), The Wiltshire Flora, 101-103. Newbury: Pisces

FOLEY, M. J. Y. 1990. The current distribution and
abundance of Orchis ustulata L. in Southern England.
Watsonia 18 (1), 37-48

GILLAM. B., 1993, ‘Thesium humifusum DC. Bastard
Toadflax’, in B. Gillam, D. Green and A. Hutchison A,
(eds), The Wiltshire Flora, 79-80. Newbury: Pisces

GILLAM, B. and GREEN, D., 1993, ‘Phyteuma orbiculare
L. Round-headed Rampion’, in B. Gillam, D. Green
and A. Hutchison A, (eds), The Wiltshire Flora, 81-82.
Newbury: Pisces

GILLAM, B. and WOODRUFFE, P, 1993. ‘The habitats of
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Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 42-64

Large and special trees in the eastern part of
Kennet District
by Ffoan Davies’ and Fack Oliver’

Wiltshire is often thought of as a county of wide-open chalk downland, but there are wooded areas which add a
different kind of beauty to the landscape. Trees are our largest living things, and some have been growing on the same
spot for centuries, becoming part of our living heritage. The county contains a number of trees of record size and others
of special or historic interest, many of which are recent finds or have up-dated measurements. This paper focuses on
those in Marlborough and its surrounding area, which 1ncludes the Kennet Valley, Marlborough Downs, the Savernake
Plateau and the eastern part of the Pewsey Vale. The large and special trees are to be found in wooded areas, fields and
hedgerows, gardens of notable places and even in the centre of Marlborough. We include native and introduced trees,
some of which might be future champions. Our records may be patchy or partisan, so we welcome information on superior

or significant trees from any part of the county.

INTRODUCTION

Trees progress through three phases of growth, a
formative period, a mature state and finally old
age. Planted trees and natural seedlings may take a
season or two to become established and then growth
increases year by year as leaf area increases with the
expansion of the crown. Each year a fresh layer of
new wood is formed over the entire surface of the
tree trunk under the bark. During this period of tree
growth, tree rings of more or less constant width
are formed in the trunk and the girth of the trunk
increases. In a tree with rings of equal width there
would have been a constant yearly increase in girth.
Fluctuations in the rate of growth can occur due to
extremes in weather conditions, particularly lack of
water, defoliation of leaves by caterpillars or attacks
by fungal or insect pests. This will reduce the width
of the tree ring formed in that year.

Once optimum crown size is reached, usually
after forty to a hundred years, the tree enters its

mature state. During this period, annual production
of plant food from the foliage stabilises and the
annual increment of new wood will remain nearly
constant in term of volume, and hence the tree rings
progressively decline in width. In old age the crown
of the tree often sustains damage, branches begin to
fall or die back, leaf area decreases and the tree ring
width declines further. Once the width is reduced
to 20 rings to a centimetre many species of tree can
barely survive. This would give an increase in girth
of lcm in 20 years.

Trees such as oaks and chestnuts keep to this
growing pattern of three phases, whereas poplars,
willows and alders frequently have a short but very
productive formative growing phase and then go
straight into old age. Birches tend to have a brief
mature period. On the other hand, yews, which can
be extremely long lived, can return to the formative
phase of growth at any age of their lives.

Coppicing, pollarding and branch layering
will stimulate growth and the tree will return to

' Ballard’s Piece, Forest Hill, Marlborough, SN8 3HN ” High View, Rhyls Lane, Lockeridge, Marlborough, SN8 4ED

LARGE AND SPECIAL TREES IN THE EASTERN PART OF KENNET DISTRICT 43

East@®

Kennet

Clench
=
Common

Alton
e Priors

Saverna

Mud Lane

Aldbourne

Ramsbury

_—

Frox fi eld

— = *rOSsroads
i,
ke ‘\
\

Forest —

Great
Tottenham “Bedwyn
House
Ale
‘Brails

Fig. 1 Map of the area showing the localities mentioned in the text

a new formative state and consequently may live
for very much longer. If a tree is grown in an open
position, its girth will be greater than if it was
closely surrounded by other trees which will prevent
the crown from fully developing. Soil suitability,
mycorrhizal associations and complex interactions
between physical factors (e.g. drought or flooding)
and potential pathogens (e.g. Phytophthora) will all
make a difference to the rate of growth and how long
the tree is likely to live.

A rough average of the increase in girth of a
deciduous tree during its formative years is 2.5cm
(lin) per year decreasing to 1.2cm (Zin) per year
when it is mature. Fast growing trees such as willows
and poplars are likely to have an increase of girth of
about 5cm (2in) per year in their formative years.

MEASURING TREES

Trees are measured for both scientific study and
for the possible thrill of finding a tree which is the
largest of its species in the county, or possibly in the

whole of the British Isles. The measurement of the
girth of the trunk, which is easy to obtain, is used in
deciding the largest tree and its height for finding
the tallest champion. Measurements of the girth ofa
tree can give a rough estimate of its age and a series
of measurements of the same tree over time indicates
how well the tree is growing.

The standard height for measuring the girth ofa
tree is at 1.5metres (5ft) from the ground on the upper
side of any slope. All of the girth measurements given
below are at this preferred height, unless this has
been impossible, when a different height is stated.
Foresters, who are normally measuring timber with
a straight trunk and a circular cross section, use the
term Diameter at Breast Height (DBH). DBH used
to be measured with callipers, but electronic devices
are now used. The conversion from diameter to girth
is simply a matter of multiplying by 2 (approximately
3.14), but is only meaningful if the cross section is
reasonably circular.

Heights of trees are also measured for record
purposes, confirmation of national champions usually
requiring specialist equipment. Ifa tree appears to be

44 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

very tall we have given an estimated measurement by
making calculations from measurements of angles
and distances. The spread is also a worthwhile
measurement.

RECORDS OF TREE
MEASUREMENTS ON
DATABASES

Jack Oliver has identified and measured girths of
hundreds of trees in Wiltshire. Essential details
include the type of tree, its number if it has a tag,
location (including National Grid Reference),
measurements and date. Typed lists of measurements
of trees for Savernake Forest and Tottenham Park
are in the WSRO (3781 and 3255). Records are held
electronically by the Wiltshire Botanical Society,
which is in the process of adding details of records of
Wiltshire trees to their computerised data base. The
official organisation for holding tree measurements
of large trees is the Tree Register of the British
Isles, (TROBI). Although TROBI keeps lists for
each county as well as for the champion trees in the
UK, there is no formal transfer of tree records from
County Biological Record Centres to TROBI, or
vice versa. All our records of large and significant
trees have been passed directly to TROBI. Since
its formation TROBI has been presented with the
difficult task of entering existing written records into
a computerised database as well as keeping up with
the continuing influx of new data. A book recently
published by TROBI, Champion Trees of Britain and
Ireland (Johnson 2003), omitted some fourteen or so
of the greatest Wiltshire trees in favour of inferior
ones from other counties.

One of the problems in identifying champions is
how to compare irregular shaped trees. TROBI has
recently tried to overcome this problem by putting
trees into the following three categories:

Category A

Trees growing with a clearly defined single clean
stem measured at 1.5m. Unless stated otherwise, all
girths in this paper were measured at this height
from the ground.

Category B

‘Trees growing with a clearly defined single stem, but
with natural features that increase the measurement
at 1.5m (e.g. burrs, bulges, forking of trunk just

above 1.5m), or are measured at a height other than
|| you

Category C

Trees growing without a clearly defined single stem
at ground level, as multiple stems or coppice. Where
possible the largest individual stem is also recorded
at 1.5m for comparison with an individual tree, and
basal circumference at 30cm is measured.

LOCATIONS AND TYPES
OF LANDSCAPE

As large trees form part of the landscape, in this
paper they are grouped by location, rather than
species. For comparative purposes, champion and
special trees are presented in Table 3 below by
species. The locations are grouped under four types
of landscape: the Kennet and Froxfield Valleys, the
Marlborough Downs, the Savernake Plateau, and
the Pewsey Vale (the eastern part).

These groupings are based on geological and
physical characteristics of the areas in question.
With the exception of the Pewsey Vale, the whole
of the region under study is underlain with Chalk.
The River Kennet and its tributaries have dissected
the Chalk to form valleys which run from west to
east across the area. To the north of the main Kennet
Valley are the Marlborough Downs, an area of high
chalk plateau forming a landscape of open downland,
mostly arable farming, with remnants of chalk
grassland on the steeper slopes. Over the higher
ground to the south of the Kennet Valley, described
as the Savernake Plateau, Clay-with-flints has been
deposited on top of the chalk, creating heavy water
retaining soils on the otherwise freely draining
chalk. To the east of this area, around Bedwyn, the
chalk has been overlaid by Reading Beds, topped
with London Clay, which has produced a variable
soil supporting areas of woodland and is included
in the area of the Savernake Plateau. The Vale of
Pewsey is a low-lying area between the ridges of the
Savernake Plateau to the north and Salisbury Plain
to the south formed by the erosion ofan anticline in
the Chalk. The exposure of the Upper Greensand in
the Vale had produced a sandy soil which, combined
with areas of river alluvium, has resulted in a fertile
agricultural landscape.

LARGE AND SPECIAL TREES IN THE EASTERN PART OF KENNET DISTRICT 45

LAND OWNERSHIP
MANAGEMENT
AND HISTORICAL
ASSOCIATIONS

Some of the trees considered here are associated
with important local families or have historic
associations. Ownership of land has influenced
the type and number of trees planted, as well as
the clearance of trees for agriculture or other uses.
The ancestors of the present Marquess of Ailesbury
have owned large amounts of land in the area for
several centuries. The Earl of Cardigan, son of the
present Marquess, is the 31st Hereditary Warden
of Savernake Forest. Savernake became a Royal
Forest soon after the Norman Conquest and Richard
Esturmy was appointed as the first Warden. During
the middle ages the Forest covered a much larger
area, including La Verme (the present Savernake
Forest), the West Bailiwick, which stretched as
far as East Kennett, and Le Broyle, an area east of
Bedwyn. The Esturmy family lived at Wolfhall east
of Burbage and in the 15th century the Wardenship
passed by marriage to the Seymour family. It was
Jane Seymour who married Henry VIII and was the
mother of Edward VI. Jane’s brother Edward became
Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector and owner of the
Forest. In 1551 Edward was charged with treason and
felony, executed in 1552 and his lands confiscated.
Le Broyle was given to the Earl of Pembroke. A
short time afterwards, Edward’s son was given back
the La Verme and West Bailiwick lands and the
title of Earl of Hertford. In the late 16th century he
converted land west of the Marlborough to Burbage
road into two deer parks, known as the ‘Great Park’
and south of this ‘Brimslade Park’. About the same
time Tottenham Lodge superseded the Manor House
at Wolfhall as one of his principal houses. In the
17th and early 18th centuries the Great Park and
Brimslade Park were converted into farmland.
About 1720, Charles Bruce, who married a
descendant of the Earl of Hertford, invited the Earl
of Burlington to design and build a new house on the
site of Tottenham Lodge and to enlarge and redesign
the Park. In 1741, Charles became the 3rd Earl of
Ailesbury and he, followed in 1747 by his nephew
Thomas Brudenell Bruce, were the landowners
who laid out the Rides in Savernake Forest as we
know them today and planted many trees. In c.1823
Tottenham House was rebuilt by Thomas Cundy for
the Marquess of Ailesbury and during the Victorian

Period many ornamental trees were planted in its
grounds.

Changes in agricultural and sylvicultural
practices, the redesigning of Parks and gardens, the
felling and planting of trees have made continuous
changes to the landscape. While certain trees have
been left to grow old, others have been planted and
are now in their prime. In addition to the Ailesbury
family, other people have planted trees, some of
which have grown large or are of special interest.
These trees and others resulting from natural
regeneration are described in their locations under
the four main groupings referred to above.

THE KENNET AND
FROXFIELD VALLEYS

The Kennet Valley is characterised by smooth
valley sides which roll gently down to a narrow, flat
floodplain of alluvium and valley gravels overlying
the chalk. It is a pastoral landscape in which the
distinctive silver grey leaves of White Willows,
Salix alba, can be seen in the water meadows and
along the side of the river. At East Kennett there
is a magnificent tall, shapely White Willow tree,
probably about 30m in height, with a vertical trunk,
which has a girth of 525cm. White Willows vary
greatly in size and shape; the largest girthed one in
the British Isles is at Amberley Wild Brooks in West
Sussex with a girth of 748cm and a height of only
10m, whereas the tallest one known is at Harlow,
Essex with a height of 34m, but a girth of only
440cm. The Willow at East Kennett has one massive,
partly fractured lower horizontal limb. This fracture
was probably caused by wind; all along the Kennet
valley from Avebury to Marlborough the prevailing
southwest winds have felled a number of White
Willows. Many of the willows along the riverbank
are old pollards and at Clatford there is a living, but
fallen, ancient pollard White Willow with a girth of
690cm at 0.3m (Oliver 2003a; 2004a).

Floating water meadows along the Kennet valley
were formed in the 17th century to help the local
sheep and corn system of agriculture, by providing
early grass to feed the sheep. Signs of earthworks
and irrigation channels are still visible and during
winter months these meadows are normally wet.
On a water meadow west of Marlborough College
at NGR SU 178 686 is a huge, fallen, living female
White Willow with a trunk girth of 550cm at 1.5m
from the primary root (Figure 2). The original trunk

46 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 2 Fallen White Willow in a water meadow at
Marlborough

is hollow and horizontal because, many years ago this
tree became fractured on the southwest aspect, fell
over and re-rooted on the marshy ground about 2.5m
northeast of the original bole. A main secondary
layered trunk has formed at this point and has a
girth of 660m at 1m. This complicated tree now has
numerous verticals plus a large epiphytic Ash and is
described in Oliver 2002a and 2004a. To date this is
the third biggest White Willow in Wiltshire.

An ancient senescent pollard Crack Willow, Salix
fragilis, which overhangs the north bank of the river,
just west of Marlborough College remains alive in
2006. Along with a much finer tree at Malmesbury,
this dying shell had, in 2002, been given champion
status by TROBI, as the greatest girth Crack Willow
in the British Isles. However, much of the girth of
480cm was accounted for by gaps and dead wood,
illustrating that impressiveness may not be conveyed
by asingle measurement alone. Most Crack Willows
have been stunted and blighted by disease (Oliver
2004b)

Marlborough College

North of the Bath Road, in a hedgerow east of
Littlefield House, built in 1871 as an out-boarding

Fig. 3 Part of the Mound, Marlborough College

house for Marlborough College, are two large
Norway Maples, Acer platanoides. These trees show
bright yellow-green bunches of flowers in early
spring before the leaves appear. The Norway Maple,
tag No. JP 1491 at NGR SU 181688 had a girth of
355cm in August 2006. In default of other records,
this is a Wiltshire champion with another Norway
Maple, in the same hedge east of the preceding, being
second with a girth of 320cm.

The Mound in the central part of Marlborough
College is nearly half the height of Silbury Hill
and possibly as old, although recent survey and
excavation indicates a Norman origin (Field et al.
2001; Heaton and Moffat 2002)(Figure 3). By 1600
the Castle was in ruins and one of the Seymours
built a mansion house in its grounds. The Mound
was turned into a garden by cutting a spiral terrace
around it (Field et al. 2001). A report of 1665 notes
that ‘the paths were bordered with little hedges with
a summerhouse on top’ (Kempson, 1979). Trees still
grow on the Mound, although some, including yews,
have been felled on safety grounds. There are now
more than seventeen different tree taxa growing
on the Mound with yew still the dominant species.
Natural seedlings occur, but many of the oldest
yews are considered to date back to the miniature
hedges; kept small for the first hundred years or

LARGE AND SPECIAL TREES IN THE EASTERN PART OF KENNET DISTRICT 47

Fig. 4 Under the “Tennyson Beech’

more, the biggest Yew had a girth of 385cm in 2002.
There are also many other large Yews in the College
grounds including those densely arranged around
the Duelling Lawn.

In 1702-15 a new mansion house was built for
the Duke of Somerset, and for some years it was the
home of the Earl and Countess of Hertford. In 1751
it became The Castle Inn, used as a stopping place
for stagecoaches on the London to Bath Road. With
the building of the railways, the inn’s trade declined
and in 1843 it was sold and became ‘C’ House of
Marlborough College. The Master’s Lodge was built
in 1845 and in its garden are some fine ornamental
trees. One such tree, which can be seen from the
Pewsey to Marlborough road, on the descent down
Granham Hill and on the final approach to the
town, is a beautiful copper beech, Fagus sylvatica
purpurea, known as the “Tennyson Beech’(Figure
4). It is believed that Tennyson composed some of
his poems sitting under this tree whilst visiting his
son, Hallam, at the College in the period 1865-70.
The “Tennyson Beech’, tag JP 1790, at NGR SU 186
686, is now a fine copper beech, with a remarkable
spread of 33.1m in the NE-SW direction. Its girth
in August 2006 was 386cm at the standard height
and 545cm at a height of 0.3m. The girth in 2001
was 373cm (Oliver 2004b), giving a recent increase
of 2.6cm per year and hence an estimated planting
date of approximately 1850. The tree was probably
planted soon after the Master’s Lodge was built in
1845.

_ In the same grounds, but closer to the river
at NGR SU 186 685, is a tree of more recent
introduction, a Coliseum or Cappadocian Maple,
Acer cappadocicum; a Wiltshire champion and
probably the ninth largest on a single bole in Britain.

This type of tree, which is native from the Caucasus
to Asia Minor, was introduced into this country in
1838 (Thomas1983) and, according to Stace (1997),
can become semi-naturalised in Britain. There is a
line of these trees here, surrounded by extensive and
wide-spreading masses of dense red root suckers,
and in August 2006 the largest easternmost tree had
a girth of 290cm. This tree is still enlarging rapidly
as during the last four years its girth has increased
by 5cm or more per year (Oliver 2004b). Within the
main part of the College grounds is another large
girthed Acer cappadocicum at NGR SU 184 686. In
August 2006 it measured 310cm at the standard
height of 1.5m, but the tree forks at 1.6m so this
makes the standard measurement less reliable. At
0.3m (lft) the girth is 315cm.

Other large trees in the College grounds
measured in August 2006 include a Swamp Cypress,
Taxodium distichum, at NGR SU 186685, with a girth
of 335cm, and a False Acacia, Robinia pseudoacacia,
near the College Gate at NGR SU 184687, with a
girth of 230cm

Marlborough Town

Within the town of Marlborough there are many
fine trees, the tallest of which is probably a female
poplar growing on the south side of the river Kennet
in the back garden of a house on the north side of
George Lane. The tree was planted by one of the
Maurice family. There have been six generations of
Maurices as doctors in Marlborough; a unique record
according to the British Medical Fournal (Maurice
1982) The first of the doctors was Thelwall Blisset
Maurice who joined Dr Pinckney in his practice in
Marlborough in the early 1790s. From 1829 until
recently the home of the doctors has been Lloran
House on the south side of the High Street. This
house was first rented by Thelwall’s son Dr David,
and in 1881 Lloran House and all of the land behind
it down to the river, with a strip of water meadow on
the far side of the river, was purchased by David’s
son, Dr James Blake Maurice, (Maurice 1994). It was
Dr James and his son Walter who planted the trees
in their garden which are significant trees today. On
the death of Walter in 1956 the strip of land on the
south side of the river was sold for housing. A line of
houses was built, but the poplar remains; a variety of
Poplar Populus x canadensis ‘Regenerata’ (Figure 5).
The tallest, quickest growing deciduous trees in the
country are the hybrid poplars, Populus x canadensis
cultivars. Not only is the tree in George Lane very
tall (over 40m), it also has a girth of 680cm and as

48 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 5 The Railway Poplar

such is a champion for Wiltshire. According to the
TROBI Registrar, it is one of only six broadleaf trees
in the country which are both 40m plus in height
and over 6m in girth. As shown in Figure 5 the tree
is presently covered in ivy.

A new house was built behind Lloran House
for Walter’s widow and in the mid 1970s the rest
of the garden of the house was used as part of the
River Park housing development. Three fine trees
planted by the Maurice family have remained.
One is an interesting oak with upright twisting,
corkscrew like branches, which can be seen over the
wall from Figgins’ Lane. This oak at NGR SU 187
688 is a Quercus robur f .fastigiata. From a distance
this variant has a regular conical outline, hence the
name ‘Poplar’ Oak. In 2006 it had a girth of 281cm
measured at the standard height of 1.5m, but above
the origin of seven big low branches (Figure 6).
Because of its low branches this is a difficult tree to
measure, but the measurement compares well with
one made in 2002 (Oliver 2004b). It is a Wiltshire
champion.

Fig. 6 Base of the ‘Poplar’ Oak, Marlborough

The other two remaining trees behind Lloran
House are both (Red) Indian Bean Trees, Catalpa
bignonioides. The Indian Bean tree was introduced
from the Eastern USA into Britain in 1726; it is
a wide spreading tree with large leaves and has
panicles of Horse Chestnut like flowers in late
summer. The larger one (Figure 7) is no longer wide
spreading as its lower branches have been cut back
or reduced because of an adjacent brick building.
It is a tall tree for the species, about 20m high and
in 2006 had a girth of 325cm at the standard height
(below the scars of the felled branches) and 360cm
around the base at 0.3m from the ground, making
it the greatest girth for a Catalpa bignonioides in
Wiltshire and in the top ten nationally. The other
Indian Bean tree has not been pruned and remains
wide spreading and is about 12m in height. The
trunk forks at 1.3m and the girth of the trunk ata
height of 1m is 225cm.

On the northeast side of Figgins’ Lane are Priory
Gardens which were given to the town bya Mrs Clay
in memory of her husband John. Within the gardens
is a False Acacia, Robinia pseudoacacia at NGR SU
186689, which is bigger than the one in Marlborough
College; in 2003 it had a girth of 290cm.

A fine Copper Beech, Fagus sylvatica
‘Atropurpurea’, can be seen when coming down
Herd Street on the approach to Marlborough. It is in
the grounds of Wye House, at NGR SU 190691. The
tree has a spread of 22m, which is far less than the
Tennyson Beech, although its girth is larger, being
447cm in 2006. The TROBI Register has recorded
this Wye House Copper Beech as the third largest in
Wiltshire and in the top 80 for Britain.

LARGE AND SPECIAL TREES IN THE EASTERN PART OF KENNET DISTRICT 49

Fig. 7 Large girthed Indian Bean Tree

Ramsbury

About 9km further down the Kennet valley from
Marlborough is the village of Ramsbury, formerly a
Domesday borough and the centre of an episcopal
see in the 10th century (Haslam 1984). On the south
side of the river a track leads to the West Lodge of
Littlecote Manor. In 1996, Ronald Price of Ramsbury
reported a large English oak Quercus robur, close to
West Lodge at NGR SU 289 711. In order to clear
the buttress he gave the girth measurements of 24/ft
(747cm) at 4ft 6in and 22'ft (686cm) at 6ft 6in. The
Q. robur at this locality is a tall, spreading, maiden
tree with its lower trunk strongly buttressed; in 2006
it had a girth of 727cm at 1.5m and 960cm at 0.3m.
This oak is not a record holder, but it is as large as
many of the ancient oaks in Savernake Forest.
Close by at NGR SU 289 710 is a hollow Ash,
Fraxinus excelsior. It is a healthy tree which had
been pollarded at 4m and has a girth of 460cm at
the standard height. This is nowhere near a record

size, but although there are many Ash trees in the
eastern part of the Kennet area no healthy larger
ones have been found.

Chilton Foliat

Chilton Foliat is the eastern most Wiltshire village
in the Kennet Valley. On the north side of the B1492,
which passes through the village, is a very large and
magnificent Plane tree east of the Church, outside
the Old Rectory at NGR SU 319704. It is a hybrid
or London Plane, Platanus x acerifolia, also known
as Platanus x hispanica. Its leaves have slightly
narrower lobes and are more deeply indented than
some London Planes but not as much as those on
the Oriental Plane, Platanus orientalis. In September
2006 the girth of the trunk was 880cm at the standard
height measured from the soil level of the flowerbed
in which it is growing, which is 0.5m above the level
of the pavement. The trunk is very knobbly and
above 3m it is in two halves with the boughs above
showing the familiar pale patchy scales.

Froxfield Stream Valley

From Marlborough the A4 road to London climbs
up to Savernake Forest and at the eastern end of the
Forest drops down into the valley of the Froxfield
Stream, a tributary of the river Kennet. About 3km (2
miles) before Froxfield on the north side of the road
at SU 269679 is a tall, wide spreading Hornbeam,
Carpinus betulus. In 2002 this tree had a girth of
350cm and at the base of the trunk, 0.3m above the
ground, a circumference of 840cm. This is the fourth
biggest girthed Hornbeam at the standard height in
Wiltshire and is included because of the large base.
The Hornbeam with the greatest girth in Wiltshire
is at Lacock Abbey with a girth of 377cm.

A short distance further eastwards along the A4,
just north of the Harrow Crossroads at SU 274679
there is a large, tall wild pear tree, Pyrus communis,
visible from the main road. Every winter the
Froxfield Stream, which flows on the north side of
the A4, rises just west of the crossroads. In the 18th
century the crossroads was known as Cross Ford. The
north-south roads at this junction are ancient, being
Monk’s Lane and the Great Bedwyn to Ramsbury
Road, via Chisbury. In the early 19th century, a
farm, a few houses and an inn, known as the Harrow,
were built at this junction, hence the renaming of
the place. The wild pear tree is 100m north of the
crossroads, just west of the Ramsbury Road, on the

50 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 8 Wild Pear Tree, Harrow Crossroads

Harrow Farm of the Crown Estates (Figure 8). It is a
tall well-shaped tree, about 25m in height, standing
in a field close to a hedge, which is along the edge
of the water meadow. It is unusual for a pear as the
flowers are strongly deep pink for ten days or so in
the spring before they become fully open. As shown
in the Figure 8 the tree then develops beautiful white
blossom. The fruit is hard and apple-like in shape.
The girth of the tree trunk is 315cm, and according
to TROBI itis a Wiltshire champion and may be the
second biggest recorded for a Pyrus communis on a
single stem in the British Isles.

Further down the Froxfield stream is an upright
Crack Willow, Salix fragilis, standing in a water
meadow at NGR SU 282 679. This tree has a full
crown and is in a far better state than the dying
Crack Willow in Marlborough. It has is a gap in its
trunk, which may splay open, as the tree has not
been pollarded for many years. In October 2004
this female Crack Willow had a girth of 465cm and
450cm at 0.6m, some 15cm smaller than the dying
Crack Willow in Marlborough.

Froxfield

In the Churchyard of All Saints Church is a

Fig. 9 Sycamore, Froxfield Churchyard

Sycamore, Acer pseudoplatanus, at NGR SU 295 680,
with a huge coppice base engulfing two graves. The
tree is covered very heavily in ivy and in 2004 had
a girth of 460cm and was 830cm around its base at
0.3m from the ground. According to the elderly local
gardener, it was a substantial tree when he was a boy.
This is possibly the largest basal circumference of a
Sycamore in Wiltshire.

Also in the Churchyard is a pair of large Cherry
Plums, Prunus cerasifera pissardu. These trees have
pale pink flowers early in the Spring and purplish
leaves. The southern tree has the larger girth and at
163cm ata height of 1.5m it is a Wiltshire record. The
TROBI Recorder notes that it is unusual to find this
variety of tree on a good 1.5m bole and it is in the top
ten for all ‘pissardi’ varieties in England.

Marlborough Downs

Record size trees are very scarce on the high ground
north of the river Kennet. The area has a chalky
soil and without a Clay-with-flints covering it is
well drained and suitable for agriculture. West
of Aldbourne, on High Clear Down, at NGR
SU 233766, on a public right of way which runs
along the edge of a wood, is a line of three ancient
Hornbeams, Carpinus betulus. Peter Andrews and Joy
Newton measured these trees in 2005 and as they had
been pollarded at about 1.3m from the ground the
measurements were made at 0.6m. The tree with the
largest girth of 470cm had some bracket fungi. The
second largest was a fine tree with a good shape and
a girth of 410cm at 0.6m. These are not record trees,
but are of possible interest as a line of old pollards,
close to two deserted medieval villages.

LARGE AND SPECIAL TREES IN THE EASTERN PART OF KENNET DISTRICT 51

Savernake Plateau

Table 1 Oaks having the Largest Girths in Savernake Forest

In many places across this Name or Situation Tag No. |Octant Aap ref. Taxa alee gee: |
area the soils are not suitable **x Big Belly Oak |F 06924 | VI 2132 6578 Qs 1080 '1400 |
for intensive agriculture as King of Limbs \J 09246 III 2428 6601 QS(P) 1030 |
they consist of a thick layer of Cathedral Oak J 09500 | VII 2061 6798 |QR = |995
Clay-with-flints, making them Duke’s Vaunt J 08990 |III 2389 6646 |QS(R) |890

S.W. of Marie Louise Drive |J 09300 | VI

2134 6604 |QS(P) |840

heavy and wet in winter. This
characteristic has resulted in

N.E. of Marie Louise Drive |J 09299 | VI

2136 6607 |QS(P) |840

S.W. of Marie Louise Drive |JP 1022 | VI

2121 6606 |QS 760 | 1030

areas of woodlands and trees

N of Gt Lodge Drive J 08977 |vII_ _|2122 6680 |QS___|760 980
of record size. E of Ashlade FirsRoad __‘|JP 1027 I [2264 6777 |QR _|750
E of Ashlade Firs Road _|JP 1026 |I 22646775 |QR _|740
Savernake Forest Surveyed Oak J 08947 |vIIl_ |2173 6765 |QS___|740
Near Church Walk J. 09070 [vII_ 2093 6766 |QS(P) |735

Savernake Forest is on
high ground south east of

N.E. of Marie Louise Drive |East of
| Very hollow, 1 branch alive {J 09299

VI 2142 6608 |Q 135

Dee Ba Aecn F 06920|VI 2131 6571 |QS(P) |700

for grazing. Until the end of

the 17th century it consisted

of open scrub with scattered trees and areas of
coppice. In the 18th century the Forest was laid out
as we know it today with drives radiating out from
Eight Walks. Trees were planted along the avenues
and this planting continued into the 19th century.
Since 1939, when the Savernake Estate leased the
sylvicultural rights to the Forestry Commission,
many more trees have been planted and the Forest
is now densely wooded. There are still about 400
veteran trees in the Forest, some growing within
the young plantations. Since we last described the
oaks (Oliver and Davies 2001), a few more very
large examples have been found. Table 1 lists all of
the known oaks in the Forest 7m or more in girth.
Most have been pollarded or coppiced or both in
the past, influencing their shape and enabling them
to live longer.

The Eighteen Native Oaks having
the Largest Girths in Savernake
Forest

The Wiltshire champion Pedunculate or English
Oak, Quercus robur is an ancient pollard in Spye
Park at NGR ST 954670, with a girth of 1075cm.
The largest one in the Forest is the Cathedral Oak
at 995cm. This is a healthy tree that could in years
to come become the champion.

In Table 1 a large coppice measurement indicates

QP — Overcus petraea, the Sessile or Durmast Oak

QR — Quercus robur, the Pedunculate or English Oak
QS — Quercus x rosacea, a hybrid of the other two oaks
QS(P) - a hybrid closer to QP than QR

QS(R) — a hybrid closer to QR than QP

Tag numbers

F - Forestry Commission numbers, galvanized zinc tags
fixed at about 0.6m (2ft) from the ground.

J — Jack Oliver’s numbers, galvanized zinc tags fixed at
about 1.5m (5 ft) from the ground.

JP Jack Oliver’s numbers, bi-laminate plastic tags fixed
at about 1.5m (5 ft) from the ground.

* A Wiltshire Champion.

**x A National Champion

The Octants start from Eight Walks and
go clockwise from Twelve O’clock Ride
north of Eight Walks (i.e. Octant I being between Twelve
O’clock Ride and Sawpit Drive). Eight-figure map
references were obtained by using a GPS Navigator. Girths
were measured at or close to a height of 1.5m and coppice
base circumference measured at 0.3m (lft) between 2000
and 2005.

the tree is very old and these trees possibly date
back to Norman or even Anglo-Saxon times. The
largest-girth Oaks are not necessarily the tallest or
the most impressive in the locality. The tallest is
the Braydon Oak, the one with the largest spread
is the King of Limbs and the Duke’s Vaunt is a
living shell, whereas the Cathedral Oak gives the

52 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 10 ‘Big Belly Oak’, 2005

impression of being a massive tree. Probably the
best-proportioned English Oak is just outside the
Forest at St Katharine’s School at NGR SU 251649.
This is a tall maiden oak, Quercus robur, with a full
crown and a girth of 650cm in 2000. Old Paunchy,
the Wiltshire champion Sessile Oak, is an odd
looking tree with an angled trunk rising out of a
large lopsided coppice base, whereas the Crockmere
Oak, the second largest Sessile Oak, Quercus petraea,
in the Forest, is a fine upright tree with a straight
trunk of 685cm girth and is situated on the edge of
a drive at NGR SU 2383 6608.

It can be seen from Table | that the majority of
the greatest Savernake oaks are hybrids, with the
Big Belly Oak as a national champion (Figure 10).
This hybrid oak has well-balanced features of both
of its antecedent species, Quercus robur and Quercus
petraea, (Oliver 2000a; Oliver and Davies, 2001). In
June 2002, in recognition of its place in the national
heritage, The Tree Council designated the Big Belly
Oak as one of fifty great British Trees to celebrate the
Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
With a girth of nearly 11m they said the tree could
be as much as a thousand years old. In 2003 the Oak
was showing signs of splitting at the top ofits trunk.
‘To try to prevent the tree from splitting further apart

Fig 11 Leaves of the original Cluster Oak

the Forestry Commission carried out remedial work
by putting a steel band round the trunk and cutting
back its branches. In 2003, at the request of Rob
Guest of the Forestry Commission, we displayed
photographs of the Big Belly Oak and other ancient
Savernake Forest Oaks at the Fourth International
Oak Conference, (Oliver and Davies 2004).

Other oaks of special interest in the Forest are
the tall Turkey Oak on Twelve O’Clock Drive at NGR
SU 224654 and the Cluster Oak on Column ride at
NGR SU 216653. The Turkey Oak, Quercus cerris, is
the only one in the main part of the Forest; it towers
above the surrounding tree canopy and is supported
by large buttresses at the base, especially on its
western side. It has an estimated height of 30m and
had a girth of 530cm in 2000. Turkey Oaks are faster
growing trees than the English Oaks but do not live
as long. The ‘Savernake Cluster Oak’, Quercus robur
L. var ‘Cristata’, Tag No. J08866, was first reported
in 1916 (Henry 1917), when its girth was given as
132cm at 5ft. In 1999 the girth was 190cm giving an
increase of 58cm in 82 years, which at only 0.7cm per
year is a very slow growing rate. It was very difficult
to fix the tag, indicating that the wood is extremely
hard. It has overlapping clustered leaves which are
wholly glabrous (Figure 11). Its acorns, which are
dimpled, were used to grow the Replacement King
Oak and the Burbage Cluster Oak.

Another champion tree in Savernake Forest is a
hollow Field Maple, Acer campestre, tag No. J09457
(Figure 12). With a girth, in 2000, of 375cm at the
standard height and 400cm at 1.8m, it is the largest

LARGE AND SPECIAL TREES IN THE EASTERN PART OF KENNET DISTRICT 53

Fig. 12 Hollow Field Maple

girthed with a single trunk in Wiltshire and one of
the largest in the British Isles. It is situated on the
northeast side of a narrow path at NGR SU 2274
6605.

Fig. 13 Warren Farm Great Beech

Savernake Forest is famous for its avenues of
beech trees, Fagus sylvatica. There are many fine
beeches in the main part of the Forest, especially
along Grand Avenue, Charcoal Burners Road, the
northern end of Long Harry, and many areas of
the Forest with naturally arisen beech seedlings
and saplings. However the champion Wiltshire
Beech lies at the edge of the Forest at Holt Pound,
Warren Farm, in an avenue of trees on the southwest
side of the avenue closest to the road. Holt Pound
is sO named as it was the place where cattle were
impounded when they should not have been grazing
in the Forest. The Beech avenues in the Forest were
planted in the mid- to late- 18th century, although
all of the trees seen today are replacements, as the
original trees have blown down or been felled for
safety reasons. Warren Farm was not built until
the early 19th century so the avenue at Holt Pound
was probably planted later than the Avenues in the
Forest. The champion Beech, known as the ‘Warren
Farm Great Beech’ is growing on Mr Liddiard’s
Crown Estates Farm (Figure 13), at NGR SU 249656,
tag No J09231 with a girth of 705cm in 2004. The
tree is so well proportioned that it does not appear to
have such a massive trunk, but it is one of the finest
very large-girth Beeches retaining its full canopy in
the British Isles.

There is a special Beech, Fagus sylvatica, near the
centre of the Forest, south of Eight Walks on Twelve
O’Clock Drive at NGR SU 2254 6625, with a tag No.
J08786. It looks like a common Beech, but instead of
the normal smooth trunk it has a rough bark (Figure
14). It was first reported by John Wildash in 1951
who noted that ‘The bark of this remarkable tree is
rough and furrowed as an oak’ (Grose 1957). Recently
we have obtained a photograph of this tree taken by
John Wildash in 1951 and the bark appears as it does
today. The girth of the rough-barked Beech in 2001
was 383cm. It is a healthy upright tree with leaves
of the same colour as the common Beech. The trunk
of this rough-barked variant is quite distinctive and
richer in epiphytic bryophytes and lichens than that
of normal Beeches (Oliver 2000b). Dick van Hoey
Smith describes a Fagus sylvatica ‘Quercoides, which
is a very rare form of the common beech with an oak
like bark, the habit and form of the whole tree being
oak-like (van Hoey Smith 2005). Every characteristic
of the Savernake rough-barked Beech is the same as
the common beech except for the roughness of its
bark and from a distance this tree looks the same as
the next beech in the line.

Another unusual tree in the Forest is a suckering
Rowan, Sorbus aucuparia, tag No. J08849, about 1km

54 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 14 Rough-barked Beech

south of the rough-barked Beech on the west side
of a track north of Charcoal Burners Road at NGR
SU 2215 6545. This tree forks at 1.2m and with a
girth of 182cm at 0.3m it is big for a Rowan. It hada
spread of 13m, a height of 20m and was still growing
upwards, in 2006. Its outstanding feature is that it
has formed extensive root suckers in all directions.
The main line of suckers follows the root lines in a
north-westerly direction 5-7m from the trunk. In
places, in 2000, it had become a Rowan turf, cropped
by deer or other herbivores, but oaks, beeches and
a rapidly growing Sweet Chestnut are shading it
out and by 2006 it had diminished in area. Rowan
is not normally known to sucker (McAllister 2005),
but recently other Rowans with suckers have been
found in different parts of the Forest. Rowan is not
a Forest tree in any other parts of the world.
Within the Forest there are a number of
large Sweet Chestnuts, Castanea sativa. There is a
particularly fine avenue of these in the eastern part
of the Forest along Amity Drive in the section east
of Birch Copse. These attractive trees with their bold
toothed leaves and straight spirally fissured trunks
have girths of 500 to 600cm, with some having re-
grown from coppice bases which are up to 900cm in
girth. In the northwestern part of the Forest there is
the ‘Great Grey Ride Chestnut’. This is an awkward
shape to compare for size with other chestnuts. It is
at NGR SU 2078 6729, tag No F08144, with the trunk
dividing into three huge boughs between 2m and 3m.
The girth is 850cm at 1m, but 975cm at 0.3m and
the smallest of the boughs has a girth of 445cm at
2.5m from the ground. It is the most massive Sweet
Chestnut within the Forest, but there is a larger one
southwest of the Forest in Brimslade Park.

ae Se ta

Fig. 15 Tila platyphyllos sssp cordifolia.

The common (hybrid) limes, Tilia x europea,
usually have their trunks largely hidden by
impenetrable dense masses of vigorous basal sprouts.
This makes the trunks difficult or impossible to
measure and the only semi-reliable measurements
have been at 0.3m (lft). Within the Forest there are
a number of Common Limes with girths of about
600cm at 0.3m. The largest found in the Savernake
Forest area is one of the Limes in the avenue of
trees along the edge of the road at Cobham Frith
at NGR SU 260 677, numbered J01498. In 2001 it
had a circumference of 840cm at 0.3m. The record
Lime for Wiltshire, also measured by Jack Oliver,
is at Stourhead Gardens at NGR ST 774341; with a
girth of 1030cm at 1.5m it is said to have the largest
trunk of any Common Lime in Britain.

Within the Forest, but visible in winter from the
A346 road, stands a Monterey Pine, Pinus radiata,
perhaps 30m high. It is number J09436 at NGR SU
217650 with a girth of 420cm. Even if it is not a
county record for girth it is an exceptionally tall and
fine example of this species for England.

Tottenham House Park

Tottenham Park is southeast of the Forest. The
Ailesbury family moved out of Tottenham House

LARGE AND SPECIAL TREES IN THE EASTERN PART OF KENNET DISTRICT 55

during the Second World War when it was occupied
by American troops looking after ammunition stored
in the Forest. Subsequently Tottenham House has
been leased by the Savernake Estate to Hawtrey’s
School, the Amber Foundation, and now for
development into a Five Star Hotel and golf course.
Behind the house, about 40m south of the ha-ha
there is a line of three well spaced out champion
deciduous trees. On the planning application now
approved they are marked as being retained on the
edge of the 18th fairway.

The northern one at SU 252640 is a Broad-
leaved Lime, of the small-leaved subspecies, Tilia
platyphyllos sssp cordifolia (Figure 15). Professor
Pigott (pers. comm. 2000) has authenticated the
identification and with a girth of 605cm it is a
Wiltshire champion and a strong contender as a
National one.

The next tree, at NGR SU 252639, is a large,
nearly evergreen oak, the Lucombe Oak, Quercus x
crenata hispanica ‘Lucombeana’ (Figure 16). It is an
ancient graft and in 2000 had a girth of 618cm. The
original Lucombe Oak was raised by Mr Lucombe
in his nursery in Exeter in about 1762. It is a cross
between the Turkey Oak (Q.cerris) and a Cork
Oak (Q.suber). The largest known Lucombe Oak
is growing in Phear Park, Devon and has a girth
of 790cm. According to TROBI records, in 1984
the Lucombe Oak in the field east of Tottenham
House was 23m high and had a girth of 550cm. The
description of the place puts the tree at the same
location as the Tottenham Park Lucombe Oak.
From these measurements it has increased its girth
by 68cm in 16 years, which is a very fast growing
rate of 4.25cm (nearly 2ins) per year. This gives an
estimated planting date of the mid 19th century. If

Fig. 16 Lucombe Oak, Tottenham House Park

the tree is re-measured in about twenty years time,
an improved estimate of age could be obtained.
The Tottenham Park Lucombe Oak is a Wiltshire
champion and according to TROBI in 2002 it was
in the top 10 nationally.

The third tree at NGR SU 251638 is a large wide
spreading Horse Chestnut, Aesculus hippocastanum,
with a girth in 2001 of 605cm and of 880cm around
its base. Unfortunately this tree has not been
included in the TROBI book (Johnson 2003), but
comparisons with the TROBI print-outs make it the
largest Horse Chestnut in Wiltshire and perhaps it
has the second greatest girth in the British Isles.
When the trees in Tottenham House Park and
Gardens were measured in 2000 the Gardens were
very overgrown. Table 2 is a list of some of the largest
Conifers and Ginkgo.

Table 2 Some Large and Special Conifers and Ginkgo in
Tottenham Park and Gardens in 2000

. Girth in
Name Common name eH d Ref cm
at 1.5m
Abtes Grecian Silver Fir 251 640 ae =
cephalonica pP 1958 0.3m
Araucaria Monkey-Puzzle au
y 251 638 |500 at
araucana JP 1950 0.3m
Cedrus Blue Atlantic
atlantica Cedar 246 642 |451
‘Glauca’ (untagged)
+. _. {Cedar of Lebanon
Cedrus libani Gaataeeed) 247 642 |678
Cedrus deodara ace Cedar 250 640 |425 |
Chamaecyparis |7 ov con C |
: ypress
5 pled cultivar SD 0839 249 639 183
; Maidenhair tree
Ginkgo biloba JP 1978 249 640 2°0
Picea sitchents eae cages 251 642 lee |
Pseudotsuga Douglas Fir 1525 at
i menziesit JP 1982 250 641 2m
Sequoia Coast Redwood
sempervirens _|JP 1936 Zoe) oe
Sequoiadendron | Wellingtonia |
i giganteum SD 0831 ZEN oe be
Western Red- |
Thya plicata |\cedar 250 640 |403
i SD 0847 p

* Wiltshire Champions. The other trees are in the top
five for the county

JP - Jack Oliver’s numbers, bi-laminate plastic tags
fixed at about 1.5m (5 ft) from the ground.

SD - Aluminium disc from a previous survey.

56 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

In front of Tottenham House there is a pair of
Holm Oaks, Quercus ilex, the larger having a girth of
313cm. In the garden northeast of the House there is
a wide avenue of large tall Lime trees, Tilia x europea,
the largest with a basal circumference of 715cm. This
avenue continues across Bedwyn Common where
the trees growing between the two rows of Limes
have recently been felled. This avenue is part of the
London Ride, which goes from the A4 London Road
to Tottenham House and continues south westwards
towards Wolfhall.

The Brails

South East of Tottenham Park on the far side of
the Kennet and Avon Canal, which follows the
line of Bedwyn Brook, are Bedwyn and Wilton
Brails. They consist of two separate steep sided tree
covered ridges. This land was once part of the Broyle
Bailiwick and following the execution of the Duke
of Somerset in the mid-16th century, the then new
owner, the Earl of Pembroke used timber from the
Brails to build a house at Ramsbury. By the early
17th century, most of the woodland except a few
small coppices had been cleared and the land used

Fig. 17 Fallen and re-growing Sweet Chestnut

for animal grazing. In 1783 the Earl of Pembroke
sold Wilton and Bedwyn Brail to Thomas Brudenell-.
Bruce, Earl of Ailesbury, who planted over 200,000
trees on the Brails in 1791-2 including avenues of
trees around the top of Wilton Brail and the Broad
Walk across Bedwyn Brail with a view over Wilton
Brail to Tottenham House. The total area planted
was 227 acres, enclosed by a ditch nearly four miles
long, planted with quick thorn, all at a cost of under
£400, (WRO 1300/2617). In 1929 the Margess of
Ailesbury sold the Brails and surrounding land,
including Folly Farm to Sir William Rootes, and
subsequently the land has been re-soid a number
of times. The present owner of the Brails, Richard
Charles, has taken an interest in the older trees as
well as planting new ones.

On Wilton Brail some of the Beech trees possibly
date from the 1791-2 planting, the largest Fagus
sylvatica, in 2003, being at NGR SU 271629 with a
girth of 695cm. Although this tree has a full canopy it
is senescent. There is a fine Beech with a full canopy
not showing signs of old age at NGR SU 275626 with
a girth of 590cm.

Bedwyn Brail is private woodland and the trees
described are not visible from any of the public rights
of way which cross the Brail. One tree growing in
an unusual way is a very large partly fallen Sweet
Chestnut, Castanea sativa, at NGR SU 282623 (Figure
17). It is just west of the Conduit, made in 1549 to
supply water to the Duke of Somerset’s mansion.
The position of this house is not conclusively known
and although letters exist about the foundations the
building was never completed (Bathe, 2006). The
Sweet Chestnut is an ancient coppice in which three
of the once vertical trunks on falling to the ground
have managed to retain sufficient rooting to remain
viable and vigorous. Of the remaining vertical trunks
the largest divides at 1.5m, and at 0.7m has a girth of
460cm. The three fully grounded horizontal trunks,
lengths 29, 28, and 22m, (in 2004) have produced
three lines of new verticals. In all there are twenty-
three verticals from this one ancestral tree, seven of
which are over 15m high, so as the whole enlarges it
will become an increasingly impressive tree, a likely
record holder if considered according to total bulk
of living timber. Already it has a larger spread than
the record breaking Sweet Chestnut at Kateshill,
Worcestershire (Johnson 2003, 23).

On top of the ridge of Bedwyn Brail is the site
of a Roman Villa (Hostetter and Howe 1997). Close
by at NGR SU 285630 grows an old Field Maple,
Acer campestre. At 0.3m the solid trunk has a girth
of 385cm. In 2004 the tree trunk at 1.5m was a

LARGE AND SPECIAL TREES IN THE EASTERN PART OF KENNET DISTRICT 57

Fig. 18 Native Black Poplar, Bedwyn Brail

compound of closely parallel and nearly coalesced
limbs measuring 465cm. The way the tree is growing
it looks as if it will soon be quite solid on one trunk
to 2m, in which case it will become a champion.
About three quarters of the way down the steep
slope on the east side of Bedwyn Brail at SU 287630
grows a male Native Black Poplar, Populus nigra,
first recorded by Hurst in 1921, (Grose 1957)(Figure
18). This tree on Bedwyn Brail is unusual as it is
growing on the side of a hill instead of in a river
valley. Black Poplars normally grow on damp soils
in river valleys, but because of drainage schemes
and fashions in planting they have become scarce
in many areas and there is now a National Register
for Black Poplars. On Bedwyn Brail the soils found
in the London Clay and Reading Beds were formed
from geological deposits at the extreme edge of the
London Basin and as a result are very variable with
layers of gravel, sand and clay. This has caused a
perched water table with springs at various places
on the sides of the Brail. The location of the Native
Black Poplar is where the ground is kept damp from
a diffused spring. The tree has red catkins in Spring,
a dark knobbly trunk and like most Black Poplars

Fig. 19 Wild Cherry, Folly Farm

this tall thin tree leans away from the prevailing
wind. In the Middle Ages this natural bending of
poplar trunks was useful for the cruck timbers of
longhouses and barns.

Folly Farm, now a private residence, km east of
Bedwyn Brail, has a champion Wild Cherry, Prunus
avium growing on the west side of the farmhouse
at NGR SU 273624, close to a public right of way
and visible from the Great Bedwyn to Shalbourne
Road. This tree was first noted as an exceptionally
large Wild Cherry by Ted Green of the Ancient Tree
Forum and Jill Butler of the Woodland Trust. The
tree is growing on a wall between a bank and an area
of grass, which according to a 19th century map was
the track to a nearby brickworks. In 2006 the trunk
girth was 430cm: the TROBI Recorder notes that it
is the largest Prunus avium in Wiltshire and in the
top four in the British Isles.

Savernake Forest to Clench
Common via Mud Lane

Mud Lane is an ancient trackway running east-west
along the southern edge of Savernake Parish which
was the boundary of the Great Park. The track is

58 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

lined with a mixture of old native woody shrubs and
trees. There are Hollies, Crab Apples, Blackthorns,
Spindles and Dogwoods of notable size. One tall but
low forking Dogwood, Cornus sanguinea, with six
trunk-like branches, the largest of which is 40cm
at the standard height, had an unprecedented basal
bole of 200cm circumference at 0.3m above ground
level. A Spindle, Euonymus europea, is over 6m high
and has an exceptional girth of more than 60cm
(Oliver 2006).

Clench Common

The area southwest of Marlborough, between the
A346 and A345 roads, is farmland formed from the
‘Great Park’. The land remained in the ownership of
the Ailesbury family until 1950 when it was sold to
the Crown Estate. The 800ha of farmland is divided
up into a number of farms, one of which is Culley’s
Farm. At the entrance to this farm, which is on
the Clench Common to Martinsell road, there are
two farm cottages built in the 1950s and one much
older cottage which was part of Batts Farm (also at
one time known as Compton Farm). The painting
by Rupert Butler, c.1930 is of Batts Farm before it
was demolished (Figure 20). Behind the farmhouse
is a tall, spreading tree; still there, it is a champion
Sycamore, Acer pseudoplatanus. In 2004 it had a girth
of 555cm and at 0.3m its basal circumference was
770cm. This is the largest girth Acer pseudoplatanus in
Wiltshire and compares well with the largest English
trees, although some Scottish Sycamores have girths
over 700cm (Johnson 2003).

Fig. 20 Batts Farm, Clench Common, Painting by R Butler,
c.1930

West Woods area

Further west, but still on the same type of soil as
the Forest, is West Woods, which now belongs to
the Forestry Commission. West Woods is famous for
its masses of bluebells, which flower in the Spring
just as the Beech trees are coming into leaf. On a
right-of-way leading from Lockeridge to West Woods
at NGR SU 150675 is a mutant Acer pseudoplatanus
which has developed a range of unusual leaves. It is
a ‘Chestnut-leaved’ European Sycamore, which has
about one third of its leaves ovate and irregularly
serrate, approaching the shape of the leaves of the
sweet chestnut, Castanea sativa, (Oliver 2003a). It
is a young tree with a girth of 93cm and a height
of 22m.

On another right-of-way, east of Lockeridge,
leading to West Woods at SU 155675 there is a big
Whitebeam, Sorbus aria on the east side of this old
north-south track marked on Andrews’ and Dury’s
map of 1773 (Figure 20). Whitebeams grow on chalk
and are usually small trees. This is a big low forking
tree, with six healthy main limbs. The girth of the
trunk at 0.3m is 400cm. At about 0.5m the tree forks
and the girth of each limb at 1.5m, in July 2005, was
80, 80. 85, 115, 115 and 120cm. It is a Category C
Wiltshire champion.

Fig. 21 Whitebeam, Lockeridge

PEWSEY VALE

Wolfhall

Wolfhall Farm is owned by the Crown Estates, which
purchased the land from the Ailesbury Family in
1950, and is now farmed by Peter Blanchard. It

LARGE AND SPECIAL TREES IN THE EASTERN PART OF KENNET DISTRICT 59

Fig. 22 ‘Cluster Oak’ in Burbage Churchyard

is close to the site of the Seymour family home,
Wolfhall, visited by King Henry VIII to court Jane
Seymour. At NGR SU 242 621 there is an avenue
of mixed trees including Common Hybrid Limes,
Horse Chestnuts, recent hybrid Back Poplars and
one much older Small-leaved Lime, Tilia cordata
(Pigott pers. comm. 2004). It is not as tall as the
adjacent Common Limes, but has a larger girth of
530cm. The Small-leaved Lime is a slower growing
tree than the Common Lime, so it pre-dates the rest
of the avenue. A report in the IDS Yearbook claims
a Tilia cordata in Lancashire with a girth of 510cm
to be some 400 years old (Andrews 2005). There is
a possibility that the Wolfhall Small-leaved Lime
might date back to the days of the Seymours. It is a
tree of great spread and beauty, a Wiltshire champion
on a single bole and in the top five nationally.

Another Wiltshire champion at Wolfhall Farm
is a White Willow, Salix alba, in an enclosure by the
pond at NGR SU 243622. The tree is hollow, has
fallen, re-rooted and formed a new trunk. In 2004
the girth of the secondary trunk at 1.5m from the
new rooting is 730cm.

Burbage

In the corner of Burbage Churchyard at NGR SU
233 614 there is a Cluster Oak, Quercus robur ‘Cristata’
(Figure 22) grown by John Wildash from an acorn
of the Original Cluster Oak in Savernake Forest.
This tree was planted about 1950, and in 2002 it
was over 15m in height, with a girth of 191cm. It
is very much faster growing than its parent and by
2006 it had grown larger and taller. Like its parent,
its short shoots have caused distinct clustering
of its glabrous leaves, but they are less markedly
sandwiched. Full details of the differences between
the Burbage Cluster Oak and its parent are given in
Oliver et al. 2003.

Brimslade Park

Brimslade Park is the home of the ‘Giant Sweet
Chestnut’, Castanea sativa on Bruce Gauntlett’s
Crown Estate Farm at NGR SU 209632 (Figure 23).
It is a massive, gnarled tree, with a staghorn head
and half the bark on one side dead, but it is alive and
in 2005 had a girth of 1055cm at the standard height
of 1.5m and 1130cm at 0.3m from the ground. The
TROBI Registrar records it as one of the biggest

Fig. 23 Giant Sweet Chestnut, Brimslade Park

60 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 24 Holly, Long Copse, Brimslade

single boled Sweet Chestnuts in Britain. Andrews’
and Dury’s map of 1773 shows an avenue of trees
south of Brimslade House which was built in the
early 17th century. The Giant Sweet Chestnut is
part of this avenue along with a second very large
Chestnut, some huge dead stumps and replacements
of younger Chestnuts and Oaks. In 1999, this second
Chestnut, which carried an epiphytic Holly tree, had
a girth of 960cm at 0.3m. One cut dead stump had
lost two-thirds of its centre but even so showed 200
annual rings in the outer third. Of the other ancient
living trees one Oak had a girth of nearly 600cm
and three other Chestnuts had girths ranging from
605 to 70S5cm.

North of the Canal there is an area of woodland
known as Long Copse. When, in 1950, the Savernake
Estate sold its farmland surrounding the Forest to
the Crown Estate it retained many of the woods
growing on these farms. Long Copse is one of these
and is leased to the Forestry Commission. At the
west end of Long Copse at NGR SU 214639 is a very
large Holly, Ilex aquifolium, only c. 5m shorter than

a Norway Spruce on the east side (Figure 23). It isa
huge spreading tree with about four coalesced trunks
forming a straight bole for 2.5m and above this some
main branches. The coalesced trunks form a recess
which is gradually closing, so the tree is doing the
reverse of hollowing as it is solidifying into the
centre. Its girth in 2004 was 315cm at 1.5m, 410cm at
0.3m and 460cm close to the ground. TROBI records
note that other Hollies have only been measured at
0.3m and currently the Holly at Long Copse is the
largest recorded in England.

Oare House

Oare House is on the A345 road 3.3km (2miles) north
of Pewsey, near the bottom of Oare Hill on the edge
of the Pewsey Vale. The House, now owned by Henry
Keswick, is a mellow red and grey brick house built
in 1740 for Henry Deacon, a London wine merchant.
In the 1920s the house was extended by Clough
Williams-Ellis for Sir Geoffrey Fry, a descendant
of the ‘Fry chocolate’ family. Sir Geoffrey Fry was
Private Secretary to Bonar Law 1919-21 and Stanley
Baldwin 1923-39, including times when they were
Prime Ministers respectively. During the Second
World War, Winston Churchill and his War Cabinet
occasionally held meetings at the House.

Between 1920 and 1960 Sir Geoffrey Fry created
the formal gardens and arboreta. These are on a
gentle south facing slope of almost lime free soil.
There are more than 250 taxa of trees including many
rare varieties and some rare hybrids and species. It
would take a researcher several months to survey
the site, measure the trees and identify the variants.
TROBI hold records of Oare House for 1981, 1984
and 1994, but many of these require updating.

TROBI lists three Crimean Hybrid Limes,
Tilia x euchlora in Pine Walk, as the three largest
in Wiltshire. The farmland and woodlands extend
for a considerable distance from the house, and in
Park Copse at NGR SU 149627 there is a still larger
Crimean Hybrid Lime, No 110, Arboretum 3. This
tree is grafted on to a Tilia x europea base, producing
basal and stem sprouts, and extensive layering of
branch-tips in rings around the trunk of the tree,
making it very difficult to measure the girth. The
trunk in July 2006 measured 450cm at the standard
height and 380cm at 0.3m making it the Wiltshire
champion and one of the biggest trees of its kind in
the British Isles.

Of the trees measured in July 2006, those of
special merit include: No 223, Arboretum 1, Sorbus
commixta ‘Marchants Form’ at NGR SU 150627,

LARGE AND SPECIAL TREES IN THE EASTERN PART OF KENNET DISTRICT 61

with a girth of 219cm; No 130, Arboretum 2, Prunus
‘Shirofugen’ at NGR SU 149627, with a girth of
167cm at the standard height and 230cm at 0.3m;
No 156, Arboretum 2, Paper-bark Birch, Betula
papyrifera, (hollow base) at NGR SU 149627, with
a girth of 225cm (according to TROBI a Wiltshire
champion); and, No 107, Arboretum 4, Japanese
Hornbeam, Carpinus japonica, at NGR SU 148627,
with a girth 107cm (according to TROBI a British
champion).

The largest American Scarlet Oak, Quercus
coccinea, along Pine Walk at NGR SU 154630, has a
girth of 235cm and this is larger than the existing
Wiltshire champion at Pinkney Park which had a
girth of 229cm in 2002.

A huge healthy Holly, Ilex aquifolium f heterophylla,
at SU 153631 is of complex shape with a trunk-like
branch emerging at ground level and progressing
horizontally before ascending. It has a basal girth
of 350cm and the girth of the main trunk is 182cm
at 1.5m. This is the largest Holly of this variety in
Wiltshire and probably the second most massive
Holly of any type in Wiltshire.

On the southeast margin of Oare pond at NGR
SU 154629 in the main Estate there is a White
Willow, Salix alba, with a full spread and a vertical
trunk without avulsions. In July 2006 this fine tree
had a girth of 580cm at 1.5m and 560cm at 0.3m. It
is one of the biggest White Willows in Britain with
a vertical trunk, measured at 1.5m, as most of the
existing record holders are fallen or partly fallen
trees with measurements not being able to be made
at the standard height.

Probably the oldest tree on the estate is an
English Oak, Quercus robur, south east of the gate
on the western fringe of North Copse, at NGR SU
148632. It is an ancient base, with part of the old
rim intact from which six trunks arise. In 2006, the
basal circumference of this complex tree was 900cm
at 0.3m, the largest of the six large trunks having a
girth of 248cm at the standard height.

One tree, at NGR SU 152629, has a plaque bearing
the inscription ‘The Stanley Baldwin Oak, 1930’. It
is an English Oak, Quercus robur, which he planted
whilst staying at the house and in July 2006 it had
a girth of 225cm.

Of the great variety of trees within the four
arboreta and Pine Avenue area, at least ten trees
are impressive by virtue of their size or age. There
are far more than this number of smaller, rare,
hybrids, variants, cultivars and more recently
introduced species, which may also be Wiltshire
champions, unsurpassed elsewhere in the county.

Fig. 25 Yew, Alton Priors Churchyard

Oare Estate probably holds five or more trees of
national importance, with this number likely to rise
significantly in future.

Alton Priors

Alton Priors is west of Pewsey, on the ancient
Ridgeway at the foot of Walkers Hill and Knap
Hill. In the churchyard of All Saints Church there
is a Yew tree with a massive trunk on the south side
of the church at NGR SU109621 (Figure 25). Yews
can live for thousands of years. While some have
claimed Yews as the oldest living thing on earth,
other contenders are the Bristlecone Pine, Creosote
Bush rings and, from the last ice age, a Tasmanian
Podocarp. Pigott has made a claim for Tilia cordata
rings in the Lake District being 1,600 years old
(Pigott 2005). Chetan and Brueton (1994) have
compiled a gazetteer of Ancient Yews in mainland
Britain aged over 1,000 years. All are given with
pre-1990 measurements, and the list includes that
at Alton Priors, a female Yew with a girth of 28ft
(845cm) and an estimated age of 1,700 years. The
hollow tree trunk is now in two separate halves, both
of which are healthy and of similar heights. It is an
attractive tree with much greenery. In May 2006 the
measurement around the whole base at 0.3m was
850cm and at the standard height the circumference
around both halves was 873cm (28ft 8ins). The
height of the tree is about 16m with the top above
this height having been removed by tree surgery.
The east-west spread is 17.3m and the north-south
13m, which is limited by the wall of the church. Of
the original Norman Church only the chancel arch
remains. The rest of the church is of 13th century
and later date and the building is now cared for by

THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

the Churches Conservation Trust. At the site there
is a certificate, signed by Robert Cantuar (Robert
Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury) and three Yew

TABLE OF SPECIES

specialists certifying the Alton Priors tree as not less
than 1,700 years old.

Table 3 Species of champion, near champions and special trees in the East Kennet District (This table does not include
all of the trees mentioned in the article)

ae : eee Year
Species Name Area| Location GR at SU Girth in cm Mencured
*x | Acer campestre rine 3 |Savernake Forest (2274 6605 te vealed 2000
Cappadocian Maple Marlborough 186 685
* — \Acer cappadocicum JP 1778 | College 290 2006 |
; Marlborough
* — |Acer platanoides Norway Maple ] College 181 688 355 2006
* — |Acer pseudoplatanus Sycamore 3 |ClenchCommon_ {181 649 55 2004
Froxfield 480
Acer pseudoplatanus Sycamore 1 Churchyard 295 680 __ [Base 930 2004
S an a ee latonus Sycamore, mutant 3 |Lockeridge 150 675 93 2003
** —|Aesculus hippocastanum |Horse Chestnut 3 eoneren House 251 638 a © 880 2002
\* _|Betula papyrifera Paper-bark Birch 4 |Oare House 149 627 225 2006
Carpinus betulus Hornbeam 2 |High Clear Down |233 766 470 at 0.6m
Carpinus betulus Hornbeam 1 |West of Froxfield |269 679 ae 840 2002
Lafil _|Carpinus japonica Japanese Hornbeam 4 |Oare House 148 627 1107 2006
* — |Castanea sativa Gee 3 |Savernake Forest Cee ae se AGO es 2001
**x | Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut 4 Brimslade Park 209 632 TE: a Oth 2005
S__ |Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut 3 |Bedwyn Brail 282 623 Multiple
* — |Catalpa bignontoides Catalpa 1 |Marlborough 187 688
he F ; Warren Farm Beech Savernake Forest
agus sylvatica J.09231 3 anes
S__ |Fagus sylvatica oe e ith a rough bark 3 |Savernake Forest (22546625 |383 2001
Copper Beech, |
H_—_|Fagus sylvatica purpurea |\J 1790 1 eeoeuen 186 686 386 2006
“Tennyson Beech’ 6
Fagus sylvatica purpurea |Copper Beech 1 |Marlborough Ti90 691 [447 2006
py: Long Copse 214 639 315
**x | Tlex aquifolium Holly + Beaclatle Base 460 2002
Ilex aquifolium f ; 182
x heterophylla Holly variant 4 |Oare House 153 631 Base 350 2006
* — |Platanus x acerifolia London Plane 1 |Chilton Foliat 319 704 880 2006
Populus x canadensis Railway Poplar, Female
dal eRevenerata ltree 1 |Marlborough 187 683 680 2003
#4” Prunus avium Wild Cherry 3 |Folly Farm, 430 273 624
|Bedwyn
Prunus cerasifera Froxfield
ie pissardii ‘Nigra’ | Cherry Plum 1 Churchyard 295 680 163
ia" | Pseudoisicaunensicsit velo Fir 3 /Tottenham House [250641 222 2'7™ | 2000
if bi Wild Pear Harrow Cross 274 679
ae ig eae At ee [Roads Froxfield 315
* | Quercus coccinea American Scarlet Oak 4 |Oare House {154 630 235

LARGE AND SPECIAL TREES IN THE EASTERN PART OF KENNET DISTRICT 63
t
idle ie Lucombe Oak 3. |zottentane House. 1252'629 tasl618 2002
A Old Paunchy 700
Quercus petraea J 09057 3 |Savernake Forest |2085 6764 |Base 1050 2001
Quercus robur faesoek Oak 3 |Savernake Forest |2061 6798 |995 2002
Quercus robur Stanley Baldwin Oak 4 |Oare House 152 629 [225 2006
SS |Quercus robur ‘Cristata’ |Original Cluster Oak | 3 |Savernake Forest [217 653 190 1999
(Cn > Burbage |
Quercus robur ‘Cristata’ |Cluster Oak 4 Ginechward 233 614 191 2002
Quercus robur f. fastigiata|Cypress or Poplar Oak 1 |Marlborough 187 688 281 2006
**H | Quercus x rosacea Big Belly Oak 3 |Savernake Forest [2132 6578 ee 1400 2002
Salix alba White Willow 4 |Oare House 1154 629 BED [2006
Salix alba White Willow 4 |Wolfhall 243 622 aa trunk 2004
* |Salix fragilis Crack Willow 1 |Marlborough 182 685 480 2003
Sequoiadendron Wellingtonia
i giganteum SD 0831 3 |Tottenham House |250 639 870 2000
S |Sorbus aucuparia Suckering Rowan J08849 | 3 |Savernake Forest {2215 6545 [182 at 0.3m_|2004
* | Taxus baccata Yew 4 |Alton Priors 108 621 [875 2006
Tilia x europea Common Lime J01498 3 |Cobham Frith 260 677 840 at0.3m [2001
**x | Tilia cordata Small-leaved Lime 4 |Wolfhall 242 621 530 2004
** | Tilia x euchlora Caucasian Lime | 4 |Oare House 149 627 450 2006
Tilia platyphyllos Broad leaved lime, small- Tottenham House
kk 5)
ssp cordifolia leaved subspecies 2 Park IAL op But
* Wiltshire Champion S Of special interest AREA

*k Tn the top 10 Nationally
Base measurements at 0.3m (lft) above
the ground level.

UNRECOGNISED
CONTENDERS

A number of large gardens and estates are home
to impressive conifers such as Silver Firs or
Wellingtonias. Such trees tend to be the most
measured, but local specimens may not compare
with greater ones in other parts of the County or
elsewhere in the British Isles. Veteran Oaks and
Yews tend to be well known. Nevertheless it would
be rash of us to claim that our account encompasses
all great or special trees, even in the eastern part of
Kennet District.
Readers are encouraged to provide the authors
with details of the following:
In the Eastern part of Kennet District:
1. Other trees of special or historic interest
2. Larger trees of discussed or listed types that we
may have missed.
3. Exceptional trees of species or types
unmentioned.

H_ Of Historic interest

1. The Kennet and Froxfield valleys
2. Marlborough Downs

3. Savernake Plateau

4, Pewsey Vale

In the rest of Wiltshire:
4. Great trees
5. Trees exceptional in size for their species or

type.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank The Earl of Cardigan, Mr
Keswick and Stuart Hume of Oare House, The
Master of Marlborough College and his wife Nancy,
Robert Tindall, Richard Charles, David Back, Jeff
Galvin Wright, Fraser Bradbury of the Forestry
Commission, Simon Bonham of the Crown Estates,
Peter Blanchard, Diana Faux, James Liddiard
and Bruce Gauntlett for giving us information
and allowing us to measure and photograph their
trees. In addition, to Professor Donald Pigott, our
appreciation for his identifications of the Lime trees
and David Alderman, TROBI Tree Registrar, for
records of tree sizes.

64 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

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Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 65-73

Palaeolithic Hand Axes from Warminster, Pewsey
and Dinton: their place in the early re-colonisation
of the upper Salisbury Avon Valley

by Phil Harding

The Lower and Middle Palaeolithic periods in Britain lasted for over 600,000 years during which time occupation ebbed
and flowed across the landscape. In recent years it has been possible to produce increasingly precise dates for phases of
occupation. One of the best defined episodes of re-colonisation recommenced approximately 50,000 years ago following
a period of abandonment, which lasted for 100,000 years. This re-colonisation has been documented in Wiltshire by the
discovery of a distinctive form of hand axe that was found in a brick pit at Fisherton in 1874. Using finds of hand axes
found since 2002 at Warminster and Pewsey with other previously unpublished implements from former brickworks at
Dinton, this article argues that it may be possible to identify this re-emergence of human occupation elsewhere in the

Salisbury Avon Valley and to link it with human presence to the west 1n the Mendips.

INTRODUCTION

It is now generally accepted that the Lower and
Middle Palaeolithic (700,000-40,000BP) occupation
of the British Isles was not continuous but alternated
between periods of colonisation and abandonment.
The archaeological record is incomplete; however the
period for which human absence is best documented
in Britain spanned 100,000 years from the extreme
cold of Oxygen Isotope Stage 6 (OIS 6), a period
that equates with the Saalian Glaciation in Europe,
and ended during Oxygen Isotope Stage (OIS) 3, a
warmer interlude within the Devensian Cold Stage
and dated between 59,000-26,000 years ago (White
and Jacobi 2002). The subsequent re-colonisation
is most frequently associated with Neanderthal
groups linked to the production of small cordate
(heart shaped) hand axes and distinctive ‘flat butted’
hand axes (bout coupé). Cordate hand axes occur
throughout the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic
period but the bout coupé form, which has itself

been the subject of considerable debate (Shackley
1977; Coulson 1986; White and Jacobi 2002), is
generally accepted to be a diagnostic indicator of the
reoccupation of Britain in the Middle Palaeolithic
(White and Jacobi 2002). Roe (1981, Fig 6.6) noted
that one of the greatest concentrations of this type
of hand axe was located at the west end of the Solent
around Christchurch Bay, where the Rivers Stour
and Avon now flow into the sea. Similar hand axes
have also been documented from West Country cave
sites (White and Jacobi 2002).

Of particular significance to the study of the
Palaeolithic of Wiltshire was the discovery of a
bout coupé hand axe in a brick pit at Fisherton in
1874 (Evans 1897, 630). The deposits at Fisherton
are of international significance in that they
contain exceptionally well preserved remains of
contemporary animal species, including mammoth,
wolf, fox, hyaena, horse, red deer, bison and musk
ox (Delair and Shackley 1978).

This paper records the recent discoveries of

Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury SP4 6EB

66 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

0 100mm
]

Fig. 1 The hand axes

hand axes from Warminster and Pewsey, reported
to the Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes, and
re-evaluates three other specimens from former
brickworks at Dinton, held in the Salisbury
and South Wilts Museum. It argues that these
implements may also be of a similar date and indicate
that the Salisbury Avon played an important role as
an artery for human movement in the re-colonisation
of Britain during OIS 3.

The Warminster hand axe

The story began in 2002 when a small, finely made
Lower Palaeolithic hand axe made from Greensand
chert was discovered by Mr Bert Green while he was
metal detecting on land owned by Mr Brian Hocken
of Bugley Barton Farm, Warminster. The implement
lay on the surface of a ploughed field (ST 84804457)
on land overlooking the headwaters of the River
Wylye, a tributary at the western extremity of the
Salisbury Avon.

The implement (Figure 1.1) is a cordate hand axe
of Wymer’s (1968, 56) type J and is in a sharp/slightly
rolled condition. It measures 80mm long, 54mm
wide, 18mm thick and the chert has weathered to
a rich red-tinted butterscotch colour. Both sides of
the hand axe are covered with well-struck invasive
flake scars although there is a small residual patch of
cortex in one corner of the butt, which has otherwise
been trimmed all round the edge. The tip is rounded
with a tranchet edge, where two unretouched flake
scars intersect, although this may not have been a
deliberate feature of manufacture. The edges are
straight but the profile is slightly asymmetrical.

The location (Figure 2), about 1 km south east
of Cley Hill, at approximately 145m aOD, forms the
south-facing slope of a spring-head of The Were, itself
a tributary of the River Wylye. The local geology at
Warminster (BGS Sheet 281 1965) indicates that The
Were follows the course of the Warminster Fault, a
major geological structure where the Lower Chalk
has been brought alongside Upper Greensand. This
is also the most westerly edge of natural outcrops of
Chalk and here virtually flint-free. Patches of ‘chert
beds’, which form the upper parts of the Greensand,
are exposed on the slopes above the spring-head and
include chert nodules, some of which may have been
large enough to produce a hand axe of equivalent
size. A limited number of test flakings showed that
it is grey when freshly knapped, although there is
some doubt as to whether it is of sufficient quality
for hand axe manufacture.

PALAEOLITHIC HAND AXES FROM WARMINSTER, PEWSEY AND DINTON 67

A Site
[-2] Upper Greensand

R. Avon

@ |
eS
I ead 4
Sj
S ¥
& f

———= (4 Warminster

of _—

‘@ Nookey Hole

Vale of Wardour

R. Nadder fo"

\ Sherborne __/

40km~

“ @ Monkton Farleigh

Knowle Farm

f 3, R. Kennet
West Kennett @ @

| A
Pewsey @

“Vale of Pewsey

:
” by

“s Vb Stapleford

i & Dinton e Devizes Road
eg OO Milford Hill
. ad oa Fisherton ©

@*.. Harnham

§
a ( @ Woodgreen

S
S
S
S
N
“St

Fig. 2 Site locations, drainage and principal related sites mentioned in the text

Chert also occurs locally 15 to 20 km to the south
in the Vale of Wardour and 70 km westwards in the
Blackdown Hills, which provided Greensand chert
to the gravel deposits of the River Axe valley, where
chert hand axes are known (Roe 1968, 47) from the
Broom pits at Thorncombe, Dorset. Unfortunately
there is currently no way of scientifically determining
whether the raw material was obtained from a local
source or was introduced following a hunting trip
from the west.

The Pewsey hand axe

Coincidentally a second implement, made of
flint but of similar form, was found in 2004 near
the source of the Salisbury Avon itself, east of
Pewsey (Figure 2). This implement was spotted
by Mr Beverley Heath when he was cleaning a leat
in The Vera Jeans Nature Reserve at Jones’s Mill,
Pewsey (SU 17076137), a designated Nature Reserve
administered by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust (Heath
2004). |

The Pewsey implement (Figure 1.2) is also a
cordate hand axe and is in a similar condition to
the implement from Warminster. It is 98mm long,
65mm wide and 23mm thick. Relatively modern
damage, which has removed the tip, indicates
that the underlying flint is dark grey with lighter
coloured inclusions; however the surface of the
hand axe has acquired a light orange stain from
the surrounding gravel. One side of the implement
appears to have been made first and is formed by
five well-executed blows, while the other side has
less economical flaking and comprises a complex of
much smaller flake scars. The edges were originally
straight but are now slightly irregular, a result of
post-depositional edge damage. They are trimmed
all round the implement although less detail has
been paid to the butt.

The hand axe was found at the northern edge
of the valley floor, which is here 75 m wide at
approximately 117m aOD, where the river meanders
through a valley with gently sloping sides. The
detailed geology (BGS Sheet 282) maps the location
as alluvium, although exposures in the sides of the

68 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

leat indicate that heavily frost-shattered flint gravel,
which is frequently stained orange by a dark brown
silt matrix, exists in this part of the Avon valley.
Deposits of river and valley gravel are mapped at
Pewsey, although whether this is similar to that at
Jones’s Mill is uncertain. None of the flint in the
gravel appears to be suitable for tool production.
The flint for the hand axe is therefore likely to
have come from the Chalk at the edge of the Vale
of Pewsey, which lies between 2 to 3 km north and
south of the site.

The Dinton hand axes

The three hand axes from Dinton include a
cordate hand axe and two ovate implements. They
are all in a mint/sharp condition and form part of the
collection of the Salisbury and South Wilts Museum
(Accessions 53/1948). ‘Old clay pits’ shown on the
2°4 Edition Ordnance Survey (1901) indicate that
clay had been dug at Dinton from at least the 19%
century. The site (SU 01753124), which lay between
70-75m aOD, at the north edge of the River Nadder
floodplain, flourished and by 1918 the brickworks,
originally owned by Lord Pembroke (Haines 2003),
boasted 3 brick kilns (VCH 1965, 25-34), tile and
pottery works. The brick kilns were present on the
1925 Ordnance Survey but do not appear on any
subsequent surveys.

The implements were not marked by the finder,
Ronald Lever, a local undertaker, historian and
fervent collector from Teffont Magna, who found
or acquired this material between 1904 and 1920,
when brick production was at its height at Dinton.
The hand axes were accessioned in 1948 when they
were described as ‘Mousterian’ and ‘said to have
been found in the brick earth at Dinton’ (Salisbury
Museum Accession Card); Lever is considered to be
a reliable source and there is nothing apparently to
doubt their provenance (David Algar pers. comm.).

The cordate (Figure 1.3) measures 90mm long,
54mm wide and is 22mm thick. The base is flat.
Although surfaces are stained light brown, the tip
is of unstained fine quality black flint, suggesting
that the implement may have been partly exposed
or differentially buried in the geological deposits.
Fortunately the implement has never been cleaned
and traces of calcium carbonate concretions
are preserved in some of the deeper flake scars,
particularly near the tip, suggesting that at least
part of the hand axe had originally been buried in a
calcareous deposit.

The other two implements (Figure 1.4 and 1.5)
are both ovate hand axes, one of which has markedly
pointed tips. They are both 95mm long and are
respectively 52 and 54 mm wide and 18 and 23
mm thick. Surfaces are lightly stained with traces
of an orange brown coating, which may represent
residual “brickearth’. The edges of both implements
are irregular and somewhat eccentric in profile.
It is possible that this eccentricity is a feature of
manufacture whereby the mid-line of the implement
is deliberately thrown to one side prior to removing
invasive flakes that will thin the implement more
efficiently. If this is so it suggests that these two
implements may represent unfinished hand axes.

The British Geological Survey (1976 Sheet 298)
places the brickworks at Dinton on the southern
edge of an outcrop of Gault Clay, although these
implements are more likely to have come from
reworked material, either soliflucted or alluvial clay
at the edge of the valley.

DISCUSSION

Both of the recent find spots (Fig. 2) lie at the
perimeter of the Salisbury Avon drainage system.
The Warminster hand axe was found close to the
watershed with the Rodden Brook, 2.5 km to the
west, which drains via the River Frome into the
Bristol Avon basin. The Wylye is the only river
draining the vast area of Chalk that forms the west
part of Salisbury Plain and extends south to the
River Nadder, itself a route through the Vale of
Wardour. As such these tributaries of the Salisbury
Avon would have formed, and still form, important
corridors to the west.

The find spot of the hand axe from Pewsey was
located 2 km south of the Chalk escarpment, which
marks the watershed between the River Avon and
the headwaters of the River Kennet. Access would
also have been possible to the west and east through
the Vale of Pewsey. Wymer (1999, 109) commented
on the undeniable value of river systems as routes
to and from the coast. Watersheds in particular are
likely to have provided convenient bridges between
individual river basins. A small ovate hand axe
was found near West Kennett in 1983 (Holgate
and Tyldesley 1985) while, further afield, another
was found at the watershed of the Rivers Bristol
Avon and Thames at Hankerton, Wiltshire (Wessex
Archaeology 1994, 97). Locations near spring-heads
were also valuable sources of fresh clean water for
both hunting bands and game.

PALAEOLITHIC HAND AXES FROM WARMINSTER, PEWSEY AND DINTON 69

A few flint hand axes are known from the River
Wylye valley, most locally one (Grinsell 1952, 436)
found in 1932 by Alfred Selley at Heytesbury, 8 km
downstream from Warminster. Three more were
found in a small, elevated gravel remnant on the side
of the valley at Stapleford (Harding 1995). Further
downstream a flint hand axe was found in gravel at
South Newton (Stevens 1870, 47).

There are slightly larger numbers of hand
axes from the Avon valley itself although few
survive in museum collections to confirm their
authenticity (Wessex Archaeology 1993, 98).
Individual implements have been recorded from
the Clay-with-flints capping on the crest of the
Vale of Pewsey at Milk Hill, one of the highest
locations of a Palaeolithic implement yet recorded
from Britain, Golden Ball Hill and Martinsell Hill.
Another implement, now in Devizes Museum, was
found in the Vale of Pewsey between Woodborough
Hill and Picked Hill, Woodborough. Yet more
implements have been retrieved from river gravel
deposits of the River Avon at Wilcot, Pewsey Station
and Manningford with others nearer Salisbury from
Figheldean, Amesbury and Lake.

At Salisbury there is the bout coupé hand axe of
flint from the ‘brick earth’ deposits at Fisherton,
on the north bank of the River Nadder near its
confluence with the Salisbury Avon. Large numbers
of implements have also been recorded from the high
terraces of the Avon, from Devizes Road and Milford
Hill, Salisbury (Roe 1969, 14). Down stream from
Salisbury there are hand axes found recently in a
sharp condition associated with deposits at Harnham
(Whittaker et al. 2004). Large numbers of hand axes
are also known from Woodgreen, Hampshire (Roe
1968, 117).

Previous records of hand axes from the Nadder
Valley include two rolled and stained implements
that were found by navvies in river valley gravel
during construction of the railway at Dinton in
1894 (Salisbury Museum Green Books). Elsewhere
hand axes, which appear to have been found as
surface finds, were recorded at Fovant, Compton
Chamberlayne and Barford St. Martin (Wessex
Archaeology 1993, 100).

Greensand chert hand axes are known, but
relatively rarely, from Palaeolithic sites in Wiltshire.
Devizes Museum holds four implements that were
found in gravel at Knowle Farm, Little Bedwyn,
one of the most productive sites in Britain, where
at least 1,600 hand axes (Roe 1968, 311) were
recovered. Artefacts from this site became objects
of exchange amongst early collectors and museums

SO it is possible that others survive in collections
outside the county. The site is undated but is thought
to date within the range of 423,000-245,000 BP
(Wymer’s (1999, 173) Period 2). The four implements
at Devizes include two in a sharp/slightly rolled
condition and two others that are heavily rolled and
may be considerably older.

At least three Greensand chert hand axes were
found among the 318 implements from Milford Hill,
Salisbury (Roe 1968, 310) and are now in Salisbury
Museum, although artefacts from this site were also
widely exchanged. One is a plano-convex implement,
made on a flake of fine-grained chert (Read 1885, Pl
VII). Itis in a sharp condition, while a rolled pointed
hand axe, which may also have been made on a large
flake, was found in a gravel pit in ‘Colonel Pepper’s
Ground’ (No. 1 The Avenue). The third is a large
pointed implement, approximately 220 mm long
that was found by men digging for road material in
the Cricket Ground, Milford Hill, near the site of
the present Godolphin School. It is also in a sharp
condition. These implements all contrast in size and
technique of manufacture with the chert hand axe
from Warminster. The scarcity of Greensand chert
implements from both Knowle Farm and Milford
Hill is probably due to the presence of limitless
supplies of flint; however the gravel at Milford Hill
includes pebbles of Greensand chert. They account
for approximately 5% of the deposit (Harding and
Bridgland 1998, Table 1) and are derived from the
east end of the Vale of Wardour, 12 km west of
Salisbury.

Hand axes have been found in gravel deposits of
the River Yeo at Sherborne and Yeovil, 35 km south-
west of Warminster (Wessex Archaeology 1994, 93),
although these gravels have produced nowhere
near the numbers of implements known from the
Salisbury Avon. The gravel terraces of the Bristol
Avon above Bradford on Avon are less well preserved
than those in the Salisbury Avon and have produced
a few isolated hand axes (Wessex Archaeology 1994,
97), including a small sub-triangular flint hand axe
from the surface of a field in the Bristol Avon valley
at Monkton Farleigh, 20 km north of Warminster
(Gardner 1987, 163). Other similar small cordiform
and sub-triangular hand axes of flint and chert
are known from surface locations and cave/fissure
deposits on the Mendip Hills. Precisely located
examples include a small cordiform hand axe of what
is probably Carboniferous chert from a fissure in the
Carboniferous Limestone at Lime Kiln Hill Quarry,
Mells (Vranch 1981, 70, R. Jacobi pers. comm.) only
15 km west of Warminster. Others are known from

70 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

95 —

Talkie ceaiemein eh
85

80 4 Dinton
75

b ——— ais “Go Oey

Metres above Ordnance Datum
|
\
b

Devizes Rd.
A Millford Hill

4 BD clain A
2-2 (ae Harnham
Se Or A

Calichiins
aisoury ——————“xxccex—

| ".. & Fisherton

|
|
}
|
|

Fig. 3 Longitudinal profiles of the Rivers Nadder and Wylye to the River Avon at Britford. (Terrace correlation by Clarke and
Green (1987))

Hyaena Den and Rhinoceros Hole at Wookey Hole
(White and Jacobi 2002) and Uphill Quarry at the
west end of the Mendips (Roe 1981, 245). Examples
with an imprecise provenance include one of
Greensand chert, known only as from Hazel Farm,
one of several farms on Mendip with this name (R.
Jacobi pers. comm.).

It is difficult to be sure precisely when the
implements from Warminster, Pewsey and Dinton
were made or whether they are contemporary;
however it is possible using provenance, stratigraphy
and form to speculate that they may be of similar
age and therefore related to a specific phase in the
Palaeolithic settlement of Britain with links from
the Salisbury Avon to contemporary occupation
in the west. Some of the better dated Palaeolithic
assemblages have been found in the Thames valley,
where river terrace stratigraphy has been correlated
with the climatic record preserved in deep-sea cores
and with diagnostic flint tools (Bridgland 1998).
Terrace stratigraphy acknowledges that, through
time, rivers cut down and leave fragments of earlier
flood plains preserved high on the valley sides as
terrace features; the higher up the terrace is the
earlier it is. Down cutting has traditionally been
associated with the need of a river to keep pace with
falling sea level during successive glacial periods;
however it is now accepted that uplifting of land
masses is as important, if not more so towards the

formation of these terrace staircases (Bridgland
1994). Terraces are rarely preserved in the headwaters
of a river, as at Warminster or Pewsey, where the
rivers are smaller and undertake little or no sediment
deposition that is necessary for terrace formation.
Deposits, mapped as valley gravels, have been
plotted throughout the Wylye valley, at the edges of
the present flood plain (BGS Sheet 298- Salisbury).
They are located at a much lower level and therefore
likely to be later than other gravels in the valley,
which, at Stapleford, are preserved in a terrace
remnant and are known to contain implements
(Harding 1995). These higher gravels of the River
Wylye (Figure 3) coincide most closely with terraces
of the Salisbury Avon at Salisbury, including the
important gravel deposits at Milford Hill, which
have consistently been associated with others
mapped as Terraces A8 and, more particularly, A7,
at about 30 m above the present course of the Avon
(Clarke and Green 1987). Recent research (Westaway
et al. in press) has linked the terrace systems of the
Salisbury Avon with those of the Thames enabling
the terraces of these two major rivers and their
archaeological contents to be correlated much more
precisely. In addition a sample of material from
recent work at Harnham (Whittaker et al. 2004)
dated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to
c. 255,000 BP (Wenban-Smith et al. 2005) marks an
important advance in scientifically dating the Avon

Se powre

PALAEOLITHIC HAND AXES FROM WARMINSTER, PEWSEY AND DINTON 71

deposits. The site was found at 74 m aOD, 30 m above
the present floodplain and suggests a ‘possible’ age
for other terrace deposits at this approximate height
above the Avon including Milford Hill.

The field surface at Warminster has no terrace
gravel from which the hand axe may have been
eroded and the site lies over 30 m above the present
valley of the Wylye. The condition of the implement
suggests that it was dropped near to where it was
found although this could reflect activity on land
overlooking the valley at virtually any stage of the
Palaeolithic.

The suggested date of this hand axe therefore
rests with its similar form and raw material to those
found in the Mendips and the implement found
at Monkton Farleigh. These implements were
frequently associated with bones of Currant and
Jacobi’s (1997, 2001) Pin Hole Mammal Assemblage
Zone, a collection with species that are mostly
extinct or no longer native in Britain, including
woolly mammoth, woolly rhino, giant deer, brown
bear, wolf, spotted hyaena but also containing horse
and fox. A number of other caves in the Mendips,
including Hyaena Den and Rhinoceros Hole in
Wookey Hole, have similar faunal assemblages.
The chert hand axe from Lime Kiln Hill Quarry,
Mells, also appears to have been found in a fissure
that produced a similar faunal assemblage, although
this has not been confirmed (Jacobi pers. comm.).
The stone tool assemblages often include small
sub-triangular and cordiform hand axes with the
distinctive bout coupé hand axe type (ibid), such as
was found at Fisherton, where the associated fauna
was also of Pin Hole type (A. Currant pers. comm.).
Interestingly the faunal assemblage at Fisherton also
contained an example of musk ox (Ovibos moschatus),
a species that is not represented in the type species
list for the Pin Hole mammal fauna (Currant and
Jacobi 2001, Table 5). This species has, however, been
identified and dated by radio carbon determinations
at Clifford Hill, Northamptonshire to OIS Stage 2
(26,000-12,000 BP), suggesting that deposition of the
‘brickearth’ at Fisherton may have continued after
26,000 years ago (Jacobi pers. com.).

While the form, material, condition and location
make a strong case for the Warminster hand axe to
be considered as of Devensian age, the Pewsey hand
axe shows similarities in form and condition. This
implement was recovered from floodplain deposits of
the river which are also likely to have been laid down
in the Last (Devensian) Cold Stage. Its condition
contrasts starkly with that of the surrounding gravel,
derived from the Chalk, suggesting that the hand axe

is unlikely to have been moved far, reworked from an
earlier gravel deposit or incorporated from the valley
slopes via solifluction. There is therefore an equally
strong case for suggesting that this implement also
dates from the Last Glacial. It is arguable that similar
floodplain implements may lie buried downstream,
where deposits of alluvium are more prevalent. The
small ovate hand axe found in a field at West Kennett
was considered (Holgate and Tyldesley 1985) to be
of possible Middle Palaeolithic date. If this could be
confirmed it would provide additional evidence for
human presence in the area at this time.

The Dinton hand axes, which also include a
cordate implement, were all in a sharp condition and
were also found in or 5-8 m above the present flood
plain of the River Nadder (Figure 3). This is a similar
vertical height to the Fisherton ‘brick earth’ deposits
above the River Avon, which have been dated by
the fauna to OIS 3 (59,000-26,000 BP) (White and
Jacobi 2002). Gravel at Fisherton, which underlies
the ‘brick earth’ has also be correlated to the broader
terrace stratigraphy of the River Avon with terrace
A4 (Clarke and Green 1987), considered to be of
OIS 4 date (Westaway et al in press). Regrettably the
terrace sequence of the River Avon cannot be traced
upstream beyond Fisherton although it is possible
that the deposits at Dinton provide some hint of
continuity up the River Nadder valley.

CONCLUSION

The re-colonisation of Britain during OIS 3 is nowa
well accepted land mark in the story of occupation in
the British Isles. Additional discoveries of hand axes
with reappraisal of old collections as undertaken here,
the study of well documented faunal assemblages and
improvements in radiocarbon dating will make it
possible to refine this broad picture. Pettitt (n.d.)
has suggested that sites on the western Mendips at
Wookey Hole and Uphill Quarry formed part ofa late
Neanderthal ‘local operational area’ based on the Axe
Valley; Jacobi (n.d.) drawing attention to the isolated
hand axe from Lime Kiln Hill questioned whether
there might not be a strong case for the existence
of a similar ‘operational’ area based on the eastern
Mendips. If this is the case there seems to be no
reason why this should not be linked to the Salisbury
Avon with its connections to the Solent.

The hand axes from Wiltshire that have been
described here, including the well known specimen
from Fisherton, were all isolated finds with no
associated evidence for occupation or hand axe

12 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

manufacture. Only that from Fisherton is closely
dated. It is impossible to be sure how these tools
came to be where they were found. What is apparent
is that hand axes such as those from Warminster
and Pewsey, both surface finds, can provide valuable
links with better stratified and dated material. They
represent implements made of material that is not
necessarily native to the immediate area, indicating
the ebb and flow of these mobile human populations
from region to region.

Acknowledgements

This article is dedicated to the memory of John
Wymer, a great Palaeolithic scholar who sadly passed
away as the text was completed. He inspired me to
remove administrative boundaries and appreciate
the landscape through natural divisions, especially
drainage basins.

The hand axe from Bugley Barton Farm, Warminster
has been retained by the land owner. The implement
from the Vera Jeans Nature Reserve is held at the
offices of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

Grateful thanks are due to Bert Green and
Beverley Heath, the finders, for reporting the
discovery of these hand axes to Dr Paul Robinson
at Devizes Museum. Thanks are also extended to
Roger Jacobi for his encyclopaedic knowledge of
the period, especially comparative sites from the
Mendips and for sharing unpublished data on the
Limekiln Hill hand axe. Additional thanks are also
due to David Bridgland for correcting my inadequate
knowledge of geology. The artefacts were illustrated
by Phil Harding with Figures 2 and 3 prepared by
Rob Goller of Wessex Archaeology.

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COULSON, S.D., 1986, ‘The bout coupé hand axe as a
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CURRANT, A. and JACOBI, R., 1997, Vertebrate faunas
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EVANS, J., 1897, The Ancient Stone Implements, Weapons
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HAINES, C., 2003, in CAMPEY, L. (ed.) Days of Cowslips
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Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 74-82

The Bronze Age barrow cemetery at Snail Down: a
celebration and consideration

by Paul Ashbee

This paper reviews the publication by the Society in 2005 of the Snail Down barrow cemetery excavations undertaken by
Nicholas Thomas in the 1950s: Snail Down, Wiltshire, the Bronze Age Barrow Cemetery and Related Earthworks,
in the parishes of Collingbourne Ducis and Collingbourne Kingston. Excavations, 1953, 1955 and 1957.
Devizes: WANHS Monograph 3 (Thomas 2005). Consideration 1s given to the circumstances of the excavations, the
nature of barrow digging in Wiltshire since the age of antiquarian enquiry, and to the wider context of the results.

Until the dangerous days of World War II, Snail
Down’s spectacular chevron of barrows, some
eight miles north-east of Stonehenge and just
over a mile north of Sidbury Hill, was one of the
more spectacular groups of Bronze Age barrows in
Wiltshire. An aerial photograph, taken in 1939 by
Major G. W. G. Allen was selected by Grahame Clark
as illustrative of round barrows in his Prehistoric
England (1940, 2nd ed, 1941), an attractive Batsford
book which, with its many pictures, did much to
alleviate the tedium, and even lift the morale, of
many, such as myself, ensnared in the military
machine. When located upon a map they could
be seen as the cardinal feature of the barrows that
skirt Sidbury Hill, an eminence crowned by a not
unsubstantial earthwork enclave, which may have
had cult significance. With war imminent, Snail
Down was, at some point between 1937 and 1939,
taken over to extend the Salisbury Plain military
training areas. On Major Allen’s aerial photograph
close examination reveals, besides the burrowing of
the myriad of rabbits abroad in those distant days,
that light armoured (panzer) vehicles had begun to
drive over the south-western string of barrows.
Already, in 1939, B. H. St. J. O’Neil, shortly after he
became Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments in,
what was then the Office of Works, noticed damage,

but because of the pressing demands for emergency
excavations, it was a situation impossible to police.
When, after the war, L.V. Grinsell was able to obtain
access to Snail Down he was aghast at the damage
inflicted by the heavy armoured vehicles of the later
war years, and lost no time in alerting O’Neil and R.B.
Pugh, then President of the Wiltshire Archaeological
and Natural History Society, as to what had come to
pass, and that it was still continuing.

Bryan O’Neil, then Chief Inspector of Ancient
Monuments, in what had become the Ministry of
Works, considered that an extensive programme of
excavation to salvage what remained of the sorely
damaged, near razed, mounds, was necessary,
were an appropriate person able to direct such a
considerable undertaking available. It is now a part
of archaeological history that Nicholas Thomas,
who had, in 1952, become Curator of the Devizes
Museum, subsequent to his sojourn at the University
of London’s Institute of Archaeology, then in
Regent’s Park, with Charles Thomas, also from the
same stable, were able to undertake, with subsidised
student assistance, programmes of excavation in
1953, 1955 and 1957. Of the order of 40 volunteers,
as they were termed at the time, staffed the forays
which were about five weeks in duration. Temporary
huts, with catering, accommodated all in 1953, while

The Old Rectory, Chedgrave, Norwich, Norfolk NR14 6ND

THE BRONZE AGE BARROW CEMETERY AT SNAIL DOWN 75

later in 1955 and 1957, there was a tented camp at
Everleigh. The newly established RCHME presence
in Salisbury supported the enterprise by deploying
its skills, notably to the survey of the barrows and
other earthworks on Snail Down. All in all, the
undertaking looked back to R. E. M. Wheeler’s (he
became Sir Mortimer in 1952) endeavours at Maiden
Castle during the 1930s (Wheeler 1943; Hawkes
1982, 162-77 passim) and in many ways mirrored
the scale and approach to the excavation, by R.L.S.
Bruce Mitford and the present writer, of the sand-
shrouded early building remains at Mawgan Porth
in Cornwall in 1951 and 1952 (Bruce Mitford et al.
1997). When the present writer came to excavate
agriculturally damaged round barrows at Amesbury
in 1956 (Ashbee 1984) he was supported by, among
others, some who had found their archaeological feet
on Snail Down during 1953 and 1955. An interim
account of the work on Snail Down during 1953
and 1955 was published by Nicholas and Charles
Thomas (1956) while that of 1957 had notice in
the Excavation and Fieldwork section of WANHM
(Annable 1958).

Now, in 2005, like the report regarding Mawgan
Porth which was so long in gestation because of
circumstances, largely historical, involving among
other things, institutional demands, broader issues
and the nature of English life (Ashbee 1998-9),
the definitive report upon all that came to pass on
Snail Down, during the 1950s, has appeared. It has,
appropriately, glossy, basic, brown-earth coloured
covers, with upon the front, a reproduction of a
dramatic oil-painting, Snail Down under Excavation,
August 1953, by I. P Bewsher, and, upon the rear, a
reproduction of the map from Colt Hoare’s Ancient
Wiltshire (facing p. 180, I, 1812). Its typeface is clear,
easy to read and not difficult to use. There has
already been comment regarding its influence; had
Snail Down been promptly published and, if any
of today’s generation write reviews (see Reviews
in this volume of WANHM), they may be tempted
to employ some of Sir Mortimer Wheeler’s (1954,
182-199) dicta regarding archaeological reports.
Whatever may emerge from the archaeological media
regarding Snail Down, it is the view of the present
writer that this volume, put before us now, in 2005,
is far in advance of anything that could have been
propounded in, say 1960, and like wine of quality it
is now a vintage of stature. Indeed, its appearance
is ared-letter day for Wiltshire’s prehistory, marked
in great part by its many surviving, and one hopes
adequately protected, barrows, and is, in many ways,
their apotheosis, for its stature cannot begin to be

appreciated without an excursion into the evolution
of barrow study within its bounds.

Within Wiltshire round barrows cluster upon
Stonehenge (Cleal, Walker and Montague 1995),
while across its terrain significant groups, often
associated with earlier long barrows, are to be seen,
sadly and rarely, in an undamaged form. In 1913 they
were systematically listed by Canon E. H. Goddard
(1913) and later, for the Victoria County History
(1, pt. 1, 1957). L. V. Grinsell further enumerated
and examined their nature and siting, discussed
in his many publications (1934, 1936, 1941, 1953,
1958, 1974). Barrow excavation began in the early
18th century, when William Stukeley dug into,
and effectively described, the structure of the twin
bell-barrow of the Cursus line of barrows, north of
Stonehenge. He drew an effective section (Ashbee
1960, pl. 1; Piggott 1985, pl. 18), saying, among
other things (Ashbee 1960, 19) that at ‘About three
feet below the surface a layer of flints, humouring
the convexity of the barrow...This being about a
foot thick, rested on a layer of soft mould another
foot; in which was inclos’d an urn full of bones’
(Stukeley 1740, 44).

Wiltshire’s barrows, positive, recognisable, field
monuments which, at the end of the 18th century,
in places, dominated the space of Salisbury Plain,
were investigated by Sir Richard Colt Hoare of
Stourhead and his collaborator William Cunnington,
from Heytesbury, and were dug into, in a planned
progress, between 1803 and 1818. Writing in 1960,
the present writer enumerated 379 barrows dug into,
a total which Thurnam (1871, 235) raised to 465, and
included many of the Snail Down mounds. Their
method of investigation was a pit into the crown of
the barrow, and the removal of such grave furniture
as might be encountered. Bones and cremations
were reinterred. The total excavation of many of
the barrows ‘opened’ by this method, as for example
the beaker barrow, Amesbury 51 (Ashbee, 1978),
has often led to a not incomplete narrative. Here
the remains of a timber mortuary structure had
been little damaged, satellite and secondary beaker
burials were encountered, while the beaker from the
primary burial was in Devizes Museum. Colt Hoare
was adamant that he spoke from facts not theory
and his persistence (he and William Cunnington
worked upon a seasonal basis for fifteen years) was
notable. Presumably his hope was that something
might link the barrows to the early past of his day.
One is inevitably reminded of Col. William Hawley
at Stonehenge (Atkinson 1956, passim; Cleal et al.,
1995, 12-15) who stripped most of its interior in the

76 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

hope that something conclusive might emerge. As is
well known, the Colt Hoare-Cunnington excavations
were published in the two elegant folios of Ancient
Wiltshire and Snail Down is a notable descendant.

During the later 19th century others followed
Colt Hoare’s example and dug into Wiltshire’s
barrows, although, mercifully, not upon the same
scale. Dean John Merewether (1851) in 1849 dug
into some forty barrows, mostly in north Wiltshire
and is distinguished for having, with workmen,
burrowed into Silbury Hill. The barrows were
investigated over twenty-six days between 18th July
and 14th August. Dr John Thurnam was rather more
interested in long barrows but, notwithstanding,
he dug into some ninety round barrows (Thurnam,
1871). His work was of great value and of use well
into the 20th century and beyond. The Rev. W. C.
Lukis (1867) dug into the barrows of Collingbourne
Ducis and reported upon the seventeen mounds
that he investigated and Canon William Greenwell,
the author of British Barrows (1877), was also active
in the county, and Wiltshire’s round barrows were
published in the Archaeologia (1890, 45-59). He was
long-lived (1820-1918) and an encounter with him
in Durham Cathedral in 1916 was one of the many
vivid memories of Christopher Hawkes (Daniel and
Chippindale 1989, 47; Bonakis Webster 1991, 57-8).
Thus in the 19th century some 600 of Wiltshire’s
round barrows were dug into.

Barrow investigations within and without
Wiltshire were undertaken during the earlier decades
of the 20th century. The remarkable Manton Barrow,
near Marlborough, was Maud Cunnington’s first
excavation (1908) and it had beneath it an elderly
female contracted inhumation burial, the furnishings
of which comprised one of the more remarkable
Wessex assemblages (Piggott 1938, 105; Grinsell
1957, 187-8). This grave furniture, which came to
Devizes Museum in 1953, had for long been in the
hands of Dr Walter Byron Maurice of Marlborough.
A vivid memory of the present writer is a Visit,
made in 1951, with Prof. V. G. Childe who wanted
to scrutinise the gold-bound amber discs. The house
was pleasant and the afternoon tea correct in every
detail. A bell-barrow on Amesbury’s Boscombe
Down, because of its threatened destruction, was
excavated by R. L. S. Newall (1932). It had within it
a cremation burial with two daggers of Bush Barrow
form (Ap Simon 1954, 54), two whetstones and antler
implements. There was also a plank coffin, in a
satellite grave, which contained a contracted burial
furnished with a flat dagger. This may, because of the
character of the dagger, have been a burial beneath

a modest Beaker barrow subsequently incorporated
into a larger entity. Beyond Wiltshire there were also
barrow excavations of note on the eve of, and during,
World War II. On Crichel and Launceston Downs,
in Dorset, lands were acquired, by the then Office
of Works, for military use, and upon them were 34
barrows. The excavations (Piggott and Piggott 1944),
during the summer of 1938, examined 18 of small
size and elevation. The more massive mounds, unlike
their counterparts on Snail Down, largely survived
the storm. During the war, 15 barrows on the acid
soils of the New Forest were excavated (Piggott
1943). It can be said, therefore, that by the end of
World War II appropriate exemplars had developed
within Wessex to allow barrow investigation to
proceed upon recognised procedures which involve
care and observation.

Although here and there a measure of
provincialism may have lingered in the pursuit of
prehistory, it had by Worid War II, except in certain
fastnesses, long since been dissipated. At the same
time one should be aware that work undertaken
in a specific area, and appropriately published, is
almost always of wide interest, as indeed, has been
prehistory in Wiltshire. During the 1920s, the
1930s and into the years of World War II, Cyril Fox
undertook 16 round barrow excavations which, in
terms of attention to detail and interpretation, were
to mould the minds of many regarding the place of
these monuments within the prehistory of the earlier
Bronze Age (Fox, 1959, is a summary). Of especial
significance within the series are the reports upon
the Simondston and Pond Cairns (Fox 1938), the
examination of stake-circles within turf barrows
(Fox 1941) and the Sutton 268’ Llandow barrow in
Glamorgan (Fox 1943). A factor of the Cyril Fox
contribution to barrow studies was his endeavours
to reconstruct the rituals and procedures of burial
(Ashbee 1960, 22). Cyril Fox (Scott-Fox 2002, passim)
joined the National Museum of Wales in 1925
where he worked in close association with R. E. M.
Wheeler until he returned to the London Museum
at Lancaster House and brought the Institute of
Archaeology into being (Hawkes 1972, passim). Cyril
Fox and Wheeler became close friends, indeed, they
corresponded during the difficult war years, and it
can be seen by the discerning how aspects of Wheeler’s
disciplined modes of excavation, at Caerleon, St
Alban’s and Maiden Castle, were skilfully applied
to complex barrow and cairn excavations. Sir Cyril,
as he became in 1935, remained in Cardiff until his
retirement in 1948. Sir Mortimer, after leading an AA
Brigade, reorganised the Archaeological Survey of

THE BRONZE AGE BARROW CEMETERY AT SNAIL DOWN 77

India (Wheeler 1976) and then, after independence,
returned to the Institute of Archaeology. Here, the
directors of the Snail Down enterprise sat at his feet,
as did the present writer and many others, and were
enthralled by his exploits in India and stimulated
by his vision of the nature of excavation (Wheeler
1954) and its applications.

This summary of the development of barrow
excavation in Wiltshire and beyond allows a
generalisation. The opening of barrows by Colt
Hoare and Cunnington can be seen from our
backward-looking vantage point as the poor
excavation of good barrows. That is, apart from the
effects of weathering and denudation, they were
field monuments untouched since the Bronze Age.
On the other hand, much of the barrow excavation
of the 20th century has seen the application of good,
that is, modern, developed, order and techniques
to the excavation of barrows at best agriculturally
plough-reduced or damaged by other processes.
Indeed, as upon the Oxford gravels (Atkinson et al.
1951; Whittle et al. 1992), enlightened excavation
has recovered much from razed monuments. On the
other hand, it has from time to time been possible
to examine un- and minimally-damaged mounds
prior to their permitted destruction, as, for example,
Tregulland Burrow in Cornwall (Ashbee 1958), the
Milton Lilbourne barrows (Ashbee 1986) and the
Moor Green barrow in Hampshire (Ashbee and
Dimbleby 1976). Matters came to a head early in
1954 after the National Trust, in whose charge the
Stonehenge landscape and its barrows rested, allowed
arable farming. The results of this misguided action
were detected early in 1954 when the destruction of
the smaller barrows of the Normanton Group was
witnessed and there was a spirited correspondence
in the London Jimes (23rd April to 1st May 1954).
The Ministry of Works acted but the proceedings
collapsed as P K. Baillie-Reynolds, then a Principal
Inspector of Ancient Monuments, averred that
barrows were numerous and that the loss of a few
would make little difference to the order of things.
By the end of the 20th century there was nota single
undamaged major barrow group in the vicinity of
Stonehenge. Snail Down is a dramatic illustration
of the destructive power of military vehicles (pl. 2,
127) only surpassed by deep (sometimes almost 1m)
ploughing. Thus, in 1953, Snail Down set the scene
for much that was to follow.

As an archaeological report of substance, it must
be appreciated that it has been subjected to the
operation of the zeitgeist and is a different creature
what might have emerged in, say, 1960. This is shown

by the character of the volume’s contents. Following
upon the notes, abstracts and acknowledgements, an
introduction looks at the nature of the undertaking,
a concordance of barrow and earthwork numbers and
a survey of Snail Down’s earthworks. Thereafter (pp.
15-144) are fundamental accounts of the barrows, or
rather the mutilated remains thereof, examined in
1953, 1955 and 1957. One is led by Collin Bowen’s
(1957) concise plan (fig. 2A) of barrow types and
the barrows, boldly headed as Sites (I - XXII), are
illustrated by plans, sections and further diagrams
when necessary. This is followed by the section (pp.
145-271) treating human remains, artifacts, animal
bones and the environment. Besides material from
the 1953-7 excavations, that recovered by Colt Hoare
and Cunnington in 1805-6 has been considered.
In contrast to the numbered excavation sites, this
section is ordered alphabetically (A-V). The author
made signal contributions to this section and for its
furtherance the endeavours of some twenty people
were enlisted. Notable among this muster are Ian
Cornwall, from London’s Institute of Archaeology,
with Peter and Juliet Jewell, who went from
Mawgan Porth. The present writer was pleased to
support Nicholas Thomas in a consideration of the
radiocarbon dates. The work at Snail Down was
during the early days of the technique’s development,
but, however. appropriate material was prudently
gathered. Sadly the results cannot be statistically
separated. The nature of the Snail Down Barrow
Cemetery and the issues that emerged therefrom are
examined (by Nicholas Thomas). In the third and
final sections eighteen especial aspects of all that
came to pass are enumerated and various insights,
rarely recorded, are examined. A bibliography
including much recent literature pertaining to
Britain’s round barrows, and a necessary index,
rounds off the 300 page volume.

Unlike many written contributions to present-
day prehistory, Snail Down is, as are the publications
of its distinguished excavator and author, eminently
readable. For the greater part the contributions to
Part 2(A - V), especially those with which Nicholas
Thomas was involved, are equally readable, although
here and there care and extra-concentration must
be brought into play. Of these, B, the cranial disc,
with Ian Cornwall’s wise words, M, the 1805 grave-
groups and Q, the remains of wild and domestic
animals, are particularly effective. Infelicities are
near non-existent, although the use of the American
term artefact(s), beloved by those who would be with
Binford and his New Archaeology (Courbin, 1988), is,
frankly, an irritant.

78 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

The plates (pp. 127-44; 263-80) are well selected
and reproduced and are appropriately geared to the
text. Figs. 1 with 2 and 3 are dramatic before and
after depiction, while 9, despite the stripping of the
ancient soil, conveys, almost dramatically, the nature
of differential weathering (Ashbee 1960, 48, fig 19).
In such matters, the use of selected human figures
(pls 3, 4, 8a, 9, 13, 24, 35, 43), well positioned, have
been more effective than the clinical ranging-rods so
fashionable at the time. The sliver of rabbit-ridden
baulk topping the postholes of site XV, beside site
XVIII, is a salutary reminder of the incidence of the
creatures prior to the importation of myxomatosis.
Pl 1, the dramatic 1939 aerial photograph of the
near-undamaged barrows shows certain mounds as
rabbit warrens. Here and there later generations,
unaware of the rabbits in their millions, and barrow
infestation, have seen silted burrows in sections as
evidence of tip-construction! The plans depicting
the excavated barrows are concise and to the point
and their features are clearly labelled (e.g. Site
II). However, it is felt that several sections, drawn
carefully to a common convention, have been over-
reduced to a point where layer depiction becomes
difficult to unravel and see proportionally. The ditch
sections (Site V, fig. 17, p. 40) are, however, happier
and not unpleasant to use. Site III, the sections of
a sorely damaged mound with a dark, loamy core,
depicted in stygian detail, is something of a shock.
With the best will in the world, one feels that certain
published sections are not conveying all that was
intended. On the other hand many depictions
of detail (e.g. Site III, fig. 12, p. 36) are clear and
innovative. Plans, sections and detail diagrams are
clear, and bar scales, imperial and metric, are a clear
corrective in this age that assiduously embraces alien
modes. The site location map (fig. 1, p. 5) and the
RCHME plan of the barrow cemetery (fig. 2, p. 6),
together with the analysis of barrow types (fig 2a,
p.11) are all highly functional and not unpleasant
to use. Nonetheless, RCHME should have set an
imperial bar-scale beside its 1km (fig. 1) and 300m
(fig. 2) bar-scales.

There are probably good reasons why Part 2, the
human remains, artifacts, bones and environmental
materials, were set down in alphabetical order, A-U.
Indeed, by reference to the list of volume contents
the appropriate contributions are not too difficult to
find. Nevertheless, it is not easy to divine why the
distinguished author of Snail Down has deviated,
almost dramatically, from what has for long been the
accepted norm. Artifacts are customarily dealt with
in a more or less chronological order. Thus a major

section would have begun with the material recovered
by Colt Hoare and Cunnington and the categories
could have proceeded therefrom (M - L, K, D, E, E,
H, G, J, N, K B U). The last item could have been
the 1805 excavation mementos. Human remains (A,
B) normally follow, with, thereafter, animal bones
and molluscs (Q, R) and vegetation considerations,
past and present (S, V). The radiocarbon dates (T),
a race apart (the excavator is to be congratulated
for his sampling prudence), could have been
accorded an especial section. After this reviewer’s
comments upon presentational arrangement, the
line drawings which present the pottery and other
artifacts recovered from Snail Down (figs, 38-59),
it is a pleasure to say that these line drawings are
concise, informative and, particularly the urns,
characterful. There are five full pages of later
Neolithic and Beaker sherds and the well-presented
salient features upon each allows one conversant
with these vessels to envisage the erstwhile entity
immediately. The collared urns are well-drawn
and the nature of the fabric is subtly conveyed in a
pleasing mode. The two pages of worked flints are
supported by an apparatus of tables preceded by
an analysis of the barrows from which the various
pieces came. This is new ground and one thinks of
incidental uses during the raising of specific mounds.
By and large there seems to be less flint waste than
might have been anticipated. One or two pieces have
suffered from over-reduction and the blackening of
the usage-edges could be disconcerting. The well-
finished Wessex arrowheads (fig. 58) are particularly
well-depicted and the intricate processes of their
production can be intimately appreciated. This
fine apparatus of depiction, has bar-scales which
aid sizing, yet it should not be forgotten that, until
recently, all archaeological material was shown and
sized by imperial systems and that comparison with
earlier publications is a vital research dimension.
The metric system is one that is, apart from the
formalities, not used to the extent that many here
in England may think. There are systems, based
in cardinal cities, which are immediate to many
mainland European minds, and thus our imperial
system, particularly its archaeological usages, should
not be summarily abandoned.

This consideration of the Snail Down barrow
excavations is concluded by Part 3 (pp. 281-311),
the anatomy of a Bronze Age barrow cemetery and
its people. Eighteen specific issues emerged from
the excavations and their evaluation, taken together,
is a significant contribution to the study of the
nuances of round barrow ritual and construction.

THE BRONZE AGE BARROW CEMETERY AT SNAIL DOWN 79

Indeed, besides bringing together much fairly long-
standing endeavour, the sources and the detail that
has emerged in recent times, in many instances from
rescue archaeology, is impressive. When writing
in 1960, carefully excavated, informative, round
barrows were few in number, a factor remarked
upon by one reviewer (Isobel Smith, Antigquaries
Fournal 41 (1961), 243-4). This part of Snail Down
is appropriately prefaced by Sir Cyril Fox’s (1959,
XXVII) reference to R. G. Collingwood’s (1944, 75),
contention that archaeology is the record of what
men did in long past time at a particular spot: and
therefore since thought governs action, what were
they thinking?

Snail Down’s barrow-group siting is examined in
detail (1) as is its relationship with the others of its
locality and something of a series of sites that were
established but which never developed beyond a
particular level seems likely. As noted at the outset
of this article the possibility of Sidbury Hill having
had a significance along the lines of Croagh Patrick,
in Ireland, prior to its Christianisation (Killanin
and Duignan 1962, 456), seems likely. Earlier
settlement beneath barrows (2) may be difficult
to establish because more than spreads of sherds
should be involved. A convincing site was beneath
the principal barrow at Sutton Hoo where, besides
unworn sherds, ditches and quadrangular stake-
settings were found. Whether or not the remains
of substantial fires found beneath certain barrows
(8) were pyres is a not unreasonable contention
but unproven. During the excavation of Amesbury
Barrows 61 and 39, and again at Milton Lilbourne,
the present writer searched the burned areas in
the hope that pieces, or even a piece, of burned
bone, which could have been related to cremation
burials might remain. Similarly, pits, sometimes
soil-infilled, but with traces of burned wood were
also searched. The consideration of the burial
process (10) is a valuable contribution, as is the list
of evidence for the breakage of objects furnishing
various burials. Many were sceptical regarding this
practice, alleged from various sites, as was the present
writer until he examined the broken dagger pommel
in the cremation grave beneath the Amesbury 58
bell-barrow in 1956. A table (40) which analyses
the furnishings of the interments beneath the Snail
Down barrows aids appreciation in that, to some
extent, routine and exceptional depositions within
the group can be seen, while so-called cenotaph
barrows are accorded examination and listing (11)
and, again, the cloud of disbelief has been penetrated.
The bold title (13) ‘Barrow building, Location and

Planning’ brings to the fore the likely responsibilities
of certain members of Bronze Age society as does the
listing of markers and procedures, and construction,
is discussed (14). Initially, white chalkland barrows
would have been both spectacular and visible, as
singular raisings or additions to groups such as Snail
Down were undertaken. It has emerged from the
Overton Down Experimental Earthwork (Ashbee
and Jewell 1998) that a round barrow is likely to have
assumed much of its form, as seen today, within three
decades. It seems unlikely that, initially, all round
barrows were mounds. A drum-like form, retained
by larger pieces of chalk from the ditch, or in some
places turf, would have weathered into a symmetrical
mound. Some stake- and post-circles in barrows
could have retained such a drum-like construction.
Nicholas Thomas has brought together some two
dozen examples of stake- and post-circles, which
have been found since the present writer published
his list in 1958. Many of these are upon the chalk
and other formations which could have provided
adequate materials for revetment to a form which
could have been mounded by natural weathering
processes. Thus these stake- and post-circles, single
and concentric, may remain from fences or palisades,
perhaps as has been suggested, carved and painted,
which shielded the especial and arcane rites which
certain burials demanded. Barrow maintenance (15)
is difficult to detect. A possibility is ditch-scouring
and, perhaps, the removal of vegetation. Here and
there, undamaged barrows, albeit grassed, are
steep-sided and are far beyond the normal angle of
rest for chalk rubble. Under the title of subsequent
use (16) the possibility, brought forward by Stuart
Piggott (1971, 54), of early barrow-grave robbing
has been examined. From time to time one has
been puzzled by the paucity of the grave-furniture
of burials beneath considerable barrows. A central
pit could have allowed the removal, for example,
of gold objects while central cuttings, the Colt
Hoare-Cunnington mode of excavation, would have
obliterated such evidence. Indeed, were the traces
observed, they would be considered as an early
excavation attempt.

To conclude his consideration of all that came
to pass on Snail Down, Nicholas Thomas gives the
barrow group a chronology (17) and avows that it
was a place of burial for a specific community (18).
Fig. 61 sets out the seven earliest phases, and it
is said that the initial five phases, there depicted,
could, in terms of radiocarbon determinations (Part
2, T, tbls 35, 36), have taken place within 150-600
years. Despite the difficulty, indeed, impossibility,

80 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

of statistical separation there is, notwithstanding,
a sequence which sets the bell-barrows apart as
the later constructions. Thus argument adroitly
proceeds upon archaeological grounds, although
the radiocarbon dating for site XV, a small group
of inhumation burials, is commented upon. To the
seven phases, three more, Romano-British times,
the area’s later fortunes and the war-damage are
added. The Roman coins (Part 2, P) might be
more than casual losses and could be thought of,
as elsewhere (Piggott 1961, 55-6), as evidence of an
interest in this prominent assemblage of ancient
barrows. The notion of the Snail Down barrows
as those of a specific community is developed (18)
and illustrated by an ingenious diagram illustrating
common traits and it is a contention supported by
phased observation. It is, however, far from easy to
separate the Snail Down grave furniture, or for that
matter the nuances of the barrows, from those of
the chalklands elsewhere in the wider Stonehenge
supportive landscape. Nonetheless, the arguments
are cogent and their context and direction are
matters for further consideration and observation.
In his final paragraph the writer remarks upon ‘The
relatively small number of people buried at Snail
Down is in marked contrast with the size of many of
the barrows and the majesty of their arrangement.’
It was a group which, in later Bronze Age times,
was accorded a pond-barrow (Ashbee et al. 1989)
and was the major group of the Sidbury Hill barrow
surround. Whatever the qualities inherent in that
eminence, the barrow group appears likely as having
had a leading role.

The bibliography is formidable and informative
in that the some 350 entries embody much of which
has been explorative of significant aspects of Wessex
prehistory since the excavations upon Snail Down
during the earlier 1950s. Of note are the excavations
of barrows; their intricacies by Patricia Christie,
the difficult barrows investigated by Faith de M
Vatcher, Ernest Greenfield’s patient undertakings,
written up by Isobel Smith, the present writer’s
barrow excavations and the incisive studies of
beakers and other aspects of Wessex prehistory by
Humphrey Case. There are also signal papers by
Juliet Clutton-Brock and Peter Jewell. Here and
there name spellings might lead to the bibliographic
detail difficulties of the computer age. Nonetheless,
it is relevant to all round barrows, and earlier
Bronze Age studies, by virtue of all that it embodies.
Moreover, in the text, page and illustration numbers
are clearly given and one is led unfailingly to the
evidence for particular observations.

A question that will undoubtedly be asked is
why a series of barrows from a particular group,
excavated during 1953, 1955 and 1957 have
allowed the production in 2005 of an outstandingly
comprehensive excavation report, buttressed by
environmental insights, replete with radiocarbon
dates, which is rounded by an acute, affirmative
evaluation of the evidence marshalled therefrom. An
answer might lie in the execution of the excavations.
The University of London’s Institute of Archaeology,
via Frederick E. Zeuner and Ian Cornwall had
disseminated notions of the substance and potential
of environmental archaeological evidence that
modulated the thinking of the discerning at that
time. Thus, while, during the earlier 1950s, much was
still in a developing future, the appropriate samples
would have been taken and, unlike the materials
assembled by many of us, were safely stored, and
could be brought forward at an appropriate juncture.
Sadly the materials from various subsequent barrow
excavations were neglected, lost or disposed of by
those who were unable to appreciate their ultimate
value. A further factor which made for discerning
excavation can be seen in various plates within
the Snail Down volume, namely the employment
of undergraduates and senior schoolboys, some
of whom were to make a career in archaeology. A
number who had worked on Snail Down, joined me
at Amesbury in 1956, worked at Fussell’s Lodge in
1957, Milton Lilbourne in 1958 and on the Horslip
long barrow at Avebury in 1959. Many detailed
observations looked back to Snail Down and the
nature of the enterprise, enshrined in the interim
report (Thomas and Thomas, 1956). In conclusion
it must be said that Snail Down is a sine qua non for
all approaching and concerned with Wessex during
the earlier Bronze Age.

By way of a footnote to this appreciation of
Snail Down, it should not be forgotten that Canon
Goddard’s list of Wiltshire round barrows (1913)
is, today, an historical document and that Leslie
Grinsell’s listing (1957) is now a half-century
in the past. Landscape is not static and the
totalitarian agriculture of the 1950s and 1960s, not
to mention the attrition down the years, has wrought
fundamental changes to our barrows and other
earthworks. This means intensive fieldwork, with
Ordnance Survey map sheets, which should check
every known barrow or its site, besides all those
which have been the subject of excavation. Work
such as this is continuing with the sites and records
of Wessex Archaeology, the archaeological trust for
the area. Some three decades ago Stuart Piggott

THE BRONZE AGE BARROW CEMETERY AT SNAIL DOWN 81

(1971, 48, 54) urged the formulation of a programme
of radiocarbon dating for round barrows and the
Wessex Culture. Today the methodologies are even
more sophisticated and accelerator dates from small
samples are current. There should be many things
from early endeavours, in our museum collections
and there are human remains, recovered from
excavations such as Amesbury 51 (Ashbee 1978),
all of which could be a beginning for new research.
Only when such sources have been collated and
appreciated can we move towards the re-excavation
of particular barrows. Another aspect of barrows is
that, while the chalk lands are particularly prone
to processes of weathering, solution and erosion,
tracts of ancient soil, considerable in their totality,
are preserved beneath them. As on Snail Down (pp.
15, 42, 46, 71, 117) buried soils have, for some time,
excited attention (Cornwall 1958, passim; Evans
1975, passim; Simmons and Tooley (eds.), 1981,
passim). However, the plough reduction of numerous
barrows has changed the nature of (particularly)
chemical weathering, and thus the character of many
barrow-buried soils may only partially depict their
erstwhile nature.

Because of the manifold issues pertaining to
barrows at large, and other field monuments raised by
Snail Down, its excavation and the issues therefrom,
it is not easy to bring a not unappreciative review
article to what should be a resounding conclusion. It
is a Significant contribution to Wiltshire’s prehistory
and moreover to that of Wessex at large. At the same
time there is much in this volume, for Nicholas
Thomas has taken a broad view, that is relevant to
the earlier Bronze Age of Britain. Like Mawgan
Porth, in Cornwall, there are involved reasons why
publication has occurred a half-century after the
excavations but, notwithstanding, a remarkable
volume has been put before us.

References

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APSIMON, A. M. 1954. Dagger graves in the ‘Wessex’
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ASHBEE, P. 1958. The Excavation of Tregulland Burrow,
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174-96

ASHBEE, P 1958. Stake and Post Circles in British Round
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ASHBEE, P, 1960, The Bronze Age Round Barrow in Britain.
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ASHBEE, P. 1978. Amesbury Barrow 51, excavations 1960.
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ASHBEE, P. 1984. The excavation of Amesbury barrows
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ASHBEE, P. 1986. The excavation of Milton Lilbourne
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ASHBEE, P. 1998-9. Mawgan Porth Remembered. Cornish
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ASHBEE, P. and DIMBLEBY, G. W. 1976. (with a
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5-18

ATKINSON, R. J. C., 1956, Stonehenge. London: Hamish
Hamilton

ATKINSON, R. J. C., PIGGOTT, C. M. and SANDERS,
N. K., 1951, Excavations at Dorchester, Oxon. Oxford:
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BONAKIS WEBSTER, D., 1991, Hawkseye, the early life of
Christopher Hawkes. Stroud: Sutton Publishing

BRUCE-MITFORD, R. L. S., 1997, Mawgan Porth, a
settlement of the late Saxon period on the North Cornish
Coast. Excavations 1949-52, 1954 and 1974 (edited
by Robin J. Taylor). London: English Heritage
Archaeological Report 13

CLARK, J. G. D., 1941, Prehistoric England. London:
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CLEAL, R. M. J., Walker, K. E. and Montague R., 1995,
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COLLINGWOOD, R. G., 1944, An Autobiography.
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COURBIN, P, 1988, What is Archaeology, An Essay on the
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CUNNINGTON, M. 1908. Notes on the opening of a
Bronze Age barrow at Manton, near Marlborough.
WANHM 35, 1-20

DANIEL, G. E. and CHIPPINDALE, C., 1989, (eds), The
Pastmasters. London: Thames & Hudson

FOX, Sir C. 1938. Two Bronze Age Cairns in South Wales:
Simondston and Pond Cairns, Coity Higher Parish,
Bridgend. Archaeologia 87, 129-80

FOX, Sir C. 1941. Stake Circles in Turf Barrows; a record
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FOX, Sir C. 1943. A Bronze Age Barrow (Sutton 268’) in
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FOX, Sir C., 1959, Life and Death in the Bronze Age. London:
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GODDARD, E. H. 1914. A list of Prehistoric, Roman and
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WANHM 38, 153-378

GREENWELL, W., 1877, British Barrows. Oxford:
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in Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire etc. Archaeologta

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52, 1-72

GRINSELL, L. V. 1934. Bell-barrows. Proceedings of the
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GRINSELL, L. V., 1936, The Ancient Burial Mounds of
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GRINSELL, L. V., 1958, The Archaeology of Wessex.
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(Goddard’s List). WANHM 45, 432-58

PIGGOTT, C. M. 1943. Excavation of fifteen barrows in
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PIGGOTT, S. and C. M. 1944. Excavation of barrows on
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Amesbury

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THOMAS, N. and THOMAS, A. C. 1956. Excavations at
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THOMAS, N., 2005, Snail Down, Wiltshire, the Bronze Age
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of Collingbourne Ducis and Collingbourne Kingston.
Excavations, 1953, 1955 and 1957. Devizes: WANHS
Monograph 3

THURNAM, J. 1871. On ancient British barrows,
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(Part II, Round Barrows). Archaeologia 43(2), 285-544

WHEELER, R.E. M., 1943, Maiden Castle, Dorset. Oxford:
Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of
Antiquaries of London 12

WHEELER, R. E. M., 1954, Archaeology from the Earth.
Oxford. Clarendon Press

WHEELER, R. E. M., 1976, My Archaeological Mission to
India and Pakistan. London: Thames and Hudson

WHITTLE, A., ATKINSON, R. J. C., CHAMBERS, R.
and THOMAS N. 1992. The Neolithic and Early
Bronze Age complex at Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxon,
Excavations 1947-1952 and 1981. Proceedings of the
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Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 83-90

Two possible Iron Age ‘banjo’ enclosures and a
Romano-British villa and settlement at Beach’s
Barn, Fittleton, Salisbury Plain

by Phil Harding

Limited excavation for Channel 4’s Time Team, at Beach’s Barn, Netheravon, aimed to relocate and re-investigate
a Romano-British building excavated in 1894 by William Cunnington III and assess its relationship with a probable
corn-drying oven excavated 1n 1993. The excavation confirmed the presence of a complex site of Iron Age and Romano-
British date. Occupation commenced sometime in the Middle—Late Iron Age prior to construction of at least one, possibly
two, banjo enclosures, which were also associated with settlement. Following a possible hiatus in occupation between
the Late Iron Age and early Romano-British period, settlement continued throughout the Romano-British period,
culminating 1n the construction of a substantial Roman building, considered to be a villa, adjacent to the site of the Iron
Age enclosures. The status and function of the settlement through time and 1ts relation with other settlements in and

around the Avon valley are discussed.

In 2000 Channel 4’s Time Team undertook an
archaeological evaluation at Beach’s Barn,
Fittleton (more commonly known as Beach’s Barn,
Netheravon) in order to relocate and re-investigate
a Romano-British building excavated in 1894 by
William Cunnington (1896, 172-3).

The site, centred on NGR 418400 151000, lies
to the north of the Netheravon to Everleigh public
road (Figure 1), within Salisbury Plain Training Area
(SPTA) East. It is situated on a south-east facing
slope at approximately 135m above OD, protected
from the north-west by ground rising to 150m above
OD. It commands views down a coombe towards
the River Avon valley 4km to the west. The land to
the south-east falls gently to Bourne Bottom, a dry
valley tributary of Nine Mile River. Sidbury Hill,
an eminence of Upper Chalk to the east, stands at
223m above OD, and is capped by an impressive
Iron Age hillfort.

At the time of Time Team’s evaluation, Beach’s
Barn included an area of modern coniferous
plantation to the east and a strip of arable land,

approximately 150m wide, to the west, with
permanent grassland to the north and south.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL
BACKGROUND

Beach’s Barn is situated in an area rich in
archaeological monuments of all periods but
especially settlements of Iron Age and Romano-
British date. Each settlement is surrounded by
extensive blocks of ‘celtic’ fields systems, which
frequently still survive as earthworks.

The Wiltshire Sites and Monuments Record
(SMR No SUI5SE311) refers to excavations
undertaken by William Cunnington at Beach’s Barn
in 1894, which discovered substantial amounts of
Romano-British roof tiles, brick tiles, and paving
stones (Cunnington 1896, 172-3; Cunnington 1930,
189; Grinsell 1957, 71). In the early 1990s Reading
University attempted to relocate the site, confirm

Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury SP4 6EB

84 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

oper oer

ar } “ark

Fumulus 7
a

418400]

N“N
\e @ \ i.
\ fe | \D
\ \
\ \
x i
\ Wa
151100—
Trench 4
1994 AML
| a survey area
[ay --Seia s eS Lee
| Ve Archaeology from \ Corn drier |
| e | Gradiometer Survey \ (Entwistle 1993)
| _/_| Archaeology from . ' zs ee we \ |
~~ | Resistance Survey ; Oe Vy es web i \
“ | Walls from Possible ‘banjo enclosure’ e / \ Xe alee
5 Resistance Survey ~ after Cole & Linford 1994 , \ \
Floors from i ; : =
Resistance Surve year
M _ \ : set
/ A ie 151000—
~ \
| es \ \ \
‘Pr SSS \
1994 AML survey area ne \ : y : \ \
\ \ \
: \ \
Was - Coniferous

x | i Trench 2
i ne

\ plantation

150900—

0 100m ; <a

Fig. 1 Beach’s Barn. Site location and plan of all features.
Reproduction by permission of the Ordnance Survey on behalf of Her Majesty’s Stationary Office © Crown Copyright 100028190

IRON AGE ENCLOSURES AND A ROMANO-BRITISH VILLA AT BEACH’S BARN 85

its date, and re-interpret its status and function
as part of a major project to investigate Iron Age
and Romano-British settlement across a broad
transect of Salisbury Plain from the River Avon to
the Bourne (Entwistle et al. 1993; 1994, Fulford et
al. in press). A structure with flint and cob walls,
interpreted as a corn drier and dated by ceramics
to the 4th century AD, was found in a test pit in
the coniferous plantation. A field walking survey
on ploughed land to the west (Entwistle et al. 1994)
recovered significant concentrations of lst to 4th
century AD pottery.

A magnetic survey was undertaken by the
Ancient Monuments Laboratory (AML) of this
ploughed area (Cole and Linford 1994). The survey
revealed pits, and small circular and rectangular
enclosures apparently contained within a wide
‘perimeter’ ditch but failed to establish the full extent
of the settlement.

In 1995 Wessex Archaeology (1995) undertook
field evaluation at Beach’s Barn in advance of
construction of new military roads. The results
reinforced the evidence for prehistoric occupation
in the immediate area, producing 67 ditches, pits,
and miscellaneous features primarily of Romano-
British date that were distributed to the north and
north-west of the known settlement area. However,
features of Early Bronze Age date were also found,
testifying to earlier occupation of the environs.

Methods

Time Team’s project set out to extend the area of
the existing AML geophysical survey to relocate
the Roman building excavated by Cunnington,
to evaluate its condition, establish its date, status,
function, and relationship to the corn drier excavated
by Entwistle in 1993. It also aimed to establish the
full extent of settlement bordered by the ‘perimeter’
ditch and to consider its date, economy, and
relationship to the Roman buildings.

A geophysical survey using resistivity and
gradiometry was therefore undertaken (Figure 1,
Areas A-D) (GSB 2000). Four machine-excavated
trenches (Figure 1, 1-4) were positioned on the basis
of the geophysical survey results to resolve whether
the settlement was of a single Romano-British phase,
or represented multi-phase activity with Iron Age
foundations. It also aimed to section the ‘perimeter’
ditch to assess its date of construction, duration
of use, and relationship to the settlement and to
evaluate the circular and rectangular enclosures.

This report summarises the results and

conclusions of the project. A more detailed account
is presented in an assessment report (Wessex
Archaeology 2006), which has been deposited with
the SMR along with a copy of the geophysical survey
report. The primary site archive is currently retained
by Defence Estates and will be deposited with the
Devizes Museum in due course.

Geophysical survey results

The survey results confirmed that settlement
probably continued into the coniferous plantation
where the corn drying kiln was discovered in 1993.
The ‘perimeter’ ditch detected by the AML survey
(Cole and Linford 1994) was relocated in Area A,
where there were also numerous pits. A discrete
anomaly c. 10m in diameter in the south-west corner
of the survey area was selected for excavation, along
with a section of the ‘perimeter’ ditch, in Trench 1.
Survey to the west of the AML grid in Area B traced
a continuation of the ‘perimeter’ ditch while reduced
levels of response to the south and west indicated the
probable limit of the core settlement. A sub-circular
Iron Age banjo enclosure to the north with antennae
ditches was recorded with concentrations of pits
and ditches. A possible second banjo enclosure was
detected in the 1994 survey, some 25m to the north-
east. In Area C linear and sub-angular anomalies,
consistent with the plan of a Roman villa aligned
north-west to south-east, were detected by magnetic
survey. A subsequent resistance survey across this
area confirmed the presence of wall lines. Ditches
and pits were also present.

In Area D, north of the villa, the survey
confirmed the results of the Wessex Archaeology
evaluation of 1995 with the presence of a ditched
enclosure and pits.

EXCAVATION RESULTS

Trench 1 was positioned across the ‘perimeter’ ditch
(Figure 1). The trench was widened in the west to
investigate a large discrete geophysical anomaly.
The trench demonstrated that the ‘perimeter’ ditch
comprised three elements: a ditch, 0.9m wide and
0.46m deep, with steep sides and narrow flat base;
a narrow slot, 0.4m wide, with steep sides and a
rounded base, possibly a foundation trench for a
palisade, and a steep-sided ditch, 2.24m deep, with
a narrow flat base 0.6m across. The primary silts of
the massive steep-sided ditch contained no datable
material but were overlain by chalky silt and large

86 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

flint nodules containing 20 sherds of 1st-4th century
AD pottery. Overlying chalk rubble, 0.7m thick,
with a sherd of redeposited Late Iron Age pottery,
appeared to represent a backfilled former bank, west
of the ditch. The smaller ditch and the narrow slot
also contained Romano-British material.

A section through a pit, 1.1m west of the lip of
this massive ditch, measured approximately 2m
across and 1.2m deep and probably represented a
collapsed beehive storage pit. Chalk rubble suggested
that the pit had been deliberately backfilled and
levelled at the completion of its use. The primary
fill was undated but the secondary and tertiary fills
contained 156 sherds of Romano-British pottery,
primarily of lst-2nd century AD date.

The dates of pottery from the ditch and pit
prevented a firm chronological relationship between
the two features. However, the fact that pottery of
the lst and 2nd century AD was more frequent
in the pit may indicate that this feature had been
backfilled, levelled, and sealed by the bank of the
‘perimeter’ ditch.

The large geophysical anomaly was revealed as
a circular shaft or well, 8m in diameter, with steeply
sloping, near vertical sides. A slot, 0.7m wide and
1.5m deep, was cut through the upper parts of the
feature from the centre to the outside edge on its
north side, but it was not possible to locate the base.
The lowest excavated layer contained seven sherds
of Roman pottery, with 80 sherds of undifferentiated
Roman pottery, including material of 3rd and 4th
century AD date, and a fragment of quern stone
made from imported continental lava, from the
tertiary fill.

Trench 2 revealed part of the banjo enclosure
ditch and a sample of pits in the interior (Figure 1).
The enclosure ditch was sectioned at a point where
it intersected a large complex of interconnecting
pits. The excavation demonstrated that two pits
lay adjacent to the banjo enclosure ditch. One
was approximately 2m in diameter and 0.3m deep
with steep sides and a rounded base. It was cut by
a circular pit approximately 3m in diameter with
steep sides and a slightly rounded base although
this feature was not completely excavated. Both pits
contained pottery dating from the Middle/Late Iron
Age to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. The second pit
was, in turn, cut by the ditch of the banjo enclosure.
The ditch measured 1.9m wide and 0.8m deep, with
sloping sides and a flat base 0.34m across. It was filled
with grey brown chalky silt with large quantities
of charcoal in the top of the ditch. The tertiary
fill contained Middle—Late Iron Age pottery that

extended into the Romano-British period.

Two pits within the interior of the enclosure were
also sampled; one measured approximately 3m in
diameter, with steep sides that, in places, were almost
vertical. The pit was at least 1.14m deep, the base not
being reached. A complete rotary quern stone was
recovered from this pit along with other domestic
refuse, including animal bone, burnt flint, charcoal
and 10 sherds of Middle—Late Iron Age pottery.
Two post- or stake-holes were recorded between
these two pits.

Trench 3 was cut across the banjo enclosure
ditch, which measured 3.5m across and 1.4m deep.
However, it proved difficult to identify the edge
and base of the feature. It was filled with yellow-
brown silty clay with charcoal, animal bone, and
16 sherds of Middle—Late Iron Age pottery. The
ditch was recut to dimensions and form similar to
those recorded in the ditch in Trench 2 and was
filled with brown clay, a dump of ‘midden’ type
material including animal bones and 184 sherds of
Middle—Late Iron Age pottery. Similar pottery, a
chalk spindle whorl, animal bone, and a decorated
weaving comb were found in additional overlying
charcoal rich ‘midden’ deposits.

Trench 4 confirmed that the parallel bands of
high resistance recorded on the geophysical survey
represented wall lines of a Roman villa, although no
complete or partial building plan can be inferred.
The area of the building was marked by a low
mound within permanent pasture around the trench.
Patches of creamy white mortar and plaster were
interpreted as a degraded floor surface, bordered
to the north by a robbed wall. A test pit 1.2m long
and 1m wide was dug against the south edge of the
trench at the most easterly extent of the chalk/mortar
floor. The section indicated that the floor, 0.06m
deep, rested on demolition rubble possibly derived
from an earlier building used to make up the ground
level for the floor. The rubble deposit contained a
fragment of quernstone and a nummus of Valens
(AD 367-375) and rested on a flat regular hard
chalk surface. The test pit was too small to establish
whether this surface represented a lower, earlier floor
surface or chalk bedrock. Pottery recovered from
these deposits spanned the Romano-British period
from the 2nd—4th century AD.

A second test pit, 2m long and 1.8m wide in
the west of the trench confirmed the presence of
a partially robbed wall line in a robber trench.
The wall was constructed of flint nodules of which
the core survived to a height of 0.54 m. It lay ina
foundation trench approximately 1.25m wide that

IRON AGE ENCLOSURES AND A ROMANO-BRITISH VILLA AT BEACH’S BARN 87

had been severely truncated when the flints of
the wall had been robbed. Traces of creamy white
plaster, 0.06m thick, were noted adhering to the
interior face of the wall and a fragment of painted
wall plaster was found in the topsoil. The pottery
assemblage contained material dating from the
lst-4th centuries AD.

One other coin, a nummus of Magnentius/
Decentius (AD 351-353) was found in the ploughsoil,
together with two unstratified armlet fragments (one
of twisted cable and one strip with bead-imitative
grooved decoration, both well known forms,
probably 3rd/4th century).

FINDS

A total of 294 sherds (3757g) of Middle/Late Iron
Age pottery was recovered mostly from Trench 3,
with a smaller group from Trench 2, where they
were mostly residual in Romano-British contexts.
For the most part the assemblage finds parallels in
Middle Iron Age assemblages from Wiltshire and
north Hampshire, most notably from Danebury,
where comparable groups were dated c. 400—100/50
BC (Cunliffe 1984). The Beach’s Barn group is
most likely to fall at the very end of this date range,
overlapping with the Late Iron Age traditions of the
Ist century BC.

A large assemblage of Roman pottery was
recovered (1520 sherds/21,157g) and included
Savernake ware, coarse sandy greywares probably
from north Wiltshire and the New Forest, and
Dorset Black Burnished ware (BB1). Finewares were
composed almost exclusively of British products of
the late Romano-British period mostly from the
Oxfordshire or New Forest kilns. Earlier finewares,
particularly samian, were extremely scarce. The
presence of glazed ware, possibly from the small town
of Wanborough in north Wiltshire or the Savernake
industry in the lst century AD, is significant as these
products have rarely been recognised on other sites
(ibid, Hopkins 1999).

Overall, the Romano-British assemblage
conforms to the pattern seen on sites across
Salisbury Plain, for example, Butterfield Down
and Boscombe Down, Amesbury (Millard 1996),
Shrewton (Seager Smith 1996), and Durrington
(Swan 1971), demonstrating occupation through
the Romano-British period, but with an emphasis
on the later period (3rd/4th century AD). Little
can be inferred regarding any change in wealth/

status of the Beach’s Barn settlement through the
Romano-British period — the higher proportion of
finewares in the later part reflects a rise in popularity
of the Oxfordshire finewares seen elsewhere across
southern England at this time, and may be, but is not
necessarily, connected to any increased prosperity.
The assemblage typifies a small rural farmstead
of some pretension, with access to higher quality
finewares via the local market.

Other finds included one complete greensand
rotary quernstone, fragments from at least four
others, including one of imported continental lava,
hexagonal stone roof tiles, ceramic building material,
wali plaster, a spindle whorl, a whetstone, cattle,
horse, sheep/goat, and dog bones and one fragment
of human bone from an infant.

DISCUSSION

The small scale evaluation at Beach’s Barn has
confirmed the presence of a complex site of Iron Age
and Romano-British date that makes a significant
contribution to the debate concerning settlement
on Salisbury Plain and the wider regional landscape
beyond. Occupation commenced sometime in the
Middle—Late Iron Age prior to construction of at
least one, possibly two, banjo enclosures, which
were also associated with settlement. Few banjo
type enclosures, a monument type known from, and
possibly suggesting links with, the Hampshire chalk
(Barrett et al. 1991), have been recorded on Salisbury
Plain; one, also possibly of a pair, is thought to pre-
date the construction of Casterley Camp (McOmish
et al. 2002, 84), which also lies at the head of a coombe
overlooking the River Avon valley. Other enclosures,
lacking antennae ditches, overlook the Avon from
the east, frequently at the head of a coombe (Fulford
et al. in press). The distribution of pits as detected by
geophysics established the likely extent of settlement
to the south, delimited by a large ‘perimeter’ ditch,
but indicated that the settlement continued beyond
the north of the evaluated area, confirming the
conclusions of fieldwork undertaken by Wessex
Archaeology in 1995.

The banjo enclosures seem likely to have
functioned in a landscape characterised by ‘celtic’
field systems incorporating mixed farming, where
cereal production, apparent from Greensand quern
stones probably imported locally from the Vale of
Pewsey, co-existed with animal husbandry based
on cattle and sheep/goat, accompanied by horse and

88 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

dog. Weaving combs made from antlers either shed
or removed from wild deer imply the production
of woollen products produced from spun yarn on
warp-weighted looms.

The pottery assemblage suggests that there may
have been a hiatus in occupation at the site between
the Late Iron Age and early Romano-British period.
This may coincide with widespread abandonment
of small enclosures elsewhere on Salisbury Plain,
the suggested nucleation of remaining settlement,
as at Coombe Down and Chisenbury Warren, and
relocation of other communities to the valleys
(Fulford et al. in press); however, apart from
the possible hiatus, occupation at Beach’s Barn
appears to have continued into and throughout the
Romano-British period. Occupation may initially
have continued the settlement and economy of the
Iron Age, but it culminated in the construction of a
substantial Roman building, considered to be a villa,
adjacent to the site of the Iron Age enclosures.

This building is almost certainly the same
structure that was discovered by Cunnington in
1894, and one that was linked to the corn drier
excavated by Entwistle in 1993. It was not possible
to reconstruct the ground plan of the villa, although
sufficient wall lines were traced as high resistance
bands by geophysics to indicate that one wing, up
to 45m long, was aligned north-west to south-east.
Additional building material was also detected to the
north-east of the villa, suggesting that it may have
extended in that direction.

Excavation confirmed that considerable depths
of stratified deposits were also preserved, with traces
of plaster applied to walls built on flint foundations.
Other architectural features included fragments of
painted wall plaster, traces of mortar floors, imported
limestone and sandstone roof tiles, with ceramic roof
tiles, box flue tiles, and miscellaneous floor and roof
tiles. Most of this building debris is likely to relate
directly to the villa structure; additional building
materials found in the upper parts of features to the
south having moved down-slope in ploughsoil.

No well stratified material was found that could
be used to date securely the initial construction of
the villa, although it is likely to have been altered
subsequently. Two coins from the make-up layer
beneath the plaster floor were also of 4th century
AD date, a period when a number of villas were
constructed elsewhere in the Avon Valley with others
to the east around Andover and East Anton in the
River Test valley (Fulford et al. in press).

The detailed relationship and the nature of the
transition from a widespread and complex later Iron

Age settlement into a Romano-British settlement
that culminated in the construction and development
of a villa complex is beyond the scope of this project.
It represents an important avenue of future research;
however the villa may be placed in its local context
by reference to work that has taken place elsewhere
on this part of Salisbury Plain (Fulford et al. in
press). The villa undoubtedly represents a small but
relatively well-to-do rural farmstead of an affluent
landowner who was able to adopt the trappings,
including personal metal adornments, of the
Roman Empire and afford a high status residence
to accompany it. The level of wealth at Beach’s Barn
is reinforced by other artefacts including stone roof
tiles, painted wall plaster, late Roman colour coated
pottery, and a relative increased frequency of cattle
bones over sheep/goat. A fragment of infant femur
from the ploughsoil in the area of the villa may
also indicate the adoption of Roman religious and
ritual practices by the owners — infant burials are
fairly commonplace in such contexts. The position
of this ‘high status’ structure on the uplands is
arguably anomalous in that all other villa sites
appear to occupy river valley locations. In contrast
‘village’ (McOmish et al. 2002, 88-100) or low status
settlement sites on Salisbury Plain, at Coombe
Down and Chisenbury Warren, are notable in that
they have virtually no durable building materials,
particularly stone roof tiles (Fulford et al. in press).
However variations in the finds assemblages at these
two sites, notably cattle remains and colour coated
pottery, were sufficiently distinctive to allow Fulford
to argue that it was possible to identify a hierarchy
of wealth from settlement at Chisenbury Warren
through Coombe Down to the relative opulence of
Beach’s Barn. He speculated that both Beach’s Barn
and Coombe Down may represent settlement by
individual, possibly extended, families, with their
staff, while settlement at Chisenbury Warren was
more communal.

The villa’s orientation reflects that ofan extensive,
well preserved ‘celtic’ field system up to 1.5km to
the north-east on Coombe Down, where there are
additional enclosures, hollow-ways, and traces of
settlement. There is a similar trend in a heavily
ploughed field system which lies to the south-west
of Beach’s Barn. The economy was based primarily
on agriculture. A quern stone fragment made from
imported continental lava indicates the geographical
range from which grain-processing equipment was
reaching Salisbury Plain. This element of trade may
have resulted directly from cereal production and
export, including 4th century shipments to Germany

IRON AGE ENCLOSURES AND A ROMANO-BRITISH VILLA AT BEACH’S BARN 89

for famine relief (Fulford 1989). Animal husbandry
continued, based on species maintained from the
Iron Age, while reflecting trends seen elsewhere
in late Roman Britain of increased production of
cattle (Fulford et al. in press). Foodstuffs were also
imported, especially oysters from the coast, which
are likely to have provided a luxury component to
the diet.

Ona broader scale, the confirmation of a Roman
villa at Beach’s Barn marks a significant addition
to the distribution of Roman villas in Wiltshire
and to Salisbury Plain in particular (McOmish er
al. 2002, 104). Roman villas are scarce on Salisbury
Plain and it has been considered that the area may
have constituted part of a large imperial estate.
However, a villa, first discovered in 1907, has been
re-examined at Netheravon (Rawlings 2001), while
a number of previously unknown villas have been
plotted for the first time in or around the Avon valley.
These include a winged corridor villa at Figheldean
(Gaffney et al. 1998), others at Charlton (Corney
et al. 1994) and Compton with possible villa type
structures at Enford, Fifield Folly, and Littlecott, all
within 4km of Netheravon (Rawlings 2001; Fulford
et al. in press).

Apart from the villa at Netheravon, none of these
sites has been excavated. However, surface material
suggests that villa construction was undertaken
during the 3rd and 4th centuries, a period at
which it is likely that redevelopment, if not initial
construction, also took place at Beach’s Barn.

The villa at Beach’s Barn lies further east than
any of the other villas in the Avon valley. It occupies
land towards the heart of the eastern block of chalk
forming Salisbury Plain; however it retains links
with the Avon valley as it lies at the head of a large dry
coombe that descends to the river. The combination
of factors of a Roman villa located high on the chalk
downland, unparalleled by other villa locations on
Salisbury Plain, in a location preceded by significant
later Iron Age enclosures and settlement may suggest
a site of particular significance and importance,
particularly in the transition from the Iron Age to
Romano-British periods.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The project was funded by Videotext Communications
on behalf of Time Team to whom thanks are extended.
The geophysical survey was undertaken by John
Gater and Dr C. Gaffney of GSB Prospection and field
survey conducted by Bernard Thomason of English

Heritage. The evaluation strategy was developed
by Professor Mick Aston (Bristol University) and
the fieldwork undertaken by Time Team’s retained
excavators. The on-site recording was co-ordinated
by Katie Hurst, with finds processed at the offices
of Wessex Archaeology, where post-excavation was
undertaken. The pottery report was prepared by
Lorraine Mepham and the illustrations by Mark
Roughley. The project was managed on behalf of
Wessex Archaeology by Roland J.C. Smith. The
progress of the work in the field benefited from the
help and cooperation of the Salisbury Plain Training
Area (SPTA) Defence Estates and Ian Barnes, Head
of the Historic Environment Team, in particular.

REFERENCES

BARRETT, J. C., BRADLEY, R. and GREEN, M.., 1991,
Landscapes, Monuments and Society. The Prehistory of
Cranborne Chase. Cambridge: University Press

COLE, M. and LINFORD, N., 1994, Beach’s Barn,
Wiltshire. Unpublished report by Ancient Monuments
Laboratory, English Heritage

CORNEY, M., GAFFNEY, C. E and GATER, J.A., 1994,
Geophysical investigations at the Charlton villa,
Wiltshire (England). Archaeological Prospection 1,
121-8

CUNLIFFE, B., 1984, ‘The Iron Age pottery’ in Cunliffe,
B., Danebury: an Iron Age hillfort in Hampshire. Vol 2:
The excavations 1969-1978: the finds. London: Council
for British Archaeology Research Report 52, 231-331

CUNNINGTON, W, 1896, Opening of barrows etc near
Haxon. WANHM 28, 172-3

CUNNINGTON, M. E., 1930, Romano-British Wiltshire.
WANHM 45, 166-216

ENTWISTLE, R., FULFORD, M. and RAYMOND, F,
1993, Salisbury Plain Project 1992-93 Interim Report.
Unpublished report, University of Reading

ENTWISTLE, R., FULFORD, M. and RAYMOND, EF,
1994, Salisbury Plain Project 1993-94 Interim Report.
Unpublished report, University of Reading

FULFORD, M., 1989, ‘The economy of Roman Britain’
in M. Todd (ed), Research on Roman Britain 1960-89,
175-201. London: Britannia Monograph 11

FULFORD, M.G., POWELL, A.B., ENTWISTLE, R. and
RAYMOND, F, in press, Jron Age and Romano-British
Settlements and Landscapes of Salisbury Plain. Salisbury:
Wessex Archaeology Report 20

GAFFNEY, V.L., GAFFNEY, C.F and CORNEY, M.,
1998, ‘Changing the Roman landscape; the role of
geophysics and remote sensing’ in J. Bailey (ed), Science
in Archaeology: an agenda for the future, 145-55. London:
English Heritage

GRINSELL, L.V., 1957, ‘Archaeological gazetteer’ in R.
G. Pugh and E. Crittall (eds), Victoria County History
of Wiltshire Vol. 1, part 1, 21-272, London: Oxford

University Press

GSB, 2000, Beach’s Barn SPTA East, Wiltshire, GSB
Prospection Unpublished Client Report 2000/48

HOPKINS, R.W., 1999, Savernake Ware: a reassessment of
the evidence. Unpublished undergraduate dissertation
for University of Bristol

MCOMISH, D., FIELD, D. and BROWN, G., 2002, The
Field Archaeology of the Salisbury Plain Training Area.
London: English Heritage

MILLARD, J.I., 1996, ‘The other pottery’ in M. Rawlings
and A.P Fitzpatrick, Prehistoric Sites and a Romano-
British Settlement at Butterfield Down, Amesbury.
WANHM 89, 27-34

RAWLINGS, M., 2001, Archaeological Investigations at
the Roman Villa, Netheravon, 1996. VANHM 94,

148-153

THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

SEAGER SMITH, R., 1996, ‘Pottery’ in J. I. McKinley,
and M. J. Heaton, A Romano-British farmstead and
associated burials at Maddington Farm, Shrewton.
WANHM 839, 53-8

SWAN, V.G., 1971, ‘The coarse pottery’ in G.J.
Wainwright, The excavation of prehistoric and
Romano-British settlements near Durrington Walls,
Wiltshire, 1970. WANHM 66, 100-16

WESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY, 1995, Beach’s Barn,
Netheravon, Wiltshire. Archaeological Field Evaluation.
Wessex Archaeology Unpublished Client Report No.
38814

WESSEX ARCHAEOLOGY, 2006, Time Team 2000:
Beach’s Barn, Fittleton, Wiltshire. Archaeological
Evaluation and Assessment of the Results. Wessex
Archaeology Unpublished Client Report No. 61990

Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 91-103

A Romano-British Villa at Stanton Fitzwarren

(SU 1731 9004)
by Bernard Phillips

An investigative excavation in 1969 by members of the Swindon Archaeological Society on a known Romano-British
occupation site revealed part of a substantial stone building that incorporated a bath-suite. This structure was demolished
in the early- to mid-fourth century, but occupation clearly continued with traces of a timber structure built over the debris,
followed by a build up of dark grey loam containing later fourth century pottery. The end of activity at the site is marked
by a build-up of colluvial material as the Roman drainage systems apparently ceased functioning and an accompanying

lack of artefactual material

INTRODUCTION

The site of an old building known to local inhabitants
lay at the centre of the shallow valley in northeast
Wiltshire, of which the present village of Stanton
Fitzwarren occupies the upper eastern slope (Figure
1). The site had been used as a stone quarry for many
years prior to major discoveries made during the
construction of the Swindon to Highworth railway
in 1879, when walling and several plain stone
tessellated floors were revealed. A further tessellated
pavement was also noted in the same field close to
the lake formed by damming the Bydemill Brook
in the grounds of Stanton House (Goddard 1913,
322). A.D. Passmore recorded patches of rough
tessellated flooring and traces of rough foundations
over a distance of two hundred yards; the former

_where a cattle track passed under the railway line
| (Passmore 1921, 394).

Stanton Fitzwarren is first recorded in the

| Domesday Survey of A.D. 1086 as Stantone; a name
interpreted by Canon E. H. Goddard as ‘stone farm

enclosure’ and which plausibly conjures up a picture

of a walled villa complex, still discernible or in
| existence when the settlement received its name.

An alternative translation is ‘farm by the stone’ a
reference to a large standing stone that is suggested
to have stood nearby (Gover et al. 1939, 30).

Probing in 1967 indicated that a stone structure
had stood at a point immediately east of the now
disused railway embankment (Figure 1), in a grassed
field owned by Sir Geoffrey E. Tritton and around
20m south of Passmore’s rough tessellated flooring
(Passmore 1921, 394). The landowner readily gave
permission for an excavation to take place and in
1969 Swindon Archaeological Society members,
under the direction of the author, carried out a
small-scale excavation to determine the nature of
the site and its state of preservation. Following the
1969 excavation, the site was scheduled (Nat. Mon.
No. 28983). Further evidence for the site’s layout
was provided in 1981 when ploughing on the east
side of the Bydemill stream revealed Coral Ragstone
blocks, sandstone roofing tile, and 3rd to 4th century
pottery fragments spread over a large area (Figure 6).
Following Sir Geoffrey’s death, the park in which the
site lies was purchased in 1990 by Swindon Borough
Council and developed as a public amenity with
countryside and woodland walks.

In 1997, geophysical survey carried out on the

| 15 Yiewsley Crescent, Stratton St Margaret, Swindon, Wiltshire SN3 4LT

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THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

* uy

Stanton Fit \arren

Pa
Lake

Fig. 1 1969 Excavation Location

site for Swindon Borough Council Leisure Services
indicated significant remains across much of the field
in which the 1969 excavation had taken place. These
comprised areas of occupation debris subdivided by
potential roads, enclosures containing remains of a
number of buildings, and linear features, possibly
wall footings (Bartlett 1997).

Further Roman remains, including ditches,
gullies, drains, surfaces, a metalled road and
destruction deposits, were revealed immediately west
of the railway embankment when archaeological
hand excavation of a 100m long trench took place
prior to the laying of a water transfer pipeline

between Kingsdown and Stanton Fitzwarren in
1998 (King 1998).

Discoveries have also indicated that the site
was accessed in the Roman period from at least
two directions (Figure 6). To the north a green lane
known as ‘Great Rose Lane’ extends from Ermin
Street at Seven Bridges to Highworth. Excavation
at SU138 927 has revealed this to be a ditched
and metalled road (Excavation and Fieldwork in
Wiltshire 2001, WANHM 96, 233). From it a further
paved and ditched road, following in part a second
green lane, was observed during trenching at Oxlease
Farm heading towards the site. The second route

A ROMANO-BRITISH VILLA AT STANTON FITZWARREN 93

_ provided a more direct access to Ermin Street

and is evidenced by the paved road recorded % ae an
1 : b ® .A Finds
in the 1998 excavation. ® River Thames Ai A RB. Building

® XB. Kiln Site

@ Re. Cemetery
©

Topography and Geology ae
Lying at 105m above OD, the 1969 excavation ’¢ “

site lies within a grassed field that gently ) a Si A :
slopes from south to north bounded to the a cw ene
west by the embankment of the former MON Highworth

| railway and to the north by the track that
extended under the railway via a now partially

- demolished bridge. To the south, separated by
_a hedge, is a further grassed field and to the
east woodland and the artificial lake noted
- above (Figure 1).
Geologically the valley floor comprises a

thin stream of Oxford Clay banded by sand
-and silt, whilst the valley edges are formed

of Coral Ragstone. Immediately south of the
‘site the land rises due to a tongue of Coral
'Ragstone protruding into the valley. A spring
‘rising a little to the northwest of the site flows &
“into the Bydemill Brook. Fragments of tufa 4
‘noted near to the spring head in 1969 may be

a natural deposit or structural remains.

Further to the north, at the foot of the

‘Corallian Limestone escarpment that forms
ithe southern edge of the Thames Valley, are

‘the flat Oxford Claylands that stretch towards the
River Thames and its gravel beds. To the south,
Coral Ragstone gives way to Kimmeridge Clay then
| Gault before climbing the Chalk escarpment of the
‘Marlborough Downs.

Swindon es

Kilometres

Fig. 2 Surrounding Iron Age and Romano-British sites

912), is a large univallate Iron Age hillfort. Recent
geophysical survey within the interior has revealed
numerous features comparable to those evidenced
inside the hillforts of Barbury and Liddington that
lie to the south at the edge of the chalk escarpment.
A ditch of the period has been recently identified by
the Cotswold Archaeological Trust to the southeast of
the fort (NGR SU 164 909). In 2005 at “The Triangle’,
Kingsdown (NGR SU 175 884) archaeological
evaluation by Cotswold Archaeological Trust
revealed ditches, pits, and postholes associated with

‘Surrounding Archaeology

/ Although no trace of Iron Age activity has been
| found on the site, a number of farms of the period

‘have been evidenced in the locale in recent years
| (Figure 2). At Groundwell Farm (NGR SU 157 889),
‘excavation prior to the building of an industrial
estate revealed part of an extensive Middle Iron Age
‘banjo enclosure with a sequence of four roundhouses
(Gingell 1982). Further Iron Age huts, enclosures
and pits were recorded prior to construction work
sat Groundwell West (NGR SU 148 894) (Walker
2001). Cutting of a pipe trench at Little Rose Lane
(NGR SU 142 921) in 1967 revealed further extensive
‘occupation below the Corallian escarpment, whilst
on top of the ridge, at Castle Hill (NGR SU 157

early to middle Iron Age pottery, and animal bones
of a further settlement (Excavation and Fieldwork
in Wiltshire 2004, WANHM 99, 269). To the east, at
Highworth, an extensive early Iron Age settlement
(NGR SU 194 923) has also been identified. A
circular enclosure, noted on an aerial photograph,
and the finding of several Iron Age coins hint at a
farmstead to the southeast at Mount Pleasant Farm
(NGR SU 213 853).

Ermin Street, a major Roman road between the
Roman towns of Silchester (Calleva) and Cirencester
(Corinium), lies 1.8km to the southwest of the

94 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 3 1969 excavation plan, showing locations of sections: Figure 4 A-B, D-C, B-E, and G-F

Stanton villa. A small Roman town identified as
Durocornovium by the Antonine Itinerary (a road
map of 2nd century date) straddles Ermin Street 5km
to the south. Here a Roman road from Winchester
(Venta) joins Ermin Street and discoveries include
a mansio, bath house, shops, houses and side streets
(Anderson, Wacher and Fitzpatrick 2001).

To the north of Stanton the site of a Roman
building has been identified near Stanton Water
Bridge (NGR SU 171 915) and another at Stubb’s
Hill (NGR SU 159 905). Extensive Romano-British
occupation has been revealed beneath much of
Highworth. At Wrde Hill construction work in 1958
revealed a concentration of fired clay and abundant
oxidised pottery within an area of late Iron Age and
Romano-British settlement (NGR SU 197 923).
Nearby, at the sports ground, excavation prior to

construction revealed a substantial stone building
(NGR SU 198 921). Four small buildings and track
ways are also evidenced at Priory Green (NGR SU
205 925), and on the golf course south of Highworth
(NGR SU 195 919) a farmstead has been revealed
by excavation.

Roman sites to the west of Ermin Street include
a cremation cemetery at the Cold Harbour (NGR SU
147 899)(Chris Chandler, pers. comm.) and a possible
healing sanctuary or villa at Abbey Meads (NGR SU
145 893)(Phillips and Walters 1997).

Excavation methods

Four initial trenches were opened by hand and
divided by narrow baulks. These cuttings revealed

A ROMANO-BRITISH VILLA AT STANTON FITZWARREN 95

-—

Sess

_ walling of a substantial building and an associated

exterior ground surface. Following drawing of the
baulk sections, they were removed creating an open
area 5.8m by 5.8m. A trench 0.8m by 4.6m dug into
the lower slope of the railway embankment revealed
a continuation of the structure (Figure 3).

EXCAVATION RESULTS

Numerous small holes (63) were found cut into the

~ natural clay, some containing wood fragments, either

the remains of foundation stakes or tree roots. These
holes were sealed by layers of clay (27), (30) and
(32), inter-disposed by layers of white ash (28), (31)
and (33). Foundation trenches (62) for the principal
stone building were cut through these layers (Figure
4, sections A-B, B-E.

Built of locally quarried Coral Ragstone blocks,
the mortared walls were largely 0.62m thick and
survived to a height of 0.57m above an internal
sub-floor. The outer wall (53) of continuous build
incorporated the southeast corner of the structure.
Internally, to the north and abutting the outer wall
at right angles was a 1.22m thick wall (43/44), 2.06m
long which incorporated a tile lined flue channel
(45). At the west end of this wall a further stretch
(50) formed a third side of a furnace room that lay
to the north of the flue. This room, which was only
partially uncovered, contained a 10 to 20mm thick
layer of charcoal flecked grey ash (19) which lay on
the heavily burnt natural clay (20) that had served
as the room’s floor (Figure 4, section A-B).

To the south of the flue stood the hypocaust of a
room measuring 2.06m by 3.28m internally. Within
the hypocaust, a thin yellow mortar sub-floor (35)
overlay a packed Coral Ragstone foundation (37).
The sub-floor supported pilae stacks (46) composed
of mortared terracotta tiles (bessalis) and a few Coral

| Ragstone blocks. Ash (19) accumulated around these
| was 25 to 75mm thick and was stratigraphically
_ linked to the ash (17) in the furnace room. Beneath

the floor, a drainage channel (58) with traces of

_a wooden plank lining had been cut after the
_ construction of the room’s walls. It exited through

the south wall of the room via three terracotta box
tiles (55) that lay end to end. From these, a channel
(56), lined and capped with Coral Ragstone slabs (54),
extended to the southeast (Figure 4, section B-E). It
is feasible that this feature facilitated land drainage,
although it may well have served an internal feature,

_ such as a water tank or hot bath. Silting (25) of the

external part of the drain (56) resulted in it being
re-cut as a shallow, dished gully (65). Silt (24) and
(64) accumulated within the gully necessitating
further re-cutting (68). More silting (23) followed
before it was sealed with green clay mixed with ash
(22). After this event a thick layer of brown loam (21)
was deposited around the outer walls of the building.
Cutting of a further gully (69) then took place along
the line of the original drain.

To the west of the first room, a further hypocaust,
similarly floored, occupied a room measuring 1.98m
by 3.28m internally. A continuation (48) of the
furnace’s western wall (50) abutted the external wall
(53), separating the two rooms, and was adjoined
by the room’s northern wall (51). Three narrow
channels extended through it to facilitate the passage
of heat. Surviving pilae stacks (47) within the second
room were constructed with Coral Ragstone blocks
and a few terracotta tiles. Ash (18) within this room
lay 15mm to 25mm deep and extended from the first
room through the channelling. The room’s western
wall (49) abutted the outer wall (53) and should link
with the northern wall (51), although its junction
lay in unexcavated ground. Two possibilities are
presented: either wall (49) formed a corner, or the
wall continued northwards. Within the corner
formed by the west wall of the furnace room and the
north wall of the second room, small, pitched Coral
Ragstone blocks (29) are most likely floor packing.
These overlay a deposit of brown loam (67).

Adjoining the west side of the room was a cold
plunge bath measuring 1.94m by about 1.83m
internally and 0.46m deep (Figure 4, section G-
F). Its floor (39) was constructed of rectangular
terracotta tiles (lydion) and survived largely intact
over a layer of opus signinum (40). Beneath was a thin
layer of mortar (41) which overlay a packed Coral
Ragstone foundation (42). White painted plaster (66)
adhered to the walls with quarter round fillets at the
base. The fillet against the south wall was in part
damaged by a hole evidently created by the removal
of a lead outlet pipe that had extended through the
wall into a stone packed (59) drainage channel (60),
presumably during demolition of the building. On
top of the north wall, a mortared layer of terracotta
tile fragments seemingly formed the base for a step
that enabled access into the bath. External to this,
a Coral Ragstone cobbled surface (34) most likely
formed the foundation for a floor.

Pottery fragments reveal that demolition of the
building occurred in the first half of the 4th century.
The resulting debris comprised mortar, opus signinum,
wall plaster, tesserae, and terracotta tile fragments.

THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 4 1969 excavation sections (see Figure 3 for locations).

A ROMANO-BRITISH VILLA AT STANTON FITZWARREN 97

These along with a small amount of building stone
filled the hypocausts (11, 12), cold plunge (13), and
furnace room (14), and overlay the surrounding
ground surface (15, 16). The lack of good stone and
whole tiles clearly shows that building material had
been removed for use elsewhere.

Cutting through the debris on the eastern edge
of the excavated area, two fairly large but shallow
pits (10a/b), one still retaining stone packing, had
evidently held posts for a timber structure. There
followed a build-up of thick, dark grey loam (9)
filling the post pits and sealing the building debris
(Figure 4, section B-E). From this layer came
numerous pottery sherds of late 4th century date.
The much abraded nature of these sherds suggests
that they were subjected to disturbance, perhaps
cultivation. Lumps of iron slag, two mid 4th-century
bronze coins and a few domestic items were also
recovered. Iwo shallow, white ash-filled hollows
(8a/b) cut into the top of the layer were sealed by a
thick colluvial deposit of grey silty loam (7) from
which came a few Romano-British pottery sherds
and an iron horse shoe. An accumulation of sterile
greyish brown humus followed (6). Three large,
deep post pits (5a/b/c), apparently part of a boundary
to the railway line, cut through the loam into the
Roman levels. Removal of the posts and infilling
with loam (4) occurred before construction of the
present fence line (3) on the same alignment (Figure
4, section G-F).

THE FINDS

Pottery

Ten fabric types are identifiable, mostly products of
kiln sites whose wares are commonly represented
in the area. While only rims and diagnostic body
sherds were retained following the excavation, 78
Romano-British sherds weighing 969.8g represent
an estimated 62 vessels (Table 1).

Fabric Types (all are wheel thrown apart from F3)

F1 West Swindon Coarse Ware

The commonest fabric from the West Swindon kiln
sites is oxidised or reduced, mainly the latter, with
a hard to very hard matrix, fairly fine on fracture,
tempered with sand generally only visible using a
hand lens but occasionally < 0.25mm. Two distinct
variations are discernible by feel, very smooth
or sandy. The two definitions are not absolute as

Table 1: Estimated Vessel Totals

Fabric Count Percentage | Weight | Percentage
Type (grams)

Sine Bae
Ti ep gl com wl san ea
ES Sao ee ed Se Ol Tiaras
Gitlin wish vier Our babi 09s rane)
Fema eee eee ee cee
one Ee)

vessels fall between. Naturally occurring inclusions
are rare to sparse red, brown, orange, reddish-
brown and black ferrous grits, generally < 1mm,
and occasional white chalk or limestone fragments
chiefly < 0.5mm; grog pellets < 3mm are rare.
All vessel forms were produced in this fabric with
smoothed exteriors and frequently a light to heavy
burnish on rim tops and shoulders.

West Swindon-type products first appear in
deposits dated by coins and imported pottery to
A.D. 100-20. They became increasingly important
from the mid-3rd century, and manufacture
possibly continued into the early years of the 5th
century A.D. To date, 28 kilns have been evidenced
at six locations; Whitehill Farm, Toothill Farm,
Westlea Down, East Leaze Farm, Upper Shaw
Farm and Dogridge, Purton (Swan, 1984). Further
kilns are evidenced by wasters and kiln debris at
Shaw Ridge, Freshbrook and Old’s Close. Vessels
produced are largely wide- and narrow-mouthed
jars, tankards, lids, flagons and bowls, with beakers,
cooking pots, strainers, mortaria, dishes, unguent
jars, candlesticks, lamp fillers, bottles, cheese
presses, cups, pepper pots and platters in small
numbers

F2 Bromham White Coated

Kilns, perhaps situated near the town of Verlucio,
commenced production in the 2nd century and
continued to supply the local population until the
end of the 4th century mainly with storage jars,
beakers, bowls and flagons. Several fabric types are
represented and are hard, slightly coarse on fracture,
sandy or slightly sandy and chiefly oxidised reddish
yellow. Some flagons and beakers are white coated.

98 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

F3 Black Burnished Ware (category one)

This well-known ware comprises handmade vessels,
partly or entirely heavily burnished, in a reduced,
hard, fairly coarse, sandy matrix that contains quartz
particles generally < 0.5mm, but occasionally <
1.5mm, rare < 3mm black shale and rare < 2mm
chalk inclusions. The ware originates amongst the
potting traditions of the Iron Age (Durotrigian)
peoples of Dorset. Production of this reduced,
gritty handmade ware with heavily burnished
facets expanded probably due to a Roman military
contract not long after the invasion of AD 43. Kilns
situated in southeast Dorset mainly supplied Dorset
and South Wiltshire until around AD 120 when a
further contract was apparently made to supply the
army on Hadrian’s Wall and its environs that seems
to have lasted until after A.D. 367. Elsewhere, from
the early 2nd century till the end of the 4th century,
the ware was common within the Roman province
apart from East Anglia and the southeast. The main
products were cooking pots, bowls and dishes, the
former decorated by burnished lattice bands (Swan
1975), but beakers and flagons were also made.

F4 Oxfordshire White Ware Mortarium

Normally a hard white or pale cream sandy matrix,
fairly fine on fracture and containing rare red and
black ferrous inclusions. Exterior surfaces are
smoothed. Internal trituration grits are invariably
rounded and translucent, being black, grey, white,
pink or red in colour.

Mortarium production in white ware began in
Oxfordshire around A.D. 100 and continued into
the 5th century. Distribution in the early period was
largely confined to the upper Thames valley but by
the mid-3rd century it covered much of southern
Britain (Young 1977).

Table 2: Vessel Types Represented

Nn
Nn
ML
Coma
<<
ao)
oO
El
—
S|
iS)
|
Ww

Ww WwW Ls |
_

Ww
hoo] — rT
ON

Ej
(oe)
S|
\o
2
—)

ies) — ry
|
DIMINO LHRH Pp vets
ine) - colo
ct

F5 Oxfordshire Red/Brown Colour Coat

Pottery of this type is normally buff orange through
red to reddish brown in colour, often with a grey
core, regularly micaceous, hard and fairly fine on
fracture. A slightly sandy matrix often contains
occasional < 1.0 mm black and red ferrous, and
white chalk inclusions, with overall reddish orange
to dark brown coating.

Production of vessels in this fabric commenced
in the mid- 3rd century following the demise of
terra sigillata producing potteries in Gaul which had
supplied the Province of Britannia with this high
quality, glossy tableware. Initially, vessels largely
imitated samian forms and decoration comprised
rouletting, impressed rosettes or demi-rosettes and
white painted scrolls. Production continued into
the 5th century.

F6 Oxfordshire Parchment Ware

This fabric has a white or off-white sandy matrix,
frequently with a pink core. It is hard, slightly coarse
on fracture, and sometimes contains infrequent <
Imm black and red ferrous inclusions. The surface
is smoothed and decorated with lines and scrolls in
red paint. This ware did not form a large proportion
of Oxfordshire potteries’ output. The most prolific
vessel type was the bow] which attained a fairly wide
distribution across central southern England and
into Wales. Production began around A.D. 240 and
continued into the 5th century.

F7 Alice Holt Ware

This fabric is hard, fairly sandy, coarse on fracture
and with a grey matrix containing occasional grog
and rare black ferrous inclusions. Surfaces are
normally dark grey, often with bands of fine combed
decoration and white paint.

Alice Holt ware was produced in Hampshire,
8km southwest of Farnham.
Production commenced
around A.D. 60 and continued
until the Sth century. Initially,
kilns supplied the local
populace but a wider market
was reached in the mid- 4th
century.

Oe ae ee

F8 Terra Sigillata (Samian
Ware)

This well-known fabric is very
hard with a light red matrix,
conchoidal fracture, no visible
inclusions and is coated with

a
mele

(oe)
—

- CO —————
FE —_— ee ee SS ee oe ES ; :

A ROMANO-BRITISH VILLA AT STANTON FITZWARREN 99

an overall glossy red slip. Samian ware was imported
into Britain mainly from workshops in Central
and South Gaul from the mid Ist century to the
industry’s collapse in the early 3rd century.

F9 Shell Tempered Ware

This fabric is hard, fairly coarse on fracture, with a
black to dark grey matrix, sometimes with a brown
or reddish grey core, tempered with much poorly
sorted crushed < 4mm shell and rare < 0.5mm red
and brown ferrous inclusions. Exterior surfaces are
wiped, often with horizontal rilling. The ware was
manufactured in the South Midlands and distributed
in a broad belt across southern/central Britain.

F10 Pink Fabric

A fairly soft, pink, sandy matrix: a footed vase in
this fabric, 80mm high, and of late 4th century
date, was found just less than 1km to the southwest
of the 1969 excavation beneath Stanton Park lodge
(Passmore 1921).

Dating of contexts based on ceramic
evidence

Brown loam (21) external to building

This layer contained a terra sigillata sherd from a
dish (Dragendorf 31/31R) dating to A.D. 100-150 and
probably a Central Gaulish product (F8) along witha
single BB1 cooking pot body fragment. The material
from this context is insufficient to provide dating
evidence for this deposit following construction
of the bath-house. The presence of terra sigillata,
however, does show that occupation had commenced
on the site prior to the mid- 2nd century.

Aypocaust, debris fill (12)

Fig.5.1 Oxfordshire (F5) globular beaker (Young type C27)
with scroll decoration in slip on exterior.

Fig.5.2 BB1 (F3) straight sided dish.

Fig.5.3 A probable Bromham ware (F2) funnel mouthed,
single handled flagon.

The Oxfordshire beaker sherd can only be dated to
between A.D. 270-400+ (Young 1977) and the BB1
dish (having a pronounced upright bead) is of a
similar period, indicating a late 3rd or more likely
4th century date for demolition of the bath-house.

Very dark grey loam layer (9), overlying the demolished
building
The majority of recovered pottery sherds are from

this context. They are generally small and much
abraded.

Fig.5.4 Oxfordshire (F5) bead-rimmed, wall-sided,
carinated bowl (Young type C84), with rosette
impressed and rouletted decoration on the exterior.

Fig.5.5 Oxfordshire (F5) bead-rimmed, sweli-walled bowl
(Young type C68), with roulette decoration on the
exterior in two bands.

Fig.5.6 Oxfordshire (F6) parchment ware bowl (Young
type P24), with slight traces of light red paint on the
rim top.

Fig.5.7 Oxfordshire (F5) undercut bead-rimmed beaker
(Young type 37).

Fig.5.8 Shell tempered (F9), everted rim and wide-
mouthed jar.

Fig.5.9 Shell tempered (F9), everted rim and high-necked,
wide-mouthed jar.

Fig.5.10 Shell tempered (F9), everted rim, and wide-
mouthed jar.

Fig.5.11 BB1 (F3) flanged bowl with an upright rim.

Fig.5.12 BB1 (F3) upright bead-rimmed bowl.

Fig.5.13 BB1 (F3) everted rim jar.

Fig.5.14 West Swindon (F1) hooked everted rim and
wide-mouthed jar.

Fig.5.15 West Swindon (F1) straight-sided dish.

Fig.5.16 West Swindon (F1) high-necked, rolled rim and
wide-mouthed jar.

Fig.5.17 West Swindon (F1) everted rim and single-
handled flagon.

Fig.5.18 West Swindon (F1) high-necked and rolled rim,
narrow-mouthed jar.

Fig.5.19 West Swindon (F1) high-necked and rolled rim,
wide-mouthed jar. ‘

Fig.5.20 West Swindon (F1) high-necked, hooked and
rolled rim, narrow-mouthed jar.

Fig.5.21 West Swindon (F1) high-necked and folded rim,
wide-mouthed jar.

Fig.5.22 West Swindon (F1) high-necked and folded rim,
wide-mouthed jar.

Fig.5.23 West Swindon (F1) everted rim and high-necked,
wide-mouthed jar.

Fig.5.24 West Swindon (F1) high-necked and rolled rim,
wide-mouthed jar sherd.

Fig.5.25 West Swindon (F1) folded rim and wide-mouthed
jar.

A post- mid-4th century date for this context
is attested by the Oxfordshire colour-coat bowl
type C84 datable to A.D. 350-400+ (Young 1977),
supported by the West Swindon rolled and folded
rim jars and the later BB1 vessel types, and the
presence of an Alice Holt jar. Vessels of the latter
did not reach this area until after the industry’s
expansion around A.D. 350 and likewise late shelly
wares. A mid- 4th century coin from this context also
helps to confirm the ceramic dating (see below)

100

THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 5 Romano-British pottery

A ROMANO-BRITISH VILLA AT STANTON FITZWARREN 101

Overall, sherds from this context represent kiln
groups whose wares were common in the area during
the later 4th and early 5th centuries. West Swindon
products dominate the local coarse ware market at
this time. Black-burnished hand-made cooking pots
and dishes maintained a good proportion of the
trade, while shell-tempered wares and Alice Holt
products had a more minor role. Table ware; dishes,
bowls, beakers and flagons are largely represented
by products from the Oxfordshire kilns.

Small Finds (not drawn)

Grey Silty Loam (7)
1 Badly corroded iron horse shoe with turned up ends
and with nails in situ.

Dark Grey Loam (9)

2 AE4 bronze coin, obverse - head facing right, [ ] AVG,
reverse - two victories facing holding wreaths [ ],
exergue [ ]. This reverse design was first produced on
coins in the period A.D. 341 to 348 during the joint
reigns of Constantius II (337-361) and Constans (337-
350) with the inscription VICTORIAE DD AVGG
QNN and re-appeared late in the 4th century with the
reverse inscription VICTORIAE AVGG.

3 Illegible AE4 bronze coin.

4 ‘Two joining fragments from a bronze spoon, totalling
85mm in length, with a swan-neck joint between the
bowl and a handle with a pointed end.

5 Cylindrical green glass bead 6mm long and 3mm
diameter.

6 Cylindrical blue glass bead 3mm long and 3mm
diameter.

7 Three small body fragments from a thin clear glass
vessel, 1mm thick.

8 Iron knife tang with two rivet holes, 61mm in length,
3mm wide,

9 Iron knife tang, with three rivet holes and part of the
blade, 75mm long and Imm thick.

10 Iron boot plate 48mm long.

11 Fragment of a whetstone 62mm long, 18mm wide and
10 to 16mm thick. Three of the long sides are worn
smooth with the two widest having a single deep
central groove lengthwise.

12 A sawn fragment of red deer antler 90mm in length.

Building Debris (15)

13 A large fragment of pale green window glass, 3mm
thick, with opus signinum adhering to one edge.

14 Nine joining fragments of pale green window glass
with a rounded edge 3mm thick.

15 Part of a terracotta ridge tile stamped TPFC (see
below). The stamp’s lettering is 16mm high and overall
the mark is 65mm long.

Brown Loam (21)
15 Fragment of lead sheeting, pierced by an iron nail and
with deep incised linear and curvilinear decoration

on one side, measuring 58mm by 18mm and 3mm
thick.

Terracotta Tile

Many fragments of terracotta tile came from the
building demolition debris (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16).
These comprised voussoir, box flue, pila tile (bessalis),
sub-floor (pedalis and sesquipedalis), roofing tiles
(tegula and imbrex), floor tiles (lydion), and ridge
tiles. Whole lydion tiles forming the cold plunge
floor measured 0.46m x 0.28m x 24mm. Complete
tiles were also present in the hypocaust pilae stacks
and the outlet of the drain through the building’s
wall where box flue tiles were used. The voussoir
tiles point to the heated room having had vaulted
ceilings.

As noted above, a ridge tile fragment from the
demolition debris is stamped TPFC. Tiles with this
mark have also been found at Cirencester and Easton
Grey, both Roman town sites. Other variations of
the mark, all commencing with TPE, have been
recorded ( TPFA, TPFB, and TPFP). They are
found distributed over an area covering North
Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire. One tile, a
waster fragment, stamped [T]PF was discovered
from the extensive Romano-British tilery at Oaksey
Nursery near Minety in north Wiltshire (McWhirr
and Viner 1978).

Wall Plaster

Found within demolition debris (11) filling the
hypocaust adjacent to the furnace room, fragmentary
pieces of wall plaster reveal aspects of the decor. On
the basis of a single fillet fragment and a quantity
of plain fragments, a dado appears to have been red.
Above this, white panels were framed with bands of
yellow, light green, dark green, brown, orange and
black. A few fragments suggest small designs within
the panels, possibly aquatic in nature. Only a few
pieces of plain red and white wall plaster came from
the debris fill of the other hypocaust (12), although
fragments of white, water proofed plaster and plain
red wall plaster came from the cold plunge bath.
Pieces of red, green and black and part of a panel
border came from the baths drain (60). The external
gully (69) produced similar fragments.

102
Tesserae

Numerous light brown sandstone and red
terracotta tile tesserae, presumably from
former fairly plain tessellated floors within
the building, came from debris layer (11,
12, 13, 14, 15, 16). The tesserae measure
20mm to 26mm square and 12mm to 20mm
thick. Terracotta tesserae were clearly
manufactured from box tile and perhaps
roofing tile (tegulae) by sawing partly
through and then snapping. Tesserae found
by Passmore are described as being of dark
brown sandstone measuring roughly 26mm
square (Passmore 1921, 394).

Iron Slag

Six small lumps of iron slag (141.4g) from
the dark grey loam (9) demonstrate that
iron working was undertaken on the site,
probably during the later 4th century.

CONCLUSIONS

The excavated rooms are seemingly part
of a well preserved bath-house or a suite of
bath rooms within a larger structure, such

as an aisled barn or domestic building. Less
likely is the possibility that the two heated rooms

are a reception/dining room, accessed by a corridor,
located adjacent to a bath suite of which only the
cold plunge has been uncovered.

Asa bath-suite, the rooms revealed are identifiable
as a furnace room (praefurnium) with a long flue that
could have supported a tank or a hot bath, a hot room
(caldarium), a warm room (tepidarium) and a large
cold plunge bath. Other bath-suite rooms outside
the excavated area are likely to include a cold room
(fridgidarium) and a dressing room (apodyterium).

That the building was much longer is implied by
Passmore’s discovery of patches of tessellated paving
some 20m to the north (Passmore 1921, 394). Such a
building may well have been the main house of the
complex. Its alignment, facing east, would be typical
for such structures.

Dating evidence for initial construction is slight
and confined to two sherds from the brown loam
(21) deposited against the exterior of the building
during its use. These sherds are a fragment from

THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Bydemill Brook

ethene,

eS ed

1879 Discoveries

‘

i]
4

z ee eee === <2-07*
eae Roman Road
; a ODE lac ee
[Seana EER EE Recs Ge |
metres

Fig. 6 Building complex layout

a BB1 cooking pot and a samian ware bowl sherd
dating to A.D. 100-150 and may have been residual
when deposited. An early to mid 4th century date
for the demise of the building is hinted at by pottery
sherds from the destruction debris (12) and overlying
loam (9).

Occupation continued on the site with indications
of a timber structure whose post pits cut into the
demolition debris followed by a build up of dark
grey loam (9). The latter contained many Romano-
British pottery fragments, some post- A.D. 350 in
date. Many of the wares represented continued to be
manufactured without change into the 5th century
and thus a precise date for cessation of occupation
is unobtainable. Termination of activity at the site
is demonstrated by a build-up of a colluvial silty
loam (7), undoubtedly resulting from the silting and
collapse of abandoned drainage systems.

In conclusion, it is evident from the discoveries
that an extensive and substantial Romano-British
occupation site dating from at least the early part of

shamed tn bed an een yA | UL ced a) Pad (te 2 ek en ee een | es et en 1 ek ek ee |

A ROMANO-BRITISH VILLA AT STANTON FITZWARREN 103

the 2nd century until the end of the 4th century exists
to the west of Stanton Fitzwarren. Buildings located
during railway construction taken together with
Passmore’s records, evidence from later cultivation,
the 1969 excavation and geophysical survey suggest
buildings set around a courtyard (Figure 6.). Such a
plan and the evidence for internal embellishments
of the buildings imply a villa complex, probably the
centre of a farming estate.

~ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author would like to thank members of the
Swindon Archaeological Society and others who
helped excavate the site and the Masters family,
formerly of Stanton Fitzwarren. Thanks are due also
to the late Sir Geoffrey Tritton for having allowed
the excavation to take place and Lesley Freke of
Wiltshire Libraries and Heritage Service who
helped with archaeological records. The excavation
illustrations are taken from site drawings drafted
by Roger Phillips, my twin, in whose memory this
report is dedicated.

REFERENCES

ANDERSON A. S., WACHER J. S. and FITZPATRICK
A. P, 2001, The Romano-British “Small Town’ at
Wanborough, Wiltshire. London: Britannia Monograph
Series 19

~- BARTLETT A. D. H., 1997, Stanton Fitzwarren, Wiltshire,

Report on Archaeogeophysical Survey 1996-7, Bartlett-

Clark Consultancy, client report

EXCAVATION AND FIELDWORK IN WILTSHIRE
2001. WANHM 96, 229-37

EXCAVATION AND FIELDWORK IN WILTSHIRE
2004. VWANHM 99, 264-70

GINGELL, C., 1989. Excavation ofan Iron Age Enclosure
at Groundwell Farm, Blunsdon St. Andrew, 1976-7.
WANHM 76, 33-75

GODDARD, Rev. E. H., 1913. A List of Prehistoric, Roman
and Pagan Saxon Antiquities in the County of Wilts
arranged under Parishes. WANHM 38, 153-378

GOVER, J. E. B., MAWER, A. and STENTON, E M.,
1939, The Place-Names of Wiltshire. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press/English Place-Name
Society volume 16

KING, R., 1998, Stanton Fitzwarren Transfer Pipeline,
Swindon, Wiltshire, Archaeological Watching Brief and
Centreline Excavation, Foundations Archaeology, client
report, June 1998

McWHIRR, A. and VINER, D., 1978. The Production and
Distribution of Tiles in Roman Britain with Particular
Reference to the Cirencester Region. Britannia 9,
359-377

PASSMORE, A.D., 1921. Notes on Roman Finds in North
Wilts. WANHM 41, 394

PHILLIPS, B. and WALTERS, B., 1997, An Archaeological
Evaluation at Blunsdon Ridge, Blunsdon St Andrew,
Wiltshire, client report, BP/BR1997

SWAN, V. G., 1984, The Pottery Kilns of Roman Britain.
London: HMSO/Royal Commission on Historical
Monuments, supplementary series 5

WALKER, G., et al., 2001, An Iron Age Site at Groundwell
West, Wiltshire Excavations in 1996, Cotswold
Archaeological Trust ;

YOUNG, C., 1977, Oxfordshire Roman Pottery. Oxford:
British Archaeological Reports (British Series) 43

Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 104-30

A Romano-British roadside settlement on
Chapperton Down, Salisbury Plain Training Area

by Caroline Malim and Anthony Martin
with contributions by M. Allen, Ff. Athersuch, F. N. Cooke, 7. Ede, R. Emery, R.
Gale, P Harding, C. Ingram, M. Laidlaw and F. McKinley

This paper presents the results of archaeological fieldwork within the Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) at
Chapperton Down. The investigation revealed evidence for extensive Roman-British settlement and the work has
provided an important contribution to existing knowledge of upland settlement of the period.

Introduction

This report details the results of an archaeological
excavation of the northern part of a Romano-
British linear settlement situated on the highest
part of Chapperton Down (Scheduled Monument
W110105; Wilts SMR 168)(Figure 1). The excavation
was undertaken by Anthony Martin of Gifford in
September 1996 on behalf of the Defence Estates
Organisation (South West) prior to the construction
of a north-east to south-west metalled road for
tanks.

The excavation was located north of Chitterne on
a ridge of Chapperton Down (Figures 2 and 3) where
tank tracks funnelled into the monument from
an existing NW-SE track. This activity affected a
triangular area (Site A) measuring 25m x 42m x 21m
at the north-eastern end of the site (NGR ST 9967
4819)(Plate 1). A further 6m wide trench, requiring
excavation and recording ran to the south-west along
the line of the new tank track for a distance of 167m
to NGR ST 99514801. This latter trench crossed a
linear earthwork (Site B) c.120m from Site A.

Geological and Archaeological
Background

The SPTA extends over c. 40, 000 hectares of Upper
Chalk plateau bisected from north to south by the
River Avon running from Upavon to Salisbury.
The Area is defined to the north by the Vale of
Pewsey, to the east by the valley of the River Bourne,
Tidworth and Ludgershall, to the south by the steep
scarp of the Wylye valley overlooking Warminster,
and to the west by the valley of the River Frome.
The immediate topography of the excavation site
exhibits steep-sided coombes within an upland
plain, while the archaeological intervention itself
ranged across chalk grassland towards a coombe
between Chapperton Down and Berril Down. The
principal modern land use is intermittently grazed
grassland, interspersed with plantations. Further
features are related to military use, in particular
unadopted tracks and metalled roads.

The earliest remains of widespread settlement
and agriculture on the SPTA belong to the period
from c. 1ISOOBC to AD43 (Middle Bronze Age to
Late Iron Age). The earliest known settlements

Gifford, 20 Nicholas Street, Chester, CH1 2NX

_ A ROMANO-BRITISH ROADSIDE SETTLEMENT ON CHAPPERTON DOWN 105

|
|

| comprised small enclosures or scatters of unenclosed
| huts, although with the expansion of farming over
| the area settlement types diversified.

ty
Hh
‘
Hy ial
A Mea oe ul
ss

ibe
t ger
Hi

—

Westbury

<a
‘La

7 zX

= 2 eae ”
a

A aps

Known Roman road
Roman town

Roman villa

Ancient settlement
Ancient routeway
Extant road

Section of extant road

Modern settlement

Low land/river valleys

J al
A

Yn
My tity ay
ny tm ana
Men W

Hi,

Min,
Mina ty
eo

"i
"Ny
My

vi
\ ih a al
) on pi
, race gl

C Malim 06

Fig. 1 Location showing archaeological features in the SPTA in relation to the surrounding area and road networks

Much of the area was enclosed by linear ditches
and field boundaries during the Bronze Age and

Iron Age and an increased population is indicated
by a proliferation in the number of settlements,
|particularly in river valleys, on hill summits and

ridges.
The most visible and widespread archaeological

earthworks covering much of the SPTA comprise
‘Celtic’ field systems and the majority of Romano-
‘British sites follow their orientation. The Chapperton
- Down settlement runs for over 1km and has developed
along a holloway, suggested by McOmish et al. (2002

98) to be a re-used prehistoric boundary (Figure 2).

‘Unusually for Romano-British sites on the SPTA,
‘the Chapperton settlement is superimposed on the

surrounding ‘Celtic’ fields ignoring their orientation.

The settlement may have developed as a roadside
settlement situated midway between Aquae Sulis
(Bath) and Sorviodunum (Old Sarum)(Figure 1). A
further linear Romano-British settlement lies 5km to
the north-west of Chapperton at Wadman’s Coppice
on what appears to be the same routeway.

An extensive east-west linear earthwork (Wilts
SMR 690), thought to date to the Iron Age, is likely
also to have functioned as a routeway (McOmish
et al. 2002) and crosses the trackway upon which
the Chapperton Roman settlement is situated. The
resulting crossroads is characterised by a large sub-
circular depression (Wilts SMR 196)(Figures 2 and
3)c. 100m diameter with an associated mound. The
concentration of settlement along the southern route
suggests the direction followed by most traffic.

Early settlement on Chapperton Down was
first reported in the early 19th century. Sir Richard
Colt Hoare observed earthworks and surface finds

106 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

SITE LOCATION ~

189
Field System

English Heritage
(RCHME)
earthwork survey

Tank track
SMR number

“=, Prehistoric route
way/boundary

Linear feature/field
boundary

688
Field System.

667 A) Scene

Neolithic. long barrow ~~

712
Field System

682
BA round barrow

Fig. 2 Site location in relation to the Romano-British linear settlement and other archaeological features

of pottery at a track junction during investigations
around Heytesbury noting that, ‘...the next milestone,
viz xxi from Bath and xv from Salisbury, where the
unnatural inequalities of the ground and the superior
verdure of the soil announce the vicinity of a British
settlement.’ (Colt Hoare 1812, 89).

It was not until the 1920s that further
observations were made when Maud Cunnington
surveyed the evidence for Romano-British Wiltshire
and Chapperton Down was listed as her Site 56
(Cunnington 1930). Cunnington reports, ‘...a
considerable village with the usual irregularities of ground
and much pottery on the surface; coins and a brooch were
found. From personal observation this appears to be the site
referred to by Hoare as at the intersection of two ancient
trackways.’ (ibid.).

Utilisation by the Romans of existing route ways
over the SPTA was probably widespread as suggested

by I.D. Margary’s Route 44 that passes north to south
from Sorviodunum to Cunetio (Mildenhall)(Figure 1).
It is tempting to view the Chapperton Down route
as linking the Roman ports of Abona (Sea Mills) on
the Severn Estuary and Clausentum (Southampton)
on the south coast, with the Chapperton settlement
broadly equidistant between the two (Figure 4).

Excavation results

Aims of the excavation

The aims were to establish the origin, form and
sequence of the settlement and to determine the
date and suggest reasons for its demise. It was also
hoped to explore the extent of native and imperial

A ROMANO-BRITISH ROADSIDE SETTLEMENT ON CHAPPERTON DOWN 107

~ = English Heritage

| <=) (RCHME)
earthwork survey
Tank track

SMR number

Excavated features

Fig. 3 Detailed site location plan in relation to the Romano-British settlement

— __ Suggested
portage route

e Roman port

Roman town on
portage route

™. Ancient routeway

Fig. 4 Location of the Chapperton Down route way in relation to the Roman road network and suggested portage route

108 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

interaction and to use artefact and ecofact data to
interpret function and economy including links with
other settlements and regions.

Methodology

Topsoil had already been removed from parts of
the site by vehicular use of the track. In areas
where disturbed soil and topsoil were present, a
mechanical excavator equipped with a toothless
bucket removed the remaining overburden.
Following preparatory work, the site was manually
cleaned with all subsequent excavation undertaken
by hand. Spreads of dark soil and other cultural
remains were investigated by hand dug trenches.
This latter technique revealed many features masked
below later deposits, although it was not possible to
fully investigate these deposits.

The site was planned by means of a closed-
loop survey traverse, with control information and
topographical reference points completed using a
total station theodolite. At least one typical section
of all chalk cut features such as foundations, ditches,
pits and post-holes was recorded, with a minimum
of 20% by volume of fills of cut linear features,
such as gullies and ditches excavated (where they
were not masked by later spreads of material). All
clearly visible intersections and terminals were
excavated. Non-linear features (such as postholes)
were generally subject to at least 50% excavation.
All artefacts of 18th century or earlier date were
retained. Ten palaeo-environmental samples were
retrieved from significant contexts.

The chronological and stratigraphic
sequence and phase summary

Four major chronological periods of activity were
identified during the excavation: Prehistoric,
Roman, Medieval and Post-Medieval, and 20th
century. Of these periods, however, only 13 sherds of
middle/late Bronze Age and early Iron Age pottery
were found as a residual element in Romano-British
features indicating prehistoric activity, and only a
few artefacts represented Medieval/Post-Medieval
agriculture. The latest phase of activity was
represented by recent military archaeology.
Occupation relating to the Roman period is
divided into six phases, based on stratigraphic
observation, spatial association and artefact dating.

Plate 1: Aerial photograph of Area A

In chronological order, the phases are as follows:

1. Primary construction associated with enclosure
ditches, pits and terracing for structures.

2. Primary occupation identified by occupation
horizons.

3. Disuse of primary occupation with infilling of
pits and gullies.

4. Secondary construction including foundation
trench structure 4b.

5. Secondary occupation horizons and burials.

6. Site abandonment including silting up of features
and robbing of walls.

Phase I - Primary construction

A total of 38 features was identified as representing
the first phase of Romano-British activity (Figures 5
and 6). Area B was characterised by a ditch (83)(SMR
690) 6m wide and 0.8m deep (Figure 5 and 9). Area
A contained a series of boundaries forming plots. An
enclosure was formed by ditches (30), (87) and (95),
while a double-line curvilinear feature comprising a
series of gullies (61 =63/64) and (20=61=128)(Figure
5 and Plate 2) drained southwards towards a possible
cistern (pit (132)) 0.8m wide and 0.2m deep. A large

2 a\ ROMANO-BRITISH ROADSIDE SETTLEMENT ON CHAPPERTON DOWN 109

Area A

Structures
4a/4b

te
Structure? / -92 a si
= Ove 2?
aS 104
36
y Structure 5a/5b
y spread 22
Aa ‘
7110 + ae H*~ This spread might represent the remains of a
ye A botead 1338 358 bank on the inside of the ditch - the earthwork
. eo om survey further south is exactly on line with this
N, we 7 Structure? and has equally broad banked features
\ *
i . 7 °

“oS

Area B a

/
S. y
¥ SN -
PS SS!
7 Se 7 ® Child burial
Linear Earthwork 690 : >.
/ « Tank track
/ / See
: 83 y ~< Visible features
/ .
: Spreads with
f a Archaeological
/ ee le material
is = 7
Sass J 0 20m
= Le ee 288)

Fig. 5 Detailed plan showing Area A and Area B archaeological features

110 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Phase | Phase Il
~ ~
bide een
AreaA : a rk rea —
hy bs ~ ‘ seucture | ys 5 ~ ‘
\ ‘N : N
s ‘\ : @ 130/131 > A
l 958749 8 Co” ‘ oC go ° ‘aw
, < \
the z % spread 99 :
] €azs0 eee _ ] ~ a ay
s _ rs, .
re 124. = ” Structure 3 . Ve i s 46532691
Structure 1 J 32 Structure 1 4 o ae .
pk , » °C AH Structure 3
#01048, 5 CO se a |
7 fe B 7 Possible 4 z 7 Structure 5a
7 : 7 peer 4. spread 22 * 7
° * e i 0
ZO a “O
110 0 @ 111 4
7 * 7 A
© 122 / 123
‘“ * structure 2 ‘ % * structure 2
Ny * Ny *
Phase Ill Phase lV+V
\~ *
Area A . ATi Area A
aes * ~ 7,
\
es *
Ns
] ~
54 ~ ®
/ en ae a
“y eo
32 es
a 7
/ 7
7 7
Pi RA ® Child burial
7 eG oa
\ Oe A ~< Visible features
\ez Spread with
archaeological
material
0 20m

Fig. 6 Archaeological features Phases I-V

gully or palisade slot (contexts 124/126/65), 1m wide by foundation trenches for walls, flint walls and

and 0.7m deep, cut around Structure 5a, possibly house platforms terraced into the hillside. Structure
represents a continuation of the line of a small gully, 1 comprised a surface 0.15m thick (94) and a
0.76m wide and 0.06m deep (context 73) observed 0.2m thick bedding layer (93) for a 1m wide flint
in the eastern portion of the site. These features wall (92)(Plate 3). Structure 2 is represented by a
presumably relate to the formation of the Romano- possible structural terrace 6m long, 4.5m wide and
British settlement on this part of the Down. 0.16m deep (122). Structure 3 was indicated by a

Several structures were built in association with second terraced platform (47/90)(Plate 4) Sm wide,

the land divisions described above and evidenced 0.3m deep and of unknown length as it extended

A ROMANO-BRITISH ROADSIDE SETTLEMENT ON CHAPPERTON DOWN

Plate 3: Structure 1 flint wall, context (92)

THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

GIFFORD
SP TA
7427

GIFFORD
SP TA

7427
CONTEXTS

Plate 5: Enclosure ditch, contexts (87) and (88)

A ROMANO-BRITISH ROADSIDE SETTLEMENT ON CHAPPERTON DOWN 113

Plate 6: Structure 4b basal course of wall foundation, context (24)

beyond the excavation area. A posthole within the
platform (54) suggests a timber frame. Structure 4a
comprised a series of occupation horizons in the
north-west corner of the site and, possibly, a single
posthole (71).

Post-holes (106), (108), (113), (115), (118) and
(120) are interpreted as a further possible structure
(Sa). Two fragments of rotary quern had been used as
packing in posthole (118), while a further posthole
(137) revealed packing in the form of chalk blocks
(139). Post-holes (36) and (104) may have been load
bearing within Structure 1. Post-holes (40), (43),
(57), (59), (102), (141), (143) and (145) did not form
a recognisable pattern consistent with a structural
interpretation, while circular features (110), (132),
(148) are interpreted as pits ranging from 0.44m to
1.2m in diameter.

Phase II - Primary occupation

While traces of use for Phase I structures were
observed, not every feature identified in Phase I had
a corresponding period of use that could be linked to
Phase II. Activity of this phase included infilling of
pits (37), (47), (53) and (111) with a clay-silt matrix
containing animal bone, pottery (predominantly

utilitarian forms such as jars and bowls dating from
the 3rd to 4th centuries AD), and metalwork in the
fill of pit (36). Pottery-rich occupation horizons
(22) and (123) lay above infilled pits (110) and
(36)(Structure 1) and within terrace (122)(Structure
2). Six further layers of occupation debris were also
found (8), (9), (25), (42), (82) and (99). Fine-ware
pottery concentrated in (22), with coarse ware in
(25) and (42). Quern stones were found in various
occupation layers, with a file and whetstone from (8).
Apart from these materials, the remaining significant
finds were a bone hair pin and a loop headed iron
spike from (22). Pit (130) must be considered as a
grave as the remains of a full-term foetus or neonate
were recovered from its fill (131).

Phase III - Disuse of primary occupation

The robbing of walls mainly evidences disuse of
Phase I features. The enclosure ditch (87) was filled
during this period with loamy soil 0.5m deep with
frequent flint rubble (88/96/31)(Plate 5). The fill of
the Phase 1 gully or palisade trench (65) contained
flint rubble, probably derived from the demolition
of Structure 5a. Additional evidence for disuse, or
perhaps a change of use associated with preparation

114 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Structure 1
W 92 E

Ww
152.22m OD
WN

N
151.33m OD

Dashed line marks quadrant line (EW)
Northern side removed first hence
different context numbers, Cut number
remained the same for both quadrants

E
151.26m OD
+

W
151.85m OD

EGE

4 Pil babe
la”
Sas} >|

S N
151.09m OD
} a
i
48
S N
TSUSOMOO, ea! Meese
NS Og Or (@4)s53 Spe na

Chalk Eijamentan

W E =| Sil
150.57m OD 7
ee a Silt - Clay
“es | Silt - Sand
Silt - Peat & Clay
2 szie8}] Chalk - Silt
151.33m OD
B Brick

Whee

E
:
t

ss Sandstone ~

Fig. 7 Sections

for Phase IV activity, includes deliberate infilling of
gullies (124) and (20) with a silt containing poorly-
sorted chalk fragments, pottery and animal bone
(125) and (21). Post-holes (43), (102), (108), (113)
and (115) were also filled with silt (44), (103), (109),
(114), (116), and flint rubble (81).

Phase IV - Secondary construction

As a corollary to the disuse of certain primary
features, a degree of preparation activity was
discernible as a discrete phase. A foundation trench
1m wide and 0.25m deep (67) for a fifth structure (4b)

was excavated into the occupation debris of Phase II
(formed by contexts (9) and (82). Within this trench,
lay a structure 0.9m wide and 0.3m deep comprised
of tightly packed angular flint nodules (24) and
(26)(Plate 6) interpreted as the basal course ofa wall,
perhaps the base for a timber-framed building. This
structure appears to represent remodelling of the
domestic zone hitherto occupied by Structure 4a.
Three new pits were dug (48), (50) and (54) and a new
gully 0.53m wide and 0.11m deep (14). Structure 5b
was defined by a trench (32) 0.68m wide and 0.19m
deep containing occasional angular flint nodules

A ROMANO-BRITISH ROADSIDE SETTLEMENT ON CHAPPERTON DOWN 115

Structure 4a/4b | ae °

Chalk. Fragments

®
CHALK

Structure 5a/b
: uy W E

151.31m OD

apr

151.13m OD
Is

E. We
119) 0.0
ae

pcp

151.38m OD

Enclosure ditch

4151.29m/0.0 (3) E Hi
in 3 ai $81.51 0.9

ba 181,32m 0.0

ere ede Caper, SP MTT TEN RR EE
“Svat mk ONG Ch ane h
aC ON ch eh |
a aren é

Associated postholes :
ae ee os ay
aa eS aC) EON a hies ties
Fig. 8 Sections
(23), also interpreted as a foundation for a timber- human neonate. Two pits dug during Phase IV had
framed building on a chalk platform (33). a relatively short life and were infilled with silty
soils (51) and (55). A grave (48) contained a partially
Phase V - Secondary occupation articulated full-term foetus or neonate (skeleton 601)
This phase is evidenced largely by occupation in its fill (49), alongside which bones of a previous
horizons (16), (77), (91) and (101) comprising chalky neonate burial were found. At the time of excavation
_ silts rich in pottery and animal bone fragments with the remains of these two individuals were recovered
_a chisel and sandstone whetstone found in (16) as a single burial.
| and a padlock key, decorated copper-alloy mount,
and a decorative stud with gold plating from (101). Phase VI - Site abandonment

Context (16) also contained skeletal material from a This phase exhibits considerable evidence for

116 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Continued below

NE
151.33mO0D

| 151.27m OD

SW
151.27mOD

Mollusc Column

Fig. 9 Sections

abandonment heralded by the silting-up of the major
ditch (83) in two episodes (84) and (85)(Figure 5 and
9). The primary fill (85) was a silty-clay with rounded
chalk fragments 0.3m deep sealed by a secondary fill
of silty-clay (84) 0.5m deep also with rounded chalk
fragments. Within the occupation zone episodes
characteristic of abandonment were recorded. Many
post-holes from both the primary and secondary
phases of construction went into disuse and became
silted up by contexts (58), (60), (56), (72), (142), (147),
(107), (119), (121), (144), (146), (138) and (140).
This phase also witnessed the robbing of walls and
foundations from Phase I buildings as evidenced by
a 1m wide and 0.09m deep robber trench (3) and the
remains of a robbed wall (4). Phase IV walls were also
robbed during this phase as revealed by the backfill
of robber trenches (68) and (79). Two gullies and two
pits (contexts (15) and (74) and (105), (135), (134) and
(133) respectively) also silted up. Five distinct layers
of abandonment debris were recorded (contexts (5),
(7), (86), (46) and (11)), one of which (5) was sealed
by a localised fire horizon (13) comprising burnt
clay-silt and ash. This latter deposit is interpreted as
the final episode of Romano-British activity. Context
(46) also contained re-deposited skeletal elements of
the neonate burial from the fill (49) of the Phase V
pit (48). The following phase of activity relates to the

use of the area by the military in the form of wheel
ruts and pits dating to the 20th century.

Discussion of excavation data

Overall, 53 features were excavated but were not
evenly distributed across the excavation area.
Buildings with flint nodule wall footings were
recorded and the recovery of household pottery from
storage jars, flagons and bowls suggests that some of
these were houses. Up to seven possible structures
with associated features such as pits, gullies, ditches
and open areas were identified.

On the basis of diagnostic pottery, occupation
dated from the 3rd to 4th centuries AD and was
concentrated at the north-eastern end of the site.
No structural evidence for earlier occupation was
found, although a quantity of residual Bronze Age,
Iron Age and Ist and 2nd century AD pottery was
recovered, indicating the presence of communities
in the vicinity during these periods.

Material remains associated with occupation were
dominated by fragments of pottery and animal bone,
but included the skeletal remains of four neonates,
burnt flint, ceramic building material, fired clay,
worked flint, glass, shell, metalwork debris, stone,

A ROMANO-BRITISH ROADSIDE SETTLEMENT ON CHAPPERTON DOWN 117

worked bone, coins, copper-alloy and iron.

The sheep buried in a pit in Structure 1 is
detailed below and can be compared with the human
neonates or foetuses found in pits dug into the site of
the abandoned Structure 3 and between Structures
4a/4b and 1. The burial of the juvenile sheep was
deliberate and although the grave had been disturbed
by recent activity it could be seen that the body was
fully articulated in a flexed position on deposition.

Evidence of four human neonates was observed.
The remains excavated in the abandoned Structure
3 proved on analysis to represent two individuals.

- A third neonate was recovered from a pit (130) 21m

to the north-west of Structure 3 while disarticulated
remains of a fourth neonate were recovered from an
occupation horizon (16).

Of the poorly preserved remains of seven
buildings, five (Structures 1 - 5) were constructed
during Phase 1, whilst 4b and 5b relate a second
phase of building activity. The buildings were
elementary in construction with walls founded on a
bed of flint nodules and chalk blocks, sometimes laid
directly onto the chalk surface and in other instances
set in a Shallow foundation trench. Limited ground
preparation was observed in the form of platforms
dug into the chalk. Certain buildings may have
benefited from the assistance of post supports as
evidenced by postholes. The nature of wall and roof
construction of the buildings is difficult to assess.
No cob indicative of timber framing was recovered,
such as that found at Butterfield Down (Rawlings
and Fitzpatrick 1996, 1), although daub was found.

- Timber framing may nevertheless have been the

predominant building method as evidence for flint
wall bonding in the form of courses of tile or brick
was not found and the frequency of iron nails (198)
indicates the use of timber. Roof structures are
indicated by flat sandstone and limestone fragments
consistent with stone fashioned for use as roof

- tiles. At Chisenbury Warren, buildings were also
| founded on drystone walls and, as at Chapperton

Down, the walls were in the region of 0.5m-0.6m
wide (Entwhistle et al. 1994, 14). The excavators
of Chisenbury Warren, however, considered that
structures with such footings could not have
supported a stone-tiled roof (ibid, 14).

The intensity of structures within the excavated
area (Figure 5) has resulted in little evidence for
the creation and use of open areas. Gullies and
isolated postholes indicate division of areas and/or
drainage and possible tethering posts for animals.
Pits indicate refuse disposal or small-scale extraction
of chalk. All of the walls recorded are regarded as

parts of domestic buildings and not boundary walls
defining open areas associated with residential
compounds. This aspect contrasts with Chisenbury
Warren where several boundary walls were identified
(Entwhistle et al. 1994, 12).

Enclosure of the settlement is indicated by a
ditch aligned east-west, truncated by ruts created
by modern military wheeled vehicles. This feature
was followed for a distance of 18m and survived to
a depth of 0.35m with a width at the surface of 1m.
The ditch was filled by a silty-clay matrix containing
abundant undressed flint blocks and smaller chalk
fragments. At the base of the deposit in the trench
a number of stone roof tiles were recovered in
association with a quantity of pottery fragments,
animal bone (including dog) and a copper alloy ring.
A site-wide layer of abandonment debris contained
a high proportion of pottery fragments and animal
bone above the internal area defined by the ditch.

Finds
Pottery, by M. Laidlaw

The pottery assemblage from Chapperton Down
comprises 4,843 sherds weighing 45,890g. The
bulk of the assemblage is Romano-British and
dated broadly to the 3rd to 4th centuries AD. Very
small quantities of Prehistoric, Medieval and post-
Medieval pottery are also present.

Prehistoric

A small quantity of pottery is attributed to the
Bronze Age and Iron Age periods on the basis of
fabric type alone, as all sherds are plain undiagnostic
body sherds. Two sherds of flint tempered fabric are
attributed to a Middle/Late Bronze Age Deverel-
Rimbury type urn, but the few other sherds were too
featureless to date more closely than Middle Bronze
Age to Early Iron Age. Sources for the prehistoric
fabrics are uncertain, although a local origin is likely.
Similarly dated flint-tempered fabrics are recorded
from other sites in Wiltshire such as Maddington
Farm, Shrewton (Seager-Smith 1996), Butterfield
Down, Amesbury (Millard 1996) and from the Avon
Valley, where a limestone-tempered fabric is also
recorded (Mepham 1993). All Prehistoric sherds
were found in Romano-British features and must
be considered residual.

Romano-British
The Romano-British assemblage is divided

118 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

into finewares and coarsewares, of which sandy
coarsewares dominate. A total of 20 fabric types were
identified (Table 1).

Table 1: Pottery fabric totals

(g) % %

IPrehastorsc: keoloian| 13S (155i Ee nea Owe
Flinn temmperedin: eri] hes evi sbi jad eileen atau
PEL ir caalRisie iebs na| Skea | 230s a ene eee
[aaa AN FY Pe
PS lala) Bb hel [atl ali! oe seed
AES Sot A Sansa TOT 2 hae a |
(Calearcous si tiaoeslh say Mileaiel ibe aK aeons
(CI hesedsomreraars wee [alia Melis sesh Sn. Sr Boebaeie dl
[POE RS a iG ened See RE EE
Lasoo

RN Saal all |S Oa (2 Ses ee |
[Romano-British__|4780_|45473 |__——i|99_—
Geanueae a ee ea as
(GOO OL es all68 es 02a 2a
SLOT T (
G1020E 2 98 9900 Pee ee
G32 SS bes Se ae

Total 17 2903 Ge ae es
Sandys ea ale) ane a
(QUOO! te 812 156 89274
(QUO SRR eee See eee
Cl aes 2 a Cs eae ae
QU04T ribFiseranwi) (682i 9/5957 IS waaellse wtT
}QU05 zuitimos dG sl 248is 1g/1339 nial Bina ai
[HOG 55 nian ovine 1320 i] SSB2i aS ativan lean
QUO ecole, aod Oman On meee be near

TC SEAR RATT HOY PN NEN || eee
CORT S en ee ee ee
QUT coy 2) |S “va Siete eal 10 ails |O aa
EOOdurie «Ge eh 13870251302 Nal Taine allan
42

131/396102) 87 86
Ea ere
Mortaria
4843

—

HIRI] | RIN]
(M12 100 | ON | \O | 00 | -&

Finewares

Imported pottery is represented by samian ware (43
sherds). On the basis of forms the samian is late lst to
2nd centuries AD. Other finewares can be attributed
to the Oxfordshire and New Forest production
centres, and include C45 and C55 and flanged bowls
C47 and C51 (Young 1977), Oxfordshire mortaria
and New Forest red-slipped fabric (Fulford 1975,
fabric 1b). The only recognisable forms are the
characteristic indented beakers and one flagon neck.

Finewares occurred in small quantities within a
number of features associated with coarsewares.
Slightly larger concentrations were recovered from
occupation layers (16) and (22). With the exception
of the samian, the date range is 3rd-4th centuries
AD.

Coarsewares

Coarsewares were subdivided into 15 fabric types
including Black Burnished ware and sandy wares,
particularly ‘catch-all’ greyware types, including
products from the Oxfordshire, New Forest and Alice
Holt industries (Table 2). Grog-tempered fabrics are
likely to represent products from Savernake Forest
and elsewhere in north Wiltshire. Due to the small
size of the rim sherds and the lack of vessel profiles, a
broadly defined vessel type series has been created to
illustrate the occurrence of different rim types (Table
2). Recognisable vessel forms comprise jars with
everted rims, bowls with drop-flanged rims, plan and
bead-rimmed bowls and dishes. A moderate quantity
of large, thick-walled storage jars with upright rims
was also recorded. Sherds with multiple pre-firing
perforations probably derive from strainers. With
the possible exception of grog-tempered fabrics
which may represent an earlier Romano-British
element within the assemblage, most of the vessel
forms identified may be dated broadly from the 2nd
to 4th centuries AD.

Distribution and ceramic sequence

Due to the paucity of diagnostic vessel forms it was
not possible to discern any internal ceramic sequence
which could be related to the stratigraphic phasing.
All recognisably earlier material (1st-2nd century
AD), such as samian and some grog-tempered
sherds, occurred as residual material in 3rd-4th
century AD contexts. Significant quantities of
pottery (185 sherds) were recovered from the Phase
I enclosure ditch (87); Phase II occupation deposits
(941 sherds), including layers (19), (22), (25) and
(42) (of which (25) is associated with Structure 4a),
occupation layers (16) - (915 sherds) and (101) - (209
sherds); Phase VI abandonment layers (5), (11) and
(46) - (216,145 and 126 sherds respectively) and from
the clearance spit (2) - (919 sherds).

List of illustrated vessels (Figure 10)

1. Storage jar with rounded rim, fabric G1O1.
Pottery Record Number (PRN) 486, context (89),
bedding surface for wall.

2. Storage jar with upright rim, fabric Q106. PRN
302, context (29), occupation layer.

A ROMANO-BRITISH ROADSIDE SETTLEMENT ON CHAPPERTON DOWN 119

0
Nos 1-8 & 13:

0
Nos 9~12:

Fig. 10 Romano-British finds

120 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Table 2: Pottery vessel forms by fabric

BT caiaiidienls, <a
FORM

Plain
inturned
rim

Flat topped 1
rim

Bead rim
bowl
Bowl with
beaded
flange

Drop-
facade?
oe me mPa)
bowl

87_|

3. Everted rim jar, fabric Q100. PRN 405, context
(68), fill of robbed wall.

4. Jar with short everted rim, fabric Q100. PRN
531, context (101), occupation layer.

5. Narrow necked jar/flagon, fabric Q100. PRN 789,
context (2), clearance.

6. Jar with triangular/squared end, fabric Q100.
PRN 348, context (42), occupation surface.

7. Wide mouthed jar/bowl with grooved rim, fabric
Q100. PRN 113, context (16), occupation layer.

8. Everted rim bowl, fabric Q100. PRN 228,
Context (22), occupation layer.

9. Drop-flanged bowl, fabric Q100. PRN 227,
context (22), occupation layer.

Conclusions

The range of fabrics and vessel forms from this
area of Chapperton Down indicate a lower status
rural site. Utilitarian wares and vessel forms such
as large storage jars dominate the assemblage
with only a small percentage of finewares present.
Although small quantities of earlier Roman pottery
are present, the main occupation of the excavated
area appears concentrated within the 3rd to 4th
centuries AD rather than representing continuous
occupation from the early Romano-British period as
at nearby Figheldean (Graham and Newman 1993),
although it should be noted that the excavated area
covers only a small part of the overall Chapperton
Down settlement complex. The apparent chronology
at Chapperton Down also contrasts with that at
the Romano-British site at Chisenbury Warren
(Entwhistle et al. 1993, 15) the investigation of which
revealed a shift in the principal focus of settlement
between the Ist and 4th centuries AD. Further
comparable assemblages with an emphasis on the
later Romano-British period have been recorded
from Durrington Walls (Swan 1971), Butterfield
Down, Amesbury (Millard 1996) and Maddington
Farm, Shrewton (Seager Smith 1996).

Medieval and Post-Medieval pottery

Only four sherds of medieval pottery were identified
from unstratified deposits consisting of three
coarsewares, probably of relatively local manufacture
and one sherd of finer glazed ware. These sherds
are likely to be of 12th to 13th century date. A
small quantity of Post-Medieval sherds comprises
coarse earthenware of Verwood type and modern
industrial white wares. The post-medieval sherds
were recovered from the clearance layer (2) and the
Phase VI abandonment layer (5). -

Worked Flint, by P Harding

Most of the material is unstratified from topsoil or
hand clearance layers that contain the only scraper
from the site. This material is technologically
characteristic of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age
industries and probably predates the earliest
pottery on the site. It is typical of surface flintwork
across most of Salisbury Plain. There is nothing
to indicate whether this material is contemporary
or has accumulated throughout prehistory, but it
is unrelated to the Romano-British occupation of
the site.

The building material consists mainly of flattish

-fragments of ferruginous sandstone likely to

represent roof tiles, two limestone fragments, also

- probably roof tiles, and three fragments of fine-

grained sandstone that could also be architectural

- in origin. One small fragment has traces of incised

hatched lines that may represent stone dressing.
Small sandy-clay tile fragments were found in five
contexts in addition to fragments of fired clay from

walls or hearth linings found in 10 contexts.

Coins, by N. Cooke

Eight coins were recovered during the excavations at
Chapperton Down (Table 6). All of these are Roman,
and all date to the late 3rd or 4th centuries AD. The

small number of coins recovered makes intra-site

comparisons invalid. The date range of these coins
(the earliest dates to AD 270-90, the latest to AD 364-

_ Table 3: Description of illustrated finds

| ie Unstratified

—

| Occupation
layer 100

Se [cu\Alloy

Frag. of discontinuous grooved decorated
‘ oman
| ring
: . Roman Claudian (AD 60-100) Similar found in
| Brae Clearance layer 2 |Pin of a flat disc brooch Colchester (Crummy 1983: Fig 14)
| Abandonment {A four turn bilateral spring from a bow
layer 5 brooch
| Decorative stud or tack with gold foil/
plating on convex head. Used to decorate |Romano-British
upholstery.
. Frag. of decorated armlet with ring and
dot pattern and thin scored lines

|Z |Clearance layer 2 |D-shaped buckle Medieval — post Medieval

Strip of copper alloy with large and small
circular holes which may be for rivets or

iS)

eS)

m™

“SN

Occupation

layer 16 decorative strip mount.

Occupation
layer 16

7 Occupation
layer 22

3 Occupation
layer 16

—

Nail-headed pin

Padlock key. Tapering strip with a loop
at the head and a base at right angles,
pierced by three sub-square holes

10 Occupation File. One flat face with regular teeth and |Roman Similar found Waltham Abbey Hoard,
layer 8 one convex edge. Essex and Dougate London (Manning 1985)
ll Occupation Frag. of possible chisel. Two flat sides Roman
_ |layer 16 tapering to a pointed edge. Similar found in Colchester (1983; Fig 206)
i Frag. of loop-headed spike. Another one | Mid-late first century AD. Similar found at Brough
was found in clearance layer 2. Hill, Northamptonshire (Manning 1985)

__|__ ce tealla

A ROMANO-BRITISH ROADSIDE SETTLEMENT ON CHAPPERTON DOWN 121

- Building Material, by M. Laidlaw

78) indicates that activity continued into the later
4th century. The absence of Ist or 2nd century coins
or post-Valentinian coins need not be significant, as
the coin assemblage is small, and coins of these dates
are rarer as site finds.

Metalwork, by R. Emery

Objects of copper-alloy and iron

The metalwork assemblage comprises eight copper-
alloy objects (Table 3; Figure 10) and 259 iron objects.
Metal objects are summarised by phase in Table 4.
Of the 259 iron objects, 30 objects from unstratified
contexts are not considered. Nine fragments from
pit 110 are from a single screw-threaded modern
object. This leaves 220 objects of which a significant
proportion consists of nails, and there are very few
identifiable objects.

Other artefacts
Three sherds of Romano-British vessel glass of

Similar example from Colchester dated to between
the pre-Roman period and the pre-Flavian period
(Crummy 1983; Fig 2:1)

Roman third/fourth century. Similar found in
Colchester (Crummy 1983; Fig 44)

Roman AD 75-125. Similar found in Colchester.
(Crummy 1983; Fig 134)

Roman. Similar found at Brough Hill,
Northamptonshire (Manning 1985)

Third/fourth century

122

THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Table 4: Metalwork scsi cte phase

IRON CU ALLOY

ene oe
PHASE [lee odors II

Bedding surface (39/89) oat a
Sub-total Sub-total phase I ————————E

PHASE <8 ox | III
Occupation horizon file; loop-
asians)” (nai | [ae

Bale 42
a eal phase III ar eaileclast =

PHASE IV
Robbediwalh@3/31/96)w/|Ne meh RA PaG, 4) Ea Se ee
Posthole 102 tsceyas re tac thay. SS a
Gallyal2dvsins Sted i! rend Sa i yee 1 ep a
Subtove) phase TY fff

aT: VI Hn

Wally 6a bos es 26

PHASE VII Pe pene aS

Robbed wall 68 wall 68

Ditch 83

possible 4th-century date were found from cleaning
layers and pit (130). A fired clay spindle whorl
(35mm diameter) was recovered from occupation
horizon (16). A 3rd/4th-century bone nail-headed
pin also came from this layer (Table 3; Figure 10).
‘Two sandstone whetstones were found in occupation
layers (8) and (16). Twenty-eight fragments of
quernstone were recovered including a saddle
quern and parts of seven rotary querns. Most are of
greensand although others are either sandstone or
quartz conglomerate. The saddle quern was found in
occupation horizon (25) and two fragments of rotary
quern came from posthole (118). Other fragments
came from surfaces (97) and (136) and layer (47).

Occupation horizon strip-mount;
Cama Oe | shi ty [aie [= [| ae

Sub-total phase VI errr een ae

Abandonment horizon | loop-headed beaches
Gente) Ltt oi

Subtotal phase V0) aS 25 ea
PHASE IX a ee es ee ie

bracket; loop- brooch pin;

Tara ie oS

Sub- cata phase IX/
Unstrat.

Human bone, by 7. McKinley

The four neonates identified from Chapperton
Down (Table 5) join a growing number of Romano-
British neonatal burials from this area of Salisbury
Plain, four others having been recently excavated in
association with structural remains at Chisenbury
Warren (Entwhistle et al., 1994). The only adult
remains to have been found in the area were those
of a woman recovered during military digging in
the 1980s. As yet, no Romano-British cemetery has
been found in the immediate vicinity though the
latter may indicate the presence of one.

The burial of neonates in the Romano-British

A ROMANO-BRITISH ROADSIDE SETTLEMENT ON CHAPPERTON DOWN 123

Table 5: Human bone: summary of results

“ase
months)

iad ed de
1) neonate |1) endosteal new
(<3 months)|bone; periosteal

2) neonate |new bone — rib
shafts; fusion left
ribs; morphological
variation — 3rd distal
centres ossification

in all 1st metatarsals
and metacarpals.

1) c. 90%
2) c. 10%

period outside the confines of formal cemeteries is
well recorded. Infants less than forty days old were
not considered ‘human’ and could, within this time,
legally be subject to infanticide (E. Scott, 1997 TAG
session “The Archaeology of Infancy and Infanticide’).
Their burial close to or within structures appears to
place them within the confines of the living rather
than amongst the dead. However, the practice was
not exclusive. Of the excavated burials at Poundbury
33% were immature individuals and of these 5.8%
were neonates (Molleson, 1993) and 4.1% of the
17.4% of immature individuals at Cirencester were
neonates (Wells, 1982). However, in the Roman
Empire human sacrifice was not permitted after
196 BC (Hutton 1991, 231), and the evidence for the
practice in Britain is not convincing. Nevertheless,
the four infant burials below a temple at Springhead
in Kent suggest the survival of sacrificial traditions
into the Romano-British period (Woodward 1992
80) and the human infants found under a barrack
block at the fortress at Reculver (Hutton 1991, 231),
and the infant burial beneath the public baths at
Viroconium (Wroxeter), (Merrified1987, 52) raise
the possibility of ritual burial. However, the site
at Chapperton Down is domestic whereas that at
Springhead is ritual, that at Reculver is military and
that at Wroxeter civic, and the infants in all these
cases may have died naturally.

Animal Bone, by C. Ingram

The mammalian remains consisted of 2, 019
fragments recovered by hand collection, almost
half of which were identifiable to species (Table
6). In addition, 174 bones were recovered from an
immature sheep burial and these are dealt with

Table 6: Animal bone: number of identified species

1eS)

Ww Retr |; WIDOIN ITN] 3S
i) WO )

Small rodent___|2

fom

E |

pe)

—

1S Wp rt 10 | ON]
| oO ee)

SiC
O|8
a WOM
a
=")
(@)
OQ.
oS
|
oat

2019 {100

separately. Of the six elements which allowed sheep
and goat to be differentiated all were attributed to
sheep; ovicaprid remains are hereafter referred to
as sheep.

Table 7 shows the proportion of bone affected
by burning, canid gnawing and butchery. There was
little evidence of burning although a few bones had
been charred. A larger proportion of the assemblage
(approximately a sixth) had been gnawed by
canids, probably dogs. There was some evidence of
butchery: two thirds of the butchered bone had been
chopped and the remainder displayed knife marks.
The majority of butchery marks, both cut and chop
marks, were observed on cattle bones proving that a
proportion of the meat in the community’s diet was
provided by cattle. This is likely to be a reflection of
their large size and hence the need to reduce their
carcasses to manageable units.

Table 7: Animal bone: taphonomy

Mass
Bas
49
274

—

Wim
UW
Ww

—
—

Discussion of the animal bone data

The animal bone assemblage from Chapperton
Down is composed primarily of domestic species.
These are represented by elements derived from all

124 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

parts of the body, indicating that whole carcasses
were initially present, although it cannot be shown
whether animals were slaughtered on site or
brought in as whole carcasses. The rural nature of
the site and the presence of a few neonatal lambs
favour the former.

A considerable proportion of cattle and the
majority of sheep were slaughtered prior to skeletal
maturity. These may have been surplus animals
slaughtered for meat although it is also possible
that they were slaughtered through necessity rather
than choice. A larger proportion of cattle survived
well into adulthood which suggests that they were
primarily kept for secondary products such as milk
and traction. The absence of bones belonging to
young calves usually associated with a dairy economy
may be due to the biased survival of porous young
bone; alternatively it may reflect their disposal via
trade. A few older sheep survived; these may have
been kept for milk and/or wool. Recovery of several
bones belonging to neonatal animals indicates that
sheep were being bred at the site. A few pigs were
kept to provide additional meat and were probably
slaughtered as sub-adults.

Loose teeth comprised more than a quarter of
the identified assemblage. Almost half of the sheep
and 15% of the cattle remains comprised loose teeth,
which suggests that the fragmentary nature of the
assemblage is largely the result of post-depositional
processes such as trampling. The larger proportion
of loose teeth in the sheep remains compared with
those of cattle suggests that bones of the smaller
species had suffered the greatest fragmentation. The
presence of these loose teeth in addition to several
bird and small mammal bones indicates good rates
of recovery during excavation.

Cattle

The calculation of MNE suggests that the cattle
remains represent at least seven individuals. All
parts of the body are represented, indicating that
whole carcasses were initially present on the site.
Epiphyseal fusion data suggest that cattle under two
years were not being slaughtered and only a small
proportion were slaughtered before three years of
age. However, a large proportion was slaughtered
between three and four years and over half survived
to skeletal maturity.

Sheep

Sheep remains represent a minimum of twelve
individuals. All parts of the body are represented,
although long bone elements dominate. There is

also a lower proportion of extremities; in the case of
phalanges this could be due to retrieval and survival
bias, but the paucity of metapodials is more likely to
indicate real absence. No very young (below one year)
animals were slaughtered and a large proportion died
between one and three and a half years. The evidence
suggests that the majority of animals died after their
second year and the dental evidence suggests that
few survived as older adults.

Pig

Thirty-nine fragments represented a minimum of
two pigs. All parts of the carcass are represented.
One animal was less than two years old when
slaughtered.

Horse

The calculation of MNI suggests at least five
individuals. All parts of the skeleton were present
including heads and feet. The majority of horses
were aged between eight and fifteen years; only one
animal was immature.

Dog

Eleven canid bones were recovered, and measurement
of a proximal radius and a maxillary fragment
suggests that at least one animal was similar in size
to a modern labrador. A notable observation is the
presence of parallel cut marks on the mid shaft
of a radius. It may be that these marks indicate
skinning, as a number of other Romano-British
sites have produced such evidence. The corpus of
work now accumulating on fragmented dog remains
suggest that the exploitation of dog for meat and
skin may be visible at a higher level than has been
assumed so far, and that such consumption may be
more common in the Romano-British period than
previously thought.

Red deer

The recovery of several red deer bones derived from
all parts of the body suggests that whole animals were
brought back to the site as the result of occasional
hunting pursuits.

Comparisons with contemporary sites

In recent years, several rural sites have been
excavated in the vicinity of Salisbury Plain which
have produced quantities of animal bone from
the Later Romano-British period. These include
Beach’s Barn, Coombe Down, Chisenbury Warren
(Powell et al. 1995), Butterfield Down (Egerton
1996) and Figheldean (Egerton et al. 1993). At all

= %

pb estes

A ROMANO-BRITISH ROADSIDE SETTLEMENT ON CHAPPERTON DOWN 125

of these sites cattle and sheep/goat dominate the
- assemblages although their relative proportions
vary. At Chisenbury Warren and Butterfield Down
cattle were secondary to sheep/goat whilst at Beach’s
Barn and Figheldean the reverse was observed. The
relative proportions of these two species are often
used as an indication of the relative Romanisation
and status of rural settlements. King (1991) states
that throughout the Romano-British period there is
an increase in the numbers of cattle and pigs kept and
a decrease in the numbers of sheep. The increasing
_ emphasis on older animals is seen as indicative of
_ the growing importance of milk and wool. In this
respect, the sites in Salisbury Plain appear to vary.
At all the sites studied, all parts of the carcass were
present, suggesting that it was common practice for
the complete carcass to be present on rural sites in
the region. In accordance with the pattern proposed
by King (1991) a large proportion of adult cattle is
in evidence at Chapperton Down and Chisenbury
Warren suggesting the maintenance of herd animals
for secondary products. In contrast, at Coombe
Down and at Butterfield Down it appears that the
majority of cattle were killed for meat.

According to Maitby (1981), the general pattern
of sheep mortality during the Romano-British period
suggests that they were primarily exploited for meat.
Few are slaughtered during their first year with a
high kill off of second and third year animals. At
Chapperton Down this trend is evident; the majority
of sheep were slaughtered between two and four years
of age. A few older animals survived which may
- have been kept for meat and/or wool. By contrast, at
Chisenbury Warren, although a significant number
were slaughtered below two years, the majority were
mature suggesting that these were kept for wool and
other secondary products rather than meat.

Horse is poorly represented in the Romano-
British period and the skeletal remains of studies
assembled suggest that most horses from this
period were less than 14 hands high (Maltby 1981).
At Chapperton Down horse is relatively numerous
and the majority of animals were mature as would
_ be expected in animals kept primarily for traction
| and transport. Butchery marks were in evidence,
_ which may suggest that horsemeat was occasionally
eaten, perhaps when animals became too old to work.
King (1978) states that horses were generally kept
to an old age and if eaten this was probably only
on a casual basis after a young animal had died. In
the Fens, large assemblages of horse bones and the
presence of roweray and stock enclosures have

been interpreted by King and others as evidence

of ranching. Although this is not apparent on
Salisbury Plain, the relatively high proportion of
horse remains found on some sites, coupled with
the butchery evidence suggests that horse played a
significant role in the economy of the region.

Palaeo-environmental data

A selection of bulk soil and snail samples from
Chapperton Down were processed to examine
palaeo-environmental potential (Table 8).

Table 8: Palaeo-environmental evidence

Pomatias Tee +
(Miller)

Pupilla
muscorum
(Linnaeus)

em ae Sele ok
(Miller)

Vallonia spp.

Punctum

126 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Table 8: continued

meer
(Linnaeus)

indeterminate | __|+
Mollusc Taxa Gn Bee 3

= oF
TOTAL
im oe wd
species
re Mal di St
species

% Open 78 \88 < |63.. 173 5) >
country species

Charred Plant Remains and

Charcoal, by 7 Ede (charred plant
remains) and R Gale (charcoal)

Charred grain fragments were recorded in most
samples and a low number of charred weed seeds
were observed in all of them (Table 9). Grain is
present and the lack of chaff from all samples
suggests that the crops were present in a processed
form. Environmental data recorded from three
samples of charcoal from Romano-British contexts
identified trees and shrubs in the local landscape
including alder (Alnus) from occupation horizon
(16), Oak (Quercus), holly (Ilex), and hazel (Corylus)
from occupation horizon (29). While insufficient
charcoal was available to assess either the origin of
the charcoal (i.e. hearths) or preferences in species

Table 9: Charcoal from Romano-British contexts
Key: h = heartwood

7 ?herbaceous
dicotyledon
stems

a it Ee
SS eo a)

selection, the identification of these taxa recorded
both their use and their availability for use. The
identification of alder, which prefers damper soils
than the above, indicates that wetter areas were
probably not far distant from the site. It is unlikely
that these taxa represent the complete range of trees
and shrubs in the vicinity.

Mollusca, by F Athersuch

The assemblages in the primary fill (85) of ditch
(83)(Area B), contained eight species dominated by
open country species. Surprisingly, ostracod valves
were also noticed, possibly suggesting locally wet
habitats in the ditch. The snail species from the
upper fill (84) suggest that generally open conditions
prevailed, but that some regeneration of longer
grasses, shrubs and more shady conditions had
occurred and no ostracods were present (Table 8).

Discussion

With reference to the known extent of upstanding
earthworks at Chapperton Down (McOmish et al.
2000) the current excavation represents a small-
scale investigation at the north-eastern periphery
of the known Romano-British roadside settlement.
With such a small sample area, temporal patterns
of occupation and abandonment that define the
settlement as a whole cannot be convincingly
discerned. Nevertheless, the project has produced
results that add to our understanding of Romano-
British settlement on the SPTA. The site was poorly
preserved but the excavation allowed the recovery
of certain structural details of buildings, human
burials, animal remains, a large and varied artefact
and ecofact assemblage and a comparison of the
elements of other SPTA settlements is presented
in (Table 10).

Chapperton appears to represent a linear
development along a routeway, consistent with
several other sites, but contrasting to the pattern of
more compact settlements west of the River Avon
(McOmish et al. 2000). Evidence
from a number of settlements
points to the importance of water
management systems. Presumably
a readily available water source was
a necessity on the chalk downland,
and Chapperton conforms with

A ROMANO-BRITISH ROADSIDE SETTLEMENT ON CHAPPERTON DOWN 127,

Table 10: Comparison with SPTA settlements

1km long

300m long

13 ha
30 houses

Family
settlement

Sha

this pattern. The presence of house platforms,
terraces and enclosures at Chapperton is largely
consistent with the design of the majority of other
local settlements, although Chapperton appears to
be of a lesser scale. Few sites of this type have high
status indicators, and all extend into the 4th century,
although others appear to begin earlier in the Roman
period than Chapperton.

Area A has revealed a number of ditches that
divided land into discrete units. The orientation
of these ditches, north-south and east-west is
parallel to the pattern of earthworks further
south, and demonstrates a continuation of the
spatial organisation of the settlement. Wide banks
would also have been evident, and perhaps the
bases of these survive as spreads of material that
obscured earlier features. The lack of clarity is due
to considerable subsequent disturbance that has
destroyed earthworks that would otherwise have
survived.

Within the ditched enclosures lay a series of
structures, some with platform terraces, others
with flint walls, and several with clay floors and
occupation horizons. These buildings seemingly
had timber-framed superstructures and stone tiled
roofs. There is also evidence to suggest buildings
of earth-fast timber post construction. A small
amount of pitting is evident, together with larger
pond-like features, probably connected with water
management, as recorded at nearly all SPTA

: eT

eaeeaag
[a
Bn
owes niet ica 213
Se a
houses
—}, lari 2
a. me

Coin/s |Status

perk

Roman

an)
ep

settlements (McOmish et al. 2000). Pits in general
are not organised in a way that suggests structured
rubbish disposal, and it is more likely that middens
would have been used to provide fertiliser for the
local chalky soils.

Activities on site include grinding of grain
and woodworking of timber for buildings and
artefacts as evidenced by a file, chisel and two
whetstones. Probable dairy production is indicated
by the recovery of sherds with multiple perforations,
strainers used for cheese production, and jars with
everted rims which could represent dairy equipment.
Faunal evidence shows the use of horse and cattle,
no doubt for transportation and traction. Animal
bone evidence also shows that the site functioned
as part of the normal rural peasant economy with
mixed farming. The presence of complete carcasses
with few feet bones suggest that skinning and hide
production may have been an important activity.
The suggested skinning of dogs may also support
the evidence for this activity.

The status of the setthement was relatively
low with occasional coin loss probably relating to
proximity to a routeway rather than an immediately
local monetary economy. Three sherds of vessel glass
and limited finewares indicate moderate aspirations
towards wealth, but the samian dates to an earlier
period and must be interpreted as residual material
dumped or spread about the site during 3rd-century
construction activities or manuring. The presence of

128 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

coins and quernstone fragments in non-local stone,
in addition to certain pottery finds, attest to wider
connections.

The ditch in Area B to the south of the
main excavation is part of an extensive E-W
linear earthwork visible for 6km. This bank and
ditch earthwork is thought to date to the Iron
Age (McOmish et al. 2002) and is likely to have
functioned as a route way as well as a land division.
At the point at which this feature crosses the route
along which the Roman settlement is situated, is
a large sub-circular hollow. McOmish et al. note
that intersections of linear ditches on the SPTA
repeatedly overlay significant hollows, which
might be interpreted as meeting places communally
recognised as significant (McOmish et al. 2002,
62). The section of ditch excavated in Area B lies
approximately 100m west of the hollow and 100m
east of further earthworks associated with the
settlement (Figure 2). Four sherds of pottery dating
to the lst-4th centuries AD were recovered from its
secondary fill in association with animal bone and
flint fragments.

The dangers of drawing conclusions regarding
the entire settlement are noted above, but there
appears to be no Iron Age precursor to Romano-
British occupation over the part of the Chapperton
Down settlement subject to excavation. The few
residual prehistoric sherds found, with a potential
date range of Middle/Late Bronze Age through to
the Early Iron Age, were all recovered from securely
dated Romano-British features. This aspect contrasts
with evidence from Chisenbury Warren (Bowen and
Fowler 1966, 50-52 and Entwistle et al. 1994, 15) and
Figheldean (Graham and Newman, 1993) which
have later prehistoric precursors. The nature and
date of prehistoric activity on Chapperton Down
should form part of the objectives of any future
work at the site.

Comparison with Chisenbury Warren and
Figheldean shows apparent variance with regard
to the date of origin of Romano-British occupation
at Chapperton Down. Material of the Ist and 2nd
centuries was widespread over a relatively large
area at Chisenbury Warren (Entwistle et al. 1994,
15) and at Figheldean (Graham and Newman,
1993). At Chapperton Down, however, where
few chronologically diagnostic vessel forms were
recovered, material assigned to the lst and 2nd
centuries AD was derived from contexs securely
dated to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD and is
interpreted as residual being derived from the core
of the settlement to the south-east where there was

settlement of earlier Roman date.

The excavated part of the Chapperton Down
settlement can be readily compared in chronological
terms to the Romano-British farmstead at
Maddington Farm, Shrewton (McKinley and Heaton
1996, 44), where occupation is predominantly of
the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. Alternatively, it is
possible there was some occupation and activity in
the excavation area during the lst and 2nd centuries
AD, which was lost in the remodelling of the area in
the 3rd and 4th centuries AD leaving only a handful
of residual artefacts to be retrieved. Such activities
as these were recorded at Chisenbury Warren where
earlier Roman pits were truncated by 3rd and 4th
century AD cultivation when that settlement was
remodelled (Entwistle et al. 1994, 14). Overall,
however, Chapperton Down and Maddington Farm
apparently fall outside the norm of Romano-British
settlement on Salisbury Plain, where the majority of
sites seemingly originate in the Iron Age (Graham
and Newman 1993, 52).

It is possible to discuss the burial customs of
the Chapperton community with reference to the
excavated infant burials (see also McKinley above).
It is not uncommon for infants under twelve months
old to be buried outside forma! cemeteries in the
Romano-British period (Philpott 1991) and burials
such as these in late Roman rural communities
are quite common (Struck, 1993). The infants
from Chapperton Down, however, appear to be
situated within a domestic environment and with
no identifiable evidence for religious ritual. The
burial of infants may also be considered in terms of
a construction rite. There is a considerable body of
anthropological evidence, for example, for a wide
variety of foundation rites in central and eastern
Europe (Larionescu, nd) undertaken to ensure life
and durability of structures - in order to endure the
structure needed to receive a life. Human skeletons
under the ramparts of Iron Age hill forts and at
shrines including Uley and Maiden Castle have
been interpreted as sacrificial foundation burials
(Woodward 1992, 79).

A decline in traffic along the routeway at the end
of the Roman may have led to settlements such as
Chapperton Down eventually becoming marginal
and not viable. An end to the settlement in the late
4th or early 5th century is feasible as no material
remains later than the 4th century were recovered.
Problems of recognising continued occupation
beyond the Roman period are well known, although
no chaff-tempered hand-made pottery of early
medieval type was recovered from the site.

A ROMANO-BRITISH ROADSIDE SETTLEMENT ON CHAPPERTON DOWN 129

Acknowledgements

The project was funded by the Defence Estates
Organisation (South West) with the support of
English Heritage. Special thanks are due to I.
Barnes, R. Osgood, K. Maddison and J. Hallett of
DEO (SW) for their support. Thanks are also due
to D. McOmish for providing the cropmark and
earthwork evidence from the RCHME survey of
Salisbury Plain without which it would have been
impossible to relate the results of the excavations
to the wider landscape. The excavations were
directed by A. Martin of Gifford who prepared the
basic stratigraphic analysis, phasing and archive
report. Specialists at Wessex Archaeology undertook
analyses of the finds assemblages managed by R.
Smith. H. Wilmot of the Wiltshire Conservation
Centre undertook conservation of the metalwork,
and the staff of the Wiltshire County Council
Archaeological Service, in particular H. Cave-
Penney, gave advice and assistance. T. Malim
assisted with overall interpretation and resolution
of stratigraphic queries, and gave direction to the
final stages of the project. G. Reaney of Gifford
produced the section drawings and C. Malim drew
the maps and plans; artefacts were drawn by Wessex
Archaeology.

References

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BUTTERWORTH, C. A. and SEAGER SMITH, R. 1997.
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ENTWISTLE, R. FULFORD, M. and RAYMOND, M.

1994. Salisbury Plain Project 1993-4 Interim Report.
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KING, A., 1991, ‘Food Production and Consumption
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MALTBY, M., 1981, ‘Iron Age, Romano-British and Anglo-
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MCOMISH, D., FIELD, D. and BROWN, G., 2002, The
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MEPHAM, L. N., 1993, ‘The Pottery’, in A. Graham
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MOLLESON, T. I. 1993, ‘The Human Remains’, in D.
E. Farwell and T.I. Molleson, Poundbury Volume 2:
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POWELL, A. SMITH, P. CLARK, K. M. and
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RAWLINGS, M. and FITZPATRICK, A. P. 1996.

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Prehistoric Sites and a Romano-British Settlement at
Butterfield Down, Amesbury. WANHM 839, 1-43
SCOTT, E., 1991, ‘Animal and Infant Burials in Romano-
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WELLS, C., 1982, “The Human Burials’, in A. McWhirr,
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x rs

Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 131-35

The former thirteenth-century vault paintings of
Salisbury Cathedral: new evidence from Lambeth

Palace MS 2215

- by Matthew M. Reeve

This note brings to light a hitherto unknown description of 1789 of the former thirteenth-century vault paintings of
Salisbury Cathedral. Written by Richard Gough as part of his program to record the paintings prior to their destruction
by James Wyatt, the description now provides new evidence for the form and content of the original cycle.

I, 6

James Wyatt’s “restorations” to Salisbury Cathedral
are as famous for historians of Salisbury and late
eighteenth-century architectural practice as they are
infamous to historians of medieval art. In 1789, at the
request of Bishop Shute Barrington (1782-91) and
some members of the cathedral chapter, James Wyatt

- began to modernize the interior of the cathedral

in order to bring it into line with late eighteenth-
century aesthetic taste and liturgical function. His
work involved the removal of the Beauchamp and
Hungerford chantry chapels on either side of the
Lady Chapel; the opening of the Lady Chapel to
the choir by removing a Perpendicular screen and
placing it on the inner walls of the chapel; the
removal of the thirteenth-century choir screen,
(which was set into the north transept), and the
erection of a monumental organ screen in its place;
the destruction of much of the stained glass from
the cathedral, and the whitewashing of the cathedral
vaults.’ Current art-historical criticism (and much
eighteenth-century antiquarian scholarship) has
considered Wyatt’s work among the most lamentable
acts of destruction suffered by a medieval building
in England or abroad.”

Fortunately, our knowledge of the polychromy of

the cathedral, and in particular the vault paintings,
has been supplemented by a number of antiquarian
sources: the beautiful sketches (London, Society
of Antiquaries, MS 263) and finished drawings
(Oxford, Bodleian MS Gough Maps) composed
by Jacob Schnebbelie, draughtsman of the Society
of Antiquaries, and his letters pertaining to the
commission (London, Society of Antiquaries MS
267), as well as a handful of Victorian tracings of the
original figures in the cycle and the former painted
reredos in the north-east transept. These references
help significantly to reconstruct the imagery in the
cathedral interior; they also confirm that, despite
Salisbury’s status as an austere and minimal building
with a quasi-exemplary status, it is one of the most
densely and beautifully painted interiors of medieval
Europe. In light of this, any new evidence for the
paintings must be considered exceptionally valuable
for our understanding of the medieval and post-
medieval history of the cathedral interior.

This paper brings to light a further and hitherto
overlooked source for the paintings: a first-hand
description of the cycle written in 1789 by Richard
Gough, director of the Society of Antiquaries. The
description and drawings are closely related: Gough

Department of History, Goldsmiths College, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW

132 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

was not only responsible for hiring Jacob Schnebbelie
to record the cycle but he also collated Schnebbelie’s
drawings with his own notes and assembled a
dossier on the Salisbury paintings. For historians
of medieval art, Gough’s description is valuable
for two reasons. First, it unerringly agrees with
Schnebbelie’s drawings, providing firm confirmation
of the latter’s accuracy as a draughtsman and thus of
the appearance of the medieval paintings. Second,
the description illuminates several important aspects
of the paintings that were not found in the finished
drawings. Schnebbelie produced sheets of drawings
that are highly accurate stylistically but were
arranged in a tidy grid pattern that bore no (or little)
relation to the original arrangement of the imagery;
his images were intended to be located within the
cycle by an accompanying plan of the cycle with
an alphabetical key. For example, Gough’s notes
indicate that the Erythraean Sybil is shown to point
directly to the image of Christ in the eastern crossing
vault. The source for this narrative lies in the early
Prophet Plays (the so-called Ordo Prophetarum),
in which a number of clerical actors impersonate
prophets and each communicate messages of Christ’s
First Coming.’ In the plays, as in the ceiling, the
narrative draws to a close with the Erythraean Sybil
who gestures toward Christ, thus confirming that the
cycle is based in part on the Ordo Prophetarum.
Jacob Schnebbelie and Richard Gough travelled
to Salisbury in 1789 to record the painted cycle.
Typical of contemporary efforts to preserve and
record medieval art, Schnebbelie and Gough were
driven by news of Wyatt’s plans for the impending
destruction of the monuments. As Maria Grazia
Lolla has recently shown, antiquarian endeavour in
the late eighteenth century was frequently driven by
the impending destruction of medieval works of art,
thus justifying her view that the mode of antiquarian
recording of monuments amounted to a veritable
“ritual of preservation”. Schnebbelie worked in
haste over a period of three weeks to record the
paintings in the sketches in Society of Antiquaries
MS 267, prior to Wyatt’s whitewashing the interior.
Gough’s concerns with Salisbury that year resulted
in anew ground plan of the cathedral, a series of vit-
riolic letters to The Gentleman’s Magazine regarding
Wyatt’s work, and the description of the cycle.°
Gough’s description was recorded on eight
sides of paper in his notebook. They are clearly his
on-site notes which have not been worked up into
a neat description for publication (although this
was probably intended). The cycle must have been
in remarkably fine condition when he recorded it,

since he was able to provide a reliable account of
much of the iconography and able to record many
of the texts, which he could only have seen from
the floor level before scaffolding was erected by
Wyatt. As Schnebbelie and Gough were in frequent
communication over the project (as the many letters
in London, Society of Antiquaries MS 267 show)
and must have worked on site together, it is hardly
surprising that their accounts of the cycle in their
pictorial or textual forms are remarkably consistent.
Upon receipt of Schnebbelie’s drawings, Gough
annotated his description accordingly in a thicker
pen in the margins, providing a key to Schnebbelie’s
drawings and his own descriptions. Indeed, it seems
likely that Gough provided Schnebbelie with a copy
of his notes (with particular reference to the texts)
while he was at work on the drawings and finished
sketches, the latter being finally presented to Gough
29 March 1790, once the painted cycle had been
fully covered.’ Schnebbelie’s final drawings were
intended to be engraved and published—presumably
as a contribution to Vetusta Monumenta—but
unfortunately the engraving was never executed.®

Transcription of Lambeth Palace
MS 2215

In what follows Gough’s spelling and orthography
have been followed as carefully as possible. Where
Gough omitted to reconstruct the texts and/or
provide a scriptural reference, this has been done so
in square brackets. Gough’s original reconstructions
of the texts are erroneous in places and have been
corrected here.

f. 132r
Description of the Paintings on the Ceiling of the
Choir etc of Salisbury Cathedral

In the centre compartment toward the east in our
Saviour man oval seated on a kind of pedestal, his
right hand pointing upwards, his left on his left
knee holds a book open inscribed a & @, Alpha and
Omega. Round him in smaller rondeaux are the
Evangelists without their symbols but their names
on scrolls over their heads: Mathus, Lucas, Marcus,
Johes. They are seated in chairs with high backs
& writing at desks on a pillar and claw on which
are placed books from whence hangs a label. On St
Luke’s book is written

THE FORMER THIRTEENTH-CENTURY VAULT PAINTINGS OF SALISBURY CATHEDRAL 133

- ----n/hus
[Quoniam quidem multi conati sunt ordinare]

In St John’s In Principio [erat verbum]. Below them
in the same division are six saints.

f. 132r

The eastern branch of the cross is occupied by
the 12 months in small rondeaux, characterised as
follows:

- Januarius is an elderly man sitting between two

casks a larger and small one ------ : on the larger
stands a cup and on the smaller a flagon & he lifts
up another to his lips.

Februarius is sitting on a pedestal seat under a
roof & before a large fire and chimney, pulling off
his halfboots and warming his feet: on his head a
pointed hood.

Marcius is digging in a vineyard or orchard ina like
hood and halfboots: at his feet lie two pickaxes.

April sits in a gayer attitude his head crowned with
flowers holding two branches in his extended hands
------ habited on a marble seat----

Maius is mounted on a spotted horse holding a hawk
on his right fist and turning his face and body toward
the spectator.

Junius is cutting down weeds with two tools, a fork
and a hook, in halfboots & a cap or bat on his head
as practiced at present in Wilts.

Julius bare legged in a short coat & hood is mowing
with a scythe.

Augustus in half boots & hat stoops to reap corn
with a sickle.

133r
Septéb is sowing seed out of a basket: a sack and
sundry by him.

October is represented by a man in a short jacket,
halfboots & hood gathering grapes & giving a
basketful to an older man treading them in a vat,
his garments hitched up above his knees.

Novéb by a man with an axe knocking down hogs
which come to another man who is scattering acorns
out of his apron.

Decéb is a man rather gaily drest sitting behind a
well spread table & holding in his right hand a cup &
in his left a drinking horn: on the table is a gilt salt
cellar, a bowl, knives, pieces of bread etc etc.

The Western branch is occupied by the prophets
& other Old Testament worthies in the following
order in large rondeaux, all holding scrolls with
inscriptions in capitals.

Elizabet with an angel below: a female figure in a
mantle & hood holding a scroll whose letters are
gone.

[Daniel] a man (name gone) bareheaded holding a
scroll inscribed

Cum venerit scs scor --- it unct

[Cum venerit sanctus sanctorum cesabit unction]
[Ordo Prophetarum]

133v

Ezechiel holds and points to

Converti: me: ad: ...ort. am...t...

[Convertit me ad portam domus] [Ezekiel 47:1]

Sibil [Erythraean Sybil] A woman with a close
headdress under her chin holding in her left a scroll
inscribed

Celo rex adveniet and pointing with her right to
Christ.

[Celo rex adveniet (per secula futurus)] [Ordo
Prophetarum]

--------------- name gone [Solomon]

Que est ista que a...noi...virg...fuus [Songs of
Songs 3:6]

[Quia creatavit dominus novum super terram:
fermina circumdabit virtum] [Jeremiah 31:22]

Zacharias [Q] in a cap of pyramidal folds holds out
a scroll inscribed

Erit fons domini David patens

[In die illa erit fons patens domui David] [Zacharias
13:1]

David (drawing H) A king crowned holding a harp
in his left hand and in his right a scroll inscribed
Descendit sicut pluvia in vellus (Psalms 71:6)

his mantle faced with miniver.

w-------------- name gone

Abacuc holds a scroll in right and points to it
with left across his breast. The inscription very
imperfect

Am dio ---- nima --- x n nocens

134 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

[In medio duum animalium cognosceris] [Habbakuk,
Ordo Prophetarum]

Loo aay name gone
Sb tae eels ditto

Jonas (K) holds a scroll in left & points to it with
right

Ad huc tres dies & mimine su

Vulgate aoblive quadraginta dies & nimive
subventur

[Adhuc quadraginta dies, et Nineve subvertetur]
[Jonah 3:4]

Micheas bare headed has on his scroll
R.....01US..n....e min.u---

Micah IV.1 Preparatus domus domini virtue
montiur

[Et regnabit Dominus super eos in monte Sion]
[Micah 4:7]

Moyses is a fine expressive figure with horns holding
and pointing to a scroll inscribed

Profetam vobis suscutabit de frib’ uri’ (Deut
XVIII.15)

[Prophetam suscitabit vobis Dominus Deus vester
de fratribus vestries] [Acts 3:22]

Zacharias and father of the Baptist holds and points
to the following scroll

Benedictus dns de[us] Israel

[Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel] [Luke 1:68]

Amos to one with
Qui edificavit aeolo ascensi[onem suam] [Amos
9:6]

Abdias (N) points upwards with his left and in his
right hand holds the scroll

Ecce in ...te...er...obertistses

2 Vulg Ecce parvulum sidite un gentibus:
confertabilis? In per vales

[Ecce in monte Sion erit salvation, et erit sanctus]
[Obadiah 1:17]

Malachias holds up with left hand & points with
right to his scroll

Ipse: [ig]nis: conflans: I : quasi [h]erba fulloni
Mala III.2

[Ipse enim quasi ignis conflans, et quasi herba
fullonum] [Malachias 3:2]

------------- name gone

Ysias (P) holds in right & points with left to a scroll

inscribed
Ecce Virgo concipiet et pariet filium [Isaiah 7:14]

Aggeus (O) holds in right & points with left to this
Veniet desideratus conctus gentibus Agg II.7 [Haggai
2.8]

The scrolls held by the 6 figures whose names are
effaced or imperfect are thus

[Simeon] Lumen ad [re]v[e]lacio[ne]m: gencium
[Luke 2.32]
[Lumen ad revelationem gentium]

[Balaam] Orietur stella ex Jacob [Numbers 24.17]

[Zephaniah] In igne [ze]li decorabi[tus omnium]
terre [Zephaniah 1.18]

Osee (R) holds and points to

Erit quasi vo[s Is]rael [isge] succinimabit?? Hos
XIV.5

[Ero quasi ros; Israel germinabit sicut lilium] [Hosea
14:6]

Nahum (R) Sol ortus est et avolaver’nt Nahum
III.17
[Sol ortus est, et avolaverunt] [Nahum 3:17]

Jo[el] [Effund]am or:spre:med:sup:oem:carne:et
pphetab[unt] Joel II.28

[Effundam spiritum meum super omnem carnem;
et prophetabunt filii vestri] [Joel 2:28]

These 24 figures are of different sizes, builds
and attitudes, and are overall well designed and
animated.

135r

Drawing S

In the centre under the Saviour are the 12 Apostles
in pairs in rondeaux 2 in each.

1 St Paul: with his sword & point downwards, a
book in his left hand on his lap
St James: his right on a book in his lap his left
pointing upwards

2 St Andrew: his right on a book on his lap: his
left pointing upwards
St Peter: his right obscure: a double key in his
left

3. St Philip: his right hand lifted up: his left h olds
a book
St James: his right holds a book: his left points
downwards

4 St Thomas: his right on a book in his lap: his

THE FORMER THIRTEENTH-CENTURY VAULT PAINTINGS OF SALISBURY CATHEDRAL 135

left pointing upwards
St Matthew: his right on his breast: his left on
a book

5 (drawing T) St Simon: lifts up a book in his right
& points with his left across his breast
St Jude holds up his right & in his left hand a
book

f. 135v

The South and North transepts are adorned with
each 24 angels in rondeaux holding in their hands
crowns, hosts, chalices, palm branches, crescents,

_ books, phials, scrolls, & one of them playing with

— ee = -—- —

a violin

Such is the general plan of this curious ceiling; the
figures of which are as fresh & well preserved as when
first laid on: tho’ if the opinion of some good judges
be admitted they are as old as the reign of Henry III
[1216-72]. This will bring them to a period between
the grotesques and ceiling of the nave of Peterboro
Cathedral so well illustrated by Gov. Pownall’ and
the paintings referred to in the Ely records cited by
him p. 151-155. Should they be brought down to the
right of Henry III’s son and successor they will not
disgrace the invention & taste of Cavallini to whom
we are indebted for the admirable crosses erected to
the memory of Edward I’s Queen. They will serve as
actual vindications of painters of Henry’s reign from
rudeness having furnished the historical paintings in
our palaces & those of saints in our royal chapel.

NOTES

1 The fullest account is W. Dodsworth, A Guide to the

Cathedral Church of Salisbury With a Particular Account
of the Late Great Improvements Made Therein Under the
Directions of fames Wyatt Esq, (London, 1792).

Fora discussion of the restorations and the contemporary
opinions on them, see M. Reeve, “Jacob Schnebbelie,
Draughtsman of the Society of Antiquaries (1760-
92)”, Transactions of the Ancient Monuments Society 51,
in press (2007); J. Frew, “James Wyatt’s Choir Screen
at Salisbury Cathedral Reconsidered”, Architectural
History 27 (1984), 481-7; Idem, “Richard Gough, James
Wyatt and Late Eighteenth-Century Preservation”,

Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 38 (1979),
366-74.

For an account of the vault paintings and their
sources (with the exception of Lambeth Palace MS
2215, see M. Reeve “Mapping Space, Mapping Time:
the Thirteenth- century Vault Paintings at Salisbury
Cathedral”, Antiquaries Journal 85 (2005), 57-102. The
evidence for the painted reredos at Salisbury will be
discussed in a forthcoming publication by the present
author and David Park. The vault paintings and
painted reredosses are discussed in greater detail in the
author’s forthcoming study The Thirteenth-Century Wall
Painting of Salisbury Cathedral: Art, Liturgy, and Reform.
(Suffolk: Boydell & Brewer, 2007)

I have explored this question elsewhere: see M. Reeve,
“Art, Prophecy, and Drama in the Choir at Salisbury
Cathedral in the Thirteenth Century”, Religion and the
Arts 10:1-2 (2006), 161-90. The precise arrangement
of the images on the choir vaults is still unclear due
to the presence of three different versions of the
arrangement, including Gough’s. On this problem,
see ER. Horlbeck, “The Vault Paintings of Salisbury
Cathedral”, Antiquaries Journai CXVII (1960), 116-30,
at 120-5.

M. Grazia Lolla, “Ceci n’est pas un monument’:
Vetusta Monumenta and antiquarian aesthetics’, in M.
Myrone and L. Peltz (eds), Producing the Past: Aspects
of Antiquarian Culture and Practice 1700-1850, (Ashgate,
1999), 15-33, at 20.

The letters have been discussed in Reeve “Jacob
Schnebbelie”; Frew 1979; 1984. The plan is now
Oxford, Bold. MS Gough Maps, v. 32, fol. 63. It is
reproduced in S. Brown, Sumptuously and Richly
Adorn’d: The Decoration of Salisbury Cathedral, (London,
1999), fig. 15.

SAL MS 267 f. 113.

In a letter dated 31 October 1789, Schnebbelie told
Gough that he had ‘no objection to their [the drawings]
being exhibited in their present state, but it would be
better certainly if they were finished and arranged
in the same manner as on the Ceiling—they are too
imperfect too [sic] be engraved in their present state”.
SAL MS 267, f. 91.

The reference here is to Gov. Pownall, “Observations
on Ancient Painting in England”, Archaeologia 9 (1789),
141-56, 141. On the Peterborough ceiling, see now P.
Binski, “The Painted Nave Ceiling of Peterborough
Abbey”, in J. Backhouse (ed), The English Medieval
Cathedral: Essays in Honour of Pamela Tudor Craig,
(Harlaxton, 2004), 41-62.

Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 136-53

Faith, Hope and Charity: urban collectivism in late

Georgian Devizes
by Lorna Haycock

During the late eighteenth century, the commercial and market centre of Devizes enjoyed great prosperity, which is
reflected in tts fine Georgian architecture. Yet in common with many other towns, poverty co-existed with wealth. This
paper examines the religious and philanthropic bonds which held the community together and the collective actions of

the élite to deal with urban problems.

‘This present age may be called an age of
humanity.”

Although Georgian society was essentially
hierarchical, there were horizontal as well as
vertical bonds linking the different classes in a
chain of connections. One way in which different
social and economic groups mingled and bonded
was through their church. Although no single place
of worship brought the whole community together,
religion was the back-cloth against which many
activities took place in Devizes. For Nonconformists,
especially, their faith gave meaning and direction to
their lives, bringing social and economic contacts,
emphasising duty and stewardship, thrift and
sobriety and providing opportunities for exercising
responsibility denied them in the political sphere.
Membership ofa church or chapel gave security and
identity, providing proof of personal probity and a
helping hand in times of trouble; for many women,
attendance at church services was their only public
appearance. Religion has been described as ‘a social
glue’. On the whole, the eighteenth century in
Devizes was a time of consolidation rather than rapid
expansion for Nonconformity, and the dividing lines

between Established Church and Dissent remained
fluid, with many Nonconformist sympathisers
attending Anglican worship occasionally for social
and political reasons, since it was commercially
prudent and socially beneficial to mingle with the
town’s élite.

Despite religious diversity, the Anglican
church retained its wealth and authority, and by
the provision of charity and by identifying with
the ruling élite it was able to influence social
behaviour. The late-eighteenth century Evangelical
movement had an invigorating effect, with the
growth of Sunday schools and the establishment
of such bodies as The Society for the Suppression
of Vice. The eighteenth century rise in land values
increased the value of tithes and the 1,050 livings in
the Lord Chancellor’s gift were often very wealthy.
The Rectory of Devizes comprised the parishes of St.
John and St. Mary in the archdeaconry and diocese
of Salisbury. The living, which had long been in the
Crown’s patronage, with a net annual value of £518
in 1831,* was one of the richest in Wiltshire, there
being only four others worth over £500. Details are
set out below:

Wiltshire Heritage Museum, 41 Long Street, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 1NS

. FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY: URBAN COLLECTIVISM IN LATE GEORGIAN DEVIZES 137

}

Table 1. Wiltshire Church Incomes 1831

Bradford-on-Avon
Calne
Chippenham
Devizes
Marlborough

Melksham/Seend
Salisbury
Trowbridge
Warminster
Westbur

Source: The Clerical Guide and Ecclesiastical
Directory 1836, passim.

Both Devizes churches owned considerable charity
property. St. John’s sixteen leases were worth £278
p.a. and St. Mary’s forty-four properties £750.‘ The
two parishes, with a population of 4,500, afforded

church room for 2,150. Services were held at St.
John’s twice on Sunday and on three weekdays,
- with communion on the first Sunday in every other
month and on other festivals, with an average of
80-90 communicants.’ At St. Mary’s, one Sunday

service was held, with worship on two weekdays
and communion six times a year, with an average
attendance of sixty. St. John’s was thus among the

I 40% of parishes in Wiltshire holding two Sunday

‘services, while both parishes were numbered in

the 73% of parishes celebrating communion more
than four times a year. Formal religion conformed

‘to the existing order and the Anglican church was

closely connected with the ruling élite. St. John’s
and St. Mary’s each contained a mayoral pew, and
the Corporation attended in state at the mayoral
inauguration and on other celebratory occasions. A
pluralist like most contemporary clergy, including

i nearly half of those in Wiltshire, the Rev. Edward
| Innes, Rector from 1774 to 1788, and described on his
/ memorial as ‘diligent, pious and unaffectedly devout’,

was also Rector of Stockton in south-east Wiltshire,
Canon of Netheravon six miles north of Amesbury,

.and domestic chaplain to the 4th Earl of Dunmore.
‘Innes was well-connected, being a member of the
| Duke of Roxburghe’s family, and had married the
\'miece of the previous Rector, William Wells, whom he

had served as curate. The Rev. James Lediard, Balliol

| graduate and son of a Bristol merchant, was Rector
| from 1789 to 1833. He was a prominent member of

:
t

| local societies, a freemason and a turnpike trustee,
and mixed freely with the local élite, thus illustrating
ja contemporary view that the clergy aimed to

‘frequent and shine in all public places’. ° Despite
their affinities with Dissenting congregations,
leading burgesses, such as James Sutton, William
Salmon, Wadham Locke, James Gent and Samuel
Tayler, acted as churchwardens and contributed to
the repair of St. John’s organ in 1790.’ On becoming
Devizes M.P. in 1747, William Willy presented two
of St. John’s church bells, cast by local bell founder
James Burrough® and monuments testifying to the
piety and good works of local prominenti adorn the
churches’ interiors. Draper Thomas Thurman, as
well as subscribing to the S.PC.K..,? financed a new
altar piece and the embellishment of the chancel in
St. John’s.'° Several wealthy residents also subscribed
to the improvement of Salisbury Cathedral,!! so the
diocesan link and the church hierarchy were clearly
appreciated.

Local churchwardens were conscious of their
responsibilities and jealous of their church’s rights.
They regularly reported the necessity for repairs
to church windows, gates and roofs. In a letter to
Mr Elderton of Salisbury they complained that a
Visitation to bring in the new wardens was overdue
— ‘unless you appoint some very early Period
for the Purpose ...we shall think it our Duty to
make a serious Enquiry’. The Church, however,
was concerned with wider issues, emphasising
its special position in the State and its concern
with moral and ethical values. As part of the
establishment, the Bishop of Salisbury considered
it his duty to ‘render the people good Subjects
and good Men’,!? particularly apposite during the
Napoleonic Wars. The Rev. Charles Daubeney of
North Bradley stressed the ‘intimate connexion
subsisting between religion and Government ...
the good Christian and good Citizen are but two
parts of that undivided character...the perfect man
of God’.'* Although the clergy eschewed ‘that most
horrible of all vices called zeal’,!’ many sermons
were published to disseminate the Anglican
message against the nonconformist advance.
Bishop Barrington advised his clergy to study the
Scriptures rather than succumb to amusements and
an expensive lifestyle.’° The incumbent should be
‘spiritual director, adviser and friend’.!’ But the
role of the Established Church extended beyond
the realms of morals and piety. The parish was not
only the basis of local government and poor relief
but also of social control; the church was guardian
of the status quo and religion a stabilising factor.
Robert Southey recognised this pseudo-political
role, claiming that the Established religion had

‘been divested both of its spirit and substance’.!®

138 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Doctrinal rectitude was less important than social
conformity and Lediard admitted that ‘some...who
profess themselves of the Church go sometimes to
the Independent meeting’.”

Dissenters formed significant groups in the
central and west Wiltshire cloth-making towns.
Nonconformists, legally excluded from universities,
civil and military office, directed their attention to
commerce and industry, where thrift and probity
underpinned their trading concerns. Following
the national pattern of increasing registration of
Dissenting places of worship, certificates were
registered between 1672 and 1809 for four Quaker,
four Methodist, three Independent and two
Presbyterian meeting houses in Devizes.’? The
Compton Census of 1676 listed 592 Conformists in
the town and 84 Nonconformists,”! although in 1669,
the Bishop of Salisbury reported to Archbishop
Sheldon that there were between 230 and 250
Dissenters in Devizes, of whom 60 to 80 were
Baptists. The following year he urged the Justices
to suppress the ‘great and outrageous meetings’
in the town, although they assured him that they
could find no evidence for such unruly assemblies.”
Worshipping since the Civil War in private houses,
Baptists flourished in the late seventeenth century
under the patronage of local gentry such as Sir John
Eyles, who gave them the lease of a house in the
Brittox, and wealthy traders such as the Ansties,
Powells and Webbs. A return by minister Nathaniel
Chauncey in 1717 claimed a congregation of 300,
but this seems an artificially rounded figure.”
Aristocratic and wealthy Baptist patrons became
less numerous in the eighteenth century and there
was some erosion of support, perhaps because of
a reduced threat. A 1780 membership list named
36 men and 52 women ; twelve years later, after
some secessions to the Presbyterians, the numbers
were down to 23 men and 21 women, and in 1816,
pews were rented by 46 men and 7 women.”* Many
Baptist members do not figure in trade or local
government records, so occupational classification
is difficult, but a number of small shopkeepers and
artisans, such as shoemakers, ironmongers, tailors
and weavers, are known from casual references to
have belonged to the church.

By contrast, the Presbyterians included a
greater proportion of high status traders and
gentry. The presence of ejected ministers in the
town after the Restoration led to the establishment
of a Presbyterian meeting house and congregation.
Few records of the Devizes Presbyterian Church
survive for the period 1690 to 1770, though many

leading families, such as the Suttons, Thurmans
and Collinses were Presbyterian sympathisers. In
the mid-eighteenth century, George Heathcote
and John Eyles junior attended Anglican worship
in the morning and the Presbyterian chapel in
the evening,” thus combining a public career with
occasional conformity. Presbyterianism was clearly
respectable and associated with the Hanoverian
régime, but it was affected by contemporary heresies
Later in the century the Unitarian controversy led
to a group of Baptists, including educated and
reputable traders such as the Hilliers, Knights and
Ansties, seceding to unite with the Presbyterians in
1796, calling themselves ‘The United Society’. They
met together for worship, though holding separate
communion until 1807. Their new minister James
Biggs, before training at the Bristol Baptist Academy,
had come to Trowbridge to study the cloth trade; it
seems likely that he thus became known to clothier
John Anstie, one of the signatories to the invitation
to become their pastor. Biggs had also married
the sister of Devizes upholsterer Richard Knight.
Gradually, Presbyterianism became absorbed by
these more progressive Baptists, and not by the
Congregationalists as in other communities, such
as Bradford-on-Avon, Malmesbury, Trowbridge
and Warminster.

In the last quarter of the eighteenth century,
the Congregational Church, which grew out of
Evangelical Anglicanism, became established in
the town after the preaching tours of Rowland
Hill.” In 1773 ironmonger William Swan’s house
in New Park Street was licensed as a meeting
house.”’ Three years later a chapel was opened for
Calvinistic Methodist worship and enlarged in
1790 to provide a seating capacity of 450, a sign of
the congregation’s expansion. Members included
prominent professionals and traders, such as the
Filkeses, Leaches, Lockes, Slopers and Waylens. An
indication of the large infusion of Anglicanism was
the trust deed’s stipulation that preachers should
have freedom to wear the surplice. Dissent was also
revitalised by the advent of Wesleyan Methodism.
After initial fierce obstruction on the Wesleys’ early
visits to Devizes in the 1740s, when local mobs
were incited to attack the visitors by High Church
curate Edward Innes and wealthy clothier Prince
Sutton, a small Wesleyan group began to meet in
a room behind John Cheater’s weaving shop in
Sheep Street, numbering 37 in 1757, largely smaller
traders and artisans,** and according to the Rector
‘very few, if any, of better rank’.”’ But their numbers
increased sufficiently to warrant the opening of a

|
) yeoman Samuel Capper, a tenant of William Powell,
‘was a niece of Joseph Fry of Bristol, who became
‘one of the Trustees of the Devizes Meeting House,

|
|
|

\]
}

‘Quakers grew rich, the sons and daughters of John

new chapel in 1819.

Although less numerous than the 50-strong
Melksham group, a Quaker community had existed
in Devizes since the mid-seventeenth century, with
‘their own burial ground at Hillworth on the town’s
outskirts. In 1647 they acquired two tenements
“on the Green as a meeting place,” replacing them

with a High Street meeting house in 1702.7! A map
-drawn by John Fry in 1737 showed that eleven
meetings were held a year” but Quaker numbers
waned in the early eighteenth century, reviving
-in the 1770s when increased use of the meeting
-house necessitated repairs costing £30 in 1778.”
- Prominent among new members were the Gilkes
‘family of clockmakers and the farming Powells of
‘Nursteed. William Powell, who served as an elder,
owas the mainstay of the Devizes group, winter
meetings even being held at his house in 1819 to
“save expense on heating the hall. As a member
‘of the Gloucestershire and Wiltshire General
‘Committee, he was responsible for property and
‘finance, and his three wives were all ministers of
ithe church. His dominant influence is illustrated
iby the fact that when the Powells left Devizes in
'1824, meetings for worship were discontinued.
| Numbering 33 membersin 1790,somedescended
‘from seventeenth-century ancestors imprisoned for
itheir beliefs, the Quaker community ranged right
‘across the economic spectrum, including wealthy
{bankers and brewers the Tylees, surgeon Francis
‘Riley, lawyer Francis Bayley, cabinet maker John

Sant Sips SU vee Brees‘ | rt sees Se re ee Wace ne (eens we mel eK a ae

‘Pinnock, brickmaker Robert West and baker
Thomas Neaves. The Friends, recognisable by their
sober dress and plain speech, were a close knit and

‘mutually supportive group. Quaker visitors came to

||Devizes from London, Bath, Kent and Shropshire.

(On 28 January 1799 George Sloper noted ‘A Quaker

‘woman from North America spoke and preached
‘up in the Town Hall in the evening’.** Friends
normally married within their faith. The mother of

sand Devizes baker Thomas Rose married Mary Fry
‘of Bath.* As so often happened, however, when

| Tylee married out of the faith, despite visits from

(three ministers to dissuade them. Tylee, although

a Trustee, did not play an active role in the church,

| concentrating instead on his business interests,
| which probably benefited from Quaker investment.
| Friends could not hold public or professional office
| or attend university, but most Quakers prospered

FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY: URBAN COLLECTIVISM IN LATE GEORGIAN DEVIZES

139

in trade, which offered them security and a sense
of public service. Their emphasis on the prompt
payment of debts gave them a high credit rating and
their rejection of primogeniture meant that family
fortunes could not be wasted by a spendthrift.
Quaker industry and frugality ensured the steady
accumulation of wealth while marriage links
provided an efficient contact network. Charities set
up in the early eighteenth century for the benefit
of poor Friends in Devizes were no longer used
by the end of the century, having a surplus of £55
11s. 8d.*° “Due care’ was taken for the ‘educating of
their offspring in the Way of Truth’; eight guineas
were allowed for Joseph Neaves’ board at Ackworth
School in Yorkshire.’ Ethical principles remained
constant. Quakers condemned gambling, drinking,
hunting and shooting : ‘jet our leisure be employed
in serving our neighbours and not in destroying
the creatures of God for our amusement’.*® Their
pacifism led the Quakers to disown three members,
including bankers Charles and Thomas Tylee, who
joined the militia in 1803, and their distinctive
trading ideals made them disavow one of their
number, mealman and maltster John Neaves, who
had run into debt through relying on paper credit.

At the other end of the religious spectrum,
Roman Catholicism made little impact in Devizes.
The Compton Census of 1676 listed 228 Papists
in Wiltshire, the majority centred round Stourton
and Wardour in the south of the county. In his
Visitation replies in 1783, the Rector of Devizes
reported no Papists in Devizes , though five
were listed in St. Mary’s parish in 1767 and four
in 1780. Of these, sixty-year old cabinet maker
Gabriel Cruse, his wife and niece were connected
with an old namesake Catholic family in Wootton
Bassett, north Wiltshire. Gabriel was the son of
Francis and Anne Cruse who appeared liable to
Papist fines in the Anglican return of 1706.*° There
was considerable prejudice in Devizes against
Catholics. In 1807 the Corporation addressed the
King thanking him for resisting the removal of
Catholic disabilities and his ‘inflexible adherence
to those sacred principles which established your
Majesty’s illustrious Family to the throne of this
Kingdom’.*! Protestant Nonconformity was the
greater challenge to the Established Church in the
north and west Wiltshire clothing towns. Excluded
from national politics, Dissenters became an
increasingly vocal force, promoting the repeal of
the Test and Corporation Acts and the anti-slavery
campaign. Close relationships in trade and society
and their support for the Government during the

140 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

French Revolution prevented a backlash against
Devizes Dissenters. Leading individuals of mixed
religions worked together on the Committee of the
Wiltshire Auxiliary of the British and Foreign Bible
Society, the Quaker Tylee brothers co-operating
with Baptist Richard Knight, Congregationalists
Robert Waylen and Wadham Locke and Anglicans
William Salmon and William Hughes.” A new
pluralism and sense of communal responsibility
overlaid past religious bitterness; religion now
provided a network of links and contacts and
a context in which philanthropy and Christian
charity could flourish. There were, of course, many
residents who did not attend any church. In the
1801 Census, it was found that only one tenth of
the population took Easter communion. The Rev.
Lediard admitted that ‘it cannot be ascertained
who commonly absent themselves from all public
worship of God’.** But many of these would have
contact with Christian principles through moral
tracts and reading aloud from the Bible. Despite
their lack of formal worship they lived within a
framework of religious values. Apart from rowdy
attacks on the Wesleyans in 1747, the picture is
one of tolerant co-existence, though Anglican and
Dissenting children were still segregated at the
Coronation celebrations in 1821.*

In a sermon preached at Abingdon in 1795,
Baptist minister James Biggs declared that, ‘Man’s
religion can never be true which does not make
him a better member of Society’.* Late eighteenth-
century sermons stressed the debt owed by the
rich to the poor and Devizes was notable for its
philanthropy and sense of social duty. Through
the Overseers of the Poor, St John’s and St.
Mary’s parishes were involved in administering
the town’s voluntary charities, including those of
the Nonconformists. Devizes was extremely well-
endowed with charities, as Table 2 shows, coming
second after Salisbury and far exceeding other
Wiltshire towns , a sign of the town’s prosperity.

The benevolence of former residents or visitors
had occasioned some sixty bequests from the
sixteenth century onwards, providing the poor
with shirts, coats, blankets, coal, bread and money
payments. In 1774 Thomas Bancroft of Bristol
bequeathed £500 to provide poor Presbyterian
men with money in the Spring and blue cloth
coats in the Autumn. For two centuries until 1802,
the Corporation had paid ‘Coventry’s Dole’, the
legacy of a poor weaver befriended in Devizes who
subsequently made a fortune in Coventry. Two men
went round the town annually, distributing a penny

Table 2. Charities in Wiltshire Towns in the early
nineteenth century.

Town Population | Number of | % of
1801 Charities ee

Bradford-on-Avon*
Calne
Chippenham
Cricklade
Devizes
Highworth
Malmesbury
Marlborough
Melksham
Salisbury
Swindon
Trowbridge
Warminster
Westbury
Wilton
Wootton Bassett

—"
\O

mm UM W Ov

NO
[oe]

Nm WW MN DW Ww

* Includes South Wraxall, Atworth, Holt, Leigh
and Winsley

Source: Reports of the Commissioners...to enquire con-
cerning Charities 1819-1837 (1839), passim

loaf to every townsman and a two-penny loaf to
travellers. The great burden of poor relief, however,
was borne by the parish ratepayers, who also had
to act as unpaid poor law officers. P Colquhoun
calculated in 1806 that one third of all households
paid the Poor Rate.*° The more vulnerable members
of society were at the mercy of the weather, trade
slumps, bad harvests and economic changes. A
writer in 1833 claimed that ‘without poor laws,
the great bulk of society must remain in a state of
hopeless and irreclaimable misery’.*’ In Devizes,
as in most other towns, poverty and squalor co-
existed with affluence in the late eighteenth and
early nineteenth centuries, and the responsibility of
supporting the poor became increasingly arduous.

A Survey of the Poor of St. Mary’s parish taken
on 24 March 1802 found that over the preceding
two years ordinary relief had been regularly granted
to 160 households, ranging from 1 to 9 persons. In
addition, seven bastards were supported by the
parish. The poor included widows, orphans, the
sick, the disabled, wage-earners with families and
small craftsmen affected by economic difficulties,
as Table 3 shows :

FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY: URBAN COLLECTIVISM IN LATE GEORGIAN DEVIZES 141

Households 160

Widows 24 (11 working)
Soldiers’ families 11

Disabled 11

Deserted families

Orphans 2
Families 40
Aged 17

Single Women 36 (26 working)
Single Mothers 14
Unknown status 3

Source: WRO, 543/22, Survey of St Mary’s Poor
1800-1802.

Although seventeen male heads of households were
unemployed, few men retired until they were forced
to do so by incapacity. The working class , with no
opportunity to save, depended on poor relief in
their old age and the seventeenth-century ballad
“‘Hang-care, the parish is bound to save us’ reflects
this attitude. Eleven men were still working over the
age of 60 in St Mary’s parish, including a scribbler
and a tobacco cutter, both aged 75. The chief male
recipients of relief were in the clothing trade,
scribblers, spinners and weavers (ten) or labourers
(six). Women’s occupations were predominantly

| washing (thirteen) and the cloth trade, spinning,

weaving, winding and warping (thirty six). Weekly
earnings ranged from 1s. for a washerwoman to 18s.
for a wheelwright and a broad weaver, with 7 and

- 4 children respectively to support. Children could

supplement the family income by bird-scaring, child
care or quilling, so helping to pay the rents, which
varied between 4d. and 2s. 2 d.

Weekly ordinary payments ranged from 6d. for
an eighteen-year old single woman to 7s. for a family
of four orphans aged between four and fourteen. One
third of the families relieved were involved in the
cloth trade, a result of the collapse of John Anstie’s
business and the introduction of machinery. Sir
Frederick Eden revealed the effect of mechanisation
on the village of Seend, four miles from Devizes:

The labouring poor are very dependent on the
neighbouring towns where the cloth manufacture
is carried on; but unfortunately since the
introduction of machinery hand spinning has
fallen into disuse..**

The basis of the town’s economy was shifting.
Whereas a writer after the 1739 Wiltshire weavers’

' riots had described the clothier as ‘the Sun who

scatters Life and Support to every one around him’,””
now that guarantee of work was slipping away, and
life in the clothing trade was becoming precarious.
Travelling through the Hampshire Avon valley in
1826, Cobbett noted the decline of spinning and
carding work for women and children: ‘it is now
wholly gone and this has made a vast change in the
condition of the people’. °° Whereas spinners used to
receive ls. to ls. 2d. per pound, now they received 5d.
Food absorbed 60 to 70% of their income, including
some 33% spent on bread,*! while rent accounted for
between 10 and 20%.”

Although there were specific factors pertaining
to Devizes, general economic forces also affected
the working class who until 1795 had in varying
degrees benefited from increased business growth, as
evidenced by contemporary pamphleteers’ criticism
of their purchase of tea, sugar and wheaten bread.
Britain had ceased to be self-sufficient in grain by the
second half of the eighteenth century and imports
increased in 1796. A series of bad harvests and the
inflationary effects of the war led to rising wheat
prices and a doubling of the cost of living between
1795 and 1800, so that fewer families could now
afford to eat wheaten bread. Henry Hunt noted how
‘the poor man, from the very first year of the war,
began to feel the cruel effects of high prices’.*? There
were only three abundant harvests between 1793
and 1818. The average price of wheat per quarter
almost doubled in thirty years, from 47s. in 1783 to
92s. in 1813; in 1812 it reached 126s. compared with
30s. in the 1750s.°* With prices as high as this, half
a working class budget might be spent on bread.
Such was the local scarcity in 1800 that each Devizes
person was restricted to one quartern loaf a week
and the consumption of pastry was forbidden.* A
year later Devizes Corporation took the unusual
step of giving £50 to a poor relief fund because of
‘the enormous price of provisions’.*° Wages failed
to keep pace with food prices, falling between
1799 and 1800 to their seventh lowest level in the
period 1541-1871 and their fourth lowest between
1800 and 1801.°’ Sir Frederick Eden commented
‘the present dear times are very severely felt by
all families’.** A series of hard winters exacerbated
the problem and the expenditure on poor relief in
Devizes mirrored frequent food crises. In his diary
in 1803, William Cunnington commented on the
high price of cheese and the shortage of potatoes
after the recent drought*’ and it was noted in 1795
that ‘the severity of the winter has also necessarily
advanced the price of butcher meat, butter and
cheese’. The Government advocated alternative

142 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

sources of nourishment and the ‘greatest Economy
and Frugality in the use of every Species of Grain’,
but working class dependence on bread as a complete
food needing no preparation was hard to break.°!

Other factors added to subsistence difficulties.
People often experienced changes of condition
in their lives and Defoe distinguished between
the poverty of inheritance and the poverty of
disaster.” Although women and children’s wages
could boost family incomes, the decline of living-
in apprenticeships strained family budgets, and
childbirth, sickness and old age could cause disaster.
Indirect taxes hit the poor hard so that many were
living just above the bread line, and due to the high
death rate there were many orphaned children.
Expenditure on the poor in St. James’s chapelry is
shown below:

Table 4. Expenditure on the Poor, St. James’s chapelry
1780-1805

th
o
Pp.

1780-1
1784-5
1788-9
1792-3
1793-4
1795-6
1796-7
1799-1800
1801-2
1802-3
1803-4
1804-5

7
0
7
9
2
4
0

poet pet
ak)

Source: WRO, 594/69, St. James’s Overseers of the
Poor accounts 1778-1806.

Poor relief peaked in the severe winter of 1784-5
and also in the years 1795-1800 when poor harvests
were compounded by cold winters. Between 1801
and 1804 high wheat prices resulted from several
seasons of drought, but there was a noticeable fall in
expenditure in 1804-5 when there was a good harvest.
The figures for Devizes over a period of twenty years
mirror the national rise in poor law expenditure,
from £2 million in 1786 to £4.2 million in 1803. In
Wiltshire generally the sums expended on the poor
increased almost nine-fold during the period 1759-
1820, as Table 5 shows.

Only seven English counties had a higher total
than Wiltshire in 1803 - Essex, Kent, Middlesex,
Norfolk, Surrey, Sussex and the West Riding of
Yorkshire.

Table 5. Poor Law expenditure in Wiltshire 1759-1820

£22, 938
£92, 114

£128, 635
£137, 626
£188, 808

Source: J.Wade, History of the Middle and Working
Classes (1833), p. 561

In St. John’s parish, Devizes, wartime poor law
expenditure rose to unprecedented levels, with
the rise in the price of bread and the burden of
supporting militia men’s families and illegitimate
children, whose numbers rose to 32 in 1816, and
who accounted for 10% of total payments in 1818.
The St. John’s Poor Rate in 1803 was 19s. 6d in the
£, the highest in the whole of Wiltshire; in St. Mary’s
it was 15s. 6d in the £. The nearest comparable rate
in the county was 16s. 6d in another cloth town,
Trowbridge. St. John’s poor law expenditure is
tabulated below:

Table 6. St. John’s Poor Law Expenditure 1800-1813

1,649 6 11%
L612) 199i

1,905 19 6%
1,952 17 _ 8%

Source: WRO, 632/111, St. John’s Overseers of the
Poor accounts 1805-1813.

In 1803 outdoor relief in Devizes amounted to
£2,848 5s. 1ld., the greatest sum in the county after
Westbury. St. John’s bore the largest burden, with
a high number of elderly and juvenile poor, and
greater expenditure on ordinary payments, shown
in Table 7:

Table 7. Numbers of people in receipt of relief in the three
Devizes areas 1803

a as 155) | 374
= 206 | 607
oe 41 104 | 315

247 | 442 | 142 | 465_ 11,296

Source: Abstract of Returns relative to the Expence
and Maintenance of the Poor 1803, p. 570.

Poor relief was interpreted in a liberal sense,

- extraordinary expenditure covering items such as

' a new well rope and ‘restoring a woman’s sight’, as

- well as allowing ‘2s. to a stranger, a native of Russia’

in 1779 and ten years later ‘2s.6d to an American
family in distress’. In 1795, a carpenter was allowed

- £1 11s. 6d. to redeem his tools from the pawnbroker®

and a horse and gig were provided to take a woman
to Bath Hospital.

Funeral expenses, confinements, washing,
nursing, bedding and inoculation against smallpox
all feature in the Overseers of the Poor accounts,

_ inoculation probably being a cheaper alternative

to looking after the infected poor. Pauper orphans
were apprenticed in Devizes or neighbouring towns,
six-sevenths of them in the clothing trade, though
some were sent further afield. One was apprenticed
to a London tailor in 1778, another to a Berkshire
cordwainer in 1814.° Conversely paupers were
contracted out from other counties. Benjamin Webb
Anstie was paid £1 10s. for employing E. Ellen of
Portsmouth for thirty weeks at the beginning of
1798.°° Payments were made to Devizes town school
and also to dame schools, of which there were at
least 10 in the period 1795-1797. While attendance
varied from 6 weeks to half a year, as economic
circumstances allowed, it is clear that the Overseers
would not countenance fraud. St. Mary’s sexton
Mary Lewis was allowed 2s. a week to look after her
infirm mother and her brother ‘in all proper and
necessary Victuals, Drink and clothing, sufficient
for them in their condition of life’, but the Overseers

- emphasised that if she harboured her two able-

bodied brothers, she would incur ‘the Displeasure
of the Vestry’.

The Old Poor Law was, nevertheless, a generous
and flexible system, providing employment as
well as relief. St. John’s and St. Mary’s had always
maintained separate poor houses, but in 1799,
because of the rise in pauperism through repeated
economic crises, it was decided to buy John Anstie’s
old factory to use as a joint workhouse® where ‘the
poor are provided with bread, lodging and clothing
and have work supplied, for which they receive a
limited allowance’. Pending the sale of Anstie’s
property, the building afforded a large space,
accommodating up to a hundred, in which to deal
with the growing problem of the destitute able-
bodied poor.” However, the experiment lasted only
the three years minimum stipulated in the original
agreement, possibly because the more affluent St.
John’s parish was bearing the brunt of the cost.”
In 1802 both parishes removed their poor, dividing

- FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY: URBAN COLLECTIVISM IN LATE GEORGIAN DEVIZES 143

the goods and stock in the ratio of two thirds to St.
John’s and one third to St. Mary’s. This change
of policy contributed to the escalation of poor
law expenditure in 1802-1803, by increasing the
amount of outdoor relief. Land on the town’s eastern
outskirts, known as Newtown, was purchased by St.
Mary’s parish to build a poor house, and St. John’s
moved their paupers to the old Eyles almshouse in
Short Street.

Besides official charities, there were instances
of more informal benevolence. In his will in 1778,
armigerous linen draper Thomas Thurman left
£1,000 to the working people of Devizes who were
not paupers. After the names of all journeymen and
their dependants were listed, it was found that every
man, woman and child would receive at least half
a guinea; some families received £5 or £6, which,
according to Thurman’s executor James Sutton,
caused ‘cheerful faces among small tradesmen.’ ”
He also left ‘a very large sum’ to educate and clothe
15 poor children for three years for ever, one guinea
to every person in the almshouse and £50 to the
poor of Devizes ‘to whom he had always been good’.
In 1784 Mayor Samuel Adlam gave away faggots
to the poor”? and twelve years later Dr Spalding,
snuffmaker Benjamin Webb Anstie, upholsterer
Richard Knight and draper Robert Bruges, among
others, loaned sums of up to £50 to equip the
workhouse.” During the bad winter of 1784, it was
reported that ‘the sufferings of the poor have been
greatly alleviated during the late inclement season
by the benevolent assistance of many gentlemen
and manufacturers’.’” When one of his labourers fell
off his horse, breaking his shoulder blade, clothier
John Anstie, mindful of the man’s sick wife and four
children, took on the eldest boy as an apprentice in
1788.”° Stephen Hillman had evidently given £10 to
Mary Amor, perhaps a former servant, for which she
expressed ‘a thousand thanks ...Honoured Sir, you
are a kind friend to me in my old age, you are the
saving of my life’.”

‘The Poor’ constituted the most serious problem
of the eighteenth century, provoking growing debate
about the potential threat to the stability of society.
The multiplication of the lower orders through
improved food supply and the lessening of major
epidemics, as well as the increasing economic class
gap, made ‘the poor’ an object of concern and fear
for the élite. The contemporary view of the labouring
class was that they did not contribute in any positive
way to the country’s wealth, though the need for a
plentiful supply of cheap labour was recognised as
necessary for a favourable balance of trade.

144 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Contribution to poor relief was regarded as an
unpleasant duty and dependence on it a disgrace.
Thomas Malthus warned of population outstripping
resources and figures such as Edmund Burke and
Arthur Young examined the question of scarcity.
Recognition of the growing problem of poverty
and unemployment at the end of the century was
symbolised by the foundation in 1796 of the Society
for Bettering the Condition of the Poor and the
production a year later of Sir Frederick Eden’s three-
volume survey of the poor. Although the tradition
of passive almsgiving continued, the system came
under increasing strain and the late eighteenth
century witnessed a new trend towards practical
assistance through apprenticeships, education and
contributory organisations to encourage thrift,
self-reliance and personal esteem. Contemporaries
judged the poor law on cost rather than efficacy.
The great output of pamphlets in the 1790s and the
post-war years, when ratepayers were shouldering
an increasing burden of poor relief as well as heavy
taxation, stressed the necessity that the poor should
be independent. A 1763 pamphlet published in
Salisbury advocated that the poor ‘instead of being
wholly supported by the public, may contribute to
the support, assistance and relief mutually of each
other and be of some advantage to the community,
to which they have only been hitherto a heavy and
grievous burthen’.” The Rev John Skinner, Vicar
of Camerton in Somerset, feared that the Poor Law
checked that ‘natural affection which ought to
bind a human creature ... to his kindred’ and that
it provided ‘an excuse to the ill-disposed and self-
interested for not performing the duties which are
required of them’.” William Cobbett criticised the
‘comforting’ system, which implied interference on
one side and dependence on the other, *° while the
Reverend Joseph Townsend advocated the abolition
of outdoor relief and the compulsory establishment
of Friendly Societies.*! Asserting that ‘a crisis seems
to have appeared’, Patrick Colquhoun thought the
way to help the poor was to promote provident
habits, ‘to lead the poor, by gentle and practicable
means, into the way of helping themselves’.*
Moralists fulminated against the corrupting effect on
the poor of society’s consumerism and extravagance.
Arthur Young censured the poor for their idleness,
acquisitiveness and their consumption of tea.*
The poor copied the rich - ‘their example is the
fountain from whence the vulgar form their habits,
actions and characters’.** The great problem was to
distinguish between the deserving and undeserving
poor, and it was hoped that by condemning idleness

and instilling a sense of financial responsibility,
the mounting problem of supporting a seemingly
permanent sub-class of paupers might be reduced.

Throughout the country this new approach
of ‘self-help’ led to the formation of contributory
benefit clubs. Faced with apothecaries’ bills and loss
of earnings through illness, the poor turned to this
new source of support and by 1793 some 5,117 local
clubs were registered nationally; in the 1803 Poor
Law returns , some 9,672 societies were flourishing,
with an average of 73 members. Devizes clubs were
based at inns such as The Royal Oak, The King’s
Arms , and The Hare and Hounds, with a town total
of 220 members in 1803. There were evidently
sufficient numbers for four clubs to march in the
civic peace procession in 1814.°° Daniel Defoe had
described the growth of such bodies earlier in the
century : ‘a Number of People entring into a Mutual
Compact to Help one another, in case any Disaster
or Distress fall upon them’ *’ and T. Alcock in 1752
remarked that Friendly Societies existed in one
form or another, especially in the West Country.®
Sir Frederick Eden noted their contribution to the
welfare of the poor: ‘no institutions have ever made
a more considerable progress in a short space of time
than has been made within a few years by the Benefit
Clubs or Friendly Societies’.®

One such body in Devizes was the Scribblers
Club, established in 1765 to give impoverished cloth-
workers some sense of control over their lives, when
accident or disaster could strike without warning.
Club treasurer John Anstie reported to the Bath and
West Society in 1783 that very few members now
applied to the parish for relief, and that if they had
not belonged to the club, ‘the whole of this money
must have been drawn from the Poor’s Rates, but
even a larger sum’. Moreover, it helped to ‘preserve
that honest pride and spirit of independency
which the poor generally lose when they submit to
parochial maintenance’. As a result of this letter, the
Bath and West offered premiums for new societies.”
Certainly in Devizes, Friendly Societies proved
their worth in hard times and played a major role
in poor relief as Anstie pointed out in his 1783 letter
to the Bath and West Society with facts and figures,
tabulated below, which show a drop in numbers
during the American war, though the cash paid out
doubtless tided previous contributors over periods
of hardship:

- FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY: URBAN COLLECTIVISM IN LATE GEORGIAN DEVIZES 145

E Table 8. Cash drawn for Sick and Burials from

|
|
j
i
|
|
|
|
|

SS ————————————————EEe=EEe=EE=E=>=>ee=>=EeeeeeeeE—

September 1765 to September 1783; the Scribblers
Club at the Black Horse, Devizes

Year Number of Cash paid
members

1765-6 £48 Os. 5d.
1766-7 a0 15S. 50.
1767-8 £41 10s. 11d.
1768-9 £40 17s. 6d.
1769-70 £40 18s. Od.
1770-1 £41 2s. 6d.
1771-2 SM Ts3i6d:
1772-3 £47 14s. 2d.
1773-4 E27 ssOd!
1774-5 £38 9s. 6d.
1775-6 £51 1s. 4d.
1776-7 £41 12s. 6d.
1777-8 £ 38 18s. Od.
1778-9 £ 38 18s. Od.
1779-80 £23 6s. 9d.
1780-1 £31 Os. 4d.
1781-2 £42 6s. Od.
1782-3 £88) 15sy3d.

Total £748 15s. 1d.

Source: John Anstie to the Bath and West Secretary
10 Oct. 1783: Letters and Papers on Agriculture,
Planting etc. Vol. 3 (1791), pp. 349-352.

Perhaps based on Jeremy Bentham’s idea of ‘a
frugality bank’,?! the Devizes Savings Bank was
founded in 1816 for more flourishing workers:

to afford every industrious and provident person
... a Steady increase of their savings and to
enable them ... to obtain that personal comfort
and independence which arise from prudent
conduct.”

Deposits of between ls. and £25 were invested in
4% Consols. With distinguished patronage from
Viscount Sidmouth, the Duke of Somerset, the Earl
of Pembroke and Joshua Smith M.P, the Bank was
run by 39 managers, including William Wroughton
Salmon, bankers Thomas and Charles Tylee, and
brewer James Gent. In a House of Commons debate
on the Savings Bank Bill in 1816, George Rose
claimed that such banks ‘tended ... to revive in the
lower classes that decent spirit of independence...
which shrinks from accepting parochial relief ’.””
Some half dozen of the leading gentry and
professionals in Devizes contributed to the Wiltshire
Society, established in 1817 to apprentice children
of poor persons from Wiltshire resident in London
and to lend them money when their apprenticeships

expired to establish themselves in trade.”* For
widows, the Devizes Annuity Society flourished at
The Queen’s Head.” Other charities had a moral
rather than economic purpose, to make the poor
virtuous and God-fearing. Patrick Colquhoun
thought the best antidote to crime was ‘promoting
religious and moral habits among the inferior classes
of society’, to produce a submissive and disciplined
work force.”° The Rev. Fenner held a club at his house
every six weeks for poor men, when they sang hymns
and psalms and partook of beer and dinner in the
schoolroom.” An unidentified charity book dated
1808 lists books given to the poor in the Roundway
and Green areas on the town’s outskirts. They
included The Excellent Daughter and The Christian’s
Way to Heaven as well as bibles, prayer books and
The Salisbury Spelling Book.” Indoctrination of the
children of the masses was another way of ensuring
social harmony; ‘an increasing desire to instruct
the poor, to inform the ignorant and reclaim the
vicious is spreading among us’ noted Hannah
More.” A Sunday School, founded in 1817, based
first at Anstie’s old factory and later on the Green,
was funded by leading townsmen such as William
Salmon, James Gent, John and Charles Tylee.
Bishop Barrington approved of Sunday schools as
habituating the poor to practise Christian principles
while not indisposing them to manual labour.'®
Hannah More’s Cheap Repository Tracts assured
the poor that an all-wise Providence had created
scarcity ‘to show the poor how immediately they
are dependent upon the rich’.'*! The aim was to
humanise but not to overthrow the class structure:

So when on earth things look but odd
They’re working still some scheme of God.!”

Reflecting the growth of subscribing organisations,
the most unusual charitable institution in Devizes
was the Bear Club, founded in 1756 and meeting
every Tuesday evening at The Bear. Membership
was by invitation from existing members and
provided ‘an opportunity for persons of all shades
of political opinions to meet in social and friendly
intercourse’.!°? This was similar to the Evening Club
founded in Manchester in 1720 where members
paid for ale and entertainment.’ The Bear Club
in Devizes came to possess a certain social cachet,
and membership rose from 50 in 1775 to 190 in
1815. Normally between 10 and 20 attended the
weekly meetings, but 70 to 100 ‘gentlemen of the
first rank and consequence’ '° were attracted to
the annual dinner, when Devizes curriers and soap
boilers might rub shoulders with the likes of Henry

146 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Addington and the Marquesses of Ailesbury and
Lansdowne. Wiltshire M.Ps and gentry belonged to
the club and in Devizes the most numerous groups,
tabulated below, were attorneys, brewers, clothiers,
doctors, drapers, gentlemen, grocers and innkeepers,
paralleling the representation of these elements, bar
the last named, on the Corporation.

Table 9. Bear Club Members in Devizes 1760-1820

Attorney 12 Grocer 11
Banker 4 Ironmonger 5
Brewer 7 Mealman 1
Cabinet maker |1 Plumber 1
Cheese factor [2 Schoolmaster /|4
Cordwainer 1 Stonemason 1
Cutler 1 Wine merchant | 1
Farmer 6 Baker 2
Glover 2 Brazier 3
Innkeeper 12 Butcher 3
Maltster 8 Clothier 11
Organist l Coachmaker _{1_
(Sadler l |Currier 2
Soapboiler 2 Draper 20
Watchmaker 1 Gardener 3
Auctioneer 3 Hatter |
Bookseller 6 Land surveyor |1
Builder 3 M.P 4
Chemist 2 Poulterer 1
Clergy 6 Snuffmaker _|3_
Corn factor 1 Timber trader. |2
Doctor 19 Woolstapler Linal
Gent 15

Source: J.Hurley, The History of the Bear Club
1756-1875 (Devizes 1995), passim.

Thus the membership consisted largely of traders,
professionals and superior craftsmen, ranging not
only across the social spectrum, but also a wide
area of Wiltshire and beyond, including the Earl
of Northampton, Lord William Seymour, Sir J.W.
Anderson, Alderman of London, Sir Eyre Coote,
FE Falkner of Bath and the Rev. Dr J. Skinner. Some
of these figures were related to Devizes members.
Charles Compton, Earl of Northampton (1760-
1828) had married the eldest daughter of the town’s
M.P. Joshua Smith while Sir J.W.Anderson was the
husband of grocer Charles Simpkins’ daughter.
Others lived in neighbouring counties. Sir Eyre
Coote (1726-1783), who had led British forces in
India, resided at Rockbourne on the Hampshire
border and the Rev. Dr Skinner’s living was at
Camerton in Somerset.

The purpose of the club, ‘supported by the
most respectable persons in the county’, was
philanthropic as well as social; it was described in

1825 as ‘the oldest County charity which has been
supported entirely by voluntary subscriptions’.!°”
Dickens later remarked that many of the great
London charities originated beneath the waistcoats
of citizens at their dinners. Subscriptions, donations
and fines for non-attendance at meetings funded
education and clothing for poor boys from the
Devizes district from the age of 8 or 10 for three
or four years, and fitted them for various trade
apprenticeships at a sum not exceeding £10. Six
boys were taught initially, the curriculum including
Cyphering, Tables, Writing, Mental Arithmetic and
Book-Keeping, but by 1796 twenty-four pupils were
being educated by a master, whose salary was fixed at
£40 in 1812. Club members took a keen interest in
the boys whom they had nominated and committees
carried out periodic inspections. Clothing prizes
were awarded to the best school leavers but in 1796
one boy was expelled for bad behaviour.' Great
attention was paid to moral instruction ‘to prevent
their Swearing and Lying, the Grand Leaders to
other Vices’ and to neatness in their person. The
clothes provided - coat, waistcoat, breeches and
hat - should only be worn on Sundays, and parents
were urged to send the boys ‘clean and Decent to
Church and School’. Prayers were said daily; the
boys were taught the catechism and had to attend
two Sunday church services. Politeness and a sense
of place were required; the boys must, ‘always show
respect to those whom they meet, particularly to
those in Stations and degrees above them’.!” The
Bear Club School was similar to the Portsmouth
Beneficial School, founded in 1755, which also
used members’ contributions and fines to fund
schooling for poor boys, and, like the Devizes School,
to ‘train the boys in right habits ... instilling into
their minds useful knowledge, correct views of duty
...whereby they might become useful members of
the community’.!°

Between 1760 and 1820, the Bear Club in Devizes
apprenticed some 146 boys, many of them sons
of widows or small tradesmen and artisans. The
most common destination at the end of the boys’
schooling was apprenticeship to shoemakers or
tailors or as servants, though a wide range of trades
was covered, from smiths to hairdressers. Most found
work in the Devizes area, but a few were sent as far
afield as Bath, Birmingham and London. One was
apprenticed to a Bristol glass merchant, another toa
Marlborough basket maker, so the club evidently had
wide contacts. Some went into their father’s trade
or into the army, one even entering the East India
Company’s service. The club thus enabled poorer

Sa _ =— —

FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY: URBAN COLLECTIVISM IN LATE GEORGIAN DEVIZES 147

families to provide their sons with a smattering
of education and with employment opportunities
which they otherwise could not afford. The
prospering gentry and traders of the Devizes area,
with a paternalistic sense of duty, were ‘showing the
lower classes the interest which those blessed with
more ample means take in their welfare’.'!!

But philanthropy was not the only motive for
charity. A writer in 1833 admitted that:

the poor laws have not been instituted for the
relief of the destitute only, but for the general
peace and security of the community ... to shield
society from the evils of mendicity and crime.!!”

A Wiltshire observer stressed the connection between
unemployment and crime: ‘Idleness and ignorance
were never yet united without producing their
natural fruits - riot, theft and every iniquity’.''? Most
traders and professionals had a personal interest in
order and philanthropy. William Sharp preached in
1755 that neglect of a poor man’s family could lead
to vice, violence and crime, whereas benevolent
patronage could produce industrious artisans and
useful members of the community.'"

Charity was, therefore, seen both as an antidote
to disorder and crime and a means of social control.
The foundation of the Philanthropic Society in
London in 1788 ‘for the prevention of Crimes and
the Reform of the Criminal Poor’ reflected upper
class fear of violence and lawlessness. Although the
relationship between the social orders was generally
characterised by paternalism and deference,
occasionally the hunger and frustration of the
poor spilled over into violence, particularly during
periods of dearth and high food prices in the mid-
1760s, 1795-1796 and 1800-1801. Devizes escaped
the worst of the riots in the West Country and the
Midlands, but sometimes the only response to
subsistence problems was to riot against the vested
interests of farmers, dealers and middlemen in order
to bring hoarded supplies to market. The majority of
the working population depended on a limited range
of staple foods, especially bread; Cobbett thought
that a family of five required 5 lbs . of bread a day.'”
Believing that they were defending traditional rights
or customs and conforming to the national pattern
of attempting to intimidate the local authorities,
in January 1765, ‘a tumultuous mob’, armed and
disguised, attacked the houses of the Mayor, the
Town Clerk, the Excise Officer and others, destroying
windows and furniture, though the immediate cause
of the outbreak was unclear.'!° Thirty years later, a
riot occurred in Devizes, as in most other Wiltshire

towns, because of food shortages and the magistrates’
enforcement of the Winchester corn measure of
eight gallons instead of the old bushel containing
nine.!’’ The labourers viewed this as a conspiracy to
lessen the size of the bushel while at the same time
maintaining the price of corn. When three sacks
of corn pitched in the market were ripped open,
the magistrates summoned the Yeoman Cavalry.
Although the market was interrupted ‘and the
inhabitants alarmed’, prosecution of the ringleaders
was dropped when they expressed their contrition.'!®
In 1800, another grain crisis ‘occasioned the
populace to show a disposition to riot’, but without
serious consequences.!!”

Cobbett recognised that ‘want, horrid want, is
the parent of crime’.'”° Despite the benevolence and
good works of society’s more prosperous members,
their very affluence was sometimes a temptation
to the indigent and envious. Southey claimed that
‘more offences are committed in England than
in other countries because there is more wealth
and more want; greater temptations to provoke
the poor, greater poverty to render them liable to
temptation’.!?! Everyone below the level of skilled
craftsman was probably under-nourished, especially
with the increase in indirect taxes on consumables.
The multiplication of material possessions, growing
inequalities and the stimulation of consumer
expectations made property more vulnerable, while
society’s increasing mobility led to an increase in
opportunistic theft. Eighteenth-century writers from
Defoe to Fielding and Colquhoun -commented on
the rising tide of crime, accentuated by newspaper
reports. Crimes against the person tended to lessen
in the eighteenth century with the growing distaste
for violence, but crimes against property increased.
A capitalised society was releasing new forms of
wealth which could not be adequately protected
without a regular police force. Larceny, the most
common crime, often decreased in wartime, when
troublesome elements in the population were
serving in the armed forces, but increased in
difficult periods of post-war economic and social
adjustment when large numbers of unemployed
soldiers were released into the community. Periods
of recession and rocketing food prices caused poverty
and unemployment and as Colquhoun observed
‘indigence, fostered by idleness ... produces a
disposition to moral and criminal offences’.'”’ Sixty-
five year old Mary Cutting was obviously motivated
by need when she stole a lump of coal from a local
coal yard in 1817,!¥ but other more saleable items
such as watches, silk handkerchiefs and rolls of

148 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

luxury cloth were targeted by thieves. In 1792, the
shutters of draper Thomas Whitfield’s shop were
cut and he was robbed of printed cottons, corduroys
and velvets.!* Richard Robbins, aged 17, embarked
on a life of petty crime, taking a telescope from the
Rey. Charles Lucas’s summer house in 1818 and
the following year stealing a great coat from a post
chaise!” as well as committing a number of crimes
elsewhere in Wiltshire.

Like many other urban communities in the
last quarter of the eighteenth century, Devizes
was forced to confront the problem of petty crime
against property. Colquhoun lamented that ‘crimes
have spread broad and wide’ but thought that
prosecutions for such crimes should no longer be
left to private citizens, because few had the time or
money to undertake them.’”° Despite the offer of
Government rewards and ‘Tyburn Tickets’ ”’ for
catching criminals, it was still left largely to private
enterprise to defend personal property. Against a
background of national unrest and rising crime, the
Devizes Prosecution Society was founded in 1787,
‘for the purpose of preventing as far as is possible
all offences ... against our persons and our property
... (which) ... too often go unpunished for want of
an effectual prosecution’.!** By 1800 there were 500
similar associations countrywide. Scaled rewards
were offered for information leading to arrest
and conviction and to finance legal action. Town
members contributed 3s. 6d. and those out of town
7s. 6d. Sixty-two subscribers joined initially in 1787,
the most numerous being brewers, clothiers, drapers,
farmers and grocers, those with the most valuable
goods to be stolen.

Table 10. Subscribers to Devizes Prosecution Society
1787: Most numerous groups

Innkeeper | 3

Attorney 4 | Draper

5
Brewer 3 | Farmer 5 Plumber 2
Butcher 3 Gentleman | 2 Snuffmaker | 2
Clothier 5 Grocer 4

Source: WRO, 1553/6, Devizes Prosecution Society
Minute Book 1789-1791.

The scale of rewards on offer varied, as the ensuing
table indicates:

Burglary, highway robbery, housebreaking
Setting fire to house, barn, outhouse, hay
Maiming or stealing cattle

Receiving stolen goods knowingly

5 guineas
3 guineas

Stealing poultry, corn, hay 2 guineas
Cutting or damaging trees, hedges, rails,

ironwork

Stealing fish from ponds

Robbing orchards, pulling up garden stuff _|10s. 6d.

Source: WRO, 1553/6: Devizes Prosecution
Society Minute Book 1787-91, passim.

In 1811 additional rewards were offered for offences
such as privately stealing from the person of a Society
member and for stealing eggs.

Through its committee of sixteen, the Prosecution
Society was soon dealing with cases of stolen poultry,
heifers, horses and garden produce, as well as
pilfering from shops and damage to hedges and
fences. In 1791 clothier John Anstie was allowed
£10 14s. for prosecuting one of his workers, Joseph
Cole, who had stolen some fancy waistcoats from his
factory. Cole, convicted at Winchester Assizes, was
reprieved on the intervention of his master, who ‘in
the true spirit of philanthropy took him again under
his protection, with a view to reclaim him and make
him an honest and deserving member of Society’.!”?
Despite a gap in the Prosecution Society records
between 1791 and 1811, the range of petty crimes
seems to have been consistent. Thefts of poultry,
horses, stockings and waistcoats occurred regularly,
but between 1812 and 1820 cattle maiming, sheep
thefts and malicious damage aimed at farmers and
magistrates increased. Crimes were thus motivated
by hunger, opportunism or the growing anger of the
poor at the shortage and exorbitant price of food, as
farmers withheld wheat in the hope of obtaining
higher prices. After a cattle maiming incident near
Devizes in 1817, a Bow Street officer attended to
inspect the cattle and a large reward was offered.!*°

Another deterrent was the installation of lighting
and watch boxes to make town streets safer. The
late-eighteenth century zeal for improvement,
which produced schools and hospitals, enclosures
and canals, also spawned Improvement and Paving
Commissions, ‘ad hoc’ bodies, to improve urban
amenities by providing lighting and paving and
clearing away refuse. Their aim was not so much
public health as convenience and the protection
of property. Improvement Commissions were one
of the major developments of the Georgian era. In
1771 it was reported that ‘a general spirit prevails
for correcting ancient errors and establishing
new improvements’.'?!} Westminster citizens
had banded together in 1725 and 1762 to levy a

FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY: URBAN COLLECTIVISM IN LATE GEORGIAN DEVIZES 149

rate to pave and light the streets, and Salisbury
pioneered the provincial movement in 1736. Soon
Bath, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Southampton,
Winchester and other communities followed suit,
taking what Borsay has called ‘an important step
towards urban collectivism’.'** The growing volume
of commercial traffic put pressure on the fabric and
layout of towns; moreover, the corporations had
signally failed to provide adequate services. Many
towns therefore sought legislative approval to
establish special Improvement Commissions. From a
slow start, with sixteen associations formed between

_ 1689 and 1759, the number of such bodies in England

and Wales rose to 100 by 1800.!? Seventy percent of
the Improvement Acts between 1690 and 1799 were
passed after 1760.'** The co-opted members, usually
the chief business inhabitants, sought to reinforce
the principle of personal obligation which was the
basis of English local government with an element
of collective responsibility. In 1780, an Improvement
Act was passed:

For Amending, Regulating, Cleansing, Lighting
Watching and keeping in Repair the Streets,
Lanes and Passages within the Borough of

The Devizes , and for Preventing Nuisances,
Annoyances and Obstructions therein

as ‘the said Borough hath a considerable Market
and is a very great Thoroughfare in the High
Road between London and Bath’.!® The task was
formidable. With no building regulations, there were
obstructions to commercial traffic from overhanging
windows, jutting out buildings, outward-opening
doors, flights of steps, mounting blocks and piles
of garbage, and when there was no moon it was
pitch dark.

The Trustees’ first meeting was held at The
Bear in July 1781, with William Salmon appointed
Clerk and Treasurer. The Mayor was an ex-officio
member; the rest served for life, vacancies being
filled by co-option. Improvement Commissions
tended to have a broader membership than Turnpike
Trusts. The Devizes Trustees were composed of £10
householders or those paying £12 a year in poor
rates. Clothiers, drapers, attorneys and gentlemen
were well to the fore among the 97 Trustees, with
most of the leading trades represented, from bankers
to bakers and brewers to grocers, as well as three
M.Ps and seven gentlemen. The most numerous
groups were 10 drapers, 9 doctors and 8 clothiers.
As there were no religious or party qualifications,
Devizes Nonconformists had the chance to exercise
influence in the community and take part in public

work. Initially meetings were held weekly, to make
appointments, agree contracts and decide on policy.
Attendances reached 158 in the first year and 102 in
the second, but the original enthusiasm faded and
later there were frequent adjournments through
sparse attendance or lack of business once the
system was running, despite a quorum being only
five. During Autumn 1785, for example, 12 weekly
meetings were adjourned as no Trustees attended.!*°
A small core of founder members regularly attended,
including clothier John Anstie, baker George
Sloper, drapers James Mayo and Robert Bruges and
gentleman John Flower.

Finance was provided by a 9d in the £ property
rate and by Sunday tolls from cattle and carriages
passing through the town, though the Commissioners
were also assisted by loans from prominent traders
such as James Sutton, John Tylee, Samuel Tayler and
Robert Waylen (sen.) on the security of the tolls. A
printed abstract of the Act was delivered to each
house and the town was divided into three districts,
with a Surveyor appointed for each area by tender
to supervise the provision of amenities. Scavengers
were also contracted annually for St. John’s and St.
Mary’s to cleanse the streets, paupers being used
to carry out the work for which they were paid 5s.
each.'*’ Watercourses and drains were to be cleaned
three times weekly, and roads within the town
repaired. In 1805, nearly two tons of sarsen stones
were removed from Avebury to mend the streets.!*8
James Sutton, who financed coats and watch boxes
for 4 night-watchmen to patrol the streets from 11
p.m. to 4 a.m., was thanked by the Corporation for
his ‘very generous support’.!*? Residents who paved
in front of their houses were allowed 2s. 6d to defray
the cost, and handbills cautioned those who did not
sweep the footways to 8 feet in front of their doors,
on pain of prosecution.

Better paved streets were good for business.
Adequate lighting was an aid to civil order as well
as prolonging effective trading hours. Ninety lamps,
costing 18s. each and carefully positioned on local
land surveyor Richard Richardson’s advice, were
erected by town carpenters and ironmongers and lit
from dusk until 2 a.m.'*°In 1795 the Improvement
Commission tried using a Bath contractor, Isaac
Tucker, to light the lamps, but after six months his
work proved unsatisfactory and his contract was not
renewed. Lighting advice was sought in 1805 froma
former resident, Alexander Lockey, who described
how Reading contracted with ‘a person in London’ to
supply lighting at 17s. 6d. a lamp for seven months.
His suggestion that a similar scheme might work

150 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

for Devizes was rejected on cost grounds, but it
is clear that the Commissioners were conscious of
similar developments in other communities Most
townsmen took their duties seriously. John Anstie
was thanked in July 1784 for his ‘great care, attention
and punctuality in lighting the lamps and repairing
the streets during the last year’.'*!

The Commissioners were conscientious in
supervising officials, scrutinising accounts and
dealing with recalcitrant residents. A Superintendent
of Watchmen had to be appointed in 1787, several
watchmen being dismissed for misbehaviour, and
prosecutions were threatened against inefficient
lamplighters. Many inhabitants were pre-empting
the twice-weekly visit of the Scavenger, carrying
away ‘great quantities of dung and soil’, perhaps
because ashes and manure had some market value for
use on gardens and in brick-making. A 10s. reward
was offered to apprehend those who vandalised
the lamps. In 1787, William Halcomb, landlord of
The Bear, was forced to apologise for his ‘improper
conduct’ in removing posts and chains erected to
protect new paving in the Brittox, a street leading to
his inn. Instilling a sense of collective responsibility
was clearly not easy, but the censure of fellow
townsmen was a weapon which the Commissioners
were not slow to employ. The accountability of
Improvement Commission officials contrasted
sharply with the Corporation’s laxity. Both directly
and indirectly, the Improvement Commission’s work
helped to stimulate the local economy. Plumber
George Bishop supplied lighting oil and grocer
Thomas Biggs candles and brooms, while draper
Robert Bruges provided watchmen’s clothing.!”
Men were employed carrying and breaking up stone,
repairing the road surfaces and opening drains.
Urban improvements in the eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries are evidence of increasing
local initiative, a growing civic consciousness and a
sense of identity among the bourgeoisie. Sidney and
Beatrice Webb saw a historical progression in the late
eighteenth century from ‘associations of producers’,
such as the church, the professions and the guilds,
to ‘associations of consumers’, formed to ensure the
carrying out of particular functions.!”

Realising the importance of their commercial
environment, the bourgeoisie began investing in
the urban fabric, building new market halls and
assembly rooms and taking action to improve town
amenities and gentrify their environment. Bath had
its first assembly room by 1708 and regional centres
such as Canterbury, Lincoln and York by the 1750s.
A common urban environment developed, based on

the London pattern. Many towns were improving
their market facilities, realising their importance to
general trade. Stockport market place, for example,
was re-paved and levelled in 1818. In Devizes a new
stone Shambles, financed as a political gift by Henry
Addington, replaced the old flimsy, flammable
wooden structures. The Corporation next turned
their attention to the Wool Hall, built in 1615. Both
Hungerford and Marlborough had built new Town
Halls in 1786 and Devizes, also on the route to Bath,
was conscious of the shabbiness of its civic building.
Dissatisfied with Bath architect John Pinch’s plans
and estimates for its repair, the Corporation turned
to architect James Wyatt for advice, perhaps through
the good offices of the Sutton family. Wyatt thought
the hall so decayed as not to be worth repairing, so
in 1806 the services of Thomas Baldwin, one of the
creators of Georgian Bath, were sought.’** By 1808
an elegant bow-fronted Bath stone building graced
the site, with an assembly room in the Adam style to
accommodate civic and social events, attract genteel
visitors and reflect the town’s civic identity as well
as the Corporation’s authority.

The wealth generated by commercial growth
and agricultural improvements helped to encourage
investment in transforming the town landscape,
making it attractive to residents and visitors and
creating a hospitable environment for cultural
activities. This was done by collective action, in
contrast to the sectionalism and individualism of
agricultural changes. Prosperous merchants and
gentry, familiar with London, Bath and Bristol,
expected higher environmental standards and were
prepared to co-operate and provide finance in the
form of loans. Although Devizes had to wait until
1825 for a more effective Improvement Commission,
a start was made in creating a more orderly and
salubrious civic environment. Pragmatically
pursuing their economic. interests, the merchants
and shopkeepers dominating the various voluntary
bodies set up to improve the urban scene realised the
commercial benefits ofa cleaner, safer and more stable
community. The humiliating loss of the American
colonies engendered an impetus to put the country
on its feet again, a desire to take religion and civic
duties seriously. Despite religious disagreements,
different sects co-operated in charitable and civic
activities. The doctrines of stewardship and personal
responsibility fundamental to Nonconformity
influenced the development of local humanitarian
and charitable movements, which helped to knit
the community together. The search for solutions to
urban problems also contributed to the formation of

FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY: URBAN COLLECTIVISM IN LATE GEORGIAN DEVIZES 151

middle class identity. Whether dealing with public
order, poor relief or charitable works, the provincial
‘middling sort’, with a sense of civic responsibility
and a stake in the social order, was finding its voice.

- Taking individual and group action to achieve

civic improvement and social harmony, and linked

~ through their religious affiliations and philanthropic

activities, they were perhaps unconsciously trying
- to mirror the architectural regeneration which had
transformed eighteenth-century Devizes.

Notes and References

eee =

Ile

Ens.

16.

18.
19,

20.

The Annual Register
p.236.

R.Porter, English Society in the Eighteenth Century
(1982), p.170.

Clerical Guide and Ecclesiastical Directory 1836, p.65.
E. Kite, ‘The Churches of Devizes’, W(iltshire)A (rcha
elogical)M(agazine) Vol.II, (1855), p.218.
M.Ransome, (ed), Wiltshire Returns to the Bishop’s
Visitation Queries 1783, W(iltshire) R(ecord) S(ociety)
Vol.X XVII (Devizes 1972), pp.85-86.

J. Brown, An Estimate of the Manners and Principles of
the Times (1757-1758), p.85.

WRO, 632/8, St. John’s churchwardens’ accounts
1758-1806.

E.Kite, ‘The Churches of Devizes’, WAM , Vol.II,
(1855), p.222

WAS (Library), Box 89, MS.988.

J.Britton, A Topographical and Historical Description of
the County of Wilts (1814), p.428.
S(alisbury)F(ournal)., 2665, 6 July 1789.

WRO, D1/54/53, Presentments 12 Jan. 1781.
T.Burgess, A Charge Delivered to the Clergy of the Diocese
of Salisbury in the summer of 1829 (1829), p.38.
C.Daubeney, A Sermon applicable to the present times
and designed as an antidote to those dangerous doctrines
now in circulation tending to the destruction of all order
and government (Bath 1793), p.1.

Rev. Thomas Twining to Dr Burney 16 June 1780 :
R. Twining (ed.), Reflections and Studies of a Country
Clergyman of the Eighteenth Century; Selections from the
correspondence of Thomas Twining (1882), p.85.
S.Barrington, A Letter to the Clergy of the Diocese of
Sarum (Salisbury 1790), p.43.

S.Barrington, A Charge delivered to the Clergy of the
Diocese of Sarum at the Primary Visitation of that Diocese
in the year 1783 (Salisbury 1783), pp.6, 22.
R.Southey, Letters from England (1807), p.326.

M. Ransome (ed.), Wiltshire Returns to the Bishop’s
Visitation Queries 1783, WRS Vol.XXVII (Devizes
1972), p.86.

J.Chandler (ed.), Wiltshire Dissenters’ Meeting House
Certificates and Registrations 1688-1852, WRS Vol.40

... for the year 1800 (1801),

74) ke

Dz:

23%
24.

25.
26.

Die
28.

29:
30.
3h
32:
33:

34.
35.
36.
37k
38.
39:

40.
41.

42.
43.
44.
45.

46.
47.

48.

49.
50.

Sls

5
53.
54.
D5:
56.

(Devizes 1985), passim.

Wiltshire Notes and Queries, 8 vols , Vol.3, (Devizes
1902), p.536.

Cal(endar) S(tate)P(apers)Dom(estic). 1670; Addenda
1669-1670 (1895), pp. 424, 448.

Dr Wilhams Library, Evans MSS. 125.

WRO, 1215/6, Baptist account book and membership list
1729-1792.

E.Waylen, Nonconformity in Devizes (1877), n.p.
Rowland Hill (1744-1833), curate of Kingston,
Somerset, drew large crowds to his evangelist
meetings and was a leading member of the Religious
Tracts Society and the British and Foreign Bible
Society. See D.N.B. , Vol. 1X , p.862.

J.Chandler , op.cit., p.30.

S.Tuck, Wesleyan Methodism in Frome (Frome 1837),
p.33.

M.Ransome, op.cit., p.85.

WRO, 2269/48, 1647.

WRO, A1/250, 1702.

Br.R.O., 33793 (1) 2, 1737.

WRO, 854/46, Quarterly Meeting account book 1708-
1816.

WAS, Box 328, MS.2605, George Sloper’s diary.
E.Waylen, op.cit., n.p.

J.M.Geenwood, ‘Quakers in the Devizes area’,
(typescript.1994), p.56.

WRO, 854/77, minutes of the Devizes Quaker meeting
1711-1742.

WRO, 854/18, list of Quaker members 1803, 1812-
1824, and monthly minute book 1801-1818.

WRO, D1/9.1/3, D1/9/1/4, returns of Papists 1767,
1780.

PRO, E 182/1085, return of Papists 1706.
B.H.Cunnington, Annals of the Borough of Devizes, Vol.
2 (1926), p.30.

SF., 3931, 1812.

Ransome, op.cit., p.86.

D(evizes)G(azette)., 290, 19 July 1821.

J.Biggs, Hints for Finding out Truth (Alcester, 1795),
p.25.

PColquhoun, A Treatise on Indigence (1806), p.69.
J.Wade, History of the Middle and Working Classes
(1833), p.381.

Sir FEden, The State of the Poor (3 vols. 1797), Vol.3,
p.796.

The Gentleman’s Magazine., Vol. IX, (1739), p.205.
W.Cobbett, Rural Rides, (1830; 1975 edn.), pp.382-
383.

D.Marshall, English People in the Eighteenth Century
(1956), p.170.

Eden, op.cit., Vol.3, pp.797-798.

H.Hunt, Memoirs (3 vols. 1820), Vol.1, p.229.

WRO, G20/1/84, Devizes grain prices.

J.Waylen, Chronicles of the Devizes(1839), p.275-276.
WRO, G20/1/21, Corporation minute book EF 1790-
1826.

R.Wells, Wretched Faces; Famine in Wartime England

152

58.
59:

60.
6l.

62.
63.

64.

65.

66.

OF:

68.

69.

70.
Tk.

72:

13:
74.

7S.
76.

78.

80.

81.

82.

83.

84.
85.

86.
87.
88.

89.

THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

1763-1803 (Gloucester 1988), p.1.

Eden, op.cit., Vol.3, p.796.

WAS, Box 328, MS 2606, William Cunnington’s
weather diary.

SF., 2981, 27 Fuly 1795.

WRO, A1/540, Justices’ orders, letters and memoranda
relating to the dearth of provisions 1795-1801. Bread
was the least expensive foodstuff in relation to its
calorific value.

D.Defoe, Review, 3 April 1707, p.91.

WRO, 543/5, 543/23, St Mary’s Overseers of he Poor
accounts 1768-1813, 1707-1830.

WRO, 632/111, St. John’s Overseers’ of the Poor
accounts 1805-1813.

WRO, 212A/31/19, St. James’s pauper apprenticeship
records.

WRO, 543/23, St. Mary’s Overseers’ of the Poor
accounts 1707-1830.

WRO, 543/5, St. Mary’s Overseers’ of the Poor
accounts 1737-1768.

WRO, 632/8, St. John’s Churchwardens’ accounts
1758-1806.

J.Britton, A Topographical and Historical Description of
the County of Wilts (1814), p.425.

SF., 5017 (sic), 6 Jan. 1800.

WRO, H7/100/2, agreement by St. John’s and St.
Mary’s to set up a combined workhouse.

WAS, W(iltshire) C(uttings), Vol.3, p.18. Thurman
had married the only child of Dr. Bundy, one of the
King’s Chaplains; they had no issue. He was a friend
of John Thomas, Bishop of Salisbury.

WAS, Box 328, MS.2605, George Sloper’s diary.
WRO, 189/27, Securities for money borrowed for the
workhouse 1796.

SF., 2385, 23 Feb. 1784.

WRO, 543/23, St. Mary’s Overseers of the Poor
accounts 1707-1830.

Mary Amor to Stephen Hillman, 5 Oct. 1814: WAS,
W.C., Vol.19, p.158.

A Bill for the Better Relief and Employment of the Poor
within the County of Wilts (Salisbury 1763), p.5.
H.Coombs and Rev. A.N.Bax (eds.), Fournal of a
Somerset Rector (1930), p.27.

W.Cobbett, Political Register, 16 July 1808.
A.D.Morris, “The Rev. Joseph Townsend, physician
and geologist and Colossus of Roads’, Proceedings of
the Royal Society of Medicine, Vol. 62 (1969), p.474.
PColquhoun, A Treatise on Indigence (1806), p.122.
A.Young, A Farmer’s Letters to the People of England (2
vols.,1771ledn.), Vol.1, pp.296-300.

W.Green, Plans of Economy (Bath 1812), p.15.
Abstract of Returns relative to the Expence and
Maintenance of the Poor (1803), p.571.

Cunnington, Annals, Vol.2 (1926), p.54.

D.Defoe, An Essay upon Projects (1697), p.118.
T.Alcock, Observations on the Defects of the Poor Laws
G752)sp37e

FEden, The State of the Poor (3 vols. 1797), Vol.1,

90.

bis

92:

93%

94.

95:
96.
7:

98.
99:

100.

101.

102.

103.

104.

105.

106.

107.

108.
109.

110.

LIE
Zs

JOSE
114.
Is»
116.
MIZE
118.

119.
120.

preface.

Letter of John Anstie, 10 Oct. 1783: Letters and Papers
on Agriculture, Planting etc., Addressed to the Society ...
for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures
and Commerce (15 vols. 1780-1829), Vol.3 (1791), pp.
349-352.

J.Wade, History of the Middle and Working Classes
(1833), p.592.

WRO, 1450/4/1, Devizes Savings Bank rules,
regulations and bye-laws.

A.Aspinall and E.A.Smith, English Historical
Documents, Vol.XI 1783-1832 (1959), p.769. For
George Rose (1744-1818), see Old D.N.B, .vol. XVII ,
pp.226-228.

The Wiltshire Society; List of Apprentices, Governors,
Subscriptions (1824).

SF., 1592, 16 May 1768.

PColquhoun, op.cit., p.80.

WAS, W.T.149, ‘Recollections of Frederick George
Hayes’ (1788).

WRO, 396, Charity Book 1795-1809.

H.More, Thoughts on the Importance of the Manners of
the Great to General Society (1790), p.115.
S.Barrington, A Letter to the Clergy of the Diocese of
Sarum (Salisbury, 24 edn. 1790), p.10.

Quoted in R. Porter, English Society in the Eighteenth
Century (1982), p.298.

“Turn the Carpet or the Two Weavers’: H.More, Works,
(4 vols. Dublin 1803), Vol.1, p.183.

Bear Club Annual Report 1825, p.5.

J.Croston (ed.), The History of the County Palatine and
Duchy of Lancaster by the late Edward Baines (5 vols.
1889), Vol.2, p. 121.

WAS, c/2/316.

G.A.Cooke, Topographical and Statistical Description of
the County of Wilts (1833), p. 165

J.Hurley, The History of the Bear Club, Devizes 1756-
1875 (Devizes 1995), p.S.

Ibid, p.7.

WAS, W.T.27, Rules of the Bear Club (Devizes 1787),
p.9.

L.Gatt, The Portsmouth Beneficial School 1755-1939,
The Portsmouth Papers, no.46 (1986), p.8.

Hurley, op.cit., p.5.

J.Wade, A History of the Middle and Working Classes
(1833), p.389.

Letter to the Landholders of the County of Wilts on the
state of the poor cloth-workers (Salisbury 1793), p.13.
W.Sharp, The Amiableness and Advantages of making
Suitable Provisions for the Education and Employment
of Poor Children (1755), p.15.

W.Cobbett, Rural Rides (1967 edn.), p.366.
G(entleman’s) .M(agazine) Vol. XX XV (1765), p.94..
A Devizes farmer had been fined for using the old
bushel in 1792 : The Times,2424,28 Sept. 1792.

SF, 3014, 14 March 1796.

SF., 5054 (sic), 8 Sept. 1800.

W.Cobbett, Cottage Economy (1822), p.10.

- FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY: URBAN COLLECTIVISM IN LATE GEORGIAN DEVIZES

P21.
122.
123:
124.
H2S.
126.
WA le
128.
IAS),

130.
131.

132.

133.

R.Southey, Letters from England, p.218.
PColquhoun, Indigence (1806), p.48.

Calendar of Devizes Sessions 1817, Jan., p.2.

SF. 2814, 14 May 1792.

Calendar of Quarter Sessions 1817-1819 , Jan. 1818, p.3,
July 1819, p.14.

PColquhoun, A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis
(1796), pp.4-5.

Giving exemption from public office for information
leading to a capital conviction.

WRO, 1553/6, Devizes Prosecution Society Minute
Book 1787-1791.

Sf., 2776, 22 Aug. 1791. By a 1736 law, a servant
pilfering from his master was liable to hanging.
Simpsons Salisbury Gazette, 30 Oct 1817.

J.Stuart, Critical Observations on the Buildings and
Improvements of London (1771), p.17.

P.Borsay, The English Urban Renaissance (1989),
p.132.

E.L.Jones and M.E.Falkus, ‘Urban Improvement
and the English Economy in the Seventeenth and
Eighteenth Centuries’, Research in Economic History ,

134.

135.
136.

IST.

138.

139.
140.

141.
142.
143.

144.

153

Vol.4 (1979), p.213.

P.Clark, Country Towns in pre-Industrial England
(Leicester 1981), p.21.

21 Geo. III, c.36.

WRO, G20/5/3-4, Improvement Commission Minute
Books 1781-1796.

WRO, 632/111, St. John’s Overseers of the poor
accounts 1805-1813.

WRO, G20/5/9, St. John’s Surveyors of the Highways
accounts 1803-1806.

GRO, D1571, F642, 1781.

WRO, G20/5/3, Improvement Commission Minute
Books 1781-1788.

WRO, G20/5/3, G20/5/9 St. John’s Surveyors of the
Highways accounts 1781-1788, 1803-1806

WRO, G20/5/3.

S. and B.Webb, English Local Government; Statutory
Authorities for Special Purposes (1922, 1963 edn.),
Vol.4, p.437.

Thomas Baldwin (1750-1820), Bath City architect and
Surveyor 1776-1793.

Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 154-69

Frederick George Bishop (1880 - 1949)

coffin maker
by Marion Nixon

A small, nondescript notebook was amongst the belongings of Frederick George Bishop when he died in 1949, and
has since remained in the family. This notebook proved to be his account book for the coffins he made between 1898
and 1944, a period of 46 years, for the parishioners of Bishop’s Cannings, as well as the related items and services he
provided, with the names of the people for whom the coffins were made and the costs involved.

The parish of Bishop’s Cannings, in the Vale of
Pewsey, occupies 3,585 hectares and ranges from
the chalk edge of the Marlborough Downs to the
lower-lying Upper Greensand in the valley. It
was an area of mixed farming, which formed the
main source of employment either directly or in
supporting services; the main products were corn,
cattle and sheep, but the type of farming depended
largely upon the specific terrain of the farm. The
tythings of Bourton, Easton, Horton, Coate and
Bishop’s Cannings form the parish, and until 1934
Roundway, Southbroom and Chittoe were also
included (Chandler 2003, 18). At the time of the
Domesday Book the parish was held by the Bishop
of Salisbury (Morris 1979, 3) but subsequently
changed hands a number of times until it passed to
the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in the nineteenth
century, and then in 1858 it was purchased by the
Crown Estate (Thorburn 2005a, 327).

The three main settlements, Bishop’s Cannings,
Horton and Coate, were linked by roads and
footpaths, and after 1810 by the Kennet and Avon
Canal (Figure 1). In the late nineteenth and early
twentieth century “many barges, laden with timber
or gravel, trailed along it” (Gandy 1929, 133), but
by the 1930s the canal was little used, and no longer
properly maintained by its then owners the Great

Western Railway Company, who had taken it over
in 1852 to prevent competition with its rail service.
In many places the water was clogged by plant life
and the margins invaded by reeds. Wrecks were
occasionally encountered disintegrating along the
edge of the water and even a long narrow boat,
and all acted to impede the passage of any traffic
endeavouring to use the canal. However, the towpath
remained useable and walking beside the canal was
peaceful, the quiet being broken only by birdsong
and the scuttle of moorhens across the water where
it was relatively clear of vegetation. Along the side
of the path trees, hedges and plants provided food
and shelter for many birds, insects, invertebrates and
other wildlife. The canal remained weed covered
and silted-up until the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust
began a programme of clearance and restoration;
it was re-opened to traffic in 1990 (Hackford and
Hackford 2001, 14).

There are accounts of some parts of the parish as
it was at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning
of the twentieth century. One author, Ida Gandy,
was one of seven children of the Reverend Charles
Hony, the vicar of St Mary the Virgin, and was
born in Bishop’s Cannings in 1885; she lived in
the vicarage for about twenty years and described
life in the parish during this period in three books

The Old Library, School Road, Broughton, Cambridgeshire, PE28 3AT

FREDERICK GEORGE BISHOP (1880 - 1948) COFFIN MAKER 155

Fig. 1 Frederick George Bishop, a studio photograph taken
around 1910.

(1929, 1960, 1963). Another writer, Sidney John
Smith (1993), reminisced on life in Coate at about
the same time; he was born in 1889, the second son
of Thomas Smith of Potterne who, in the same year,
was appointed Pastor of the Non-Conformist Chapel
in Coate and took his family to live there. There
was a school in each of the three settlements and
there is a short description of the one in Bishop’s
Cannings during the years 1871 to 1907 (Thorburn
2005b, 13).

Horton appears to lack a narrator for the same
period but it was here that Frederick George Bishop
(Figure 1) was born in 1880, and where he became
carpenter and coffin maker. In 1894 he inscribed
his name in a notebook which has survived in the
author’s family. This proved to be a list of the people
for whom he had made coffins, together with the
date and cost in each case, including other items
or services supplied (Appendix). A number of the
people recorded in the notebook have been found in
the censuses of 1891 and 1901, which give their age
and occupations; in addition Ida Gandy and Sidney

- John Smith recalled some of the people living there

in their books. Together this allows a glimpse into
life in this part of the Pewsey Vale from near the
end of the reign of Queen Victoria to that of King
George VI.

Bishop’s Cannings lies in a hollow near the foot of
one of the steepest escarpments of the Marlborough
Downs. The parish church of St Mary the Virgin is
large and retains evidence of a late Norman church
but is almost entirely Early English, with a fifteenth-
century spire on the crossing tower (VCH 1953, 193;
Pevesner 2002, 112), and “All around the church was
the scattered village. There was no concentration
of houses in any particular place; they just gathered
in little groups along the roads and by-lanes” and
“the majority of the cottages were thatched and
white washed” (Gandy 1929, 75). Some 600 metres
to the east of the church lies Bourton with a few
dwellings. Here the west branch of the Salisbury
Avon rises under the chalk downs and winds its way
diagonally across the valley to Horton, about 800
metres downstream. Easton, also with few houses,
lies 600 metres to the east of Bourton, at the foot of
Easton Hill.

The farmers of Bishop’s Cannings kept large
flocks of sheep which were grazed on their own
pieces of downland (Gandy 1929, 109) and in 1901
ten shepherds were employed in the tything. Warm
clothes were necessary against the chill winds
encountered on the downs and the shepherds of
Bishop’s Cannings wore cloaks of stout navy blue
cloth with a scarlet lining, relics of the Crimean War
brought home by their fathers and handed down
(Gandy 1929, 110; 1960, 52). Elsewhere in Wiltshire
shepherds wore heavy overcoats (Watson 1938, title
page), including George Ford of Stonehenge who
was photographed about 1900 (Watkin 1989, 97)
and Isaac Bawcombe of the south Wiltshire downs
wore a smock-frock (Hudson 1961, 40). On a farm
in Bratton, which lies on a ledge below the northern
escarpment of the Salisbury Plain, shepherds were
regarded as “the aristocrats among farm-workers
and, at lambing time everything gave way to their
needs” (Reeves 1980, 105). Cattle were also kept
on some of the farms and to reach a field beside the
canal one herd used a track which became covered
with soft, fine mud in autumn and winter to a depth
of some 8 cm, and as late as 1939 this track could be
traversed only by leaping from one boulder to the
next in order to avoid arriving with very muddy
boots at Bishop’s Cannings School (pers. obs.).

Among the principal landowners of the parish
was the Ruddle family and Gandy (1960, 86) wrote
that the:

156 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

to Marlborough

Le Bourton

= + St Mary the Virgin
Bishops
Cannings

Horton Chain Bridge
Horton Bridge

to Devizes

2S!

Fig. 2 A sketch map of the parish of Bishop’s Cannings.

sturdy yeoman family of Ruddles, who take their
name from the ruddle once so important in sheep
County... Later they spread themselves into
South Wilts. From 1591 onward a close succession
of Ruddles are being baptised, married, buried.
They were prosperous yeoman who seem to
have maintained their position generation after
generation.......two pieces of land formerly bore
their name - ‘Ruddles’ piece’, in the neighbourhood
of Easton, and ‘Duck Ruddles’ at Roundway
(Gandy 1960, 86).

There were five Ruddles in Bishop’s Cannings at
the time of the 1901 census, namely George Ruddle,
farmer of West End Farm, George Skeate Ruddle,
farmer of Lynes House, his nephew Charles Ruddle,
George Ruddle, schoolmaster at the School House
and George Giddings Ruddle a farmer in Bourton
who continued to farm there until 1959 (Gandy 1960,
59); he and the Commissioners of His Majesty’s
Woods and Forests were the principal landowners in
the parish (Kelly’s 1935, 35) (ruddle is a red variety
of ochre used for marking sheep).

Coate is about 3000 metres to the south of
Bishop’s Cannings church and where a stream runs
through the hamlet the valley floor was often water-
logged, perhaps the area referred to as Cannings
Marsh in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles (Swanton 2000,
1010E). Behind Manor Farm House was a boggy
area where there were mounds, each about 150
centimetres high and separated from the adjacent
ones by 90 centimetres; in his youth Smith (1993,

15) would jump from one to
another. His illustration of the
mounds shows their similarity to
the Tussock Sedge photographed
by Heath (2004, 262) and which
was once locally plentiful in the
Pewsey Vale. Smith (1993, 5)
noted that there were 47 houses or
cottages in Coate, about half with
thatched roofs, with “only one
really picturesque house and that
is Cross Farm which is timbered”:
his drawing of the farmhouse
adorns the cover of his booklet.
According to Smith three farms,
Calcote Farm, Manor Farm and
Lodge Farm, were large each
with 25 - 30 cattle, and two, Cross
Farm and Lower Farm, were
smaller, and each had just a few
fields. Some of the smallholders
had a grass field and kept one or
two cows, or a few pigs, but no sheep were kept in
Coate (Smith 1993, 4-6). The crops grown included
wheat, barley, oats and hay, and machines were used
for harvesting. A threshing machine with a portable
engine was driven by an engine driver from Devizes
but the machine was later in the charge of a villager
(Smith 1993, 8). Each of the large farms had 6 - 8
working horses. A single furrow plough was pulled
by two horses, seeds were sown by a drill also drawn
by two horses, and harvesting was done by a self-
binder machine drawn by three horses. Besides
heavy horses others were kept for carting produce
and goods to and from market, for riding and for the
gigs and traps needed for the numerous necessary
journeys in and around the village and beyond.
Horton lies within an open loop of the Kennet
and Avon canal between Horton Bridge at the
western end and Horton Chain Bridge (earlier called
Townsend Bridge) at the eastern end (Figure 2).
Beside the former is the Bridge Inn which was built
to provide sustenance for the early traffic along the
canal. The road joining the two bridges runs from
Devizes to Pewsey, and the first proposal to treat it
with tar macadam was recorded in the minutes of the
Rural District Council of 1924 (Chandler 1991, 109).
Until the mid-1940s farm carts were still used in
Horton, motorised traffic along the road being fairly
sparse. From Horton Bridge the road runs downhill
until Horton House comes into view; the house lies
at the end of a long straight drive running between
pasture land where cattle or horses were sometimes

St Ann's Hill

lo Pewsey

Allington

All Cannings

FREDERICK GEORGE BISHOP (1880 - 1948) COFFIN MAKER 157,

to be seen. Along the road houses and cottages lay on
either side including a few that were thatched, some
of which were timber-framed (Slocombe 1988, 12).
The Methodist Chapel was on the corner of Horton
Road and Pig Lane. From the village St Ann’s Hill,
or Tan Hill, is visible; it is one of the highest parts of
the Pewsey Vale and rises majestically to a height of
293 metres with a plateau extending for 1600 metres.
During the frosts of 2004 a ‘donkey’ reappeared on
the surface of Tan Hill and it faces to the right like
the Devizes ‘Millennium’ horse, so both are unlike
all the other White Horses in the Vale which look
to the left (Edwards 2005, 117).

The population of Wiltshire increased steadily
from 1881 to 1951, yet that of the parish of Bishop’s
Cannings fluctuated during the same period.

Year Wiltshire Bishop’s Cannings
1881 258,965 955
1891 264,997 894
1901 271,394 762
1911 286,822 917
1921 292,208 695
1931 303,373 605
1951 386,692 1735
In 1901 the parish included:-
Males Females
Bishop’s Cannings 474 447
Horton 104 181
Coate 84 I)

Wiltshire was largely agricultural towards the
end of the 1800s, and in 1901 more than half of the
working population was employed on the land and
many were still so employed even by the middle of
the century (VCH, 195). The total area of Wiltshire

| under cultivation declined slowly but continuously.

The number of sheep fell by one third between 1870
and 1914, and halved again by 1924, and reached
their lowest level by 1939; there was, however, an

_ increase in milk production (Watkin 1989, 116).

The census of 1901 shows that most of the men
of the parish of Bishop’s Cannings were engaged in
agriculture or closely associated occupations. There
were sixteen shepherds and fourteen people involved
with cattle, milk and butter production. Sheep and

cattle were still present in the parish in the 1930s
and 1940s. One shepherd lived next door to Fred
Bishop; he walked to and from Tan Hill each day
to care for his flock of sheep. Cattle grazed in the
fields and from Horton Mill the milk produced was
delivered to the door where it was measured out
and poured into the customer’s jug. Besides the
main crops of wheat, oats, beans and turnips, flax
was grown and processed in a factory in adjacent
Roundway. At the beginning of the century there
were three blacksmiths and one apprentice and four
carpenters and wheelwrights in the parish, one of the
latter being Fred Bishop. Mechanisation increased
and agricultural machinery became larger and more
complex resulting in fewer people being employed
on the farms. After men had left to serve in World
War II and more food crops were needed so Italian
prisoners of war, held in the camp near Roundway,
worked on farms in the parish. There is a bronze in
the parish church of St Mary the Virgin in memory
of three men who died in the Boer War, and a Peace
Memorial records the names of twenty three men
who lost their lives in World War I.

The occupations of the population of the three
tythings in 1901 have been summarised and are
shown below:-

Bishop’s Coate Horton
Cannings

Farmers and others in trades

related to the land

Farmers 9 6 +
Bailiffs on farms 1 1
Dairyman/maid, butter packer + 1
Cowmen 3 6
Shepherds 10 6
Carters on farms, cattle 4 3 11
Carters on farms, horse 18 5
Agricultural labourers 38 24 21
Millers 2
Blacksmiths 2 2
Carpenters and wheelwrights 2 2
Wood sawyer l
Leather currier 1

Saddler and harness maker 1

Thatchers 2 N
Maltsters 5

Engine driver on farm 1
Market gardeners 3

Service providers

Bakers (bread) l 8
Bricklayers l ]
Grocers, shopkeepers and 5 2 5
assistants

Grooms + 1
Innkeepers and victuallers 1 l 2

158 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Bishop’s Coate Horton
Cannings
Laundress 4
Minister, Chapel
Domestic servants
Dressmakers
Nurses
Painter and decorator
Police constable
Post master
Plumber
School teachers
Vicar

—
ee)
“SJ

es Oe Oe)

Miscellaneous

Canal labourer 1
Carters at lime works
Engineers, boilermaker
Engineers, in foundry 1
Engineers, waterworks
Quarryman

Road contractor and labourer
Soldiers

Sanitary inspectors
Tobacco-leaf sorter

— Re
a

rm Fe DO NO fF DRO

Some of the houses in Bishop’s Cannings employed
servants including:-

A house maid, a parlour
maid and a nurse maid
A general servant

A general servant

The Vicarage

Manor House

West End Farm
Lynes House

Easton Farm

Black House Farm
Old Manor House

G. G. Ruddle’s house

And in Horton in:-

A domestic cook
A general domestic servant
A servant-housekeeper

Horton Bridge Inn
Horton House
Townsend Farm

And others may have employed daily servants
who were at home at the time of the census. Many
of the servants were born in the parish and the others
within the county.

Ill

The blacksmith, wheelwright and carpenter, with the
saddler and thatcher, were once found in every village
or parish and were pivotal in the independence of
any rural community (Wymer 1946, 4). The skill of
the blacksmith depended upon his ability to make

instantaneous decisions and sudden and violent
actions upon materials at very high temperatures
and, with the wheelwright and carpenter, worked to
suit the specific needs of the land in the locality. This
was apparent in the design, decoration and colours
of carts and wagons as they were often distinct and
varied from one county to the next; there were even
local variants, one of a wagon being found around
Devizes (Vince, 1970, 40).

Making a coffin for members of the local
population was often the responsibility of the village
carpenter although only rarely described (Bailey,
1998). However, it was the subject of a chapter in
The village carpenter by Walter Rose who was born
twenty years earlier than Fred Bishop. He tells of
the carpentry business of his family in Haddenham,
Buckinghamshire, during the nineteenth and early
twentieth century in this book, and says that “No
story of the village carpenter would be complete
without its chapter on Undertaking” but he
“deplored the fact that a village carpenter’s calling,
otherwise pleasant, should have such a doleful side”
(Rose 1937, 121).

Frederick George Bishop was carpenter and
coffin maker in Horton, where he was born near the
end of 1880. He was the first child of William and
Mary Bishop, and was joined by Herbert in 1882,
Elizabeth in 1884, and finally Tom in 1886. They
lived at 1 The Island, Horton, the first of a group of
five terraced cottages, and their cottage comprised
three rooms. It soon became too small for the family
so first Fred and later his sister went to live with their
maternal grandparents, James and Isabella Hiscock
and their son Alfred, in a cottage which had more
than five rooms and lay on the other side of the road
and almost opposite to 1 The Island. Fred Bishop
attended the school held in one of the cottages and
afterwards joined his grandfather James Hiscock,
a Master Carpenter, and Albert James Hillier, a
blacksmith, in their workshop at The Yard, Horton,
as an apprentice in 1894. A photograph of The Yard
taken in the 1890s shows the blacksmith’s forge
and the carpenter’s workshop as well as some of the
people working there at that time (Buxton 1990, 141).
Alfred Hiscock, like his father, was a carpenter and
the skill of the Hiscocks was noted by Gandy (1960,
60) who wrote that “Horton produced particularly
good craftsmen” and that Mr Hiscock had designed
a “special plough for chalk soil”.

Fred Bishop spent his entire working life in
The Yard, in Horton, where he eventually worked
alone as blacksmith, carpenter and wheelwright.
The Yard lay about halfway between Horton Bridge

FREDERICK GEORGE BISHOP (1880 - 1948) COFFIN MAKER 159
|

Fig. 3 The Yard, Horton, with a cart and other items awaiting repair in The Yard and the author, photographed in 1936.

and Horton Chain Bridge and its drive was flanked tasks for farmers, tradesmen and other members of

aap

merase es oe

re see est eee

ee ae ee

by timber-framed, thatched cottages, one being
figured by Slocombe (1988, 12). The driveway led
to the forge and the carpenter’s shop, with space
between them for tethering horses waiting for new
shoes (Figure 3). Beyond lay a large area for carts,
wagons and agricultural machinery in need of repair
and for assembling large items under construction.
Here there were low, wooden houses which provided
Shelter for numerous chickens and ducks which
inhabited The Yard and the adjacent orchard. The
forge had a brick built hearth and chimney, behind
which lay the large, horizontal, pear-shaped bellows.
Besides the hearth stood the anvil, hammers, fire
tongs, and other tools, and alongside was a large
vessel of water for tempering the hot metal. The
noise emerging from the forge came from the wheeze
of the bellows, increasing the fire’s intensity and
temperature, the sound of hammering of metal on
metal to shape an object, and the sizzling when the
hot metal was plunged into cold water to quench it.
These sounds were distinctive and evocative of any
working smithy. Here shoes were made and fitted
to the horses brought in, including heavy cart and
shire horses. Besides shoeing horses Fred Bishop
was called upon to carry out many widely different

the community. He fashioned metal parts for farm
carts, wagons, agricultural machinery, fences, gates,
and other machines brought in for repair. The
carpenter’s shop was spacious with a workbench
running the length of one of the longer walls. Vices
were fixed to the bench, and around them lay saws,
hammers, chisels, planes, adzes, pincers, files and
other tools in frequent use; less used tools were
kept in drawers beneath. The work was varied and
included making and repairing farm implements
including wagons, carts, field gates, wheelbarrows,
animal feeding troughs, houses for small farm
animals, beehives, ladders, and in addition coffins
when needed. The timber required for the various
types of work was stacked against the wall opposite
to the long bench and in the large storeroom beyond
the workshop. Sawn logs lay outside, drying beneath
trees or bushes, the planks being laid flat with strips
of wood between each to allow air to circulate and
promote drying.

Among the wood stacked in the carpenter’s shop
a few coffin boards usually stood ready for use. The
size required for the coffin was determined using a
piece of string, the length and width being recorded
with knots. The coffin boards were trimmed to the

160 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

appropriate size; if the sides were to be shaped then
four shallow saw cuts were made in each and, after
treatment with boiling water or a hot iron, were bent,
and the base and top shaped to fit. The wood was
made smooth by planing and sand papering and then
either linseed oil was applied to the wood or it was
polished and the chosen furniture added. In all “A
plain elm wood coffin represents a good day’s work,
even starting early” (Hartley, 1939, 36). The cost ofa
coffin made in Pewsey for Henry Pyke, who died on
November 6th, 1797, was £1 3s including carpentry
in the vault of the church (Hobbs 2005). In 1857 an
undertaker of Bethnal Green Road, London, charged
£1 11s 6d for an elm coffin with lining, and £4 10s
for an elm shell with furniture (May 2003, 8). Walter
Rose recorded every undertaking of the family
business in a village in Buckinghamshire, whether
the coffin was of elm or oak, single or double nailed,
the furniture the best or second class, the lining of
calico or swansdown, the quality of the shroud, and
says “I have written scores of bills at an inclusive
charge of less than £1” and that “Many coffins were
paid for by the parish authorities, with whom my
father contracted to supply a coffin at a fixed price
of eleven shillings and sixpence” towards the end of
the nineteenth century (Rose 1937, 125, 128). An
elm coffin made by Fred Bishop in the 1890s cost
£1 5s ora few shillings more (Appendix). While the
cost of a coffin is occasionally reported it is unusual
to find the cost of those made by one carpenter, who
remained and worked in one parish, for a period of
nearly half a century.

When Fred Bishop became an apprentice the
work of the village blacksmith, wheelwright and
carpenter remained much as it was in the latter half
of the nineteenth century and described by Rose
(1937). A small notebook with a black leatherette
cover, inside of which was inscribed ‘Frederick G.
Bishop, May 21, 1894’, was found in 1980 among the
effects of his cousin-in-law, Ethel Annie Putnam, the
author’s mother. This proved to be his account book,
spanning 1898 - 1944, for the coffins he made, the
first one when he was just eighteen years of age and
the last made just four years before his death. This
notebook is apparently the only surviving record
of his business. The notebook gives the names of
those whose coffins he made and some have been
traced in the Census Returns of 1891 and 1901, and
reveals that they were people from all walks of life
in the parish including some of the large landowners
and farmers. It must be emphasised that the people
listed in the Appendix do NOT include all of those
who died in the area during this period.

DS Bcc Posnetek te |

Suh g- fen (bolnsl ond Gaff

axa dhe as

Gow of loca | |
a 8 eee

pe Lae

Aeneas Mt Mages 10 he
ase Sit 4 a
Peears Pee; 1, itl, fo 4 2
| Mane wt ae ee p

Gil, A AGF be Fin

A. oS
Coat ca ; =
jo le a Be
sender bear cors S ae Bee

He?

Fig. 4 A page from the account book for the funeral of Mr G.
Ruddle, dated September 4th, 1903.

Most of the coffins made by Fred Bishop were
of elm (Appendix), a wood which is particularly
suitable as it is good under damp conditions. Oak,
a hardwood, was also used but was more expensive
and sometimes a shell, or case, of elm was made, so
adding further to the cost. Handles and fastenings
for the coffins were sometimes noted and were of
brass, electroplated brass, or painted black metal.
Besides the coffin a shroud, a lining, a dress or
a swansdown robe was requested, and in some
instances a bier or horse-drawn mourning carriages.
Other charges noted included digging the grave,
some of which were of extra depth, and in one case
for lining the grave with bricks. Horse-drawn
glass-sided mourning carriages were required for
some of the funerals. On a number of occasions
Fred Bishop arranged for the return of the deceased
from the Union Workhouse or the hospital in
Devizes and even from places beyond the county
boundary, including London. Sometimes he made
arrangements with the vicar for the service at the

——

FREDERICK GEORGE BISHOP (1880 - 1948) COFFIN MAKER 161

YOO Y 3 es, Cr. | oe
i 2 |%

| ver ck a ele fee
te IPM C Lengo. |

Bobr », Tinnel Ook C2 ben eh \y,
‘. ALY Ln ingt ae, oe

| :

| tecale | 2 aales

Va
le taper. Ceohets

eile

ek tf Car gre fe

wera eae

at pn

4 /s 2

a S *
SS a me f
= ster ar SS een ee &
\

ea EES SR ee

Fig. 5 A later page from the account book for the funeral of
Mr A. C. Benger, dated September 2nd, 1904.

- church, the services of the sexton, and for the hearse,

carriage(s) and horses.

The cost of coffins made by Fred Bishop show
a slow increase in price over nearly half a century.
An elm coffin varied a little in price depending upon
the furniture requested; in 1898 it was £1 5s, by 1903
£1 7s, in 1916 £1 19s and by 1918 it had reached £2
15s. Subsequently comparison is more difficult as
wadding or a shroud were sometimes included in the
price and the fittings varied between black and best

- brass, the latter being more expensive. By 1930 the

cost had roughly quadrupled to £5 12s 6d and in 1943

| was £7. Between 1898 and 1921 Fred Bishop made
eight coffins of oak but only four in the following

years up to 1944. The price of an oak coffin in 1898

| was £5 and with a shell £7; this increased to £11 16s
| 6d by 1921 and the last one he made, in 1943, cost

£16 16s. The account book gives the name of the

‘deceased, the date, the type of wood used, as well

as other items and services supplied (Figures 4, 5).

When the coffin was for a child the age was often
given. The entries were written by Fred Bishop
until 1932, after when they were entered by his wife,
Beatrice Maud Bishop (nee Hillier).

Among the most expensive funerals were those for
members of the Ruddle family, three of whom were
described by Ida Gandy when they attended the
church of St Mary the Virgin, Bishop’s Cannings,
and the services were taken by her father in the
late nineteenth century. There was Squire Ruddle
or ‘old George’ “with his side whiskers and shabby
broadcloth coat in front of us.....his horsy nephew
(‘young George’); his cousin Lizzie Giddings in
her ancient grey cloak, with a stocking round her
throat if the weather was cold” (Gandy 1963, 69)
(broadcloth was made in the west country and in
Devizes until 1824 (Pugh 2001, 91)). Squire Ruddle
was born in Bishop’s Cannings where he was a farmer
and employer and owned much land in the parish.
At the time of the 1901 census he was living at West
End Farm where he employed a servant, also born
in Bishop’s Cannings. He died on August 30th,
1903, aged 77 years, and his funeral was held in the
parish church on Friday, September 4th, at 2. 30
pm “amid every sign of respect and esteem”. The
Reverend C. W. Hony took the service and among the
congregation were many local farmers and Devizes
townsmen, and included Mr J. Harraway of Easton
Farm, Mr A. J. Combes of the Manor House, Mr J.
Combes, Mr Grose, Mr T. S. Lucas, Mr G. T. Smith,
Mr E. E Toone, Mr A. G. Randell, Mr Guy Jackson
and a large number of mourners. The oak coffin and
shell made by Fred Bishop was was covered in floral
tributes and conveyed from West End Farm to the
church in Mr S. V. D. Weeks’ car (Devizes Gazette,
10.9. 1903). The number of under bearers was not
recorded but was probably six as that was the number
of ties supplied (Figure 4), and transcribed below:-

1903
To the Executors of the Late
Mr G Ruddel
To A. Hiscock
for Pannel Oak Coffin
and shell Pad
shroud 6 6
9 Pair of Gloves
and 6 ties

Sep 4

162 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

sextons fee for bell
Attendance at funerial 10 6

use of Bier pie oes
Vicars fee for ditto [sy ies
Hire of Car and Pair

and 2 single horse

Coaches forfunerial 4 4,,
under bearers i Or
NG?

The funeral arrangements were made by Mr FE
Hiscock and Mr T. Stone of Devizes.

George Skeate Ruddle, known as ‘young George’,
was “always smart and well groomed. On weekdays
he often rode twenty miles to a Meet, or drove
along the roads in a high yellow dog-cart drawn
by the fastest horse he could buy. When his uncle
died he succeeded him as squire of the Manor of
Bourton.” (Gandy 1960, 87). G. S. Ruddle was
born in Bishop’s Cannings in 1828 but when only
15 years of age his father, George Ruddle, died. He
never married and was a farmer and employer; he
lived at Lynes House at the time of the 1901 census
where he employed a servant, also born in Bishop’s
Cannings, and who was deaf and dumb. He moved
into West End Farm after his uncle’s death and
died there on May 11th, 1909 aged 81 years. The
Devizes Gazette (13.5.1909) reported that he was one
of the best known agriculturists in the county, he
sold corn in Devizes market, was a supporter of the
Conservative party, and a Member of the Devizes
Board of Guardians. He was a churchwarden at
St Mary the Virgin, Bishop’s Cannings where his
funeral was held on Friday, May 14th. A coffin of
oak was made for him by Fred Bishop together with
a Shell and the total cost was £10 13s (Appendix, 57).
His cousin Elizabeth (Lizzie) Giddings was born in
Bishop’s Cannings and at the time of the 1901 census
she was at Lynes House. She died in May, 1924,
and had a polished elm coffin; the total cost was £6
15s including a funeral car to Devizes and rail fare
to Salisbury (Appendix, 121).

Albert Charles Benger of The Shop, in Horton,
was grocer and baker. His bakehouse was behind the
shop where there was a thick wooden, waist high,
bread trough on firm legs, in which the dough was
prepared. The lid of the trough could be turned over
to form a tray on which the dough was rolled and
handled to form loaves of various shapes. The lid
was then used to carry the loaves to the oven where a
long-handled bat, or peel, was used for their transfer
into and out of the oven. During the day the bread
was delivered by horse-drawn van to the villagers.

Benger died in September, 1904, when 61 years of
age, a panel oak coffin and shell was made for him
(Figure 5) and transcribed below:-

1904 M Benger

Sep 2 __ For funeral Expences of the
late Mr A C Benger
Making Pannel oak Coffin with
shell linings and trimmings

ie Ones
Shroude iy ear
6 under Bearers rhea ee
Vicars fees ie ler
Sextons fees for
diging grave Extra
depth aa & ft
Hire of car and Pair
& 2 singel horse
Coaches 4 4

14 13 0

In 1901 Albert and his wife, Sarah, lived at The
Shop together with his father-in-law, Henry Amor,
a widower and retired sawyer. The latter died in
February, 1899, aged 84 years (Appendix, 12). Sarah
died in 1932 aged 88 years (Appendix, 177).

Abel Hiscock was living at Horton Mill in 1901
with his wife Rosanna and their children; Job aged
34 years, Mary of 31 years and Maria aged 25 years.
Both Abel and Job were corn millers, the former on
his own account. The family was unusual compared
with others living in Horton at that time as, although
Abel and Rosanna were both born in Coate, their
children were born in London; Job in Spitalfields,
Mary in Lambeth and Maria in Southwark. “Abel,
a fine broad-shouldered, whiskered old man......
sometimes when in the right mood he would allow
a peep inside the mill........ At his heels usually trot-
ted his formidable pet sheep, Daisy, who loved to
rush suddenly from some hiding place and knock
people down” and “his wife had suffered more than
once” and “preferred the sow, and let it stretch in
comfort before the kitchen fire.” (Gandy 1960, 60).
Abel Hiscock died in December, 1910, aged 76 years,
and had an elm coffin; there were six under bearers,
a mourning carriage and pair of horses, and three
single-horse mourning coaches; the total cost was
£12 (Appendix, 59). Rosanna died in February, 1925,
aged 88 years (Appendix, 123).

By 1901 Frederick Greader was 34 years of age
and lived in Horton House, as head of the household,
with his brother William, aged 25 years, sister Mary,
23 years old, and a general domestic servant. Both

FREDERICK GEORGE BISHOP (1880 - 1948) COFFIN MAKER 163

Frederick and William were farmers and employ-
ers. Frederick Greader died in February 1927 aged
60 years and the account book shows that he was
brought from London to be buried in a grave dug to
a depth of 120 centimetres and lined with 900 bricks;
the cost for materials and labour was £26 (Appendix,
140). In 1891 John Every was 49 years old and was
coachman and domestic servant; his wife Elizabeth
was 36 years. By 1901 John was groom and gardener.
On the day of this census his son Frank (34 years), a
soldier on leave, and Matilda Bush, his mother-in-
law, were both with John and Elizabeth. John Every
died in 1917 when 75 years of age and he had an elm
coffin, the cost being £4 10s (Appendix, 81). The
Hendy family were living at Dairy Farm in 1901;
Thomas was 48 years of age and was bailiff, his wife,
Eliza, was 50 years, and their sons Sydney, 20 years,
and Harry, 15 years, were both agricultural labour-
ers. Thomas Hendy died in November 1915 aged 62
and the cost of his funeral was £2 4s (Appendix, 62).
Henry Hillier was an agricultural worker, aged 56, in
1901; he died in November 1926 when 81 years and
his coffin was of polished elm with brass fittings, the
cost was £4 17. 6d (Appendix, 135). His daughter,
Emily Hillier, had been his housekeeper and she
died in January 1944 aged 75; her coffin was among
the last few made by Fred Bishop and together with
a shroud cost £9 5s (Appendix, 240). In 1901 John
Lane, aged 44, was living with his father Thomas
Lane, a 73-year-old widower who was a blacksmith
working on his own account and John was a worker
but later was listed as a blacksmith; he died in 1935
aged 78 (Appendix, 196). William Weston, an engine
foundry worker in 1901, was a shopkeeper in Horton
by 1935. He died in June 1937, aged 75, and his
wife, Annie, earlier in the same year aged 73; an elm
coffin was made and ashroud supplied and the cost
in each case was £6 10s 0d (Appendix, 211, 214). In
Coate two smallholders, Mrs Fishlock (Appendix,
171) and Mr Frank Wordley (Appendix, 116), kept
one or two cows and, in his youth, Smith (1993, 10)
collected milk from both farms; Mrs Fishlock also
made butter each week. Tom Hand lived in Coate

_ and was engine driver on one of the farms there and
_ healso cared for the engines used for grinding corn,

pulping mangolds and preparing other foodstuffs for
cattle (Smith 1993, 8). He died in November 1935
aged 74 years, and his coffin cost £6 (Appendix, 198);
Mrs Hand was 76 years when she died in May of the
same year (Appendix, 195).

Fred Bishop made 245 coffins in all and the
number in each year is shown below (the figures in
parentheses are of children who are already included

in the total number). The fluctuation is quite consid-
erable and the number made in 1918 may reflect the
effect of the virulent influenza epidemic, although
the same number was made in 1929.

Year Number of coffins Year Number of coffins
1898 10 1922..3
1899 14 1923 6
1900 11(2) 1924 3
1901 6 1925 = 6.4)
1902 2 1926 9
1903 10(1) 1927. 7.
1904 1 1928 6(1)
1905. - 1929 14(2)
1906 1 1930. 3
1907. - 1931 9
1908 - 1932. 11(1)
1909 2 1933 4
1910 2 1934 2
1911 - 1935 6(1)
1912. - 1936 10 (2)
ON eee 1937 6
1914 - 1938 3
1915 4 1939" 3
1916 5 1940 8
1917. 13(2) 1941 4(1)
1918 14(3) 1942. -
1919 6 1943 5
1920 6 1944 7
ISAT S270)

By accumulating the coffins made in each month
the number was highest between November and
March, with the maximum in December; however,
the numbers in May and June were also quite high.
This table includes only 235 of the 245 coffins made
as the dates for ten had been omitted.

Month Number of coffins
January 24
February 25
March 26
April 15
May 24
June 20
July 8
August 15
September 17
October 10
November 2
December 30

During his lifetime Fred Bishop saw considerable

164 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

changes and lived through three wars. The slow
decline of agriculture in this mainly farming parish
was reflected in the increasing mechanisation with
the concomitant reduction in employment, and the
rise of motorised traffic. Likewise the influence of
the Victorian funeral gradually declined during the
first two decades of the twentieth century, and the last
funeral for which Fred Bishop arranged mourning
carriages was in 1918 (Appendix) by which time cars
were available for hire for such occasions.

Fred Bishop (Figure 6) was born in 1880 in Horton,
where he went to school, worked and remained until
his death in 1948. He married Beatrice Maud Hillier,
who was born in Horton in 1884, and who was the
author’s second cousin. They lived in one of a pair
of cottages opposite to Horton House. Until the
1940s there was no electricity and no piped water,
this last was carried from a source about 100 metres
along the road. Like most who lived in the parish in
these years Fred Bishop rarely travelled far although
he did once visit London. He occasionally went to
Devizes on business or to the market, a return walk
of some 10 kilometres. If this was on a market day
he sometimes visited The Bear Hotel to have a half
pint of Wadworth’s bitter and talk with the farmers
there. He was the epitome of a countryman, with a
sure and measured step and his progress was audible
as his nailed boots struck the road, and he had the
same local dialect as others living in the parish. He
knew the parish, most of the inhabitants, and the
surrounding countryside well; many people called
at The Yard for business and for a chat including the
farmers, and he always spoke of George Giddings
Ruddle as ‘Squire Ruddle’. His work made him
strong and he was bronzed from exposure to all
weathers. Although his work demanded physical
strength his large hands were gentle especially
when tending animals, from the heavy shire horses
brought to him for shoeing to his chickens and
ducks in The Yard, and the marmalade cat at home
who would curl up on his lap and sleep on winter
evenings. At the end of the day when all his tasks
were completed he would sit and enjoy a quiet smoke
with a pipe filled with Anstie’s tobacco. Adjacent to
The Yard was an orchard with plum and apple trees
among which was a very large tree bearing cooking
apples, and one of the other trees had small, bright
green and red eating apples named “Tan Hill Fair’,
which were crisp, juicy and flavoursome. He grew

Fig. 6 Frederick George Bishop photographed in the late
1930s.

vegetables in the garden around their cottage and
in an allotment and the produce was sufficient to
sustain both his wife and himself throughout the
year. The potatoes were stored in a clamp on his
allotment and the onions dried to keep through the
winter. Several beehives were kept in the garden
and he fed the bees in winter with a solution of
sugar and water, leaving them to gather pollen from
the wild flowers in the surrounding fields in the
summer. At the end of summer the honeycombs
were removed from the hives and after cutting the
surface of the comb the honey was drained and
filtered through butter muslin before bottling. Some
of the honey was eaten in the comb. Initially a clear,
pale, golden liquid, the honey later crystallised and
was delicious whether eaten with the honeycomb or
after separating. The bees were told of the death of
their keeper by his wife who knew that otherwise
they were liable to swarm. Fred Bishop continued
to work until his death in 1949 in The Yard itself.
He attended the church of St Mary Magdalene
where he sometimes served as sidesman, and his
funeral was held there among family and friends.

FREDERICK GEORGE BISHOP (1880 - 1948) COFFIN MAKER 165

He was buried in the churchyard, as his wife was in
1973. A fitting tribute to the work of Fred Bishop,
and that of other village blacksmiths, wheelwrights
and carpenters, is to be found in the motto of the
Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths ‘By hammer
and hand all arts do stand’.

Acknowledgements

Iam most grateful to Dr Lorna Haycock for her help
in the WAHNS library, and to Ann and Peter Nixon

for their helpful comments and the photographs.

References

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EDWARDS, B. 2005. The scouring of the White Horse
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The people for whom Frederick George Bishop made coffins, between 1898 and 1944, are listed below.
Their costs,and other details are taken from his account book. Some names may be incorrectly spelt.

1898 £ sd.
-1 Jan-03 David Coombs 1&3 ©
-2. May-11 John Lucas. Oak coffin, shell 5020
-3 Aug-08 William Besant ies) 0
-4 Emley Bailey 0
-5 Nov-08 Sharlott Harraway. Polished elm, brass

rniture 10 0

6 Nov-20 George Waylen, rise lid 1 16 0
-7 Nov-23 Sarah Hillier, rise lid 1 16 0
8 Dec-06 William Miller 1 10 0
Seewec George Brewer I 50
-10 Dec Jane Brewer sys)
1899

-11 Feb-09 George Wiltshier 1 8 0

166 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

-12 Feb-17 Henry Amor DGA0 pate of carriage and pa and 2 single
-13. Mar-15 John Bailey Ih esse (0) a A an ie otat eee ci ah a
-14 Mar-17 Frederick Lane 20 0 ay aes a ay cae
-15 May-19 Susanna Merritt 1s 0) ae Rest) SRR. ©. Mts eich xt
-16 May-03 Mrs Maslen, brass furniture 3 100 ; eT fav eticile fine! nn es Seoth # hea 7100
-17. May-21 Elizabeth Wiltshier 1167-0 Shroud af (h)
-18 May-20 Albert Burry 32 00 Underbearers 15 0
-19 June John Bishop (ier) AY) Vicar’s fees ie oi-70
-20 July Samuel Pearce Psis0 Sexton’s fees for digging grave extra
21 Aug-04 Frances Willis W720 peas say
= Ween: Hire of carriage and pair and 2 single
-22 Aug-26 James Wiltshire 8! 0 Fate enSchee Tae 2 fae
-23 Sep-10 Henry Marshman 1 10"0 1906
-24 Sep-16 Dhara Miles ask -55 Mar-30 The late Luther Hughes. Polished elm
1900 coffin, brass fittings 2 16 6
-25 Jan-24 Thomas Fishlock Pee) Shroud Oe
-26 Feb James King 160 Conveying from Devizes 0
-27 Feb-02 Mary Wett, coffin, rise lid, dress, cap 0 Fees at church 6 6
-28 Feb Chorline Cheaver 18. 10 1909
OR LReh Walia) row 180 -56 Mar-01 bee ee eT Ruddle. Oak coffin,
-30 Mar-29 John Waite, Allington ls SW) EnneralteairoDenccs
-31 May-03 Arthur Cowdry, 9 years 16 0 Railway fare to Salisbury POO
-32 Aug-06 Jane Dyke. Polished coffin, rise lid 1 16 0 57 May-14 The late G. Ruddle Esq. Oak coffin,
-33 Sep-11 Ernest Hillier, aged 1 year 11 months 16 0 shell, brass fittings 7 10 0
-34 Oct-13 Mary Clements Lucas. Oak coffin, brass Expenses at church and re-opening vault 3 3
rniture 4150 1910
“35 Nov-20 Anna Drew ae -58 Dec-03 jane Smith. Polished elm coffin, brass ce
1901 ttings,trimmings
-36 Jan-21 Thomas Weston 180 Bringing out from the asylum 15 0
-37 Jan-20 John Fishlock 18120 Swansdown robe 5 0
-38 Feb-08 Thomas Hillier 1 REG 6 underbearers and fees at the church f *2.6
-39 Apr-25 Mr Bush. Polished elm, rise lid, electro- -59 Dec-13 The late Abel Hiscock. Polished elm
plated brass fittings a) Be() coffin, linings , trimmings 2 10 0
-40 Nov-19 Mary King kB Shroud 5 0
-41 Dec-30 John Nash 1 10 0 6 underbearers 18 0
1902 Fees at the church 6
-42 Feb-08 Edwin Porter. Elm coffin, rise lid 1 16 0 2 Women 6 0
-43 Feb-17 Richard Cook 11610 Mourning carriage and pair, and 3 single
1608 horse mourning coaches 10 0
Telegram : 6
-44 May-16 Mary Pearce a W) 1915
Ba MabebCowdty oe -60 Sep-29 The late J. Minty. Polished elm coffin,
-46 Anna Merrett 7) brass fittings, rise lid SPAZ56
-47 Emma Bailey 1 78%0 -61 Oct-26 The late Jane Godwin. Polished elm cof-
43 n N eG fin, brass fittings 3) 1256
- enry Neat
y Swansdown robe 5 30
-49 Frank Stevens sh n0
50 ] Hill; 1 ie ® 4 underbearers 15 0
- ames Hillier
Fees at church 5 6
-51 Anna Stevens Ws 7/0) 62 Nov-18 Th Hendy. Polished el fi
; - Ov- omas Hendy. Polished elm coffin,
-52 Betris May Potter, 15 months iO black fittings ~ 2 4°30
-53 Sep-04 The late Mr G. Ruddle. Panel oak coffin, -63 Nov-27 Arthur Burry. Polished elm coffin, brass
shell, shroud 7 16 6 fitings, wadding, ribbon 3) 1256
9 pair of gloves and 6 ties 19 0 4 underbearers 2/6 each 10 0
Sern: fee for bell and attendance at ‘ou Fees at church 5
unera
1916
Use of bier l . ;
-64 Jun-19 The late J. Raimond. Polished elm coffin,
Vicars fee for ditto ed wadding, ribbons, attendance, black

fittings l 1836

FREDERICK GEORGE BISHOP (1880 - 1948) COFFIN MAKER 167

4 underbearers 8 0 -86 May-18 Rhoda Pearce. Polished elm coffin 215150
Fees at church 6 0 -87. May-18 Pearce, Coate, 3 months old LS)
Funeral glass carriage, 1 single horse -88 May-25 James Grant. Polished elm coffin Seep!)
coach, Coate to Alton Barnes 35930 ’
: -89 Jun-29 Ellen Affer. Polished elm coffin. Brought
-65 Dec-05 The late Ian Mortermer. Polished elm, from Devizes 3.25) 0
brass fittings, dress 3 19)6 E
\ -90 Jul-23 Mrs Shepard, Cross Roads. Polished
Glass carriage and pair 22.0 elm coffin, best brass fittings, lining,
trimmings, attendance, shroud, burial
4 underbearers 10 0 fees, bier, glass carriage and pair, and 3
Fees at church 5 6 eer ac > 80
-66 Dec-16 The late Eleanor Sloper. Polished elm reel Het Sea ails Cony wate
coffin, best brass fittings, linings, swans-
down robe 6 4 0 -92 Aug-14 Mr Tathall. Coffin, brass fittings, 11 years 3 15 0
Vicar and vergers fees at church EX6 -93 Dec-01 Ellen Stevens, Polished elm, brass fittings
and French hinges 4126
6 underbearers 18 0 ;
WMetenleandilabour 1L0 -94 Dec Fred Hayes. Polished elm, brass fitings 4 10 0
-67. Dec-19 Mrs Dyke, polished elm, lining, wadding 1 19 0 Fen poe) Ehatles Neate. \ lished ely Brought 3° 7 6
-68 Dec-28 Albert John Foarel, elm coffin, black 1919
fittings, dress 2-6
1917 -96 Jan-14 Benjamin Bolling. Polished elm coffin
and wadding 370.0
-69 Feb-02 George Weeks. Elm coffin, brass fittings 3 5 6 -97 Feb-01 Charles Hillier. Polished elm, brass fit-
Conveyance to Devizes 200 tings. Brought from Devizes 4 13 6
-98 Feb-17 Alice Mary Merrett. Polished elm coffin,
Horses 110 black fitcines 3) :0) 0
Underbearers and fees at church 5 14 6 -99 Mar-07 William Besant. Polished elm coffin,
-70 Feb-21 iW eres ao, polished che cof- brass fitttings,wadding 50 0
Bee a aI aL Len C ance Tees) aU -100 Mar-08 Emily Brinkworth. Polished elm coffin,
the church Za] © blnck atange wadding 3-000
-71 Mar-05 Coffin for child, 8 months, Henbest, -101 Mar-09 Clarica Burry. Polished elm, best brass
Cannings Le) furniture and dress : 6 10 0
-72 May-02 Mr Portch. Coffin, child 15 weeks, and 1920
attendance
-102 Jan-21 Ruth Minty. Polished elm coffin, electro-
4 underbearers 10 0 plated pee fittings Sve)
Fees at church 3 6 -103 Feb-24 Ernest Blake. Polished elm coffin, elec-
-73 Jun-05 (Ne name recorded). Polished elm coffin, troplated brass 5 0 0
ining, attendance 220 -104 Mar-02 Sophia Wild. Polished elm coffin, black
4 underbearers 11 0 fittings, wadding 30 0
-105 Apr-22 Thomas Cook. Polished elm coffin, elec-
SSB EG One | 210 troplated brass fittings, and attendance 5 13 6
-74 Jun-16 The late Mr J. Combes. Unpolished oak arid Fins S10 5
E -106 May-01 William Wiltshire. Polished elm coffin,
gotn ay under bearers Giaeach,)enureh 109 6 ‘ electroplated brass fittings, attendance 5) 2)
-75. Jul-07. Ernest Wordley. Bringing out from -107 Jun-29 Mrs Huges. Polished elm coffin electro-
J Devizes, attendance, aidecbearer’. fees plated brass fittings, attendance 5 12 6
at the church 1 8 0 1921
_ -76 Aug-08 Herbert Drew. Polished elm coffin 119 0 -108 Mar-16 Emily Combes. Oak coffin, dress,
es e : trimmings, 4 underbearers 5/- each, atten-
| 77 Sep-24 ere Vanderbest. Polished elm, , i dancelanaddessiatichlirch 12 16 6
-109 Aug-03 Thomas Wiltshire. Polished elm, electro-
Dress 40 . plated brass fittings, dress, attendance 5 19 0
Cemetry fees : -110 Nov-14 Rose Hewitt, 9 weeks. Small coffin 10) 20
Glass carriage and horse and2 coaches 4 10 0 1922
eee eco William) Smith; polished coffin eel -111 Jun-18 Eleanor Wordley. Polished elm, electro-
| -79 Nov-09 Thomas Robert Weston, Etchilhampton. plated brass fittings, dress, attendance, 6s 76
i Polished elm, wadding 4 10 6 dress
| -80 Nov-24 Matilda Drew. Elm coffin, to Devizes 1 19 0 -112 Sep-02 Mr Mower. Polished elm coffin, elec-
troplated brass fittings, wadding. To
| -81 Dec-30 John Every, polished elm coffin, brass ee Urchfont 6 3 0
| OES Z -113 Dec-25 Thomas Affer. Elm coffin, black fittings,
| 1918 brought out from Hospital, and fees at
: church 419 0
-82 Feb-26 Mr Pratt, polished elm coffin, brass
| fittings 4 10 0 1923
|. -83. Apr-09 james Hythe. Polished elm coffin. -114 Jan-15 George Coleman. Polished elm coffin, .
rought from Devizes 2 10 0 electroplated brass fittings 5. 126
i. -84 Apr-20 Mrs Smith, Bourton. Polished elm coffin, -115 Mar-10 Mrs Wells. Polished elm coffin, electro-
to Devizes ey 0) 0) plated brass fittings, wadding, attendance 5 14 6

-85 May-14 Mr Woodruff. Polished elm coffin DWE VY

168

-116 Jun-05

-117 Aug-20
-118 Nov-10

-119 Dec-05

1924
-120 April

-121

THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Francis Wordley. Polished elm coffin,
electroplated brass fittings,

dress. Grave dug, extra depth for 2

Susan Jane Harrey. Best brass fittings,
elm coffin and dress

Ellen Merrett. Polished elm coffin, elec-
troplated brass fittings, attendance

Thomas Merrett. Polished elm, electro-
plated brass fittings. From asylum an
attendance

Caroline Wiltshire. Polished elm coffin,
electroplated brass fittings, wadding,
attendance

May-03 Elizabeth Giddings. Polished elm coffin,

best brass fittings, dress

-122 May-14 Ellen Pratt. Polished elm coffin, electro-

1925
-123 Feb-19

pute’ brass fittings, dress, bringing from
evizes, and underbearers

Rosana Hiscock. Coffin, black fittings,
attendance

3 10

-124 Mar-27 Miss Combes. Oak coffin, 4 underbearers sea

-125 May-18
-126 May-28

-127 Sep-03
-128 Dec-23

1926
-129 Jan-07
-130 Jan-12

-131 Jan-16

-132 May-29
-133 Aug-25
-134 Sep-01
-135 Nov-19
-136 Dec-11
-137 Dec-22

1927
-138 Jan-06

-139 Jan-29

-140 Feb-12

-141 Mar-02
-142 Mar-14

-143 May-02

2/6 each

George Sawyer, Cross Roads. Polished
elm, electroplated brass

Mary Pyreader. Oak coffin , elm shell,
brass fittings, woman fees

Herbert Bishop, 1 year 8 months

Frank Bishop. Polished elm coffin,
electroplated brass, dress

John Grant. Polished elm coffin, elec-
troplated brass fittings, dress. Died at
hospital. 6/6 d for hearse

Philip Wordley. Polished elm coffin,
electroplated brass, dress

John Benger. Polished elm coffin
electroplated brass, trimmings.
extra depth

Tave

Robert James. Polished elm coffin, best
brass fittings, screws

Emily Willes. Polished elm coffin, brass
fittings, attendance

Sarah Wiltshire. Polished elm coffin,
electroplated brass, dress

Henry Hillier. Polished elm, electro-
plated brass fittings, wadding

Frank Benger. Polished elm, electro-
plated brass, trimmings, dress

125

Linda Eilyn Yardley. Polished elm coffin, af

electroplated brass, dress

Samuel Portch. Polished elm, best brass
ttings, dress

Rose Florence Waite. Elm coffin elctro-
plated brass, shrou

Frederick Greader. From London.
Vicar’s fee, brick grave 8 feet deep

J. Stevens for labour and 900 brick
stones, and cement

James Minty. Polished elm, electroplated

rass, shroud

Mark Little. Polished elm coffin, electro-

plated brass, shroud. Extra depth grave

Cornelius Burry. Polished elm coffin
electroplated brass, attendance

Double depth grave,

6 6

20 10

6 0

4 underbearers Wea(0) (0)
-144 Aug-02 William Benskin. Polished elm, electro-

plated brass. From hospital F226

Carriages and etc. 1011 6
1928
-145 May-03 Willes. 1 year 7 months 1500
-146 May-05 Mrs Greenaway. Polished elm, electro-

plated brass fittiings, shroud 6 0 0
-147 Nov-24 William Neate. Polished elm, electro-

plated brass 5-126
-148 Dec-15 George Harraway. Polished elm coffin,

engraved plates, shroud

4 underbearers

Fees at the church 11 6
-149 Dec-29 Samuel Hubbard. Polished elm, electro-

plated brass, wadding 5 16 0
-150 Dec-29 Eliza Gasslen. Polished elm, electro-

plated brass, trimmings, dress fee)

Fees at church LTS6

4 underbearers 1070
1929
-151 Jan-09 The late Mr Bertie James Butcher. Pol-

ished elm, brass fittings, engraved plates,

white lining etc. 550

Cement concrete and fixing York stone

cover at on relaying turf and cleaning

up generally. Including all brick mortar

putty lime charcoal wood dust cement

concrete etc. haulage of materials etc. 2689 a3

24 supe! 2 1/2 York stone covers at 1 s

81/2 d each 22 120
-152 Feb-07 John Ward. 8 years 7 months. Elm cof-

fin. Bringing from hospital a0)
-153 Feb-13 {ohn Huges. Died at Tilbury Ashley.

0 cost. 0 56:6

-154 Feb-16 Rebecca Burgess. Polished elm, electro-

plated brass fittings, shroud 6 0 0
-155 Mar-15 Albert Hiscock. Polished elm coffin,

electroplated fittings, shroud 6. Os0
-156 Apr-12 Bessy Spredbury. 10 years 1 10 0
-157 Jun-06 Sidney EST Polished elm, electroplated

brass, rise li 6 10 0
-158 Jun-29 Mr Carr, Horton Road. Polished elm 51020
-159 Jun-29 Jane Drew. Polished elm 5126
-160 Aug-17 Ann Wordley 1226
-161 Oct-15 Fanny Watcher 512/86
-162 Oct-19 James Blake. Polished elm, electroplated

rass, shroud 5 18 6

-163 Dec-16 James Ebenezer Colby. Polished elm,

electroplated brass, shroud 6 0 0
-164 Dec-24 James Merrett. Polished elm coffin 512.6
1930
-165 Mar-22 J. Trimnill SZ
-166 Apr-24 Miss Drasies > ORG
-167 Oct-06 George Wiltshire. Polished elm and dress 5 12 6
1931
-168 Jan-17 Albert Burgess. Polished elm, electro-

plated brass, shroud 670s
-169 Jan-20 William Wiltshire. Polished elm coffin,

electred brass fittings, shroud. Bringing

out from Devizes 6°50
-170 Mar-21 Fred Stevens. Polished elm coffin, elec-

troplated brass > 1256

FREDERICK GEORGE BISHOP (1880 - 1948) COFFIN MAKER

-171 May-05 Mary anes Polished elm coffin,

-172 Jun-25
-173 Jun-28
-174 Nov-19
-175 Nov-20
-176 Dec-01
1932

-177 Jan-07
-178 Feb-01

-179 Mar-02
-180 Apr-23

shrou

Simeon Miller

Mrs Potter

Mr Mark Wiltshire
Albert E. Weeks
John Brook, Stanton

Sarah Benger

Mr Charles Gregor, Easton. Polished
elm coffin, best plain brass furniture,
trimmings

John Drew
Fred Godard

-181 May-14 Mr C. R. Smart

-182 Jul-20

-183 Sep-24
-184 Oct-22

-185 Nov-07
-186 Nov-10

-187 Nov
1933
-188 Jan-09

-189 Feb-09
-190 Mar-10
-191 Sep-23

1934

-192 Mar-02 Joan Portch. Polished elm coffin, shroud

- -193 Jun-13
1935

- -194 May-12
| -195 May-14
— -196 Jun-15
| -197 Aug-28
| -198 Nov-02
| -199 Dec-23

| 1936
-200 Feb-20

--201 Mar-16
-202 Jun-06

F H. Pottenger. Upholstered oak coffin,
est brass fittings

Mrs Stone

Mrs Stacey. Polished elm, brass fittings,
ress

Mrs Portch. Polished elm coffin, shroud

jobs Waile. Polished elm, electroplated
rass

Woodruff. 7 weeks

Mrs C. Drew. Polished elm coffin, elec-
troplated brass fittings

Mrs POuenEer: Unpolished oak coffin,
solid brass fittings

Sarah Wiltshire. Polished elm coffin,
brass fittings, shroud

Mrs Gilbert. Polished elm coffin, brass
ttings, shroud

James Kyte

Mrs Cowdry

Mrs Hand

John Lane. Coffin and shroud
Hannah Miller

Tom Hand. Coffin and shroud

Sally Lewis. 3 years 11 months. Coffin
and bringing from hospital to Bourton

Alfred Kent. Coffin and removal from
infirmary

Mrs Willis. Elm coffin, shroud
Harry Burgess. Coffin, shroud

|. -203 Jun-28 John Ball. Coffin, shroud

| -204 Jun
--205 Jul-24

| -206 Jul-27
| -207 Sep-16
| 208 Nov-07

Yeates. Little coffin and verger’s fee

Mrs Carter. Elm coffin, best brass fit-
tings, double depth grave, shroud

Verger

Attendance at funeral of Brights child
Albert Ayres

Mrs Tinker. Elm coffin, shroud

NH Or NN ND

MN OW

nur Dn nm

Nn WA DW oo

6 0

> °° oo)

OQ AON, ICY 1S

o Oo

oN ODN OD

-209 Dec-20
1937
-210 Jan-02

-211 Feb-20
-212 Mar-04
-213 Apr-11
-214 Jun-18
-215 Jul-16
1938

-216 Oct-13
-217 Nov-27

-218 Dec-13

1939
-219 Jan-24
-220 Aug-25

-221 Oct-24
1940

-222 Mar 13°

-223 Mar-27
-224 Apr-17

George Staffs. Elm coffin, shroud

T. Portch, Coate. Unpolished oak coffin,
best brass fittings. Double depth grave

Mrs Weston. Elm coffin and shroud
Frank Yeates. Polished elm coffin
James Brinkworth. Coffin and shroud
William Weston. Coffin and shroud
Mrs Drew. Coffin

John Miller. Polished elm coffin, shroud

Mary A. Trimwell. Polished elm coffin,
shroud

Mary J. Pearce. Polished elm coffin,
shroud

Eliza Benger. Coffin, shroud

Mrs Jessie Wordley, Coate. Coffin, best
brass fittings, shrou

Eliza Jane Kyte. Coffin, shroud

Sarah Rose. Coffin, shroud
Frank Cox.

Mrs Harraway. Coffin, robe. Brick grave
for two

-225 May-18 Harriet Cowdry. Elm coffin, shroud

-226 Sep-01
-227 Oct-23

-228 Nov-07

-229 Dec-21
1941
-230 Jan-21

-231 Feb-25
-232 Apr-16

-233 Apr-25
1943
-234
-235
-236
-237 Dec-03
-238
1944
-239 Jan-28
-240 Jan-13
-241 Jan-24

-242 Feb-11
-243 Aug-30
-244 Sep
-245

Annie E. Stiles. Coffin, shroud

Mrs Cross. Elm coffin, oak mouldings,
shroud

Bertha Drew. Elm coffin, oak moulding
and bearers

Fred Rogers. Elm coffin, shroud

Mrs Yeates. Elm coffin, shroud. Double
grave

Edwin Wordley. Elm coffin, shroud

Mrs Priddle. Polished elm coffin. Silk
robe

Mrs Hibberds child. For everything

Emily Mortimer. Cannings. Elm coffin
Mrs Willis. Oak coffin and shroud
Michael Geraghty. Coffin, shroud

Ann Slages. Coffin, shroud

Miss Minty

Jane Cowdry
Emily Hillier. Coffin and shroud

Albert Nash. Coffin and shroud. Double
depth

Ernest Stevens. Coffin and shroud
Mary A. Stevens.
Louisa Grant

Louisa Cowdry. Coffin and shroud

ON oO

169

10 0

15 0

Om Onto" © Ore

SCONES iS) ©) oOo AO

o AO

(<=) (my (SS)

Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 170-80

Training trenches on Salisbury Plain: archaeological
evidence for battle training in the Great War
by Graham Brown and David Field

Field investigation in Wiltshire and elsewhere by the former Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England
(RCHME) throughout the 1990s first revealed the extent and importance of military archaeology in Britain. On Salisbury
Plain Military Training Area, in particular, attention was brought to a wide number of practice trench systems most of
which appear to date to the First World War. Recent large-scale surveys of some of these systems demonstrate the extent
to which soldiers were given an elementary grounding in battle practice before being sent to the Front. They also provide
evidence of how those who designed, engineered, and used such complexes, utilised natural and archaeological features

in their construction.

Introduction

After almost one hundred years, as the memories
of those individuals who fought in the major
conflagration of the First World War fade, the film,
books, and documentary evidence inform our views
of trench warfare. The sites of these battles have
invariably been levelled, cultivated and built upon.
Evidence of them is seen mainly in museums where
artefacts and uniforms are used to tell the story. In
any case, to those in the UK, they are on foreign
soil and do not provide the kind of permanent
landscape reminder that, for example, pillboxes or
airfields do for a later war. Bereft of such sites we
have become accustomed to view such encounters
as events that occurred somewhere else and until
recently archaeology appears to have contributed
little. In recent years, however, there has been a
tremendous increase in interest in the field evidence
of battlefields of the First World War, which have
become part of an integrated tourist circuit — the
“Western Front Experience’ (Saunders 2001, 45).
Many thousands of people, including school parties

from England, go to gain first-hand knowledge of
the warfare of those early years of the 20th century.
Places such as Beaumont Hamel and Vimy Ridge
attract considerable numbers of visitors, while the
areas around Ypres and Verdun, once only visited
by veterans and their families (Coombs 1976) now
serve a wider interest. After decades of cultivation,
however, the earthwork remains of many of these
battlefields survive only in isolated pockets or in
woodland, or as soil marks in the surrounding arable
fields (Chippendale 1997, 506).

Earthworks of 20th-century warfare, however,
are not exclusive to the Western Front and the other
foreign theatres of war, for in the UK they can also
be found across large tracts of the military estates
and other areas of the country where they remain
as testimony to how soldiers trained for warfare.
Trench systems, often naturally silted up or partially
or completely backfilled, are increasingly being
identified across the countryside. Some are small
disjointed examples designed to provide soldiers
with the merest familiarisation of trench life, while
others form more extensive, coherent systems that

English Heritage, NNMRC, Kemble Drive, Swindon, Wiltshire SN2 2GZ

I
|

TRAINING TRENCHES ON SALISBURY PLAIN

Section of Trenches.
Lune of Fire
Whim Sandbag

\
\

YS 0

Hollowedt out we front
to form a Bomb proof
Shelter. (See Sectzor)

Section of Rifle Pits,

ity z AS AW

Zit. 0 ins,

Fig. 1 Sketch plan of Boer trenches (after Anon. 1900, 92)

allowed greater knowledge of fieldcraft.

The extent of such systems is particularly
striking on the Salisbury Plain Training Area,
the largest military estate in the UK, where many
have been preserved from cultivation and where
their comprehensive nature can be observed and

appreciated. Notice of this was first made as part of

a widespread investigation of extant archaeology on
the military estate when a number of systems were

_ transcribed from aerial photographs (McOmish et al.
_ 2002, 137-48). More recently, analytical survey, and
_ interpretation of sites on the ground have enabled

these systems to be placed within their landscape

and cultural context.

The northern part of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire

_ has been used as a military training area since the end
. of the 19th century. This large expanse of undulating

downland was considered particularly suitable for
large-scale cavalry manoeuvres, but pressure on

_ ranges elsewhere meant that land for infantry and

artillery training was badly required. The Ministry
of Defence (MoD) took advantage of the low prices
of land during the agricultural depression and in
1897 began the process of buying up large estates on
the chalk (James 1987). As a consequence, the traces

, of over one hundred years of military activity have

been engraved on the land and can be observed and
recorded: rifle and anti-tank ranges, observation
posts, impact areas, all survive as earthworks to this
day. Present almost everywhere are trench systems
that were mainly constructed to provide training in
what to expect on the Front during the First World
War. Many of these were quite sophisticated and,
often at several hectares in extent, might provide the
stage for a reasonably large mock battle.

While trenches had been used quite widely
from the 18th century, much warfare still took
place on open ground; however, a major lesson of
the Crimean War and American Civil War was that
trenches had to be taken seriously. During the latter
half of the 19th century, earthen redoubts linked
by zigzag trenches were prominent both in warfare
and training (e.g. Smith 1995, 422-40), and on
Dartmoor experiments were carried out in 1869 into
the effect of 12-pounder artillery shells on ‘shelter’
trenches (Anon. 1870, 18). During the Boer War, the
importance of trenches became abundantly clear; the
Boer trenches being more effective than the British
ones. One British officer commented: “The Boer
trenches are marvellous, and a real lesson to us, our
rotten little scooped-out affairs, a foot or so deep, in
one long line, always open to enfilade, look child’s

172 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

play to theirs; theirs are at least 4 feet deep, hollowed
out in front below ground with good head cover,
and sandbagged; also, each trench (so to speak) can
only hold 3 men, then a traverse of earth comes, a
foot thick, and the trenches are never in one straight
line...’ (Courtney 1900, 92; Figure 1).

The success of Boer methods was not lost on the
British and tests subsequently took place, first on
Dartmoor, then on Salisbury Plain in 1903, when
‘three 4 foot deep S-shaped Boer trenches, filled
with standing dummies, were fired at both by guns
and howitzers with fair effect’ (Guy 1981, 1-2). The
typical Boer trench was clearly more effective and
can be seen as the precursor of the trench systems
of the First World War.

While a number of military manoeuvres appear
to have taken place on the chalk prior to MoD
acquisition, these mainly involved soldiers marching
from town to town, setting up camp and taking part
in occasional rifle practice rather than participating
in realistic battle training. Military manuals indicate
that the British attitude as regards the use of trenches
changed radically between 1877 and 1908, and by the
latter date the use of comprehensive trench systems
was being advocated (Anon. 1908, 4).

A fully developed trench system as used during
the First World War comprised three main elements:
a front-line, a support trench or reserve-line, and a
series of communication trenches that connected
them. Each of these would be composed of zigzag
lengths in order to give maximum protection against
enfilade fire or shellbursts. In most cases the front line
developed a crenellated plan that allowed projecting
‘bastions’ to give covering fire to other parts of the
trench. Machine guns positioned at each end of
the trench provided raking oblique fire, while saps
were dug forward into ‘no man’s land’ towards the
opposing front line as listening and observation
posts. Along the communication trenches, shelter
bays were constructed, often underground, which
fulfilled a number of functions, including command
and first-aid posts, while a little further to the rear
there may have been cookhouses, latrines and other
dugouts.

The fieldwork

Trench systems visible on aerial photographs of
Salisbury Plain Training Area were plotted and
checked on the ground during a programme of
fieldwork carried out by the authors in order to
ascertain the extent and condition of each (McOmish

et al. 2002). Two of these have been analytically
surveyed at large scale in order to attempt to
understand their morphology and demonstrate
how they fit into an already complex archaeological
landscape.

The first survey was of a particularly well-
preserved system in an area of scrub on Beacon Hill,
a prominent ridge on the eastern edge of the military
estate overlooking the Bulford Rifle Ranges between
the garrisons of Bulford and Tidworth (Figure 2).
The system is in fact part of a network of trenches
along the summit of the hill and was probably one
of the main trench training areas for the troops
billeted in the vicinity. Today, the area is rich in flora,
contains many stands of juniper trees, and is part of
a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It was during a
programme of scrub management that, along with an
extensive spread of Neolithic flintwork, the system
was fully revealed.

Covering some 7ha and extending for 350m, the
system comprises two lines of trenches. It is situated
on the southern slopes of the ridge with the firing
line on the lip of the summit and a support trench
60m further down-slope to its rear; the theory being
that it should be difficult to shell positions on the
rear slopes of hills (Crawford 1999, 33). While natural
silting has occurred, both trenches survive to a
depth of up to 1.5m. The firing line is crenellated,
with sides of 8m and each traverse encapsulates a
small ‘island’, which enabled troops to pass along
the line without affecting those in firing positions.
The cutting itself is 2m wide, but the crenellation,
islands and spoil heaps give considerable breadth
to the trench amounting to some 12m in all. These
measurements partly reflect the result of collapse,
but the original proud, un-weathered profile may
have been rather different and, together with the
barbed wire entanglements, would have presented
a formidable obstacle. In places, preservation is
excellent and one of the crenellations (a in Figure
2) has a slight depression on the front edge that
may have formed a ‘rest’ for a rifle. Slight linear
depressions (b in Figure 2) projecting from the front
edge of the firing line indicate the position of saps
and at the western limit a short, slightly curving
bay, linked to a communication trench, is perhaps
an ideal location for a machine gun emplacement.
The eastern end of the front line appears unfinished
and is depicted as such on a 1920s aerial photograph
(NMR: SU 2145/1). In contrast, the support line is
a simple zigzag trench. Here there are no ‘islands’,
it is simply a sinuous length of trench that would
have enabled troops to pass relatively quickly along

TRAINING TRENCHES ON SALISBURY PLAIN

Area of dense
vegetation

‘to a communication trench.

| Linking the firing line and support trench are
‘eleven communication trenches spaced at 25m
intervals. Like the support line, they are cut in a
zigzag arrangement; however, the final 20m length
\leading to the firing line departs from the pattern and
‘is straight, allowing a clear line-of-fire should the
‘firing line be over-run and occupied by the enemy.
Situated along the communication trenches are
| one or two, and in one case three, T-shaped shelter
‘bays, which could either be used for command
vand control, or as small shelters or first-aid posts.
To the rear of the support line are three longer
-communication trenches, which led to a 10m wide

and lm deep Bronze Age linear ditch with a bank

to the rear that served to channel movement to and
from the valley floor below. With its bordering tree
line it provided excellent cover and may have been
used as an additional reserve position, being fully

incorporated into the trench system.
Situated a few metres north of the Bronze

IWS

50 0 50

ee hema NEtTES

Fig. 2 Survey of earthworks of a trench system on Beacon Hill

Age ditch is a line of now silted and very shallow
crenellated trenches (c in Figure 2) that may
reflect an earlier phase of trench digging partially
obscured by the construction of the main complex.
In addition, there is a series of circular depressions
and smaller, linear trenches immediately to the
south of the support line. Some of these are more
recent two-man battle trenches, though the function
of others is less clear. Some were perhaps small
dugouts, although only one appears to be linked to
the trench system.

The second example is a small section of a trench
system located within the Bulford Rifle Range itself,
which was initially surveyed to illustrate the relative
chronology of the earthworks that can be observed,
not only here, but on a number of trench systems
across the Plain (Figure 3). It is only a small part of
a much more extensive system, most of which is at
present covered in impenetrable scrub. The trench
overlies a series of earlier, prehistoric landscape
features, each of which is important in its own right

174 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Trench systems

The use of deliberately dug holes in
the ground for cover or protection
in warfare has an extremely lengthy
history and can be traced as far back in
time as the Roman period or perhaps
even into prehistory. Classical texts
are littered with accounts of the
construction of marching camps and
other protective works. Engineers
featured amongst William’s army
at Hastings (Aston 1993, 1-2) while
rather later, miners from the Forest of

Se yy

SSA

VT
iti Mts jj

MUA Ay

fie

= MUNA 4i —
= fiddtii
= SULT ATT THA) =

SMT /
Mn.

0 50m 100m

ees

Fig. 3 Survey of the earthworks of a trench system on Bulford Rifle Range

and which formed part of the terrain of the battle
practice. In turn, the earthworks of a rifle range
overlay the system. The earliest feature is part of
a prehistoric ‘Celtic’ field system (the rectilinear
scarps, or lynchets) blanketing this part of the
down and probably dating to about 1500 BC, i.e.
the Middle Bronze Age (a in Figure 3). Overlying,
and cutting through this is a linear ditch of a type
usually dated to some 500 years later, about 1000BC,
i.e. the Later Bronze Age (b in Figure 3). Like that
on Beacon Hill, this is a massive feature, some 10m
wide and about 1m deep with a bank on either
side, that extends towards the north-west from the
southernmost firing point of the rifle range where
it has been levelled. The familiar First World War
crenellated trench system (c in Figure 3) can be seen
almost centrally cutting into the field system, with
a front line comprising six firing bays, without in
this case, an ‘island’ to the rear. Two communication
trenches are present; the northern example is of
regular layout, while the other utilises part of the
Bronze Age ditch as cover. The final piece of the
chronological jigsaw is provided by two of the rifle
range firing points, each 100m in length and 120m
apart (d in Figure 3); both overlie the linear ditch
and field system.

Dean were used in the siege of Calais
and the Battle of Crecy in 1346 (zbid.,
2). Thus tunnels, or mines, were used
as early as the 11th century in order
to place fires beneath masonry walls
in the hope that they would crack
and topple over; a corner tower of
the keep of Rochester Castle, in Kent,
being successfully undermined in
this way in 1215 (Wiggins 2003, 9).
The progress of tunnellers could
often be heard above ground and led
to defenders constructing counter-

mines in order to intercept the miners. Wiggins (2bid.,
13) described how the practice of digging zigzags or
right angles within tunnels was designed to avoid
counter-miners and was subsequently advocated by
Luys Collado (1606) in the military manual of the
day. The principles of advancing underground were,
however, similar to those on the surface. A trench
advancing head-on, at right angles to a fortification
allowed it to be raked from end to end with gunfire
from defenders. It was of the utmost importance
therefore to vary the angle of approach and ensure
that such enfilade fire was not possible. Thus a variety
of methods of ‘sapping’ under fire were developed
along with systems of crenellation and zigzags to
assist with protection. The introduction of firearms
heralded an important change in the techniques of
battle and as their use became widespread during
the English Civil War, lines of earthwork trenches
for protection developed in response.

Later manuals establish procedures on how to
lay out and construct trench systems using a trace
or template in order that symmetry and accuracy
is maintained (e.g. Solano (ed.) 1915; Anon 1917;
Anon 1920). A perennial problem with ditch
digging in gangs, as observed in many prehistoric
monuments, is the variable nature of the result

TRAINING TRENCHES ON SALISBURY PLAIN

and here it was essential that the overall plan be
constructed accurately in the field. Responsibility
for the layout of the trenches initially rested
with the Royal Engineers and the purpose of the
surveyed Cannock Chase model by the RCHME
(Welch 1997) was presumably to instruct their
officers in the correct and accepted design. Trench
systems can, therefore, be surprisingly uniform.
On Lincoln’s South Common, a crenellated front
line extending for some 200m can be traced as very
shallow earthworks (Field 2005) and the proportions
of the crenellation are almost identical to a similar
system on Walmgate Stray, York (Pollington and

- Pearson 2005). Once surveyed and marked out on the

ground by the Royal Engineers, or similarly qualified
personnel, soldiers are likely to have carried out
the digging, and there are countless references (e.g.
Crawford 1999, 37, 139) to the practice of digging
while on Salisbury Plain. Nevertheless, at the Front
during the early days of the First World War it was
the sole responsibility of the Royal Engineers, not
only to supervise trench digging, but also to carry
it out. This was later changed because of the heavy
casualties suffered (Lloyd 1987, 79).

The existence of earthwork practice trenches is
widespread across r-any of the military estates in
England. While many appear to date to the early 20th

century, there are cxamples of earlier fortifications.
In Crowthorne \/ood, Berkshire, the RCHME
surveyed a complex of redoubts dating to the late
18th century, and tree sinuous trench systems that

appear to date to the late 19th century (Smith, 1995),
while in the Aldershot area, Judie English recorded
a redoubt on the eastern end of Hungry Hill, which
dates to between 1855 and 1863, as well as two further
‘military earthworks’ on the Ash Ranges, in Surrey,
which are slightly later (English 2004, 87-93; 2006,
245-53).

Many trench systems survive as extant earthworks
on the military estate on Salisbury Plain, while
others have been revealed as levelled features on
aerial photographs. Some are quite fragmentary
and possibly reflect their temporary nature, rapid
construction, or the effect of shelling. Others,
particularly those on Beacon Hill and the area to

| the north of Tilshead, are well preserved, and are
| amongst the best examples of early 20th-century

trenches seen anywhere in the UK.

Trench systems vary enormously in area
from perhaps as little as 0.25ha up to 26ha and
archaeological fieldwork shows that great care was

| taken in siting them. Great ingenuity was used

in adapting pre-existing features in the landscape

175

to best advantage, not only in the location of the
systems, but also in the construction of trenches.
Where situated on high ground, trenches were
invariably placed just below the crest so that
soldiers within them would not be sky-lined from
below. A covered approach utilised hedgerows and
other natural features so that troops could move
to, and occupy, the support trench unobserved.
Examples from across the military estate emphasise
these points. On Chapperton Down, for example,
a long communication trench was ‘contoured’
along the line of a pre-existing prehistoric ‘Celtic’
field lynchet, thus providing additional cover and
protection as they approached the firing line.

Although it is difficult to date any particular
system with precision from the earthworks alone,
aerial photographs and, on occasions, map evidence,
can be used to give a terminus anti-quem. For example,
at least four trench systems are recorded on a military
overlay of an Ordnance Survey map of the area to
the north of Chitterne and, although it is unclear
when the overlay was actually made, the base map
itself is dated 1916 (Chitterne (North) 1:20,000
map G.S.G.S. 2748). On this overlay, a large trench
system located to the south of Imber appears to be
abandoned and used as an artillery target since the
observation posts are positioned to the north and
south of the system with their field of view directly
towards the trenches (Figure 4).

Aerial photographs depict the extent and
complexity of certain trench systems that have
long been abandoned and can now only be seen as
crop marks. They also show how they were used in
the contemporary landscape. On Orcheston Down,
for example, a site at Shrewton Folly comprises a
complex system of trenches of at least two phases
(McOmish et al. 2002, 141). The most coherent part of
this group consists of three lines of trenches, a firing
line, support trench and reserve line, extending for
about lkm. Linking the front and support lines are
twenty-five communication trenches, with a further
ten that link reserve and support trenches. 120m
in advance of the firing line is another continuous
trench with eight smaller trenches (probably saps)
leading from it. This latter trench was possibly
constructed as a result of troops advancing from their
initial front line and establishing a more advanced
position. To the south-west of this coherent trench
system is amore amorphous and disjointed scheme,
which although incorporated, was probably initially
unrelated to the larger system, but perhaps provided
practice in trench digging.

The largest concentration of trenches (which can

176 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 4 Redrawn aerial photographic transcription of a trench system to the south of the village of Imber on Salisbury Plain. This
system is also shown on the Artillery Training map of 1916, from where the observation posts (shown as the black circles with
arrows) are taken

now only be seen on aerial photographs, for example
Figure 5) is on Perham Down, which lies to the
south of Tidworth. Here they form a complex system
that overlies an extensive area of prehistoric ‘Celtic’
fields, which in turn have influenced the layout. Two
opposing firing lines were established up to 200m
apart. Each, along with their attendant support and
communication trenches, extends for some 700m
over the undulating downs. Like the other systems,
the firing lines are crenellated while the remainder
are zigzag or sinuous. On both sides, communication
trenches lead away from the support trench for
several hundred metres towards a hedgerow, from
where woodland, prehistoric earthworks and tracks
provided shelter and covered ‘entry points’ to and
from the system.

Other aspects of warfare have left their traces.

Mining, that is the laying of explosive charges by
tunnelling beneath the enemy’s trench, was practised
by at least 1916 when ‘trenching and mining of all
kinds are practised here...’ (Guy 1981, 1-2). An
example of this lies to the south of Imber where three
areas are shown on a map, two within an extensive
trench system, and the third on a south-facing spur
just outside the trenches (Chitterne (North) 1:20,000
map G.S.G.S. 2748). Elsewhere, the sites of mine
explosions survive as deep circular uniform craters
of about 10m diameter and up to 2m deep with no
spoil around the perimeter. To the north of Tilshead,
for example, there are several equally spaced craters
which date from at least 1913 when this area was first
acquired by the military authorities.

Apart from the Imber example, certain other
trench systems appear to have been shelled;

aman cor ~~ -¥

TRAINING TRENCHES ON SALISBURY PLAIN

Fig. S An aerial photograph of a small part of the trench system on Perham Down on Salisbury Plain
(NMR: ALK 7418/74, © copyright: Keiller Collection)

for example the system at Chapperton Down is
covered with shell holes; although it is not clear
whether these are contemporary with trench use it
may result from experiments with trench form in
order to provide greater protection or of methods
of destroying such systems by artillery fire. One
new contributor to warfare was the aeroplane and,
adjacent to a system of trenches in the southern limit
of the military estate, near the Iron Age hillfort of
Yarnbury, are hundreds of small craters, evidently
the result of the Royal Flying Corps practising the
dropping of hand held bombs or grenades from
aircraft (Crawford 1924, 34).

Conclusions

Comparison of military manuals indicates that
British military thought on the use of trenches
changed radically between 1877 and 1908 (e.g.
Anon 1877; Anon 1908) and by the latter date the
comprehensive trench system was being widely
advocated. Despite this, prior to the First World
War, training in trench warfare was limited. The

response to the commencement of hostilities resulted
in a piecemeal attempt at providing some idea of
the processes, with trenches being dug wherever
possible.

The existence of practice trenches is not just
confined to Salisbury Plain, but widespread across
many of the military estates in the UK, for example
at Penally, Pembrokeshire, (Thomas 1997, 5-6;
Brown 2004), Otterburn, Northumberland (Charlton
and Day 1977, 137; Anon 1978, 155); Okehampton
on Dartmoor (Francis 2002); and, Cannock Chase,
Staffordshire (Welch 1997). Although the majority
appear to date to the early 20th century, there are
examples of earlier fortifications.

The lack of emphasis hitherto placed on
trench systems in the UK by both historians and
archaeologists is probably a result of common
perception of British wars being fought on foreign
soil. However, although forgotten, preparation for
foreign wars has left its indelible mark on the British
landscape, with remnants of trench systems, redoubts
and other features dating from the 19th century still
visible. Among these remains, trenches attributable
to the First World War, either as fragments of front

178 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

line or complete complexes, are more widely present
than formerly imagined on commons and open
spaces across the country. When considered in detail,
they emphasise that, by the early years of the 20th
century, the training of soldiers in trench warfare
was considered of utmost importance. They help
to indicate the variety of training that was given
to those designing and laying out the trenches;
those planning tactics; and for those who would be
engaged in day-to-day trench warfare.

Acknowledgements

We would like to offer our thanks to the military
estate for allowing free access to the trenches on
the Salisbury Plain Training Area over a number of
years, and in particular, to John Loch, Jane Hallet,
Ian Barnes and more recently to Richard Osgood,
who have all provided help and encouragement,
and to a number of successive Commandants who
have all been extremely supportive. The penned
illustrations are the work of Deborah Cunliffe. A
draft of the paper was read by Mark Bowden, who
suggested several helpful amendments. Our thanks
are also extended to the staff of the library at the
Royal Engineers Museum, Chatham who were
extremely helpful in our research for the origins and
development of trench warfare.

References

ANON. 1870. Shelter Trenches. The Royal Engineers fournal
1, 17-18

ANON., 1877, Instruction in Field Engineering vol 1, part 1:
Field Defences, 2nd edition. London: HMSO

ANON. 1900. The Royal Engineers Fournal 30,71

ANON., 1908, Military Engineering part 1: Field Defences.
London: HMSO

ANON., 1917, SME Fortification Circular 1917 no 35:
Instructions for construction of Trenches and Repairs of
Trenches. Chatham: Royal Engineers Corps Library

ANON., 1920, Military Engineering 2. London: HMSO

ANON. 1978. Otterburn. Current Archaeology 64, 152-5

ASTON, D. P, 1993, A Short History of the Royal Engineers.
Chatham: The Institution of Royal Engineers

BROWN, M. 2004. A Mirror of the Apocalypse — Great War
Training Trenches. Sanctuary 33, 54-57

CHARLTON, D. B. and DAY, J. C., 1977, An archaeological
survey of the Ministry of Defence Training Area, Otterburn,
Northumberland unpublished manuscript (copy NMR
library, Swindon)

CHIPPINDALE, C. 1997. Editorial. Antiquity 71, 505-12

COLLADO, L., 1606, Practtica Manuale dell’Artigleria.
Milano: G. Bordoni and P. Locarni

COOMBES, R. E. B., 1976, Before Endeavours Fade: a guide
to the battlefields of the First World war (6 ed). London:
Battle of Britain Prints

COURTNEY, E. A. W. 1900. Boer Trenches at Paardeberg.
The Royal Engineers Fournal 30, 92

CRAWFORD, O.G.S., 1924, Air Survey and Archaeology,
Ordnance Survey Professional Papers. New Series, 7

CRAWFORD, T. S., 1999, Wiltshire and the Great War.
Reading: DPF Publishing

ENGLISH, J. 2004. Two late Nineteenth Century Military
Earthworks on Ash Ranges, near. Aldershot, Surrey.
Landscape History 26, 87-93 -

ENGLISH, J. 2006. Survey of a post-medieval ‘squatter’
occupation site and 19" century military earthworks
at Hungry Hill, Upper Hale, near Farnham. Surrey
Archaeological Collections 92, 245-53

FRANCIS, P, 2002, Okehampton Artillery Range, Devon.
Report and Photographic Survey, unpublished mss for
Defence Estates, Exeter

FIELD, D., 2005, Lincoln South Common: An archaeological
investigation of an urban open space. Swindon: English
Heritage Archaeological Investigation Report Series
AI/18/2005

GUY, R., 1981, A history of Gunnery Wing, Royal School of
Artillery 1929-1980 unpublished mss Badley Library
Royal School Artillery Larkhill

JAMES, N. D. G., 1987, Plain Soldiering: a history of the armed
forces on Salisbury Plain. Salisbury: Hobnob Press

LLOYD, R. 1978. One Sapper’s View of the First World
War. The Royal Engineers Fournal 92, 78-83

McOMISH, D., FIELD, D. and BROWN, G., 2002, The field
archaeology of Salisbury Plain Training Area. Swindon:
English Heritage

POLLINGTON, M. and PEARSON, T, 2005 ‘Recent
Fieldwork on Yorkshire Commons’ CBA Yorkshire
Forum: The annual Newsletter of CBA Yorkshire

SAUNDERS, N. J., 2001, ‘Matter and Memory in the
Landscapes of Conflict: The Western Front 1914-1919’,
in B. Bender and M. Winer, (eds), Contested Landscapes
Movement, Exile and Place, 37-53. Oxford: Berg

SMITH, N. 1995. Military Training Earthworks in
Crowthorne Wood, Berkshire: A Survey by the Royal
Commission on the Historical Monuments of England.
Archaeological Fournal 152, 422-40

SOLANO,E. J., (ed.) 1915, Field Entrenchments: Spadework
for Riflemen. London: John Murray

THOMAS, R. J. C. 1997. Penally Training Camp. Sanctuary
26, 5-6

WELCH, C., 1997, An Investigation of a Possible Trench
‘Model’ on the Site of the First World War Camp at Rugeley.
Staffordshire County Council Research Report No. 2

WIGGINS, K. 2003. Warfare Underground. British
Archaeology 71, 8-13

- x ©

TRAINING TRENCHES ON SALISBURY PLAIN 179

APPENDIX: Trench systems on Salisbury Plain Training Area surviving as earthworks or cropmarks
Reference

Grid Area (m)
Number Reference

ST94NEa_ | ST 967557 | 800 x 400 __| Sinuous trench system along side of downs. Probably linked to ST94NE (c).

S
A diagonal trench also links them. Site heavily disturbed by shelling and
ST94NE d_ | ST 963455 | 1200 Long trench, probably WW2 anti-tank ditch
S

Description

vehicles
ST94NEe | ST 958470 | 400 Same type as ST94NE (d).
ST94NEf | ST 955455 | 800 x 200 | Complex trench system with 3 lines of communication trenches.

ST94NE g T 990475 | 250 Part of Chapperton Down complex. Communication trench on west side of
valley set against Celtic field lynchet.

ST94NEh_ | ST 994480 | 500 Continuation of ST94NE j. Communication trench extends north to 3 lines

of trenches on Chapperton Down. Heavily damaged by shelling. Forward

trench 200m to north.

ST 94NEj_ | ST 980469 | 1000m long | Long trench leading to ST94NE (a)

ST94NW a | ST 925491 Single trench.

ST94NW b | ST 925490 Single trench.

STOANWe [ST 920490

ST94SEa_ | ST 971429 | 400x100 | Complex trench system comprising a north/south trench with at least 6
communication trenches overlying Celtic field system.

ST14NEa_ | SU 164495 | 200x100 ‘| 2 lines of trenches (orientated east/west) connected by 3 communication
trenches.

SUI4NEb | SU 186469 | 120 x 70 2 lines of trenches (orientated north/south) connected by 2 communication
trenches. Appear to use lynchet as a covered approach.

SU14NEc_ | SU 186468 | 500 Series of ‘V’-shaped trenches on northern side of Netheravon airfield.
Probably WW2.

SUL4NW a
SU14SE a Series of small trenches facing east/west overlooking River Avon.
SUI14SE b Sinuous trench.

SUI4SE ¢

SU14SEd_ |SU192439|100x100 | Curving crenellated trench with further trench contained within the curve.
SU14SEe |SU 195437|200x100 | 2 crenellated trenches with numerous smaller trenches between.

SU14SEf |SU 192435 |400x200 | Area of small zigzag trenches.

SU14SW a | SU 110444 | 250x250 ‘| Area of small trenches c70m long

SUI4SW c_ | SU 125446 Small trench to north of long barrow

SU15SEa_ | SU 155547 | 800 x 300 _| Series of small trenches facing northwest overlooking valley on northern side
of Upavon airfield. Probably WW2

SU24NEa_ | SU 263493 | 400 x 50 2 trenches extending in a north/south direction c400m long and connected by
12 communication trenches. Two saps extend forward of firing line.

SU14SW b | SU 123446] 100x100 | Small compact area of trenches.

180 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Reference | Grid Area (m) Description
Number Reference

SU24NE b_ | SU 260476 Narrow trench system connected by smaller communication trenches

SU24NEc |SU 2546 |700x500 | Perham Down complex. Complex area of trenches extending into SU24NW
(ce)!

SU24NW a | SU 232485 | 200x100 | Series of small irregular trenches.
SU24NW b | SU 247482 | 400x200 _ | 4 lines of trenches. Communication trench leads to a Celtic field lynchet,
which was probably used as a covered approach.

SuUNWe [SU 246 [500x500

SU24NW d | SU 231491 | 200x200 ‘| Series of 8 small trenches cl100m long. No coherent pattern.
SU24NW e | SU 228488 | 200x100 | Series of 6 small trenches cl100m long. No coherent pattern.
SU24NW f | SU 225485 | 150x100 | Series of 4 small trenches cl00m long. No coherent pattern.

SU24NW g | SU 215472 | 400x400 | Complex of 9 small trench systems comprising mainly firing trench and
connected by communication trenches.

SU24NW h | SU215454 | 300x150 | Beacon Hill complex. Firing trench and support trench connected by 10
communication trenches. Further communication trenches lead to a linear

ditch.

SU24NWj_| SU 214455 Single line trench. Possibly associated with SU24NW (h).
SU24NW k | SU 208455 | 300x100 | Single line trench with communication trench abutting a linear trench.
SU24NW1_| SU 215451

SU24NW m | SU 213479 | 100 x 50 2 lines of trenches linked by 3 communication trenches. The support trench
is a continuation of a lynchet.

SU24NW n | SU 215482 | 150x150 _ | Trench system overlying Celtic field system. 3 lines and 3 communication
trenches.

SU24NW p | SU 215482 | 80 x 80
SU24NW q | SU 215481 (SD -peer rma Single trench overlying Celtic field system.
SU24SW a_ | SU 215449 | 300 x 300 =| Complex trench system of at least 2 phases.

SU24SW b | SU 212448 | 250x100 ‘| 3 lines of trenches connected by communication trenches, all of which are
overlying Celtic field system.

SU24SW c_ | SU 208450 | 100 x 50 2 lines of trenches connected by 2 communication trenches, all of which
overlie Celtic field system.

SU24SW d_| SU 205442
SU24SWe | SU 204440 | 400x200 | Area of single lines of trenches varying in length from c50m to c220m.
SU25SW a_| SU 235508 | 200 x 150 | Complex trench system, possibly of at least 3 phases.

SU25SW b_ | SU 235505 | 200 x 100 ‘| 2 lines of trenches connected by 5 communication trenches, 3 of which extend

80m to the rear of the support trench.

SU25SW c_| SU 225502
SU25SW d_ | SU 227505 | 300 x 300 __‘| Series of small trenches c50m long.
SU25SW e_| $U224509

SU25SW f | SU 215505 | 400 x 300 ‘| Series of 6 trenches cl100m long on the north, northeast and northwest sides of

Sidbury Hill.

Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 181-214

Notes and Shorter Contributions

The King Oak in Savernake Forest and its
comparison with the living King of Limbs
by Foan Davies’ and Graham Bathe?

The King Oak was a very large and imposing tree
in the centre of Savernake Forest. The Earl and
Marquesses of Ailesbury cared for this ancient
oak. The tree is illustrated in J. G. Strutt’s Sylva
Britannica of 1822 and recently a drawing of the tree
has been located in a Museum in Guernsey. This
pencil drawing, made in 1845, was probably by the
Rev. W. C. Lukis, who in 1853, jointly with Cannon
Jackson, became the first Secretary of the Wiltshire
Archaeological and Natural History Society. By
the latter part of the 19th century the King Oak
had reduced to a hulk, finally disappearing in the
middle of the 20th century. There is now only one
oak amongst the large ancient oaks still growing in
the Forest which gives the impression, like the King
Oak, of great girth, spread and height and this is the
King of Limbs.

Although, judging by its size, the King Oak
probably started life about a thousand years ago,
its written and illustrated history only dates back
for just over two hundred years. The King Oak is
named on the first detailed map of the Savernake
Estate of 1786 (WSRO 1300/360), where it is shown
situated in an open glade south of Eight Walks and
just west of Twelve O’clock Drive, features created
within the Forest immediately prior to this date.
Despite its demise, it has continued to be marked in
this position at SU 2249 6591 on Ordnance Survey

maps. Its position is at the intersection of four other
tracks and from five of the six directions one would
have had to walk up an incline to reach the tree. It
must have been a very noticeable and impressive
feature. According to Jacob George Strutt, in the
accompanying note in his Sylva Britannica or Portrait
of Forest Trees, he wrote in his praises of Savernake
Forest:

The King Oak, its most venerable ornament,
spreads its branches over a diameter of sixty yards,
and is twenty-four feet in girth. The trunk is quite
hollow, and altogether its age appears to warrant
the idea that it may have witnessed in its infancy,
those rites and sacrifices of our Saxon ancestors,
which were held in these shadowy recesses, at once
to increase their solemnity, and to shield them
from the profane eyes of vulgar observers.

The Earl of Ailesbury, Thomas Bruce Brudenell,
was from 1747 to 1814 the 22nd Hereditary Warden
of Savernake Forest. During the sixty-seven years
of his Wardenship he planted many trees and tried
to preserve the ancient ones. He, like other landed
gentry of the eighteenth century, valued the veteran
trees for their picturesque and amenity value. Work
was carried out to preserve an ancient hollow oak in
Savernake Forest in July 1783, where a tree not far
from the King Oak was treated to keep out water by

! Ballard’s Piece, Forest Hill, Marlborough, SN8 3HN ” Byeley in Densome, Woodgreen, Fordingbridge, SP6 2QU

182 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 1 7.G. Struit, engraving of the King Oak, 1822

it being ‘filled up with clay and covered with a cloth
well dipped in pitch beeswax and grease’ (WSRO
1300/2535). In 1809 even more elaborate efforts were
proposed to try to save some of the branches of the
King Oak from falling and the tree from splitting
down the middle. This work is described in a report
from T. Young to Lord Bruce (WSRO 1300/1634):

My Lord wishing me to state what I have at any
time done to the King Oak I have to say that when
my Lord Bruce came to the County in April last I
went with his Lordship to the tree (which I never
saw but once before merely by accident) which had
two leading branches dividing themselves opposite
directions about nine feet from the ground leaving
acrutch or forking part. Between them the weight
of the leaders with their additional limbs had
opened this crutch entirely down to the ground
nearly about one inch. To prevent the weather
from affecting the trunk through this opening
some sheet lead had been nailed over it and two
iron bars had been fixed about twelve feet from

the ground to prevent the leaders from spreading
any more. His Lordship found some part of the
lead had been stole away and desired me to have
the remainder taken off and the opening caulked
up tight with a mixture of hemp and tar, leaving
room for the bark to grow over it - which was
immediately done. His Lordship wished at the
same time to have something more done to secure
the tree. I then proposed having an iron made to
tie the leaders together between 20 and 30 feet
from the ground, which was approved of, and
the lower iron might have been taken away. I had
desired the smith to make the irons when on the
day following I was [informed? — page defaced]
that my Lord Bruce and Mr Ward had consulted
and agreed to have some iron placed still higher
20 feet than what I proposed.

Consequently I did not proceed with the irons.
Indeed I was ordered not to proceed with them
but [page defaced] Mr Ward on the spot which
was [page defaced] a few days afterwards when
we observed that one of the irons was quite loose,

A OO EON SO IE

—————__—_—_—_—_—_=

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

indeed, almost out and not at all calculated to do
any good. Nor I do not think that it ever had been
of much service.

I then gave my ideas on paper and as my
Lord Bruce saw that the tree was in danger and
was anxious to have it done. In the mean time
the iron which was observed to have been loose I
was informed by one of Mr Watts men had fallen
down.

I sent a lad to remove it to the Forest Sawpit
that it might be taken care of, as it evidently could
have been of no service whatever in the same place
or in any other so low down on the tree. I am very
sorry that for his Lordship’s satisfaction I had it
not put up. I am sensible that no blame can in any
respect be attached to me and had I by this means
by fixing up an iron to do no good evaded it. His
Lordship would not have conceived any censure
for me. I was also desired to take off all the old
humps and paint [page defaced] which I should
have done when the irons were fixed. It appears to
me that considering the state of the tree it must be
a miracle that would have saved the limbs or lives
of the workmen in fixing the iron supposing the
accident had not happened at present.

Over ten years later the King Oak was still a
magnificent wide spreading tree, as shown in Strutt’s
engraving (Figure 1)(Strutt 1822). Jacob George
Strutt travelled all over England and illustrated in
his remarkable book, Sylva Britannica, or Portrait of
Forest Trees, are forty-eight trees distinguished for
their antiquity, magnitude or beauty.

There is an outline tracing of a later picture
of the King Oak in the Devizes Museum Library,
with a note that it was prepared by E. H. Goddard
from an original in the Lukis Museum, Guernsey.
It features in the Catalogue of the Collection of
Drawings, Prints and Maps in the Library of the
WANHS, prepared by Goddard in 1909, and is listed
as ‘King Oak 1845, tracing from a drawing by W. C.
Lukis. AA1’. William Collings Lukis was born in the
Channel Islands in 1817. He graduated with honours
in 1840 from Trinity College, Cambridge and in 1841
was ordained deacon at Salisbury. He held the Curacy
of Bradford-on-Avon, and successively the livings
of East Grafton, Great Bedwyn, and Collingbourne
Ducis. In addition to being a rural Dean he was
active in archaeological digs and recording. At
Avebury and Stonehenge, not only did he make very
careful plans but also an accurate portrait of every
stone. His interest in archaeological and natural
history was inherited from his father Frederick
Corbin Lukis (1788-1871), a renowned archaeologist
and antiquary, who was also keenly interested in

Fig. 2 Pencil drawing by W C Lukis, 1845, hitherto
unpublished, reproduced with the permission of Guernsey
Museums and Galleries. © States of Guernsey

geology and natural history. In 1907, Francis Du Bois
Lukis, the last surviving son of Frederick Corbin
Lukis, bequeathed his father’s archaeological and
natural history collection to the States of Guernsey.
This fine collection was initially displayed at the
Lukis Museum, in part of the old family home, and
has since become part of the Guernsey Museums.

Following an enquiry, Alan Howell, of Guernsey
Museums and Galleries, was able to locate and
provide a copy of this pencil drawing. It is titled
‘King Oak, Savernake Forest, about one third of the
original tree, 17th October, 1845’. An accompanying
note says that although it is unattributed it is
assumed to be by a member of the Lukis family, and
has been stored in a folder marked “W C Lukis”. The
pencil drawing is of the trunk and the lower part of
the branches (Figure 2).

Ancient oaks have their own characteristics,
with different shapes of trunks, hollow openings
and arrangement of branches. Fortunately, this
drawing has been made by looking from the same
direction as the Strutt engraving, thus showing that
both drawings are of the same tree. It appears as if
a large bough on the far side of the tree had fallen
between 1822 and 1845. Large branches continued

184 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

_—————

———

(Ching Oak

Fig. 3 Engraving of the King Oak by an unknown artist, late
19th century

to fall as the 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury, George
William Frederick Brudenell Bruce, was buried at
St Katharine’s on 12 January 1878 in a coffin made
at Durley Warren, of which the head and footboards
were made of wood from the King Oak. (Marlborough
Times 1878).

Figure 3 depicts an undated engraving of the
King Oak showing the tree with a hollow trunk
and the remnants of its last remaining branch. It is
from an unattributed short pamphlet on the History
of Savernake Forest published by W Michael,
Westbury, which includes an engraving of the ruins
of Savernake Lodge. The two pictures are in a similar
style and they both also appear in Sylvan Savernake
and its Story by W Maurice Adams published in
about 1903. The ruins of Savernake Lodge were
demolished in 1886 so this engraving pre-dates
this event. Mr. Maurice Adams says in his book ‘Of
the King Oak the hollow trunk now only remains,
though some of its branches have fallen in the last
half-century. The last surviving one was blown down
in October 1872.’ Assuming both engravings are
broadly contemporary the date of the engraving of
the King Oak is between 1873 and 1885.

By the early 1900s the King Oak like other
named oaks in the Forest was protected by a
surrounding fence (Figure 4). The Earl of Cardigan,
Chandos Brudenell Bruce, describes in his book (The
Wardens of Savernake Forest, 1949) how as a young
child he with his mother and two young sisters
were taken by his grandfather, the 5th Marquess of
Ailesbury, to visit one or other of the huge venerable
oaks in the Forest. The journeys were made in an
open carriage with a pair of horses. Sometimes they

visited the Duke’s Vaunt or a still more decayed
ancient oak, the King Oak, which stood with other
giants in a glade where the bracken so profuse
elsewhere never grew. “The old Marquess liked to
contemplate the King Oak. It would not last much
longer, but what a history it must have had!’ The
Marquess died in 1911, and noting the age of his
younger granddaughter these journeys took place
in about 1910.

In 1939 the Forestry Commission obtained
a 999-year lease from the Savernake Estate for
the sylvicultural rights of Savernake Forest. The
Inspection Records of the Forestry Commission,
1939 (F43/150) record the state of the King Oak:

The preservation of named oaks and other
ancient oaks will be discussed with the Savernake
Committee. The King Oak is now a rotted shell
and might be removed.

The future of the King Oak was discussed at a
meeting of the CPRE Savernake Committee with the
Forestry Commission in 1940 when it was agreed that
the King Oak, which was dead, should be replaced by
a descendant of another historic tree. The Chairman,
Lord Cardigan, said experiments with the Duke’s
Vaunt had been unsuccessful, and a proposal by
Mr Peirson to use a descendant of another notable
Savernake tree, the Cluster Oak, was approved. Sir
Roy Robinson suggested that where necessary such
sites might be marked, and in peacetime replanting
ceremonies could be held.

Shortly following this decision the Forest
became a giant ammunition storage depot, originally
manned by British and Commonwealth troops and
then expanded to include US ammunition guarded
by American soldiers. It is doubtful if the remnants
of the King Oak were finally removed until the end

Fig 4 Photograph of the King Oak 1n the early 1900s

——

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

Fig 5 Replacement King Oak, photo Foan Davies, 2003

of the war. Local people believe that some of the
timber from the King Oak was taken as souvenirs
by the Americans and a piece could be in a museum
in America.

The Cluster Oak in Savernake Forest is situated
near Column Ride and was first noted in 1916 by
Arthur Yates, of Warren Farm, as an unusual tree
with overlapping clustered leaves. It is a sport or
mutant of the English Oak and has been classified
as Quercus robur L. var cristata (Henry 1917). Acorns
from the Cluster Oak were sown and in the late
1940s a replacement tree was planted close to the
site of the King Oak. No signs of the original King
Oak remain, but by measurement and looking at
other trees in the photographs and drawings it
appears the replacement tree is about 14m north of
the original site.

A fence as well as many young trees now

- surround the replacement King Oak (Figure 5).
_ After fifty years the replacement tree is thin and weak

looking, heavily crowded by surrounding growth and
its leaves are only slightly clustered. The original

cluster oak still grows in Savernake Forest but it is
‘very slow growing and none of the trees grown from
| its acorns have produced the same tightly clustered

Fig 6 King of Limbs, photo Joan Davies, 2002

leaves as the parent. The replacement will never be
an impressive tree like the original King Oak. The
only really impressive, wide-spreading ancient oak
still growing in Savernake Forest is the King of
Limbs, shown in the photograph in Figure 6.

The King of Limbs is situated in the south
east part of the Forest, south of Birch Copse at SU
2428 6601. It is in Savernake parish, on the side of a
track that runs along the Savernake, Little Bedwyn
parish boundary. In the past the old Marlborough
to Bedwyn Road was close to the tree. This route
was closed, and a road along a new alignment to
the north constructed in the eighteenth century.
The tree has a giant girth of 10.3m (34ft), which
is the third largest for an oak in Wiltshire. It is
an ancient pollard, with a hollow trunk and many
of its branches remaining. The tree is tall and
spreading with an estimated height of 27m (88ft)
and spread of 31m (34yds). This oak, like many of
the other ancient oaks in the Forest, is a hybrid.
The tree has intermediate characteristics between
the Pedunculate or English Oak, Quercus robur L.
and the Sessile or Durmast Oak, Quercus petraea
(Matt.)Liebl. and has been classified as Quercus x
rosacea, (Oliver and Davies 2001). Recently an older
photograph of an un-named oak has been found
in the Forestry Commission Office at Postern Hill
(Figure 7). Its branches and nodules were carefully
traced and by overlaying on a recent photograph
of the King of Limbs, the unlabelled tree has been
identified as the same tree. It is therefore an older
photograph of the King of Limbs taken before some
of its branches had fallen.

The trees in the background of this photograph
are larch, which are about 20 years old. Larch would
be felled for timber at about fifty years old. This
background plantation was replanted with Douglas

186 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig 7 King of Limbs, photo c. 1950

firs in 1987 therefore the photograph with the dog
was probably taken in the early 1950s.

In 2006 the King of Limbs extends right across a
wide track but, even so, with a spread of 31m (34yds)
it is small compared with that given for the King
Oak which, at 60yds, was truly enormous. However,
the trunk girth of the King of Limbs is larger than
that reported for the King Oak and from its size it
is a very ancient tree. Like the King Oak it would
have been familiar to the Hereditary Wardens of
Savernake Forest and contributed to the character
and amenity of this ancient landscape. Although the
tree is hollow it is still a healthy looking tree so, if
properly cared for, it should live for at least another
hundred years or more.

By including this ancient tree with both a recent
(2002) and a fifty-year-old photograph, in the same
article as the King Oak, it is hoped history is being
written for use in the future as well as presenting
facts about a famous tree that has been dead and
gone for fifty years or more.

The authors would be pleased to learn of any
other old pictures (photographs, drawings, paintings)
or any accounts in diaries, journals and letters, of the
King Oak, King of Limbs and any other great trees
of Savernake, irrespective of apparent quality, to
assist in understanding the history of the Forest. Mr
Tilley who lives at the edge of the Forest has told
the authors he believed the King of Limbs had all
of its main branches in 1975. Information about the
Figure 7 photograph would be welcome as well as
any knowledge of when the King of Limbs started
to lose its main limbs.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Alan Howell of Guernsey
Museums and Galleries for locating and providing a
copy of the drawing presumed to be by W. C. Lukis,
Guy Singleton for supplying the old postcard of
the King Oak, Fraser Bradbury, Area Forester for
Savernake, for his assistance and Brian Davies for
his help generally and with surveying.

References

Primary Sources

National Archive (PRO)

43/150 Forestry Commission, 1939, Notes from FC
Inspection Records.

3223-65-1CPRE, 1940, Savernake Committee Meeting with
FC 28th December 1940.

WANHS Museum Library, Devizes
EH GODDARD Dec. 1909, Catalogue of the Collection of
Drawings Prints & Maps in the Library of WANHS.

Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office (WSRO)

WSRO 1300/360, A Plan of the Forest of Savernake and of
Tottenham Park, 1786.

WRSO 1300/2535, Notes on Savernake Oaks July 1783,

WSRO 1300/1634 Report on the King Oak, T Young,
1809

Printed Sources

A.C.S., In Memoriam William Collings Lukis MA. FSA.
WANHM 27, 99-101

ADAMS, W.M., c. 1905, Sylvan Savernake ©& its Story.
London: Maurice & Co .

ANON., n.d., A History of Savernake Forest. Westbury: W.
Michael

CARDIGAN, The Earl of, 1949, The Wardens of Savernake
Forest. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul

DAVIES, J. and BATHE, G. 2006. The Duke’s Vaunt: a
recently discovered painting. VWANHM 99, 246-247

HENRY, A. 1917. The Cluster Oak of Savernake Forest.
The Gardeners’ Chronicle 34, 27% January

MARLBOROUGH TIMES, 19" January 1878, report of
funeral of the Marquess of Ailesbury

OLIVER J., and DAVIES J. 2001. Savernake Forest Oaks.
WANHM 94, 24-46

OLIVER, J., DAVIES, J. & TITCHEN, A. 2003. Cluster
Oaks Originating from Savernake Forest. Botanical
Society of the British Isles, News No 92, 23-24

STRUTT, J.G., 1825, Edition of 1822 work, Sylva Britannica,
or Portrait of Forest Trees. London: Colnaghi & Co.

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

187

Some early petrological analyses of Neolithic and
Bronze age lithics in Wiltshire Heritage Museum

by Paul Robinson

The Implement Petrology Committee of the South
Western Group of Museums and Art Galleries
was founded in 1936 to study the petrology and
_ distribution of Neolithic and Bronze Age stone
implements in the South West of England. The
Committee, which grew out of an idea expressed
by Alexander Keiller to Lt Col. Drew, has always
comprised archaeologists and geologists including
museum curators working in those disciplines. It
arranges for thin sections to be cut from the stone
artefacts. These are polished and mounted onto
slides which are then viewed under regular and
polarizing light to identify the material from which
the implement was made and its probable source.
Since 1936 over 1500 stone implements found
in South West England have been examined and
documented by the Committee. The majority of
these are Neolithic and Bronze Age axeheads and
related items such as maceheads, adzes and hammers.
They also include a number of smaller objects such
as hones, rubbers and utilised pebbles.

In 1955, Nicholas Thomas, Curator of Devizes
_ Museum, submitted 21 stone objects from the
_ museum collection for examination to Dr FE S.
_ Wallis, Chairman of the Implement Petrology
Committee, by profession a geologist and the director
of the Bristol City Museum. The objects comprised
perforated whetstones, sponge finger stones, other
whetstones, utilised pebbles, and unutilized pebbles
and fragments of stone. Twenty of these came from
Early Bronze Age barrows in Wiltshire, while one
came from a presumed Neolithic context in a long
_ barrow. This was the first time that Neolithic and
_ Bronze Age stone objects of these classes had been
_ examined petrologically.
| As none of the items was thin sectioned in 1955,
| the identification of the material from which they
| were made was never published. I am grateful to
| Nicholas Thomas for permission to publish here Dr
_ Wallis’s conclusions which are contained in a letter
from him preserved in the Museum’s files.

In the catalogue below, the ‘Stourhead Collection’
accession numbers are listed in Cunnington and
Goddard (1896). Accession numbers prefixed ‘X’
are listed in M.E. Cunnington and E.H. Goddard
(1911, 9-26) and (1934, 8-61). These numbers
are the original accession number of the objects.
Numbers with a DM (i.e. Devizes Museum) prefix
are an alternative numbering system employed in
the Museum in the 1960s. Perhaps unfortunately,
only the ‘DM’ numbers, not the original accession
numbers, were used in Annable and Simpson
(1964).

Catalogue

(each item is illustrated at half actual size)

1. Perforated whetstone from an unidentified
barrow on Knighton Down in the parish of
Broad Chalke. Accession number: Stourhead
Collection 77 (DM 1791): Annable and Simpson
(1964) no. 377. Identification: Fine grained
reddish sandstone. Probably from (the) Old Red
Sandstone of the Mendips.

2. Perforated whetstone from the secondary
cremation in the bowl barrow, Wilsford (S.)
G60. Accession number: Stourhead Collection
186a (DM 323): Annable and Simpson (1964)
no. 267. Identification: Fine grained calcareous
sandstone.

3. Perforated whetstone from the primary or
secondary cremation in the bowl barrow,
Warminster G5. Accession number: X108
(DM 776): Annable and Simpson (1964) no.
537. Identification: Black slate (from) North
Cornwall.

4. Perforated whetstone, a surface find from

Clyffe Pypard. Accession number: X110
(DM 778): Annable and Simpson (1964) no.
328. Identification: Black slate (from North
Cornwall?).

| Wiltshire Heritage Museum, 41 Long Street, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 1NS

THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

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——————
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Fig. 1 Items 1-13

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NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

5. Perforated whetstone from a possible primary

cremation in an uncertain bowl barrow at
Shrewton (Gl, 2 or 3). Accession number:
Stourhead Collection 28 (DM 779): Annable
and Simpson (1964) no. 329. Identification: Fine
grained limestone.

Incomplete perforated (?) whetstone from
the secondary cremation in the bowl barrow,
Wilsford (S.) G60. Accession number: Stourhead
Collection 186b (DM 324): Annable and
Simpson (1964) no. 268. Identification: Fine
grained blackish limestone.

Sponge finger stone from an inhumation in a
flat grave beneath a sarsen at Durrington Walls.
Accession number: Stourhead Collection 85e
(DM 1620): Annable and Simpson (1964) no.
90. Identification: Fine grained limestone.
Sponge finger stone from the secondary
cremation in the bowl barrow Winterbourne
Stoke G8. Accession number: Stourhead
Collection 49 (DM 1029): Annable and Simpson
(1964) no. 303. Identification: fine grained
limestone.

Whetstone from an uncertain barrow in the Cow
Down group at Collingbourne Ducis excavated
by the Revd. W.C. Lukis. Accession number:
X30 (DM 785): not in Annable and Simpson
(1964). Identification: Fine grained micaceous
schist (from Brittany?).

. Irregularly shaped whetstone from the Neolithic
long barrow, Winterbourne Stoke G53. Accession
number: Stourhead Collection 75a: not in
Annable and Simpson (1964). Identification:
Medium grained sandstone, probably from (the)
Old Red Sandstone of the Mendips.

. Irregularly shaped whetstone from a ? secondary
cremation in the bowl barrow in the Cow Down
group, Collingbourne Ducis G9. Accession
number : X34 (DM 792): not in Annable and
Simpson (1964). Identification: Medium grained
pinkish sandstone probably from (the) Old Red
Sandstone of (the) Mendips.

. Pillowstone or broken whetstone from an
unidentified barrow at Shepherds Shore, Bishops
Cannings. Accession number: X96: not in
Annable and Simpson (1964). Identification:
Medium grained sandstone, probably from (the)
Old Red Sandstone of the Mendips.

. Irregularly shaped tabular whetstone from a
primary cremation in the bowl barrow, Roundway
G56. Accession number: X67 (DM 810): not in
Annable and Simpson (1964). Identification:
Fine grained reddish sandstone.

189

14. Sub-rectangular whetstone from the secondary

cremation in the bowl barrow, Winterbourne
Stoke G8. Accession number: Stourhead
Collection 49a (DM 1030): Annable and Simpson
(1964) no. 302. Identification: Medium grained
quartzite sandstone.

. Cushion stone made from a rounded pebble

with polished surfaces, the working face slightly
convex and the two ends flattened (compare
with the similarly shaped cushion stone from
Winterbourne Monkton (Annable and Simpson
(1964) no. 75). From a primary inhumation in
the bowl barrow, Amesbury G56 in the Cursus
barrow group. Accession number: Stourhead
Collection 89 (DM 782): not in Annable and
Simpson (1964). Identification: Banded chert.

. Rounded pebble with some batter marks

where it has been used for hammering from a
possible cremation in an unidentified barrow at
Collingbourne Ducis excavated by the Rev. W.C.
Lukis. Accession number: X29a (DM 787): not
in Annable and Simpson (1964). Identification:
Pink chert reddened by fire.

. Unworked water worn pebble with some batter

marks at the ends where it may briefly have
been used for hammering, from the ? primary
cremation in the bowl barrow, Wilsford (S.)
G18 in the Normanton Down barrow group.
Accession number: Stourhead Collection 114
(DM 746): not in Annable and Simpson (1964).
Identification: flint.

. Small unworked pebble with fractured end

from the primary cremation in the bowl
barrow, Roundway G5b. Accession number:
X58 (DM 806): not in Annable and Simpson.
Identification: Rolled chert pebble. Note: L.V.
Grinsell describes this as a ‘ quartz pebble
brought from (a) distance’ (VCH Wilts. I 1
p.189).

. Unworked fragment of stone from the primary

cremation in the bowl barrow, Roundway G5b.
Accession number: X75 (DM 812): not in
Annable and Simpson (1964). Identification:
Coarse grained grey sandstone.

. Unworked fragment of stone from the primary

cremation in the bowl barrow, Roundway G5b.
Accession number: X76 (DM 813): not in
Annable and Simpson (1964). Identification:
Ferruginous sandstone.

. Unworked fragment of stone from the primary

cremation in the bowl barrow, Roundway G5b.
Accession number: X77 (DM 814): not in
Annable and Simpson (1964). Identification:

190 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 2 Items 14-21

Ferruginous sandstone.

Although carried out 50 years ago, the petrological
identifications by Dr. E S. Wallis are very much more
than of mere interest for the history of archaeology.
Many of the stone implements which have been
examined are among the most important Bronze Age
artefacts in Wessex while several come from barrows
located within the Stonehenge World Heritage site.
The closer identification of all of these is important
as a principle. The publication of the possible origin
of the stone from which some of these were made,
in North Cornwall or, in one instance, possibly
Brittany, provides significant evidence for long
distance contacts in the Early Bronze Age and may
help to stimulate future research strategies.

Since we have no evidence of the method Dr

Wallis used to identify the materials, it would
be desirable to verify his conclusions. His work
overlaps with a current project to identify more
accurately the significance of burial assemblages
from Beaker and Early Bronze Age contexts in
England in the course of which selected stone
objects including some of those examined by Dr
Wallis have been analysed using a portable x-ray
fluorescence spectrometer. Here for example it is
concluded that the perforated whetstones ‘may
belong to the Devonian-Carboniferous killas of
Devon and Cornwall’ (Ixer 2005, 56) supporting Dr
Wallis’s identifications. This note should, of course,
be read in conjunction with the paper containing
Ixer’s identifications.

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS
Acknowledgements

I am, as ever, grateful to Nick Griffiths for providing
the illustrations to this paper and to Dr Joan Taylor
for her encouragement to write it.

References

ANNABLE, EK. and SIMPSON, D.D.A., 1964, Guide
Catalogue of the Neolithic and Bronze Age Collections in
Devizes Museum. Devizes: WANHS

CUNNINGTON, M.E. and E.H. GODDARD, E.H., 1911,
Catalogue of Antiquities in the Museum of the Wiltshire

19]

Archaeological and Natural History Society at Devizes
Part IIT. Devizes: WANHS

CUNNINGTON, M.E. and E.H. GODDARD, E.H..,
1934, Catalogue of Antiquities in the Museum of the
Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society at
Devizes Part IT. 2nd edition. Devizes: WANHS

CUNNINGTON, W. and GODDARD, E.H.., 1896,
Catalogue of Antiquities in the Museum of the Wiltshire
Archaeological and Natural History Society at Devizes,
Part 1 the Stourhead Collection. Devizes: WANHS

IXER, R. 2005. ‘Petrography’, in A. Woodward, J.
Hunter, R. Ixer, M. Maltby, P. Potts, PR Webb, J.
Watson and M. Jones, Ritual in Some Early Bronze
Age Gravegoods, 59. Archaeological Fournal 162,
31-64

An Earlier Neolithic site at Hackpen, Overton Hill,

Avebury
by Nicola Snashall

Introduction

In July 2004 a number of sherds of pottery,
together with several flint flakes were brought to
the Alexander Keiller Museum by a walker, Dr
Vanessa Coute. The finds were reported to have been
discovered from spoil upcast from a badger sett in an
arable field beneath the byway on the western slopes
of Overton Hill. Preliminary examination of the
pottery by the Curator (Ros Cleal) established that
the pottery was of prehistoric date, the composition
of the fabric suggesting that the material might be
of either Earlier Neolithic or Middle Bronze Age
date.

Fieldwork

During November 2005 the opportunity arose to
further examine the find spot. A team consisting of
Ros Cleal, Mark Gillings, Josh Pollard and the author
conducted a visual survey of the area reported as
the find spot and identified prehistoric pottery and
flint flakes in the upcast of a badger sett located at

NGR SU11415 69010. The find spot is in a narrow
west—facing valley overlooking the West Kennet
Avenue and its environs. Visual examination of
the spoil from a number of badger sett entrances
within the area suggests that a significant depth of
colluvium is present in the area. ~

Jim Gunter and Vaughan Roberts subsequently
undertook geophysical surveys on behalf of the
National Trust. A 60 m x 60 m area centred on
the find spot was surveyed using both resistivity
and magnetometry. The magnetometer survey
produced poor results. By contrast, resistivity survey
showed a number of sub-surface features that,
when compared to a plot of badger sett entrances,
appear to correspond to such activity. Although no
archaeological features were clearly discernible, it
is uncertain if this reflects a genuine absence or
the masking effects of colluvium in this area. The
proximity of the find spot to an active badger sett
necessitated consultation with English Nature.
Following discussions, the team returned in January
2006 in order to excavate the spoil from the badger
sett itself.

Alexander Keiller Museum, High Street, Avebury, Wiltshire SN8 1RF

192 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Earlier Neolithic finds from
Hackpen: 1937 and 2006

A previous find of Earlier Neolithic pottery, including
two decorated and one undecorated rimsherds,
animal bone and flint flakes, by a Mr F Clements,
‘on the west slope of the Hackpen ridge, above and
to the south-east of Wayden’s Penning,’ was reported
in this journal by Stuart Piggott (Piggott 1937, 90-91)
and the finds are in the Alexander Keiller Museum.
The 2006 ceramic assemblage is Earlier Neolithic
in date (R. Cleal pers. comm. 2006) and comprises 29
body sherds and three rim sherds (one of which is
decorated). Ros Cleal and Mark Gillings undertook
a preliminary examination of both the 1937 and 2006
ceramic assemblages and revealed that the decorated
rim sherd from the 2006 assemblage is from the same
vessel as that described and illustrated by Piggott as
Sherd 2 (R. Cleal pers. comm. 2006).

The 2006 excavation also produced a moderate
assemblage of pottery and flint and a small fragment
of sarsen. A total of 75 flint items were recovered,
including both primary preparation flakes and
trimming flakes, consistent with an Earlier Neolithic
date (Table 1).

Table 1: The 2006 Flint Assemblage from Hackpen,
Overton Hill, Avebury

Subsequent to the excavation of the badger spoil, one
further find, a portion of red deer tibia (R. Thomas
pers. comm. 2006), was found and brought to the
Alexander Keiller Museum by Roger Vlitos and
Susanna Bailey. Although from the general area of
the other material, it may not have come from the
same spoil heap.

Conclusions

A number of small-scale fortuitous discoveries of
Earlier Neolithic material have been made in the past
within the Avebury landscape, yet little is known
about the nature of Earlier Neolithic activity away
from the major monuments of the area (Cleal and
Montague 2001, 18). The location of the badger sett
entrance and colluvium present within the spoil
suggest that the material is derived from either
an open site or features sealed by colluvium. The
remarkable discovery of two sherds of pottery from
the same vessel some seventy years apart affords
us the certainty of identifying the 1937 and 2006
assemblages as derived from the same site despite
the disturbed nature of the contexts from which they
were recovered. The freshness of both the ceramic
and lithic assemblages is, however, worthy of note.

Together with the material reported by Piggott,
the new assemblage suggests that the Hackpen site
was a significant locale during the Earlier Neolithic.
The site is also intervisible with West Kennet long
barrow and the causewayed enclosure at Windmill
Hill. Following further discussions with English
Nature it is intended to carry out targeted fieldwork
to establish more accurately the character of the site.
Finds from the 2006 fieldwork are deposited in the
Alexander Keiller Museum.

Acknowledgements

Work at Hackpen has been made possible by the
co-operation, support and advice of Ros Cleal
(National Trust), English Nature, Mr Tony Farthing
and Mrs Judy Farthing, Mark Gillings (University
of Leicester), Jim Gunter, Josh Pollard (University
of Bristol), Vaughan Roberts, Richard Thomas
(University of Leicester).

References

CLEAL, R.M.J.and MONTAGUE, R. 2001, ‘Neolithic and
Early Bronze Age’, in A. Chadburn and M. Pomeroy-
Kellinger (eds), Archaeological Research Agenda for the
Avebury World Heritage Site, 8-19. Salisbury: Wessex
Archaeology for English Heritage and Avebury
Archaeological and Historical Research Group

PIGGOTT, S. 1937. Neolithic Pottery From Hackpen,
Avebury. WANHM, 48, 90 - 91

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

193

A Middle Bronze Age Palstave from Broad Blunsdon,

Wiltshire
by Martyn Barber

History and circumstances

As part of the Wiltshire Archaeology and Natural
History Society’s 150“ anniversary celebrations,

- a finds identification day was held in Devizes on

Friday August 1*t 2003. Members of the society and
the general public were encouraged to bring along
items of potential interest for identification and,
if the item(s) warranted it, recording. Amidst the
Roman and medieval pottery, plus assorted flints
and fossils, perhaps the most remarkable item was
the last to arrive on the day — a Middle Bronze Age
bronze palstave brought along by Mrs Julia Hunt,
of Swindon (Figure 1).

The palstave is not a recent discovery, and
while it had not completely escaped the attention
of archaeologists, 90 years had passed since the
only brief reference to its existence had appeared in
print (Goddard 1913). The object had come into Mrs
Hunt’s possession two years previously, following
the death of her godmother, Helen Smith, the eldest
daughter of the original finder, Henry Smith. Mrs
Hunt has provided some biographical details about
Mr Smith — when he married in 1908 at Stanton
Fitzwarren, he gave his age as 43, his occupation as
farmer and his place of residence as Broad Blunsdon.
His daughter Helen was born the following year.
According to Mrs Hunt, the Smith family had
connections with either Upper or Lower Burytown
Farm, both just east of Broad Blunsdon, as well as
Nightingale Farm, east of South Marston.

The relevance of such biographical details lies in
the help it can give in confirming whether or not the
palstave had indeed been recorded previously. Given
the period when Henry Smith was active as a farmer,

| there are two obvious sources to check: the Rev.
_ E. H. Goddard’s (1911) list of Bronze Age bronzes

from Wiltshire, and his more detailed gazetteer of
prehistoric, Roman and Saxon antiquities from the
county published two years later in 1913. Goddard
(1911) contains nothing identifiable as Mrs Hunt’s
palstave, while his later piece contains the following

entry under Broad Blunsdon:

“Bronze looped palstave, 5% in. long found at
Burytown on high ground S of farm, 1906. In private
hands” (Goddard 1913, 206).

The amount of detail is limited to say the least,
but Mrs Hunt’s palstave is indeed looped, c. 5%
inches (140mm) long, while a ‘Burytown’ findspot
and a 1906 date of discovery fits with what is known
of Henry Smith, as does the statement ‘in private
hands’.

Further detail is provided by the Ordnance
Survey’s former Archaeology Division (English
Heritage NMR record SU19SE2), although when
their information about the object was acquired is
unknown (the Archaeology Division was set up in
1920), as is the identity of their source. Although
Ordnance Survey records contain no information
about the identity of the finder, the findspot is
located a little more precisely to ‘a field about “4
mile east from Castle Hill’, the location being
marked for a while on Ordnance Survey maps
at NGR SU 1632 9116. On occasions, Ordnance
Survey fieldworkers were able to identify some
findspots with considerable certainty simply by
asking the finder or the landowner. In other cases,
they obtained information from a third party, with
less confidence about the accuracy or reliability of
the information.

Of relevance here is an error in Leslie Grinsell’s
gazetteer of Wiltshire sites and finds published in
Volume I part I of the Victoria County History for
Wiltshire. Grinsell refers (1957, 43) to the Blunsdon
palstave suggesting the Ordnance Survey to have
been his primary source. He notes two published
references, Goddard 1913, 206 (as noted above)
and Goddard 1926, 350. The latter, however, refers
to a different object. Although the dimensions are
virtually identical (52 inches (140mm), long, 2
inches (60mm) wide across the cutting edge) and the
provenance — Broad Blunsdon — is similar, this axe
was by 1926 in the possession of Mr A.D. Passmore,

Aerial Survey, English Heritage, Kemble Drive, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN2 2GZ

194 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

0 20mm
— |

Fig. 1 The Broad Blunsdon palstave

and is now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
Moreover, although no illustration of the palstave
now in Oxford is included in Goddard (1926), the
object is indeed different from that in Mrs Hunt’s
possession. No information was offered by Goddard
about the circumstances or date of discovery. It is
possible that both pieces were found at the same
time, though the lack of evidence available suggests
that it might be wise to err on the side of caution and
treat them as separate finds.

Description

The palstave has a maximum extant length of
140mm, a maximum extant blade width of 59mm
and a maximum thickness, stop to stop, of 32mm.
The maximum loop width is 11mm, with a height of
7.5mm. The thickness of the septum is 11mm, while
the width at the break across the septum is 26mm.
The width at the stop is 24mm (external). The object
weighs 434g/15.30z.

The palstave is predominantly a very dark green
to black with occasional hints of a gold-bronze
colour. It appears to have been cleaned and polished
at some stage since discovery. Several strands of
twisted wire passing through the loop were used to
display the axe in the owner’s house.

The blade end shows considerable damage. The
original cutting edge is visible only at the extremes

plus one small section near the middle and the
cutting edges are sharp. There are no indications of
recent sharpening. Damage to the blade comprises
three large, curved ‘nicks’, and appears to be pre-
depositional, with additional post-depositional
corrosion.

The butt end is incomplete, with one corner
missing, although whether through use or incomplete
casting is unknown, although the latter is plausible;
the flange end at the broken corner appears quite
smooth. The septum flanges are smooth and
well-finished, but the septum surface itself is
comparatively rough and pitted. A portion missing
from one septum flange appears to represent recent
damage. The septum/flanges appear straight sided,
though it is possible that the intent was for them to
narrow slightly over their total length.

All four septum flanges are slightly different in
character, but each rises gradually in height toward
the stop, but with the stop itself rising above them.
There is slight variation in angle of rise, while one
appears more convex than straight, levelling off only
when approaching the stop. The septum accounts
for a little more than one-third of the total length
of the object.

The flanges meet the stop at right angles and do
not continue down the sides of the blade. In profile,
the stops on each side are slightly misaligned; on one
side they are c. 2mm closer to the blade than on the
other. Both stops rise a couple of millimetres above
the maximum height of the flanges. The stop, which
is straight on one side and curved on the other, is
flat and smooth on the septum side, but protrudes
in a somewhat bulbous fashion on the blade side as
the blade thickness decreases, initially quite rapidly
and then more gently towards the blade. The blade
itself flares gently outwards for c. two thirds of its
length, before flaring out more noticeably towards
an expanded cutting edge. This flaring is again
accompanied by a noticeably sharper decrease in
blade thickness. A slight niche above one blade tip
is present, probably the result of blade expansion
through hammering.

The casting seams are only partially removed.
A broad, slightly raised irregular moulding
represents the surviving trace on each side. The sides —
themselves are slightly faceted, giving the palstave
a six-sided section at the blade end, rather closer to
a four-sided section at the septum end.

The blade decoration is crude in execution and
appearance. On one face it appears to represent two
converging ribs, each emerging from a point close
to the outer edge of the palstave body, meeting circa

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

40mm below the stop. Between these ribs is a third,
centrally placed. All three ribs are virtually flat,
perhaps partly as a result of polishing. The other
face appears to feature a less successful attempt at
the same design, with only the central and right
ribs properly executed. The left hand rib fades short
of converging with the other two. The decoration
on both faces may represent a less than successful
attempt to add surface decoration to a (probably)
clay or (less likely) stone mould.

The loop is low, flat and broad. It is unclear to
what extent the hole through it has been affected by
the presence of the wire, but it currently measures a
maximum of 4mm across.

Discussion

Palstave typology is not straightforward. Several
studies have examined palstaves either in general
or in detail for particular parts of the British
Isles. No single entirely satisfactory classification
has appeared. Although general regional and
chronological trends in form and decoration are
evident, clear dividing lines between different types
are few. Given the history of this particular palstave,
a detailed review of the various schemes proposed is
not appropriate. In addition, Bronze Age metalwork
from northern Wiltshire and adjacent regions has
not been subject to detailed scrutiny. In the absence
of such a study, the regional context is unclear.

The principal schemes for palstaves of the type
considered here are those of Smith (1959), Butler
(1963), Rowlands (1976), Schmidt and Burgess
(1981), and Pearce (1983). Placing the Blunsdon
palstave precisely within each scheme is a complex
and subjective exercise — each emphasises different
criteria — but in general, the low flanges compared
to the height of the stop, the relatively broad blade
compared to upper body width, the absence of
flanges on the blade edges, the form of decoration,
and the presence of a loop, all suggest that the
Blunsdon palstave belongs within the “Tauntor’ style
of Middle Bronze Age metalwork. Such material
comprises a series of largely distinctive metal objects
and associated items whose main period of currency
was, broadly speaking, c. 1400 to 1275 BC (Needham
et al. 1997).

What the palstave represents in terms of
Middle Bronze Age activity in the Blunsdon area
is speculative. The findspot and original context
of the object are unknown, as is the case for the
overwhelming majority of Bronze Age bronzes from

195

the British Isles. There are no records of further
Bronze Age activity of any kind in the vicinity.

It is unusual, though by no means unknown,
for an object such as this to occur on a settlement
site. Where a settlement context is proven through
excavation, the evidence tends to support suggestions
that these objects were deposited intentionally and
with some formality rather than simply being
disposed of when put beyond use by damage. The
Blunsdon palstave displays considerable damage,
but bronze is recyclable, and recycling of metal was
extremely common during the British Bronze Age
(see Barber 2003 for a discussion). Ultimately, there
are limits to what we can say about the palstave, and
what it can currently tell us about the Middle Bronze
Age in north Wiltshire.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Julia Hunt for bringing
the palstave to Devizes for identification, and for
allowing me time to subsequently study the object.
I would also like to thank Chris Chandler and Mike
Stone, the other members of the finds ‘panel’ on the
day, who dealt with the bulk of material brought
in.

Bibliography

BARBER, M. 2003, Bronze and the Bronze Age. Metalwork
and Society in Britain c.2500-800 BC. Stroud: Tempus
Publishing Ltd

BUTLER, J.J. 1963. Bronze Age connections across the
North Sea. Palaeohistoria 9, 1-286

GODDARD, E.H. 1911. Notes on implements of the
Bronze Age found in Wiltshire with a list of all
known examples found in the county. WANHM 36,
92-158

GODDARD, E.H. 1913. A list of prehistoric, Roman and
pagan Saxon antiquities in the county of Wiltshire
arranged under parishes. WANHM 38, 153-378

GODDARD, E.H. 1926. Bronze Age implements not
previously noted. WANHM 43, 350-2

GRINSELL, L.V.G. 1957, ‘Archaeological Gazetteer’, in
R.B. Pugh (ed.), The Victoria History of the County of
Wiltshire, Volume 1, Part 1, 21-279. London: Oxford
University Press

NEEDHAM, S., BRONK RAMSEY, C., COOMBS,

D., CARTWRIGHT, C. and PETIT, P. 1997. An
independent chronology for British Bronze Age
metalwork: the results of the Oxford Radiocarbon
Accelerator Programme. Archaeological Journal 154,
55-107

196 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

PEARCE, S.M. 1983, The Bronze Age metalwork of South
Western Britain. Oxford: British Archaeological
Reports (British Series) 120

ROWLANDS, M.J. 1976, The Production and Distribution
of Metalwork in the Middle Bronze Age of in Southern
Britain. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports
(British Series) 31

SCHMIDT, PK. and BURGESS, C.B. 1981, The Axes
of Scotland and Northern England. Prahistorische
Bronzefunde IX/7. Munich: CH Beck’sche

SMITH, M.A. 1959. Some Somerset hoards and their
place in the Bronze Age of Southern Britain.
Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 25, 144-187

The North Italian fibula from Avebury Down

by Paul Robinson

The North Italian bronze violin-bow fibula
(accession number 1987.18) found in 1987 at
Avebury Down at $U122714 is important not only
as a particularly significant find within the World
Heritage Site but also as it is one of the few - possibly
the only - Italian fibula which has a genuine findspot
in the British Isles. The brooch was published by
Hawkes as possibly brought to England in the Late
Bronze Age in about the 10th century BC (Hull and
Hawkes 1987, 12 and plate 1). Most recently it has
again been classed as a Late Bronze Age (1100 to 800
BC) artefact (Barber 2005, 139, no.78).

Professor Dr de Marinis from the University
of Milan has confirmed that the brooch is from
Northern Italy and, in correspondence with the
writer, compares it closely to examples from Redt in
Modena in North Italy, from “Torre Annunziata’ near
Naples and from Menelaion in Therapnai in Greece.!
He dates the brooch to the 13th-12th centuries BC,
that is, to the Late Bronze Age in North Italy which
corresponds in time, however, to the Middle Bronze
Age in Southern England. When the brooch was
deposited or lost is, however, a different matter and
Hawkes’ suggestion that it was brought to England
at a slightly later time when derivative brooches were
in use in the area of the Rhineland to north-eastern
France may or may not be correct.

The fibula is unlikely to be associated with the
Neolithic Henge Monument at Avebury. Its broader
context should be seen within the middle and later
Bronze Age settlement on the Marlborough downs

and with the other finds of metalwork from this
region summarised most recently by Barber (2005)
and McOmish (2005).

Finally it should be noted that the fibula is not
the only example of ‘exotic’ Bronze Age metalwork
associated with the Avebury area. Branigan
identified a dagger recorded as having been found
at Winterbourne Bassett’ as a Cypriot dagger to
which he gave ‘a likely date between c.1600-1350
BC’ (Branigan 1970, 93f). In reply Watkins qualified
this by describing the dagger as ‘very probably
Cypriot but not..... a Cypriot. dagger’ (Watkins
1976, 136). Although he does not specifically discuss
the provenance of the dagger, he dismisses all the
purported finds of Cypriot daggers in Western
Europe on three grounds - that they invariably
lack context and association; they lack typological
and chronological homogeneity and their erratic
distribution conforms with no pattern of ancient
exchange. Following Watkins’ paper, the title of
which ‘Wessex without Cyprus: Cypriot Daggers
in Europe’, shows clearly that the author does not
accept the Winterbourne Bassett dagger as having
been lost in Britain in prehistoric times, it has
generally been regarded as falsely provenanced,
although it is included as a genuine find in
Barber’s recent corpus (Barber 2005, 138, no.34).
It is, however, unfortunate that neither Branigan
nor Watkins looked more closely into the dagger’s
provenance. It was donated with three other items (a
bronze finger ring, an unidentified iron object, and

Wiltshire Heritage Museum, 41 Long Street, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 1NS

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

Fig. 1 The North Italian fibula from Avebury Down.
Scale 1:1

a bronze buckle), all said to be from Winterbourne
Bassett Down, to Devizes Museum in 1868 by the
Rev. Henry Harris, who was the rector of that parish.’
Although absolute certainty regarding the discovery
of the dagger is lacking, the provenance does have
a ring of truth about it and although its findspot,
following Watkins’ argument, is highly unlikely,
that it was found in Winterbourne Bassett should
not lightly be dismissed. The same does of course not
hold for other classical antiquities which purport to
have been found in or near Avebury (Robinson 2003)
showing how careful it is necessary to be with regard
to the provenances of non-local objects.

Notes

1. For the brooch from Redu see Preistoria e protostoria
nel Reggiano, Reggio Emilia 1975, fig 12: 13. For
that from Menelaion see K Kilian in Praehistorische
Zettshrift 1985. For that from Torre Annunziata see
Walters (1899), fig 30.

2. Published in Annable and Simpson (1965) no.351:

Goddard (1912), 100.

197

3. Handwritten donations book entitled ‘Donations
to Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History
Society, Devizes’ p. 115 where it is described as ‘a
bronze dagger seven inches in length’ and is one of a
group of objects specifically said to be ‘All found on
Winterbourne Bassett Down’. In WANHM 11 (1869)
p.120, it is described as ‘a lance head ... found on
Winterbourne Downs’.

References

ANNABLE, E K. and SIMPSON, D. D. A., 1964, Guide
Catalogue of the Neolithic and Bronze Age Collections in
Devizes Museum. Devizes: WANHS

BARBER, M., 2005, ‘*’There wur a bit of ould brass”:
Bronze Age metalwork and the Marlborough Downs
landscape’, in G. Brown, D. Field and D. McOmish
(eds), The Avebury Landscape: Aspects of the field
archaeology of the Marlborough Downs, 137-48. Oxford:
Oxbow Books

BRANIGAN, K. 1970. Wessex and Mycenae: Some
Evidence Reviewed. WANHM 65, 89-107

GODDARD, E. H. 1912. Notes on Implements of the
Bronze Age found in Wiltshire. WANHM 37, 92-158

HULL, M. R. and HAWKES, C. FE C., 1987, Corpus of
Ancient Brooches in Britain by the late Mark Reginald
Hull, Pre-Roman Bow Brooches. Oxford: British
Archaeological Report 168

McOMISH, D., 2005, ‘Bronze Age Land Allotment on
the Marlborough Downs’, in G. Brown, D. Field and
D. McOmish (eds), The Avebury Landscape: Aspects of
the field archaeology of the Marlborough Downs, 133-6.
Oxford: Oxbow Books

ROBINSON, P. 2003. Etruscan and other Figurines from
Avebury and Nearby. VANHM 96, 33-39

WATKINS, T., 1976, ‘Wessex without Cyprus: ‘Cypriot
Daggers’ in Europe’, in J. V. S. Megaw (ed.), Zo illustrate
the Monuments: Essays in Archaeology presented to Stuart
Piggott. London: Thames and Hudson

WALTERS 1899, Catalogue of the Bronzes, Greek,
Roman, and Etruscan, in the Department of Greek and
Roman Antiquities, British Museum. London: British
Museum

198 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

The name Bedwyn
by Richard Coates

The base-name of the villages Great and Little
Bedwyn in Wiltshire has caused some difficulty
and there is no generally accepted solution. It
was first explained by Ekblom from the English
regional word bedwind, bedwine ‘wild clematis, old
man’s beard, Clematis vitalba’, known from Wiltshire
(Grigson, 1975, 44-6), and Ekwall accepted this
even in the fourth edition of DEPN (1960, 34). An
uncompounded word for a climbing plant does not
make a credible place-name, though; we have no
villages called Ivy or Dodder or Vine. Gover, Mawer
and Stenton (1940, 1 and 332) suggest, without
offering an etymology, that it might first of all be
a stream-name, since the name is on record even
in Anglo-Saxon times for the stream which flows
through the villages to the Kennet. They then,
without making an explicit connection, compare
British Celtic *betwa ‘birch, *winda ‘white’. On
the face of it, they are suggesting that a late type
of Brittonic! name with the head (generic) first is
involved here, and that is interesting because there
are demonstrably other names in Wiltshire of this
type (Coates and Breeze, 2000, 88-9, 112-6), though
not as yet discovered so far east, and this suggestion
is more likely to find favour now than at the time
it was first put forward. Watts (2004, 47) reports the
suggestions involving wild clematis and a possible
stream-name, but observes that the most prominent
local landscape feature is the multivallate Iron Age
hillfort Chisbury Camp, and suggests that we have
here ‘Beda’s gewind [‘winding, circular thing’]’ as an
English name for the hillfort. However, gewind is not
found in the required sense; its sparse record (Smith,
1956, vol. 2, 268) suggests a meaning ‘winding thing’
rather than ‘circular thing’. His solution also ignores
the OE references to the stream.

There can be no absolute purely formal objection
to either the early Brittonic *bedw wend ‘white
birch’ or the English ‘Beda’s “ring” solution. Both
account well for the medial vowel seen in several of
the earliest forms, e.g. (et) Bedewindan in Alfred’s
will (c.880), cited by Gover et al., though as early
as this Bedan would be expected for the genitive

singular form. Brittonic *bedw (with some reflex of
consonantal [w]) was however probably plural (cf.
Modern Welsh bedw /bedu/, singular bedwen), and
the proposed Brittonic form would therefore have
meant ‘white birches’.

The birch is not a typical tree of southern
woodland, but its huge output of light seed means
that it can invade heath or abandoned arable or
grazing. Of the 242 places in the Ordnance Survey
gazetteer which appear to be formed with the word
birch, only two are in Wiltshire. It may well be
significant for the area, therefore, that one of these
two is Birch Copse, some 3 miles north-west of Great
Bedwyn, but its antiquity is unknown.’ (It is there on
the 1888 largest-scale OS map.) The surface geology
of Great Bedwyn parish is described thus in VCH
Wiltshire vol. 16:

Chalk outcrops at the south end of the parish,
Upper Greensand in much of the centre. In
the north part of the parish chalk outcrops
as the lower land, the sands and clay of the
Reading Beds, London Clay, and Bagshot
Beds as the higher. There are deposits of clay-
with-flints in the north-west and south-east
parts of the parish, of gravel in dry valleys
north-west and south-east of Great Bedwyn
village, and of a small amount of alluvium
immediately south-east of the village.

The higher ground in the parish, then, is capped
with sandy Reading and Bagshot deposits (cf. OS
geological sheet 267 (drift)), and indeed the site
of Birch Copse coincides significantly with such a
deposit. The heath that develops on such deposits is
good ground for birch. Rackham (1986, 111) notes
that “[b]irch-woods seldom appear to be ancient”;
“[p]robably a piece of land is invaded by birches
when grazing declines for a few years; the trees live
out their short lives, die, and are not replaced.” (Cf.
also Allaby, 1986, 56-7.) We can assume that the
sands have been subject to alternating grazing and
woodland regeneration since the last Ice Age, and
it is plausible that birch was as much in evidence at

Dept. of Linguistics and English Language, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QN

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

the moment of the naming of this area as it is now,
possibly after cyclical disappearances.

Lowland birches (Betula pendula) are, however,
always silver or “white”, and a name simply meaning
‘white birches’ would in effect be tautologous. It
would be better, therefore, to assume an original
British name of the form *Betwowindjon, or *-ja,
meaning ‘place, or stream, that is white with birches
(or, I suppose, ‘as if with birches’, i.e. ‘birch-white
place’)’. The suffix would leave no trace because it
is lost in Brittonic, and would leave no phonological
trace in the stem of the name in question. There is
no formal objection to the idea that the form in *-jon
or *-ja could have been a name for Chisbury Camp,
as Watts’s solution requires; and the present Birch
Copse is some 2.5 miles west of the monument. Nor
is there any formal objection to the idea that the form
in *-7a@ could be a name for a stream, in this case for
one flowing between slopes with conspicuous stands
of birch (not necessarily directly on its banks).
The record requires us to believe that the name
was at first a stream-name; and it may have been
transferred to the hill-fort, some 0.5 miles (0.8 km)
from the stream,’ but the record does not require us
to believe that.

Notes

1. This is the name for the period of great linguistic
change between British Celtic and the emergence
of Welsh and Cornish, say mid-sixth to late-eighth
centuries.

199

2. The other is Birchanger Farm, just west of Bratton on
the Westbury road.

3. Even if all the possibilities raised in this paper
were accepted as true, the name of the stream and
that supposed for the hillfort might have been
morphologically different, i.e. had different suffixes,
in British, but both of these would have contained /j/
(i.e. the sound of <y> as in yes).

References

ALLABY, M., 1986, The Woodland Trust Book of British
Woodlands. Newton Abbot: David and Charles

EKWALL, E., 1960, Concise Oxford Dictionary of English
Place-Names (4% edn). Oxford: Clarendon Press

GOVER, J.E.B., MAWER, A. and FM. STENTON,
EM.,1940, The Place-Names of Wiltshire. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press (Survey of English Place-
Names 16)

GRIGSON, G., 1975, The Englishman’s Flora. St Albans:
Hart-Davis, MacGibbon (first edn London: Granada,
1958)

RACKHAM, O., 1986, The History of the Countryside.
London: Dent

SMITH, A.H., 1956, English Place-Name Elements (2 vols).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Survey of
English Place-Names 25, 26)

STEVENSON, J.H. AND D.A. CROWLEY 1999, ‘Great
Bedwyn’, in D.A. Crowley (ed.), A History of the County
of Wiltshire, vol. 16: Kinwardstone Hundred, 1999, 8-49.
Available online at www.british-history.ac.uk/report.
asp ?compid=23037 (accessed 24 August 2005)

WATTS, V., 2004, Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-
Names. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Britons and Saxons at Chittoe and Minety

by Andrew Breeze

It has been suggested that the names of both Chittoe
and Minety are of British Celtic origin. The evidence
for this is considered below, with a positive conclusion
for the first (where the meaning is ‘thick wood, dense
woodland’) but negative for the second (where the
meaning is an English one ‘mint island, dry land
where mint grows’). The arguments are as follows.

Chittoe

Chittoe (NGR ST 9566), on a minor road four miles
south-west of Calne, is one of Wiltshire’s less known
villages. Yet its name (the second syllable having
the ‘oo’ of English ‘moor’) has had abiding interest
for linguists. Ekwall gave the forms Chetewe of 1168

University of Navarre, 31080 Pamplona, Spain

200 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

and 1260, Cuttewe of 1195, and Chutuwe of 1390.
He regarded the first element as clearly Celtic and
as meaning ‘wood’ (cf. Welsh coed ‘wood’). On the
second element he made two suggestions: that it is
an adjectival suffix; or, given Welsh yw ‘yew’, that
it means ‘yew tree’ (Ekwall 1960, 106). Yet others
reject these as unconvincing. Mills says merely that
the toponym may relate to Welsh coed ‘wood’ (Mills
1991, 79). Coates is more forthright. He is sure the first
element means ‘wood’, but on phonological grounds
rules out both of Ekwall’s suggestions for the second
element. He prefers a meaning equivalent to Welsh
coed tew ‘thick wood, dense woodland’, and cites two
pieces of evidence to support this.

Of these the first is blaen gwydd tew ‘crest of the
close trees’ in a winter poem in the thirteenth-century
Black Book of Carmarthen (c.f. Jackson 1971, 66).
Second are parallels for the toponym at three other
places in England: Thickwood (NGR ST 8272),
eight miles north-west of Chittoe; Thick Wood
near Duntisbourne Abbots (NGR SO 9607), north
of Cirencester; and Thick Wood near Bix (‘box-tree
wood’), by Henley-on-Thames. But Coates admits
the two last of these are not attested early (Coates and
Breeze 2000, 88-9).

He mentions a further difficulty. If at Chittoe we
have an equivalent of Welsh coed tew ‘thick wood’,
the adjective will follow the noun. This is standard
in Welsh of all periods. Yet in the British language
(from which Welsh, Cornish, and Breton derive), the
adjective came before the noun. Adjective-after-noun
is thus an innovating feature, scarcely to be expected
before Primitive Welsh evolved out of Late British
about the year 600. Chittoe is 34 miles south east
of Maisemoor (NGR SO 8121) in Gloucestershire,
taken as equivalent to Welsh maes mawr ‘great field,
extensive open land’, with noun before adjective. As
Wiltshire was in English hands by the end of the 6th
century, Coates thinks it remarkable to find adjective-
after-noun as far east as Chittoe, where Celtic speech
can hardly have survived long into the 7th century.
Despite this, he stands by his etymology ‘thick
wood’, where he explains the -e in early attestations
of Chittoe as a relic of a Brittonic plural inflection
(Coates 2002, 47-85). As often, the new Cambridge
dictionary ignores Coates’s discussion, repeating
Ekwall’s old etymology ‘woody place’ with adjectival
suffix (Watts 2004, 137), even though Coates ruled it
out on phonological grounds.

However, support for Coates’s etymology appears
in a native source, the Mabinogion tale of Peredur. This
Arthurian romance of the earlier thirteenth century
actually contains the expression coedydd tew ‘thick

woods’. Peredur travels along a mountain ridge until
he comes to a valley with meadows and ploughland on
its floor, and coedydd tew on its rugged sides (Lloyd-
Jones 1931-63, 156). The Welsh text, not hitherto
quoted in this context, thus tends to confirm Coates’s
etymology as correct, since it shows coed(ydd) tew
‘thick wood(s)’ as a natural Celtic expression.

So we can understand Chittoe with some
confidence as the place of ‘thick wood, dense
woodland’. That should cause no surprise. The native
Britons naturally persisted longer in forest areas, less
attractive to English settlers. To this day many English
forests and chases bear Celtic names, including (in
south-north order from Hampshire to Staffordshire)
Melchet, Chute, Savernake, Braydon, Arden, Kinver,
Morfe, Wrekin, Cannock, and Needwood.

There are three further points. The first of these
is archaeological. In and near Chittoe we should not
expect to find traces of early Anglo-Saxon settlement,
but we may come across signs of Romano-British
survival. In the Avebury region there is nowhere
else where this is more likely, because of Chittoe’s
proximity to the small Roman town of Verlucio,
understood as ‘very light (place)’, presumably from
its situation in a forest clearing (Rivet and Smith
1979, 494; Reynolds 2005, 169, 174). The second is a
linguistic one, that it seems in the Brittonic languages
the adjective came after the noun by the year 600, when
Chittoe had became known to the English. Finally,
the present etymology implies the places called
Thickwood and the like in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire,
and Oxfordshire are more ancient than has been
thought. Those forms can be understood as English
translations of Celtic forms. They thus point to British
enclaves in uplands north-east of Bath, north-west of
Cirencester, and west of Henley-on-Thames, the last
still an area of ancient forest. They imply many other
English places have names which, unknown to us, are
translations of lost Celtic forms, especially in forest
areas and remote moorland.

To this day Chittoe is an out-of-the-way settlement,
with dense woodland around it. So Coates’s etymology
‘thick wood’ makes excellent sense. Given the existence
of coedydd tew ‘thick woods’ in the Mabinogion tale of
Peredur, he can be regarded as having solved this
particular Wiltshire place-name problem.

Minety

Minety (NGR SO 0091), on flat, open land nine miles
north-west of Swindon, is an unassuming Wiltshire
village. It is recorded as Mintig, Mintth, and Minty

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

in charters of 880 and 884, and Minty or Mynty of
records from 1156 to 1314. On etymology the first
witness is none other than John Aubrey (1626-97),
who remarked ‘At Mintie is an abundance of wild
mint, from whence the village is denominated’
(Aubrey 1847, 49). Coming from an expert botanist,
the observation is to be taken seriously. Later writers
explain the form from Old English minteg ‘mint island’
or (in the dative case) mintie ‘at a mint stream’ (Ekwall
1960, 327; Mills 1991, 231). But Minety is not on a
stream. The most recent explanation is thus ‘mint
island’, the ‘island’ referring to dry ground in a marsh
(Watts 2004, 416). Yet Professor Coates dissents. He
takes the last element as equivalent to Middle Welsh
ty ‘house’. The first element is more difficult. He at
first explained it by comparing Welsh min ‘edge’ or
myn ‘young goat, kid’; later as Primitive Welsh “men
‘my’, so that the whole would mean ‘my house’ (Coates
and Breeze 2000, 114; Coates 2002, 82).

The purpose of this note is to disagree with
Coates, rejecting each of his derivations, and (for once)
accepting the non-Celtic etymology proposed by the
English Place-Name Society, for the simple reason
that none of the three explanations that Professor
Coates offers has any parallel in Welsh or Cornish
toponymy. There is no equivalent to ‘edge house’, ‘kid
house’, or ‘my house’ in the thousands of place-names
we have from those regions. The sole equivalent we
find is Welsh Maendy and Cornish Mountjoy, both
meaning ‘stone house’ (the latter from Middle Cornish

| meynd1). There is a hamlet called Maendy (NGR ST

0076) near Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan, and
a farm called Maendy (NGR ST 0778) five miles east
near St Fagans. As for Mountjoy in Cornwall, this is
an upland hamlet (NGR SW 8760) four miles east of
Newquay, its Celtic name reformed on the analogy of
places like Mount Pleasant (Padel 1988, 125).
Nevertheless, the phonological objections to
derivation of Mintig, Mintih, or Minty from a Celtic
form meaning ‘stone house’ are insuperable. To show

- this involves a little technical argument. It is true
- that Old English minte ‘mint’ is an early borrowing
- of Latin mentha ‘mint’, where Latin e has been raised
to i before a nasal consonant and 7 in the following
| syllable (Campbell 1959, 202). But we cannot postulate

a similar process for a Brittonic (not Latin) loan in
Primitive Old English, for the following reason.
Although the root of British *magn- ‘stone’ reached
the stage *main- in the later sixth century (Jackson
1953, 466), there is no reason to see the first vowel
of Old English Mintig as due to raising of Late
British *main-. Let us repeat the point to make it
clear. Old English Mintig and the like might derive

201

from an unattested form “Mentig. Unfortunately, this
corresponds to nothing in Brittonic at the date of
borrowing, because the first element of Primitive
Welsh or Cornish ‘stone house’ (the one Brittonic
form resembling Minety) was *“Main-.

So the field is left to the English derivation
‘mint island’. Other factors support that. We have
the statement of Aubrey, a pioneer archaeologist and
field worker, that mint actually grew at Minety. We
find English toponyms elsewhere that refer to mint, as
at Minterne (NGR ST 6504) ‘mint-place house’ near
Cerne Abbas in Dorset; Minstead (NGR SU 1128)
‘place where mint grows’ in the New Forest; and
Minsted (NGR SU 8520) ‘place where mint grows’ in
West Sussex (Sandred 1963, 257, 270). The conclusion
must be that, unlike other toponyms of north-west
Wiltshire, the name of Minety is of English origin
and provides no evidence for Celtic survival. It thus
sheds some light on Celt and Saxon in early Wiltshire
(Eagles 2001, 199-233).

A final note. The mint found at Minety was
presumably Water Mint (Mentha aquatica), with tufts
of lilac or reddish flowers, which grows in fens and
wet meadows, and is the commonest waterside mint
in Britain. Described as giving off a ‘delicious damp
fragrance’, it was (according the Elizabethan botanist
John Gerard) strewn in ‘chambers and places of
recreation, pleasure, and repose, and where feasts and
banquets are made’ (Grigson 1958, 318). So Minety,
like Slaughterford ‘blackthorn ford’ or Box ‘box-tree’
to the west of it, will have an English name referring
to a plant that grew there.

References

AUBREY, J., 1847, The natural history of Wiltshire. London:
Wiltshire Topographical Society

CAMPBELL, A., 1959, An Old English grammar. Oxford:
Clarendon Press

COATES, R. A., and BREEZE, A. C., 2000, Celtic voices,
English places. Stamford: Paul Watkins

COATES, R. A., 2002, ‘The significances of Celtic place-
names in England’, in M. Filppula, J. Klemola, and H.
Pitkanen (eds), The Celtic roots of English, ed., 47-85.
Joensuu: University of Joensuu

EAGLES, B. 2001, ‘Anglo-Saxon presence and culture in
Wiltshire, AD c. 450-c. 675’, in P. Ellis (ed.), Roman
Wiltshire and After: Papers in Honour of Ken Annable.
199-233. Devizes: WANHS

EKWALL, E., 1960, The concise Oxford dictionary of English
place-names. Oxford: Clarendon Press

GRIGSON, G., 1958, The Englishman’s flora. London:
Phoenix House

JACKSON, K. H., 1953, Language and history in early Britain.

202 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press

JACKSON, K. H., 1971,A Celtic miscellany. Harmondsworth:
Penguin

LLOYD-JONES, J., 1931-63, Geirfa barddomaeth gynnar
Gymraeg. Caerdydd: Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru

MILLS, A. D., 1991, A dictionary of English place-names.
Oxford: Oxford University Press

PADEL, O. J., 1988, A popular dictionary of Cornish place-
names. Penzance: Alison Hodge

REYNOLDS, A., 2005, ‘From pagus to parish: territory and
settlement in the Avebury region from the late Roman

period to the Domesday survey’, in G. Brown, D. Field,
and D. McOmish (eds), The Avebury landscape: aspects
of the field archaeology of the Marlborough downs, 164-224.
Oxford: Oxbow Books

RIVET, A. L. F, and SMITH, C., 1979, The place-names of
Roman Britain. London: Batsford

SANDRED, K. I., 1963, English place-names in “stead.
Uppsala: Almkvist and Wiksell

WATTS, V.E. (ed.), 2004, The Cambridge dictionary of English
place-names. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

A revised date for the early medieval execution at

Stonehenge

by Derek Hamilton!, Mike Pitts? and Andrew Reynolds?

The Anglo-Saxon man who was beheaded and buried
at Stonehenge (Pitts et al. 2002) was radiocarbon
dated in 2001 by two samples to cal. AD 600-690
(Bayliss in loc. cit.) by the Radiocarbon Accelerator
Unit at the Research Laboratory for Archaeology
and the History of Art, Oxford.

Given the importance of this date, and recent
improvements in pre-treatment methods for bone
(see Bronk Ramsey et al. 2004), English Heritage
and the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit
decided to retest these samples. The method in use
when these samples were originally dated (Bronk
Ramsey et al. 2000) could give ages that were too old,
especially where collagen yields from the chemical
pre-treatment were very low. In this instance one
of the original dates (OxA-9921) was performed on
only 2.8mg collagen.

Table 1. Revised radiocarbon date for Stonehenge skeleton

4.10.4
Radiocarbon | 613C
age (BP) (0/00)

d15N
(0/00)

Laboratory
number

C:N_ | Calibrated date range
Ratio | (95% probability)

OxA-13193 | 1258+34 -19.5+0.3 | 8.6+0.4 cal AD 660-890

The new date, OxA-13193 (Table 1), is indeed
younger than the original dates (OxA-9361 and OxA-
9921), by about 200 years in the case of the very low
collagen sample and about 100 years for the other.
In the light of this new measurement the previous
dates have been withdrawn.

While this brings forward the likely era in which
the man died by 60-200 years, we do not feel this
affects the discussion of the circumstances of that
event (Reynolds and Semple in Pitts et al. 2002).
While ‘deviant’ burials made apart from community
cemeteries are recorded from the 7th century
elsewhere, as reported in 2002 in this journal,
isolated individuals and small and large execution
cemeteries are known throughout the Anglo-Saxon
period and into the 12th century. The burial is still
at least 240 years older than any known historical
reference to Stonehenge.

' English Heritage, 1 Waterhouse Square, London ECIN 2ST 2 British Archaeology, 11 Silverless St, Marlborough, Wilts SN8 1JQ
3 Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-4 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

References

BRONK RAMSEY, C., PETTITT, P. B., HEDGES, R. E.
M., HODGINS, G. W. L., and OWEN, D. C., 2000,
Radiocarbon dates from the Oxford AMS system:
Archaeometry datelist 30. Archaeometry 42, 459-79

BRONK RAMSEY, C., HIGHAM, T. and LEACH, P, 2004,

203

Towards high precision AMS: progress and limitations.
Radiocarbon 46, 17-24

PITTS, M., BAYLISS, A., MCKINLEY, J.,
BOYLSTON, A., BUDD, P, EVANS, J., CHENERY,
C., REYNOLDS, A. and SEMPLE, S., 2002, An
Anglo-Saxon decapitation and burial at Stonehenge.
WANHM 95, 131-46

A Medieval Base Cruck Hall at Westcourt Farm-

house, Shalbourne
by Fonathan Buxton

Following a television documentary on BBC ‘South
Today’ in early 2002 about the finding during
renovation of Arabic numerals in a roof at Salisbury
Cathedral (www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/features/
cathedral timbers.shtml), similar marks were
recorded at Westcourt Farmhouse on behalf of The
Shalbourne History Project. Dendrochronology has
provided early 14th century dates for the Westcourt
timbers. A small group of houses in central southern
England, dated to the first quarter of the 14th
century, is now identified as being built by the same
carpenters using Arabic numerals.

Westcourt Farm lies on the west side of the
village of Shalbourne in north-east Wiltshire. The
historic parish of Shalbourne consisted of three
tithings, Shalbourne or Town, Bagshot in the north
and Oxenwood in the south; the last two, which were
in Berkshire until 1895, were united by a strip of land
which formed the east of the parish. Westcourt has
always lain in Wiltshire, in Shalbourne tithing. The
early history of the house, which was the manor house
of Westcourt (alias Shalbourne Dormer), is described
in the Victoria County History of Berkshire.'

There was a period of divided ownership of
the manor in the 12th and 13th centuries, but by
1302-3 William de Harden had reassembled most of
the manor and would have been the builder of the
original hall now dated to around 1319. William de
Harden died in 1329-30 and was succeeded by his
daughter Anastasia. Her husband, Sir Robert de

a Ax 4 2 \"
i ae i + WA an er
\ tte ta wl & + Ag 407
Lg )8 AC FNS
/ Westcout | eo/ ,
‘/ Farmhouse . | NY
Westcourt . XS

Farmarea /
/

Fig. 1 Westcourt Farmhouse, Shalbourne, showing
earthworks. (Sites and Monuments Record Trowbridge)

Bulkemore, was the highest taxpayer in Shalbourne
in 1332? and paid 7s lld in the Tax List for
Kinwardstone Hundred (Shalbourne, Harding and
East Bedwyn). After the division of the lands in the
16th century, one part was sold to Edward, Duke of
Somerset, and the other, in 1600, to his son, Edward,
Earl of Hertford, thus reuniting the estate.

A chapel built in 1208 by Bishop Herbert Poore
and dedicated to St Margaret stood beside the

Westcourt Farm, Shalbourne, Marlborough, Wiltshire SN8 3QE

204 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

modern
fost

Fig. 2 Westcourt Farmhouse, Shalbourne showtng the Aisle
truss from the east (right) and the Base cruck truss from the
east (left) (Drawn by D. Treasure)

manor house of Westcourt until demolition in 1840.
In 1399 the chapel was mentioned in the Bishops
Registry of Salisbury and was an appurtenance to
the manor until 1545.7 It was then sold with land
but later became reunited with Westcourt and was
still mentioned in deeds in 1826.* Lewis’s Topography,
Volume 4 (1840) also notes that the Chapel was
attached to Westcourt. Extensive earthworks,
mapped from aerial photographs taken in 1971 and
recorded on the Wiltshire Sites and Monuments
Record surround the house (Figure 1).

The front of the building faces northwest with
the earliest part between two wings added c. 1600.
The Grade II* listing identifies the early structure
as a ‘two-storey 2-bay central section’ with a ‘single-
storey lean-to infill’ at the rear between the wings
(Listing Reference SU 36 SW 13/175, Shalbourne,
River Road, Westcourt Farmhouse). This structure
is formed of an oak timber frame comprising an
open hall and was revealed in renovations during
2001. The building includes both a base-cruck open
truss and, at the west end, an aisle truss with arcade
posts (Figure 2). In the upper part of the roof, which
is of crown-post construction, the heavily smoke-
blackened medieval structure is largely intact.

Visible at ground floor level is the southern
arcade post, which rests 0.91m above the floor on
a small timber plate. The foot of the northern post
has been cut off for a ground floor door opening. At
the western end of the first floor landing there is a
0.25m gap between the massive arcade post and the

frame of the later cross-wing. The post has a0.125m
deep chamfer with a flat stop and shallow step 0.43m
above first floor level. About 0.35m further up, five
pegs secure chamfered arch bracing. A straight brace
rises eastwards to the roofplate. A tiebeam runs out
to the eaves, where a common rafter, rather than a
principal rafter, supports a heavy wind-brace, also
chamfered. In the upper part of the roof, a crown
post with straight four-way braces surmounts the
cranked tie of the aisle truss. The arch braces from
the arcade posts meet at a dropped section of the
tie. The roof plates are trapped on top of the arcade
posts under the tie.

Half way along the first floor landing, on the
north side, the base cruck of the central open truss of
the hall can be seen (Figure 2). The arch-bracing has
been cut off below ceiling level but survives above,
where it is attached to the massive tie with six pegs.
Two wind-braces about 3.66m long rise from the
base of the truss into tenoned joints on the northern
roofplate. In the upper roof the cranked tie of the
truss rests on the roofplate. A short central crown
post with straight four-way braces is set on the tie.

At the east end, the hall roof originally extended
1.12m further to the east, but was shortened when
the east cross-wing was built. Part of a base-cruck
blade re-used in this area as a support has peg-holes
for arch-bracing to a tie. Between the main trusses
of the hall there is a trussed rafter roof supported
by the collar purlins of the crown posts and with
no ridge pieces. On the north side of the roof, the

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS 205

o xX Og

Ist rafter couple Ist rafter couple 2nd rafter couple 3rd rafter couple 4th rafter couple 5th rafter couple 6th rafter couple
west of aisle truss east of aisle truss east of aisle truss east of aisle truss east of aisle truss east of aisle truss east of aisle truss

lO < Wo

7th rafter couple

east of aisle truss 3rd rafter couple
8th rafter couple 9th rafter couple Ist rafter couple east | 2nd rafter couple east 3rd rafter couple east east of base cruck truss
| } , east of aisle truss east of aisle truss of base cruck truss of base cruck truss of base cruck truss
D Mark on south rafter

? reset
Mark on south rafter

? reset

bee tT
HT \h

South windbrace South of aisle truss North side of aisle truss South windbraces South side of North side of Crown post to
base cruck base cruck base cruck
| AISLE TRUSS AT WEST END OF HALL BASE CRUCK TRUSS WITH CROWN POST OVER

Fig. 3 Arabic assembly marks at Westcourt Farm, Shalbourne, Wiltshire (1319-1320)

Sites: | 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 Dendro-dates

8
Salisbury Cathedral . . ig () GILG /\ ak : O | 1222

Eastern Chapels - | *\

A456 | ASB) Y | O | 250
- |

Wells Cathedral
West Front sculpture | i Ze

| Salisbury Cathedral \ Z
Nave & North Porch ine

eee aos sh
previ ALL) 7E)3 3)R2]5 4) GG) 8) 8) 9] 6 fom

__ Salisbury Cathedral e 1315/16

1251/2

it
a
ee
>
OHO
a

ios)
S

The Bishop's Palace I | As = es (, vA
| Ses Hes ona 3 i J 3 hy & 1318/19
a
Q

Shalbourne, Wilts (4B) € 1319/20

| West Court Farm = | x L lo ras
lemnom | t [2/2 |R|s|e]a]é

| Fig. 4 Arabic assembly marks in English buildings: AD 1200-1400

9 ) circa 1391

206 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

sais q
= i Aa
4 iv eel
« é a2
1 ve i oy
ow es r ees \
3 mw e, \
> = 2 ]
}
y
y iia.

Oxford, Gt Haseley

A pre ™. “@ Abingdon’s..=
— ae &

e Shalbourne f aol

Wells an
t ep Salisbury

xe |

Fig. 5 Location of dendro-dated Arabic numbers in English
buildings

chamfered roofplate runs on to the west beyond the
aisle truss for a short distance supporting one pair
of original common rafters. This observation shows
that before the construction of the west cross-wing
the building continued in line at the service end of
the hall. When the building had timber front and
rear walls, it was probably about 7.92m wide, an
imposing size in its day.

The Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory took
seven samples from the medieval roof of Westcourt

Farm, Shalbourne (Table 1). All retained complete
sapwood, although this broke on one of the rafters
(wfs7). Three of the rafters sampled (wfs3, wfs6, and
wfs7) were found to have originated from the same
tree and were combined to form the mean wfs367.
All samples cross-matched between each other and
were combined at the relative offsets to form the 143-
year site master WSTCRTFM. This was compared to
local and regional reference chronologies, spanning
the years 1177-1319. An arcade post was found to
have been felled in the spring of 1316, an arcade plate
and an arch-brace from the closed truss were felled
in the spring of 1319, and four rafters were found
to have been felled in the winter of 1319-20. Given
the consistency of felling dates, it would appear that
the building was under construction during 1320,
although the main frame may have begun fabrication
as early as the summer of 1319.

Apart from the early date of construction, the
roof at Westcourt Farm is especially important as
being the latest discovery in a series of high-quality
timber-framed roofs employing Arabic assembly
marks (Figures 3, 4 and 5). The earliest of these is
the tithe barn at Church Farm, Great Haseley, Oxon
(1313), followed by the Priory of St John, Wells,
Somerset (1314/15), the Bishop’s Palace, Salisbury,
Wilts (1315/16), and The King’s Head Inn, Wells,
Somerset (1318/19). All of these buildings use Arabic
assembly marks together with the conventional
Roman system, yet significantly, all of the roofs are
of slightly different design. The wide distribution of
the buildings suggests the presence of a talented and

Table 1: Summary of tree-ring dating, Westcourt Farm, Shalbourne, Wiltshire

Sample

no & type Timber and position

—
bo
ion)
TS
1 1 i 1 1
—
Ww
—
\o

Dates AD | H/S
spanning | bdry

1206-1315 | 1296
1177-1318 | 1271

S arcade post aisle truss
S arcade plate

Ist rafter W of aisle
truss S side

2nd rafter E of aisle
truss S side

C
C

*wfs2

*uyfs

kav fs5

1304

c
3rd rafter E of open
truss S side

3rd rafter E of open
truss N side

Mean of wfs3 + wfs6
+ wfs7
WSTCRTFM Site Master

1207-1302 | 1287

1202-1319 | 1285
1177-1319

N n ee 1) &
| fe fe jefe | [ale|

*wfs367

Sapwood No of Mean Std | M
P : width | devn | se
complement | rings aeeaarnd ater: [ae

19%4C 0.181 | Spring 1316
47%4C | 142 | 1.04 | 0.60 | 0.204 | Spring 1319
107 | 1.16 | 0.39 |0.184 | Winter 1319/20

N arch-brace aisle truss | 1243-1318 | 1297 | 214%4C / :

—
i)
=)
i)
—_
Ww
—
\o
—
NO
co
i)
W
~~
O
—
—
[o<)
—"
LS)
—
(=)

15S+15CNM | 96 132")| 0:

fe)

an | Felling seasons
s | and dates/date
ranges (AD

==)

—"
lop)
Ww
fs)
WW
So

Oo |
PH |)

.241 | Spring 1319

50 |0.188 | Winter 1319/20
(Winter

3 | 0.189 | 1319/20

.169 | Winter 1319/20

0.177

a
(=,

—
—
[o2)
—_
ie)
—"
=
a
bo
=)
—"

143 | 1.47 | 0.45

Key: *, }, = sample included in site-masters; c = core; mc = micor-core; Y4C, %C, C = bark edge present, partial or
complete ring: Y4sC = spring (ring not measured), /’2C = summer/autumn, or C = winter felling (ring measured); H/S bdry
= heartwood/sapwood boundary - last heartwood ring date; std devn = standard deviation; mean sens = mean sensitivity.
Sapwood estimate (95% confidence) of 9 - 41 used for English timbers (Miles 1997)

y ry 1 ) we ee

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

educated master carpenter working for high-status
clients within the region. In each case the various
carpentry elements in contemporary use were
combined to artistic effect in creating remarkably
long-lasting structures.

Acknowledgements

Mrs P. M. Slocombe and Mrs D. Treasure are thanked
for their investigations, studies and drawings,
and full copies of their reports are available at the
Wiltshire Buildings Record, Trowbridge. Dr Daniel
Miles, Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory,

A Lye Pit in Savernake

207

facilitated and part-funded the tree-ring dating.

Note: since this paper was written, three more
high-status buildings of similar date with Arabic
markings have been discovered; two in Somerset
and one in Wiltshire.

Notes

| V.C.H. Berks., Vol. 4, pp. 231-232.

2 Wiltshire Record Society Volume 45.

3 Feet of Fines Wilts. East. 37 Hen. VIII; V.C.H.
Berks., Vol. 4, p. 231, fn. 100.

4 V.C.H Berks., Vol. 4, p. 234.

by Graham Bathe’ and Dick Greenaway’

A Q-shaped, mounded pit, situated in Cobham
Frith, Savernake, has been identified as a lye pit,
constructed for the production of wood-ash in
industrial quantities. Wood ash was used as a top
dressing for grassland and in the production of
lye which served as a cleansing agent, and was a
component in the manufacture of soap. The residue
was then used in glass making.

Cobham Frith is an ancient woodland on the
fringes of Savernake. It has been known by its
current name since at least 1486, when Henry VII
hunted deer there (Brentnall, 1950). In 1716 it was
a coppice of 60 acres (WSRO, 1300-301). In the 20th
century the native trees were felled and the site
converted to a conifer plantation, although many
ancient coppice stools persist as dead stumps. In 2006
Cobham Frith supported dense larch of about 10cm
diameter, planted in furrows gouged by machinery
from north to south across the forest floor. The
furrows have extended into and damaged part of the
lye pit, which is situated at SU25412 66886, and at
an altitude of 120m, close to the lane from Knowle
Hill to Chisbury. The feature is essentially an earthen

pit, shaped like a reverse letter “Q”, excavated into
alluvial gravels. The interior of the main pit forms
a depression of 5 metres diameter and 1.2 m deep,
with a bulge at the north-west, where the curving tail
of the “Q” would have provided an air-inlet. There
is no obvious lining of the pit, nor sign of charcoal
or other burnt material, although this is normal for
lye kilns. With the banks sloping outside the central
depression, the feature is 10m across at its widest
(Figures 1 and 2).

Lye is an alkaline liquid obtained by leaching
out soluble components from the burnt ashes of
terrestrial vegetation and seaweed (a process known
as lixiviation). The liquid was then boiled with lime
and evaporated in large iron pots, the residue being
pot-ash — hence the name. It is an impure form of
potassium carbonate (Rymer, 1976). There is no
traced account of lye manufacture from wood ash
in Wiltshire. The Sites and Monuments Record
does not have any lye pits listed, and there is no
reference to lye in the Wiltshire Archaeological and
Natural History Magazine. However, recent fieldwork
in West Berkshire and literature surveys have shown

1 Byeley in Densome, Woodgreen, Fordingbridge, SP6 2QU 2 The Cottage, Ashampstead Common, Pangbourne, Reading, RG8 8QT

208 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Fig. 1 Photograph of Q-shaped Lye Pit, Cobham Frith, from
the north-west, with the curving tail of the Q adjacent
to sycamore in foreground

that lye production was a widely practised woodland
industry until about 1830 and survived in places into
the 20th century.

The cleansing properties of wood ash have been
recognized from very early times. The Greeks and
Romans made potash, and wood ashes are still widely
used for cleansing in many parts of the world. The
residues after the wood ashes have been lixiviated
forms a flux historically used in the manufacture
of glass. When mixed with sand it lowers the
temperature at which the sand melts and makes the
molten liquid easier to handle (Kenyon, 1967).

There are many early references to ash making.
In 1271 three men and a woman are recorded as
working in woods in Staffordshire burning birch,
lime and other trees to make ash for sale to dyers. In
the 13th century fern ash and beech ash were used
in glass making at the Vale Royal Abbey in Cheshire
(Stamper 1988). As an agricultural fertilizer wood
ash was recommended as a top dressing for new
grassland and was in widespread use from at least
the 1680s when grants of considerable quantities
featured in tenancy agreements on the Verney estates
in north Buckinghamshire (Williamson 2003).
There appear to have been two levels of production.
Small quantities were made for local consumption
whereas large scale operations were for industrial
and agricultural use. An account by James Dunbar
in 1736 described the former where piles of bracken
were burned on the ground and repeatedly stirred
until the bracken was reduced to fine, white, papery
ash (Rymer 1976). The problem of loss due to strong
winds was countered by stacking unburned fern
to windward. A similar account in 1917 suggests

Vv A Tree-

lantin
U4 4p peice

Sycamore } bad) { {
aif : \ Ui P\
Larch {ol vik ' \\ i |

x.
‘Shy Sycamore, —— | aad
a \ @o—@ rel lpach | }

r ea 1 |

Fig. 2 Plan of Lye Pit, Cobham Frith (SU 25412 66886).
Numbers show diameter of self-sown trees at chest height (cm).

hollowing out the base to make a shallow pit. Larger
quantities were made in carefully constructed kilns,
of which the Cobham Frith pit is an example.
Davies-Shiel (1972) discovered 147 of these kilns
in Cumbria and their size and shape is very similar
to that found in Cobham Frith and in several woods
in West Berkshire, although the differing geologies
cause the Cumbrian kilns to be made of dry stone
and the southern ones to be constructed as earthen
pits. The best documented and best preserved kiln
in Cumbria has an oval bowl 3.96m across and 3.5m
from front to back. It is 3.0m high, whereas the
earthen pits seem to be only half this. Davies-Shiel
refers to an account dated 1748 that stated ‘most
people, who make pot-ash, burn this wood in kilns or
pits dug in the ground, although the Swedes burn it in
the open air’.

The medieval woollen industry, which was
particularly important to the economy of Wiltshire
and Berkshire, must have hada very large requirement
for a washing liquid. Woollen cloth was washed at
least twice during its manufacture or in dyeing.
The weavers and fullers of Marlborough had their
own regulations as early as the 12th century (Rogers
1986), and organizations such as that owned by Jack
of Newbury (d. 1519) must have provided a large
and reliable market for lye. In Wiltshire however
it is believed that the woollen industry was largely
dependent on lye derived from stale urine, a practice

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

that persisted into the 20th century (Ken Rogers,
pers comm. ).

Soap was made from at least Anglo-Saxon times.
A 15th-century recipe for white soap required fern
ash to be mixed with unslaked lime to produce a lye
which was to stand for two days. It was then strained
into a metal kettle, mixed with oil and tallow and
made hot, finally being mixed with bean flour and
moulded by hand. In the 1830s women in the Forest
of Dean went into the woods to cut and burn the
green fern ‘to make lye to put into hard water to wash
our clothes and the clothes of the aristocracy. Balls were
sold by the dozen in shops 1n Gloucester’ (Rymer 1976).
Soap making must have been widespread, and the
trade led to the formation of surnames names like
Soper.

In the early 19th century it became possible to
import very good quality potash from Canada and
Sweden where colonists in the virgin forests were
encouraged to support themselves by making potash
from the trees they felled in carving out their new
fields. Small-scale production of wood ash seems
to have continued in remote areas of Britain until
the early 20th century and small quantities were
being made for craft potters in the 1970s for the
manufacture of glazes.

The larger southern kilns so far found have a
number of common characteristics. They are all
about 4m to 7m in internal diameter and 1m to
1.5m deep with a trench in one side to admit air low
down into the kiln. Wood ash when compacted in
a sack or barrel is heavy, and this may be why kilns
are invariably positioned near a road or trackway.
A magnetometer survey of three kilns in West
Berkshire indicated that they had been subjected
to intense heating, particularly around the rim. The
shallower pits, about 6m in diameter but only about
0.5m deep, are frequently closely associated with saw
pits. When surveyed with a magnetometer these did
not show the same degree of intense heating. This
may be because the affected soil was scraped out with
the ash or leached away by rainwater. In any case,
the heating of the soil under the fire would have
been less intense than within a deep kiln fed with a
draught of air at the bottom.

Elsewhere, the word “lye” has often been
transposed into place names, and inspection of
the Ordnance Survey Gazetteer shows widespread
distribution. Examples include Lye Wood and
Hartridge Lye Wood in West Berkshire and Lyewood
House, Lyeway Farm and Lyeway in Hampshire.
The word Lye features in a number of place names
at Savernake and its environs, from at least the 16th

209

century. Whilst the occurrence of these names does
not prove a connection, the unusual pronunciation,
alongside but in contra-distinction to the more
familiar “lea”, and the identification of the pit at
Cobham Frith, raise interesting possibilities.

Lye Hill (now generally spelt Leigh Hill, but

often retaining its local pronunciation of “Lye”, and
with the spelling persisting at “Lye Hill Cottage”), is
recorded in c1584 (WSRO 1300/87) and 1599 (WRSO
9/6/5). An area nearby was referred to as “The Lye”
(Ailsbury, 1962). Lewdons Lye, recorded in a Court
Book of 1541 (WRSO 1300/86), and as Lewdens and
Lowedens Lye in 1590 (WSRO 1300/87), retains the
name Luton Lye today. Lye Copis is recorded in
1548-9 (WSRO 1300/86), with a reference to “Lye
Coppice alias Lewdens Lye Coppice” in 1597 (abid.).
A Litly Lye is recorded in 1552 (1bid.). Burbage had
a Great Lye or Lye Magna in 1574 (WRSO 9/6/757),
and there are many subsequent references to Great
Lye Field and Little Lye Field. The parish also had
a Rolfe’s Lye and Upper Lye in 1846 (WSRO 3354).
In West Woods, Clerk’s Lye was present in 1783,
becoming Clark’s Leigh in 1802 (Fowler 2000).
It is quite possible that lye pits are overlooked
but common-place relicts of Wiltshire woodland
management. The authors will be very interested
in any documentary references to potash and lye
making and would welcome the opportunity to
inspect suspected potash kilns or pits.

References

Manuscript Sources

Wiltshire and Swindon Records Office.

9/6/5, Feoffment Lord Sandys and Earl of Hertford.
Mottesfounte Coppice adjoining Lyehill.

9/6/757, Survey of the manors of Burbage Esturmy, Savage
and Darrells, 1574.

1300/86, Savernake Forest Court Book, 1541-1557.
1300/87, Savernake Forest Court Book, “Curiae Liber”
1577-1609.

1300/301, Account of Coppices of Collingborne Ducis and
Woods in Forest, 1716.

3354, Surveys of Parishes Savernake Estate, 1843-1846,
Boxes | and 2.

Printed Sources

AILSBURY, Marquis of, 1962, A History of Savernake
Forest. Devizes

BRENTNALL, H.C. 1950. Venison Trespassers of Henry
VII. WANHM 53, 191-212

DAVIES-SCHIEL, M. 1972. A little known Late
Medieval Industry, the making of potash for soap in
Lakeland. Transactions of Cumberland and Westmoreland
Antiquarian and Archaeological Society 62, 140

210 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

FOWLER, P. J., 2000, Landscape Plotted and Pieced:
Landscape history and local archaeology in Fyfield and

Overton, Wiltshire, London: Society of Antiquaries of

London

KENYON, G.H., 1967, The Glass Industry of the Weald.
Leicester: University Press.

ROGERS, K.H., 1986, Warp and Weft. Buckingham:
Barracuda Books

RYMER, L. 1976. The history and ethnobotany of
bracken. Botanical Fournal of the Linnean Society 173,
151-176

STAMPER, P., 1988, Woods and Parks, in Astill, G. &
A. Grant (eds), The Countryside of Medieval England.
Oxford: Basil Blackwell

WILLIAMSON, T., 2003, The Transformation of Rural
England. Exeter: University of Exeter Press

Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History
Magazine and its Editors 1854-2006

by Lorna Haycock

‘Well, our magazine labours will live after us and
show that at all events we did our best to keep up
an interest in the history and antiquities of the
county’.!

The preface to Volume 1 of the Society’s committee
minute books in 1853 states: ‘In the hope of sustaining
a more lively interest 1n the objects for which it has been
established, it is proposed to commence, as a medium
of intercourse, a series of publications...relating to the
General History and Antiquities of the County of Wilts.
To those who reside in the more remote parts of it, such
a means of communication will be, it 1s presumed,
particularly acceptable.’

The committee suggested: ‘that the Society do
publish from time to time a book called The Wiltshire
Magazine, printed in the form of Notes and Queries and
issued in parts in June and December.’ *

So began the long series, now reaching its
hundredth edition, of our highly respected journal,
which has changed in character and purpose over
that period from a publication by committed and
educated amateurs to be a showcase for academic
research on the archaeology and local and natural
history of the county. From the outset, religious
and political discussion was eschewed and the
magazine aimed to provide ‘popular amusement
and instruction’. Papers read at the Annual General
Meetings were printed and Society members were

encouraged to contribute short notes and articles
*,..based on individual research , investigation and
information, thus furnishing accurate and valuable
materials for the Magazine’.*

The early volumes contained much domestic
detail, including accounts of donations, Society
meetings and excursions, as well as manorial,
parochial and genealogical topics, reflecting the
preponderance of clergy among the Society’s leading
members. Some members rushed into print; in
1885 it was reported that ‘...contributions to the
magazine...increase in number, so that at times
the Editor has some difficulty in keeping pace with
supply’.© Long running series on the Flora and
Ornithology of Wiltshire were interspersed with
articles on folklore, heraldry and transcriptions of
the records of Quarter Sessions, Churchwardens’
accounts and the Society’s growing collection of
manuscripts, foreshadowing the function later
fulfilled by the Records Branch, in time to become
the Wiltshire Record Society. By 1862 the Society was
exchanging the journal with thirteen other bodies,
including the Society of Antiquaries and Kent and
Essex Archaeological Societies. In December 1866
the Committee decided that the new medium of
photography should feature in the magazine.°

Gradually the Society’s antiquaries turned from
a preoccupation with the curious to focus on specific
sites. Not until Volume XV11 (1878) did articles

The Museum, 41 Long Street, Devizes, Wiltshire SN10 INS

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

appear on Stonehenge, written by William Long and
others, running to 244 pages. The Committee had
felt ‘...for many years past that it was right to put
forth a treatise on Stonehenge which would collect
and embody and record all that was known of that
world-renowned monument’.’ Moreover, the 23rd
Annual General Meeting based at Salisbury made
an excursion to the site.’ In Volume XX X111 (1904),
Professor William Gowland contributed an article
on his Stonehenge excavations, and the increasing
participation of Ben and Maud Cunnington in the
1920s and 1930s led to more reports on major sites
such as Atworth Roman villa, Cold Kitchen Hill,
Windmill Hill, Avebury and the Amesbury barrows.
The growth of archaeology as a scientific discipline
thereafter resulted in longer and more technical
articles, lavishly provided with maps, tables,
photographs, line drawings and specialist reports.
In the age of rescue archaeology in the post-second
world war period, developers and corporate bodies
increasingly funded these articles; local and Natural
History papers too, have become more professional
and well referenced.

The evolution of the journal to its present
form has not only been affected by social and
educational forces, but has also been influenced
by the contributions of individual editors, who,
incidentally, were not named at the beginning of
each volume until Volume 78 (1984). Not until 1942
did clerical dominance cease with the retirement
of Canon Goddard. The first volumes were edited
by the Society’s joint secretaries; the Revd. J. E.
Jackson, Rector of Leigh Delamere and the Revd.
W.C.Lukis, Vicar of Great Bedwyn. Jackson was a
major influence on the magazine. There was scarcely
a volume from 1854 to within a year or two of his
death in 1891 that did not contain some contribution
from him. An associate of John Britton, he was
author of A History of Grittleton (1843) and editor of
Aubrey’s Wiltshire Collections (1862). Much of the
research he published in WANHM featured papers
he had read at the three day annual meetings or
was based on material from the Longleat archive,
where he was often at work. His co-editor, Guernsey
archaeologist and naturalist, W.C. Lukis was Curate
of Bradford-on-Avon and later held the livings of
Great Bedwyn and Collingbourne Ducis, as well
as being Rural Dean in the Salisbury diocese. His
contributions to the magazine included accounts of
his excavations at Collingbourne and he also wrote
papers for the Royal Archaeological Institute, the
British Archaeological Association and the Society
of Antiquaries, of which he was elected a Fellow

211

in 1853. He was one of the early members of the
Camden Society and also belonged to several foreign
archaeological societies.

When Jackson retired from the editorship in
1864, the Committee expressed ‘...their deep sense
of the obligations under which they lie, for the vast
amount of time, trouble, the diligence and learning
he has brought to bear upon the work... their
profound sense of the invaluable services he had for
so many years bestowed on the Society in conducting
the Magazine’.’? When in the same year, 1864, the
Revd. Lukis left Wiltshire, he was succeeded by
the Revd. (later Canon) W.H. Jones FSA, Vicar of
Bradford-on-Avon for 34 years, and Jackson’s work
was taken over by the Revd. A.C. Smith. Jones edited
Domesday Book for Wiltshire and contributed many
articles to the early volumes of WANHM, as well
as writing and editing several books on diocesan
subjects, such as The Statutes of the Cathedral Church
of Sarum and Fasti Sarisburiensis. The Revd. A.C.
Smith was a prolific contributor to the magazine on
birds, Yatesbury, Silbury and Porch House, Potterne,
as well as compiling his authoritative map of the
Roman and British antiquities of North Wiltshire.
Of forty-six Natural History papers in the first ten
years of the journal, fifteen were by Smith. Of him,
Canon Goddard wrote, ‘he was a born naturalist
and the circumstances of his life made him an
archaeologist too’.!° Smith’s death in 1899 left the
Society with ‘a sense of great loss’."

After Jones’s death in 1885, and Smith’s
resignation in 1890, the system of dual editorship
was abandoned. On the recommendation of Canon
Jackson, Canon E.H. Goddard, Vicar of Clyffe
Pypard, was appointed Editor, combining this
with the duties of General Secretary; he was also
Librarian for forty years and a Fellow of the Society
of Antiquaries. He was to edit the magazine for fifty-
two years, an achievement noted in 1948: ‘...half
the long row of volumes testify alike to his editorial
zeal and the merit of his personal contribution.”
The volume indices which he compiled illustrate
‘...his capacity for the patient assembling of those
essential clues without which knowledge is lost in
the labyrinth of print’. After 1902 each volume had
its own index, instead of members having to wait for
a collective index at the end of every eighth volume.
Obituaries and reviews were introduced as regular
features in 1896 during Goddard’s editorship. He
contributed articles himself on church plate, old
glass in Wiltshire churches, a catalogue of Bronze
Age implements in Wiltshire, and his list of
Wiltshire’s antiquities in Volume XXXV111 (1913)

212 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

at once became authoritative. Despite the difficulties
caused by two World Wars, Goddard’s labours kept
the magazine regularly appearing up to Volume
XL1X (1942). In 1917 it was asserted that ‘...the
magazine is, together with the museum, by far the
most important part of the Society’s work’;'* the
reputation it had acquired was in no small part due
to Goddard’s work. Resigning through ‘advancing
age’ in 1942, he was a hard act to follow.

For the next twenty-one years, clerical support
was replaced by involvement from Marlborough
College. H.C. Brentnall FSA, a classicist who taught
at Marlborough for over four decades and edited
the journal for thirteen years, succeeded Goddard.
During that time he improved the appearance of
the magazine, with better quality paper and larger,
clearer type. A regular contributor, he wrote articles
on Marlborough Castle, Bedwyn and Preshute, as well
as representing the Society on the Victoria County
History Committee and acting as correspondent of
the Ancient Monuments Inspectorate in Wiltshire.
He was President of the Society when the Records
Branch was formed in 1937 and a member of the
County Records Committee from 1947.

After Brentnall’s death in 1955, another
Marlborough master, Hubert Wylie, took over the
editorship, assisted by Owen Meyrick and J.M.Prest,
and later by Ken Annable, the Revd. E.H.Steele and
Dick Sandell. He was succeeded by E.E. Sabben-
Clare, historian and under-master from the same
school, who later became Headmaster of Bishop
Wordsworth School, Salisbury. He was assisted
by Meyrick, Prest and T.R.K Thomson. In his
Presidential address in 1956, R.B. Pugh explained
that WANHS was the only local archaeological
society to publish bi-annually and this needed to
change because of high printing costs, so in 1958
the practice of annual publication was begun. A
larger format was adopted to meet the needs of
archaeologists for diagrams, maps and illustrations.
Some parts were printed in double columns and the
cover colours were changed to the Wiltshire county
colours, green and white. To produce revenue,
advertisements were accepted but could be removed
if members wished. It was hoped that the magazine
would be at one and the same time interesting and
scholarly, but also serve the interests of general
readers.’? Beginning in 1960, the issue of a Bulletin
each spring, at the suggestion of the Revd. Steele,
would now cater for more ephemeral material, but
the county’s richness in archaeological sites should
continue to attract articles by eminent professional
archaeologists. Pugh believed that the magazine

must contain ‘...so far as possible original papers,
founded on new research’ but it should be balanced
by the need to ‘...catch the attention of those of our
members who are not experts’. He suggested the
exclusion of non-Wiltshire book reviews, accounts of
excursions and the publication of texts, now the field
of the Records Branch, and the adoption of the title
The Wiltshire Magazine, which, he believed, would
most accurately reflect its content. Apart from the
latter suggestion, most of these changes were adopted
by Sabben-Clare.'®

No successor could be found when Sabben-
Clare resigned in 1963, so an editorial committee,
consisting of Curator Ken Annable and Librarian
Dick Sandell continued the work. In the following
year Isobel Smith, the Society’s first female Editor,
joined them. She was a distinguished prehistorian
who had studied for a doctorate under Gordon
Childe at the Institute of Archaeology in London.
In the late 1950s she carried out the challenging
task of writing up the pre-war excavations at
Windmill Hill and Avebury by Alexander Keiller;
the resulting book remains a major reference work
today. In 1965 she obtained a permanent position
as Senior Investigator with The Royal Commission
on the Historical Monuments of England. After
her retirement to Avebury in 1978 she continued to
publish on the Neolithic and Bronze Ages (Isobel
Smith died in 2005 and an obituary is carried in
this volume).

During Smith’s editorship, the magazine was
split into two parts and published separately to
ensure earlier publication of Natural History
material. Part A featured Natural History and Part
B Archaeology and Local History, and between
1975 and 1981 separate titles were used- Wiltshire
Natural History Magazine and Wiltshire Archaeological
Magazine. From Volume 76, however, publishing in
one volume restored previous practice. After editing
the journal for fourteen years, Isobel Smith retired.
In 1978 an editorial committee was formed, chaired
by the President of the Society and led, until his
death in 1980, by Charles Friend, former director of
the publishing firm of Eyre and Spottiswoode and
Chairman of the Society’s Programme Committee.
The new committee adopted a chronological
arrangement for archaeological articles.

Christopher Chippindale took over as Editor
in 1981. A Cambridge University archaeology
graduate, with experience of fieldwork in Europe
and North Africa, and a freelance production editor,
he had become acquainted with the Museum while
researching for his definitive publication Stonehenge

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

Complete (1983). His interest in the monument and
his friendship with Peggy Guido led to him taking
on the editorship with the aim of catching up on
the arrears of four issues by producing one double
issue and two others in the space of two years. He
had already contributed articles to the magazine on
‘Stonehenge’ and ‘John Britton’s Celtic Cabinet’. He
is currently Curator of the British Collections at the
Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and
Anthropology.

Caroline Malone edited the magazine for one
issue in 1987 while she was Curator of the Alexander
Keiller Museum at Avebury, later moving to Bristol
University Archaeology Department as lecturer
and then becoming Keeper of the Department
of Prehistory and Early Europe at the British
Museum. At present, she lectures on Archaeology
at Cambridge University. To help the Society out of
a hiatus, Kate Fielden took over as Editor in 1987.
Kate has a D.Phil in Near Eastern Archaeology and
spent several tears at our museum, working with
Ken Annable and the urban and rural archaeologists
(Jeremy Haslam and Chris Gingell). Since 1985 she
has been part-time Curator at Bowood, where care
of the archive has enhanced her understanding of
the more recent history of the area. She found the
task of WANHM < editor instantly interesting and
challenging and there followed ten happy years with
a distinguished team of specialist editors, including
John Chandler, James Thomas, Marion Browne,
Patrick Dillon and Michael Darby. The layout of
the magazine was standardised and a watchful eye
kept on financial and verbal economy to obtain
grant aid for published papers from developers and
statutory bodies and help authors to express their
work simply and well without making the Editors’
impact obvious.

Dual editorship was resumed on Kate’s
resignation in 1998, with John Chandler as General
Editor and typesetter and Joshua Pollard overseeing
the archaeological content. This continued for
five issues, from 1999 to 2003. John, a classicist
and former Wiltshire County Council Librarian,
became a freelance writer and historical researcher
in 1988, working on archaeological evaluations and
lecturing on local history. He has written numerous
books, articles and a series of parish histories
of Wiltshire and in 2000 successfully restarted
Hobnob Press. He has also edited the Wiltshire
Record Society’s volumes since 1994. During John’s
editorship, WANHM?’s cover was changed from
green to brown, the new Society logo replaced the
old Stonehenge emblem and the chronological order

213

of articles was abandoned. Josh Pollard, a graduate
of Cardiff University, has held academic posts at
universities in Newcastle, Belfast and Newport.
He currently lectures in archaeology at Bristol
University and is Director of the MA course in
Landscape Archaeology there. His particular field
is the Neolithic and he is involved in fieldwork
around Avebury and Stonehenge, publishing
widely on the Avebury area. The current editor,
Andrew Reynolds, is a native Wiltshire man with
a long-standing interest in the post-Roman and
medieval periods. He has published extensively on
the county’s archaeology, particularly the Avebury
region and is now Reader in Medieval Archaeology
at the Institute of Archaeology, University College,
London and a member of the editorial board of the
journal World Archaeology.

WANHM enjoys a place on the shelves of British
and foreign universities and is now an academic
journal, a forum for the presentation and synthesis
of excavations in Wiltshire and discussion of the
county’s natural and local history. Publication in the
journal carries its own special cachet and contributors
include leading academics in their fields. Compared
with the present standard of articles, the early
efforts of WANHS members seem in some ways
prosaic and naive, with very little discussion and
analysis. Like so many in the Victorian age, they
were keen to record and disseminate knowledge in
an age before primary records were widely available
to the public. But as the disciplines of history and
archaeology have developed and publication in
these fields has markedly increased, more critical
and probing analysis has become the norm. This
is not to decry the efforts of the amateur pioneers,
working as they did in an age of handwritten copy
and unsophisticated printing techniques. Their
enthusiasm and vision laid the foundations of a
publication that amply fulfils the aim to ‘...keep
up an interest in the history and antiquities of the
county’. Indeed, the vision and passion for the
natural and human history of the county displayed
by these pioneers of antiquarianism continue to
provide the raw material for modern enquiry. The
role of the Society’s journal remains as important as
ever as a medium for recording the county’s history,
in its broadest sense, for future generations.

References

1. Canon J.E.Jackson, WANHM, Volume XLIII (1872),
p.4.

214

OM NAH KWH

THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

WANHS committee minute book 1, p.1.
WANHM, Volume I (1854), p.4.

Ibid, Volume XIII (1872), pp.13-14.
WANHM, Volume XXII (1885), p. 135.
WANHS committee book 1, p.64.
WANHM, Volume XVII (1878), p.3.
Ibid, pp.31-46/

WANHS committee book 1, pp.50-51.

10.
11.
2:
13.
14.
US.
16.

WANHM, Volume LIT (1948), p.118.
WANHS committee minute book 1, p.273.
WANHM, Volume LIT (1948), p.118.

Ibid, p.119.

WANHM, Volume XXXIX (1917), p. 148.
WANHM, Volume LXVIII (1963), p.212.
WANHM, Volume LVI (1956), p.97.

Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 215-23

Obituaries

Isobel Foster Smith
(1912 — 2005)

The death of Isobel Smith, at 92, has marked in
many ways the end ofan era in the study of Wiltshire
prehistory, and particularly so in relation to Avebury,
where she was both a long term resident and the
author of the definitive account of the excavations
by Alexander Keiller at Avebury henge, West Kennet
Avenue and Windmill Hill.

I first met Isobel on an excavation in
Gloucestershire in the late 1970s, when I was a
Ph.D. student, and it was more than ten years before
I met her again, this time on her home ground; it
was only in the 1990s, when I was appointed to the
Curatorship of the museum at Avebury, that I came
to know her well, when she was already in her early
eighties. From that time onwards I saw her regularly.
During that time I realised that Isobel was, more
than anyone I had ever met, an entirely private
person, so much so that even to write an obituary
seems to be something of an intrusion into her life.
Not only was she private for herself, but she also
clearly believed that it was a person’s work which
should matter to the world at large, not the details
of his or her private life, so that I make no apologies
for giving here very few details about her life outside
archaeology. She would have thought it none of my
business, and I rather agree with her.

When Isobel was born, in, as far as we can
establish, the outskirts of Toronto, Canada, shortly
before Christmas in one of those last years before
the First World War, the fact that she would end
her days in a small English town after a highly
distinguished career in archaeology would have been
unimaginable. She attended University in Toronto,
reading English and French, although she also told
me that it was during those years that she became
interested in the archaeology of religion. This seems
so unlikely that if I had not written it down at the

time I would have thought I had imagined it, but
perhaps, apparently coming from a background
of an at least conventionally religious family, it is
not surprising that this was her first way in to what
must have been a highly unusual subject. She did
not pursue it then, however, and having received a
bursary or scholarship for a year’s study in Europe,
spent time in Paris and possibly in other places,
including England, before returning for some
time to Canada. She was in England again after
the Second World War, and once told me that she
had seen an advertisement in The Times regarding
the re-opening of the Institute of Archaeology in
London, which was how she came to it. For some
time she worked as Professor V. Gordon Childe’s
secretary or personal assistant, and is remembered
from those years by many younger archaeologists of
the time. By her own account it was Stuart Piggott
who encouraged her to take up the study of Neolithic
pottery, although close association with Professor
Childe must have also been of some influence, and
it was with Gordon Childe that she published one of
her two first published papers, in 1954, on a barrow
at Whiteleaf Hill, Buckinghamshire (the other being
with S. Hazzledine Warren in the same year, on
pottery from the submerged Neolithic surface on
the Essex coast).

If a list is ever compiled of those unpublished
doctoral theses which had most merited publication,
Isobel’s Smith’s The Decorative Art of Neolithic
Ceramics in South-East England and its Relations
(University of London 1956) would be, at least for
students of the British Neolithic period, probably
top of the list. When I last borrowed it, as recently
as about 1990, the list of borrowers of the copy I had
read like a list of Who’s Who in Neolithic studies of
the second half of the twentieth century. Although
Stuart Piggott had reviewed Neolithic ceramics in
his Neolithic cultures of the British Isles (1954) his
coverage of the pottery of southern Britain had
been broad brush rather than detailed. Isobel’s

216 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

work filled in the detail and not only contained a
widespread review of earlier Neolithic pottery in
south-eastern England, including the sub-styles of
the Peterborough tradition (for which she defined
the sub-style of Fengate Ware (Smith 1956, 69)) but
also, as is often forgotten because of the later work
associated with newly excavated henges, covered
Rinyo-Clacton Ware (Grooved Ware). The later work
of Ian Longworth, using the huge resource of the
then newly discovered Durrington Walls assemblage,
set the scene for the definition and treatment of
Grooved Ware for the rest of the century, but Isobel
had been there first, a fact fully acknowledged in
the Durrington Walls report, where it is pointed out
that it was she who ‘gave the first clear definitions
of the Clacton and Woodhenge styles and added a
third, the Woodlands’ (Wainwright and Longworth
1 OPAES239)):

Isobel first came to live in Wiltshire (as it turned
out, permanently) in 1956, when she was employed
by Gabrielle Keiller to write up the excavations
by her late husband, Alexander Keiller. This was
a huge and demanding task and one which was
not dissimilar to that involved forty years later
in writing up the Stonehenge excavations by
Professors Atkinson and Piggott, but with very
different resources. Having been involved in the
Stonehenge publication myself, I can fully appreciate
the daunting nature of the task Isobel undertook.
In the Stonehenge case the work was carried out
by a large team, including specialists, with all the
resources of a large independent archaeological
unit at its disposal and backed by English Heritage.
Isobel undertook the task of not only elucidating
the Avebury henge and Avenue excavations but
also that of one of the largest causewayed enclosure
excavations carried out in this country, with only
the assistance of W.E.V. Young, the then Curator
of the museum at Avebury, and some help from
Denis Grant King, a former assistant of Alexander
Keiller, and with a very small number of specialists
(principally Margaret Jope for the animal bones
and Don Brothwell for the human remains). The
archives in the museum at Avebury attest to the
thoroughness with which she carried out this work
and Isobel’s tiny writing is a feature throughout the
archive: identifying, elucidating, organising. The
synthesis she produced (Smith 1965), including the
results of her own new work at Windmill Hill in 1957
and 1958, was an extraordinary achievement and
one which remains highly valued by prehistorians
today, as evidenced by its frequent citation in works
on British prehistory. (And valued in more tangible

ways too: not long before her death I mentioned to
Isobel how much a copy of Windmill Hill and Avebury
was listed for in a secondhand catalogue I had seen:
she was astonished and horrified, assuring me that
no-one could possibly find anything of any interest
in it now!)

Although Isobel’s doctoral thesis was on
ceramics, she wrote widely and authoritatively
on lithics, particularly (although not exclusively)
on flint, and she wrote many excavation reports.
Alan Saville contributed a thorough bibliography
of Isobel’s published works to her festschrift,
Monuments and Material Culture. Papers in honour
of an Avebury archaeologist: Isobel Smith (Cleal and
Pollard 2004), which shows that while 46% of her
papers were wholly or partially concerned with
ceramics, 23% were concerned wholly or partly with
lithics. Her contribution to the study of Wiltshire
is also demonstrated by the fact that over a third of
her published works concerned Wiltshire sites or
artefacts. Omitting reviews and a bibliography, and
including joint papers, Isobel published 90 works
(this includes one, on the Hambledon Hill pottery,
which is forthcoming), and between 1958 and 1979
published at least one every year. Even in the 1980s
she still published an average of more than one paper
per year, this rate only lessening in the 1990s.

From the 1960s two other arenas of activity
opened up for her. In 1965 she was appointed as
an Investigator with the Royal Commission on
Historical Monuments (England), in which post
she remained until retirement in 1978. Initially she
worked with the team which produced the volume
on Iron Age and Romano-British Gloucestershire,
and subsequently worked on the long barrows
of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and on the
Stonehenge Environs (RCHM(E) 1976, 1979a and
1979b). As was usual at the time, the authorship of
these volumes is not made explicit in the publication;
this seems particularly unfortunate as Isobel’s name
was also omitted from her Windmill Hill and Avebury,
possibly at Gabrielle Keiller’s request in order not
to detract from her late husband’s achievements
(although I have no firm evidence for that).

WANHS figured largely in Isobel’s life too, and
the Society has reason to be particularly grateful to
her for her long editorship of the Magazine. From its
inception to 1955 the Society had only six Editors in
102 years. A number of temporary editors, and then
a committee took charge from 1955 to 1964, and
Isobel joined that committee in 1964. The following
year she took over as Honorary Editor and remained
as sole editor until resigning in 1979 (Anon 1981).

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

The onerous nature of such an editorship, with
the tyranny of the annual timetable, should not be
underestimated, and for Isobel, whose attention to
detail and meticulousness is well-known, it must
have been particularly demanding. It says much
about her that she filled the post for 13 years while
having a full-time job, and the volumes she saw
through the press stand as a fitting reminder of
her life and work and the standards she believed
in as necessary for making a contribution to the
profession.

Isobel led, at least for the last two or three
decades, a most retiring life; she never held a
university post and did not frequent the conference
circuit, but in her own characteristic and retiring
way she made a substantial contribution to the
understanding of British prehistory, and particularly
to our understanding of Wiltshire in prehistory. Her
standards were high, and she could be an exacting
critic, but she was also a most generous, kind
and funny woman; to die at ninety-two is not of
course unexpected (and Isobel appeared to face the
prospect with perfect equanimity), but nonetheless
the archaeological world is greatly diminished by
her going.

Ros Cleal

References

ANON, 1981 WANHM 74/75 (for 1979/1980), un-numbered
preliminary page

CLEAL, R.M.J. and POLLARD, J. 2004, Monuments
and Material Culture. Papers in honour of an Avebury
archaeologist: Isobel Smith. Salisbury: Hobnob Press

PIGGOTT, S. 1954, Neolithic Cultures of the British Isles
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

RCHM(E), 1979a, Long Barrows in Hampshire and the Isle
of Wight. London: HMSO

RCHM(E), 1979b, Stonehenge and its Environs: Monuments
and Land Use Edinburgh: Edinburgh University
Press

SMITH, I.E, 1956, The Decorative Art of Neolithic Ceramics
in South-East England and its Relations. Unpublished
University of London Ph. D. thesis (Institute of
Archaeology)

WAINWRIGHT, G.J. and LONGWORTH, I.H., 1971,
Durrington Walls: Excavations 1966-1968. London:
Society of Antiquaries Research Report 29

217

Isobel Foster Smith and her
pursuit of prehistory: an
appreciation

The University of London’s Institute of Archaeology
came into being in 1935 through the energies of R.
E. M. Wheeler (he became Sir Mortimer in 1952)
and his wife Tessa. It was housed in the architectural
splendour of St. John’s Lodge, on the Inner Circle of
Regent’s Park. Gordon Childe became its Director
in 1946 and his inaugural lecture was fogbound
but, notwithstanding, he introduced himself and
proceeded. He settled into the institution and,
again, London’s amenities. However, it was only
after some five years that he realised that the
Institute’s Director was entitled to a secretary.
Like many, Gordon Childe wrote all but his more
routine letters in longhand, often using a pencil. His
handwriting was not unclear but European place-
names were rendered in their particular languages,
for example Praha for Prague or Wroclaw for Breslau.
He also suffered from Armorica being regularly
returned to him as America! Someone to handle
his correspondence, his friends and colleagues who
called, not to mention matters, beyond the ken of the
Institute’s Secretary, lan Cornwall, pertaining to the
policies of the University of London, was needed.
Clearly an exceptional person was necessary and that
was to be Isobel Foster Smith, who appeared early
in the Advent Term of 1950.

Isobel, small, slight and bespectacled, charmed
all from the outset when she appeared in the
Institute’s tearoom. While never talking about
herself or past activities, various details emerged.
Primarily Isobel was a Canadian from Ontario and
across the years certain accented usages persisted.
Her degree from the University of Toronto was in
English and French while the present writer, fresh
from Germany, was impressed by her acquaintance
with linguistics. From Canada Isobel had obtained
a French scholarship to Grenoble and the Sorbonne,
renowned European mainland universities, but, in
1939, with war imminent, she made for England.
For the war years Whitehall recruited her and she
served there for the duration. After a visit to Canada,
Isobel returned to England and sought an academic
post, not easy at that time. After shifting secretarial
work, the post of academic secretary to Gordon
Chide at the University of London’s Institute of
Archaeology might have been made for her. There
was rapport with Jay Jordan Butler, who for a year

218 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

and more had been struggling with British ways and
purposes, others found her easy to talk with while the
present writer sometimes, at her behest, discussed
with her various incoming and outgoing German
language missives. Isobel was also helpful to those
pursuing Roman studies who were concerned about
Sir Mortimer Wheeler’s absences. Many matters
were given arrangement and order, from Childe’s
books and offprint distribution to his timetabling
for seminars and, for some, supervisions.

Within the walls of St. John’s Lodge it was
almost impossible not to take an interest in
archaeology, there were such as Max Mallowan and
the redoubtable Kathleen Kenyon in post, not to
mention the group clustered around Gordon Childe,
pursuing European prehistory. Isobel was taking
part, with critical observations, in the interminable
coffee-table, and other, discussions besides attending
lectures and seminars. In the event she was
appointed, in 1953, to the post of Assistant in the
Department of Prehistoric European Archaeology,
an appointment limited to two years and under no
circumstances renewable. The Eleventh Annual
Report of the Institute of Archaeology had in it
a paper by Isobel on the Late Beaker Pottery of the
Lyonesse (Clacton) surface (Smith 1955) besides a
notice of her enrolment for a PhD (Childe 1955, 2).
Its title, The Decorative Art of Neolithic ceramics in
South-Eastern England and its Relations, was a portent
of things to come. The Institute’s report for 1956
has in it a paper, with Jay J. Butler, on Razors, Urns
and the British Middle Bronze Age, while there was
a notice (Childe 1956,4) of her involvement, with
Gordon Childe, in the preparation of a report upon
Lindsay Scott’s excavation of the Whiteleaf Hill,
Buckinghamshire, long barrow. In the event the
first annual report by W. E Grimes, Gordon Childe’s
successor (Grimes 1958,4), records that ‘Miss Isobel
Smith was awarded the PhD for her thesis.’

Isobel’s thesis, which she resolutely refused
to publish, broke entirely new ground in that it
was shown in detail that the earlier Windmill Hill
wares, the thick lavishly decorated Peterborough
pottery, which encompassed the Mortlake sub-style,
and the flat-bottomed Fengate forms, were a linear
developing series owing nothing to external stimuli.
Indeed, it effectively weaned British prehistory away
from what was termed the invasion hypothesis (Clark
1966), a notion that had for long been fraught with
difficulties.

When the years at the University of London’s
Institute of Archaeology, the hub of our discipline,
headed by an unforgettable all-star cast (Thomas

2003, 2), came to an end, excavations and the need
for useful employment severed one’s connections
with that remarkable staff college. However, in
1956, when immersed in the excavation of some of
Amesbury’s damaged barrows (Ashbee 1985) east of
the River Avon, Isobel appeared and one was able
to discuss the emergent barrow features, man-made
and natural, for the experimental earthwork was then
in the future. During the lunch break she explained
that her motor vehicle was a by-product of her new
undertaking, the definitive publication of the many
years of excavation by Alexander Keiller (Murray
1999), upon Windmill Hill and at Avebury from 1925
until 1939. This involved living in Avebury and work
in the museum adjacent to Avebury Manor, where
Keiller had lived. This was great news as Norman
Cook, then the young Keeper of Archaeology in
Maidstone’s Museum, who had encouraged my
modest early endeavours, had succeeded Stuart
Piggott, as principal archaeologist in 1937. From
time to time he had told me much about Alexander
Keiller’s great enterprise as well as his concerns for
accuracy and accurate records. Indeed, this, plus
Stuart Piggott’s comments (1954, 17-32), and post-
war visits to Windmill Hill and Avebury, besides
its museum, had stimulated a particular interest in
these sites.

Besides reference to Alexander Keiller’s records,
the notes, drawings and photographs, Isobel’s work
involved various small-scale excavations designed
to check the nature of Windmill Hill’s ditches, and
such stratigraphy as they proffered, as well as features
claimed within Avebury. A major undertaking,
jointly directed by Isobel and the present writer,
was, during 1959, the excavation of the denuded
remains of the Horslip long barrow (Ashbee, Smith
and Evans 1979, 207-28) on the south-western
slope of Windmill Hill. In the event, sherds of
earlier Neolithic pottery were found but no trace of
burials. During 1960 the Experimental Earthwork,
on Overton Down (Jewell (ed.) 1963; Bell, Fowler
and Hillson 1996; Ashbee and Jewell 1998) was set
up to determine the nature of natural weathering
and denudation. As a result of initial observations
and the scrutiny of the ditch infills of such sites as the
Crichel and Launceston Down barrows (Piggott and
Piggott 1944) and the Fussell’s Lodge long barrow
(Ashbee 1966), Isobel was able to show that the
ditches of Windmill Hill had been for the most part
back filled. A decade of painstaking work led to the
remarkable volume, published in 1965 by the Oxford
University Press, entitled Windmill Hill and Avebury:
excavations by Alexander Keiller, 1925-1939. Modestly,

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

indeed, almost self-effacedly, Isobel allowed no more
than the minisculant inscription ‘This report has been
prepared for publication on behalf of Mrs Alexander
Keiller by I. F Smith. It is a seminal work, the basis
of any appreciation of Windmill Hill and Avebury
to this day. However, its standard reference, when
the Harvard mode is employed, is always ‘Smith,
1965’. A measure is the publications, popular and
otherwise, that it has brought about (e.g. Burl 1969;
Ucko et al. 1991) and, latterly, further research upon
particular aspects of Avebury and its landscape
(Whittle 1997; Pollard and Cleal 2004; Fowler 2004;
Gillings et al. 2004).

With the publication of Windmill Hill and
Avebury, Isobel faced archaeological unemployment
in 1965. Never one to rest upon her laurels she
applied for a post in what was the Department of
British and Medieval Antiquities of the British
Museum, at that time led by Rupert Bruce Mitford.
He and I were then concerned with Sutton Hoo
Barrow 1, its dumps and barrow remnants from 1939,
besides a resurvey of the barrow group. With us, and
undertaking photography, was Gabrielle Keiller
(Murray 1999, 111), then working as a volunteer
helper. In the event, after soundings with Richard
Dufty, then the Secretary of the Royal Commission
on Historical Monuments (England) an appropriate
post for Isobel emerged, that of Senior Investigator
at the Salisbury Office.

From 1965 until her retirement in 1978 Isobel
held this post. Her impact upon the Commission’s
publication styles and especially upon prehistory
was considerable. Their publication of the long
barrows of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (1979)
was substantially her work, in which she was assisted
by Bruce Eagles FSA, also of the Salisbury Office.
At a much earlier juncture he had assisted, in
1957, with the arduous excavation of the Fussell’s
Lodge long barrow (Ashbee 1966). It was visited
from time to time by Isobel who rendered sterling
support with the excavation and examination of
concentrations of well-preserved human remains
beneath the collapsed mortuary structure. Close
upon the heels of the Hampshire volume came the
seminal work, with Desmond Bonney, Stonehenge and
its environs, Monuments and Land Use (1979) published
by the Edinburgh University Press for the Royal
Commission. This, until the definitive publication
of Stonehenge and its supportive landscape (Cleal et
al., 1995) was the clearest and most comprehensive
study to date. The clarity of the presentation of
Stonehenge’s structural phases is unsurpassed.
The damage to the area brought about by the

219

National Trust allowing arable land-development
was appreciated, as were the necessary excavations
of near-razed barrows. The maps are particularly
valuable, the most recent showing the railways
brought to the area during the First World War
(1914-1918). Another aspect of Isobel’s work with the
Royal Commission was the initial Gloucestershire
volume (1976) which treated the Iron Age and
Romano-British earthworks and other monuments
within the Cotswold area embraced by the county.
The prime mover for this considerable work was
Collin Bowen, while Bruce Eagles also assisted.
Few have ever appreciated the exacting nature of
the Royal Commission’s intensive fieldwork, the
drawing, distance- walking and the comprehensive
surveys, often in difficult terrain.

Isobel’s work on Windmill Hill and Avebury
led to various papers, particularly radiocarbon
dates, while at the same time she produced notable
reviews, for example of the present writer’s work on
round barrows (1960; Smith 1961), Stuart Piggott’s
(1962) account of the West Kennet long barrow
excavations 1955-56, and later in 1970 the present
writer’s consideration of earthen long barrows.
There were also excavations and, particularly,
assessment of Neolithic pottery from the length and
breadth of Britain. These included that from the
Fussell’s Lodge and Lambourn long barrows (1966)
and that from Baston Manor, Hayes, in Kent (1973)
besides that from Carn Brea in Cornwall (1981).
Two considerations of the Neolithic are of especial
note: causewayed enclosures, emanating from a
conference in Leicester (1971) and a view of the
Neolithic (1971) in a collective volume. Particularly
valuable papers are her account, with Collin Bowen,
of sarsen stones in Wessex (1977) and, later, with
John Evans, their excavations at Cherhill (Evans
and Smith, 1983). In the words of their summary
‘A sequence of deposits ranging in date from Late
Glacial to the present produced detailed evidence
of environmental changes, reflecting both climatic
fluctuations and the effect of human activities’
(late Mesolithic, Earlier and Later Neolithic and
Earlier Bronze Age). The environmental evidence
with pottery and lithics broke new ground in the
assessment of the Avebury area, and had implications
for the chalklands at large.

During the earlier 1960s Isobel joined the
committee of the Wiltshire Archaeological and
Natural History Society. She became the Society’s
Honorary Editor in 1962 and continued the arduous
tasks involved in the production of one of England’s
premier, and always eagerly awaited, archaeological

220 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

publication, for about twenty years. It was a time of
change and crisis and there was the emergence of the
reassuring dark green covers, the need to combine
certain years, besides the microfiche pressures
exerted by those who saw themselves as scientific.
It was felt that a packet of fiche was no substitute
for the dignified volumes, and even today there
are those who have them bound! During Isobel’s
editorship the present writer published in WAM
(a long-standing abbreviation) the Amesbury 51
Beaker barrow (Ashbee 1978) and the Amesbury 39
barrow (Ashbee 1981) both of which had excited the
attentions of Sir Richard Colt Hoare and William
Cunnington. Her textual insights from time to
time sharpened impersonal prose styles although,
in the days of expensive block-making when size
was paramount, illustrations were sometimes
rather smaller than they could have been. Editing
is an intricate task and during those years Isobel
continued her research and publication of largely
Neolithic pottery for many considered that her
assessment of their pottery was an accolade. Isobel’s
analysis of the Cornish Carn Brea Neolithic pottery
which included some sophisticated vessels, broke
new ground and gave a remarkable insight into the
period in that sea-girt region’s early development
(Mercer, 1981). This was followed by her (1997)
consideration of the Helman Tor’s similarly
sophisticated Neolithic pottery (Mercer,1997). The
report has radiocarbon dates and, like Carn Brea a
damaged site, may have been a sronghold.

Conservation, in all its dimensions, interested
Isobel. Chalkland old pasture, with its grasses and
flora, attracted her as did the nature of Wiltshire,
a chalkland county. Earthwork monuments were
a particular concern and she was pained that
the Stonehenge supportive landscape, allegedly
protected by the National Trust, had been subjected
to arable farming, deep ploughing and progressive
barrow destruction. Although Alexander Keiller
was accused of archaeological gardening at Avebury,
it has recently been claimed that restoration of the
great monument and all around it, is largely his
creation. Nonetheless, Isobel’s insights into his
motivations and work, plus her own appreciation
of Avebury at large, led her to be gravely concerned
regarding inappropriate development close by or
in its vicinity.

The initial threat came in 1987 when a planning
application was made to erect a massive, high-
standing hotel and conference centre, on the site of
an erstwhile transport cafe by the Bath Road close
by the Sanctuary stone circle on the top of Overton

Hill. The present writer whose letter to the London
Times (18th Nov 1987) was denounced as ‘hysterical’,
received a fulsome letter from Isobel thanking him
for his interest and endeavour, while telling him of
the motives of the project, which was not without
a measure of obscurity. The proposed structure
because of its form and size would have subordinated
its surroundings and would have been visible
from a vast tract of the fragile northern Wiltshire
chalklands and many prehistoric monuments. In
another context Isobel described the scheme as
a ‘desecration’. Shortly after this in 1989-90, an
application was made to build a large hotel in place
of West Kennet Farm opposite the junction of the
minor road into Avebury which follows the West
Kennet Avenue. After the dereliction of the farm
it was established that there was a major Neolithic
ditched site beneath. A third Avebury exigency
in 1989 was the establishment of an Elizabethan
theme park within the grounds of Avebury Manor
adjacent to Alexander Keiller’s Museum. It seems
that there had been no planning permission and
that listed buildings were altered. In the event the
Kennet District Council acted and all was halted
(London Times, 28th July, 1989). Shortly thereafter
the National Trust acquired the Avebury Manor
House, which dates from Elizabethan times and is (as
is the church) adjacent to the circle. Isobel’s
painstaking assessments of what would have been
wounding and inappropriate developments gave
great heart to those opposing them. Fortunately after
public enquiries they were disallowed by central
Government.

Isobel has been described as an entirely private
person by one who came to know her quite well
during the ninth decade of her days. Her appearance
at the Regent’s Park Institute of Archaeology at the
outset of the 1950 Advent Term is well remembered.
She was able to elucidate the difficult passages of
Dechelette, timetable students’ tutorials, and make
precise and foolproof arrangements for Gordon
Childe’s much loved excursions. He revelled in his
remarkable car and drove some of us from time to
time. Isobel arranged for a hired car to carry the rest
of the party as few of his students were car owners.
At Mawgan Porth in 1951 Isobel had, I remember,
serious political discussions with Peter Jewell, while
on the excavation she was popular because she was
able to put helpers into the wider picture and show
people how to use tools with an economy of energy.
As has been related above all the Wiltshire barrow
excavations were visited and all were better for
extended discussions of their nature and contents.

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

During 1958 when the Milton Lilbourne barrows
were excavated (Ashbee 1986) Isobel was a regular
visitor and one of her especial interests was one of
the considerable bell-barrows which had quantities
of occupation debris in its fabric and did not have
a central burial. A motor vehicle allowed ready
access to Avebury and it was at this time that the
low-ploughed Horslip long barrow, at no great
distance from Windmill Hill, was first seen. We said
to one another that pottery might remain and could
be closely comparable with that from Windmill
Hill. The Ministry of Works agreed to support the
excavation, referred to above, and Gabrielle Keiller
appreciated the archaeological implications and
reimbursed the farmer, who lost his winter wheat
from the area to be excavated. The Horslip long
barrow had been raised from ditches dug into the
lower chalk and their conditions, silting and other
infills were a new experience. In the event such
stratified material as was recovered came from ditch
infills for the mound had been completely removed
and all that remained was the eminence brought
about by differential weathering (Ashbee 1960, 58
fig.19). The Horslip long barrow, excavated in 1959,
was worked upon for three weeks at Eastertide, and
later, during the summer, for six weeks. At Easter
a considerable medial section was dug, a process
closely supervised by Isobel and myself, by Ministry
of Works personnel, who were based in Avebury.
They attended for four days a week and, on Fridays,
had to write out their time-sheets, as well as cleaning
their tools and gear. Frequent heavy rain fell and,
during the later days, sections had to be drawn. As
an aid to dry drawing, a latrine cabin was placed
at points of good visibility. Isobel and myself took
turns thereafter at measuring and drawing sections
during the continual heavy driving rain. At the
completion of the excavation in early September
1959, the pottery, lithics and animal bones from the
long barrow were stored in the Avebury Museum
and visits were made to confer with Isobel and to
scrutinise in detail this material.

During the following year, 1960, the Experimental
Earthwork, raised upon the chalk of Overton Down
(Jewell (ed.)1963; Ashbee and Jewell, 1998) came into
being. Isobel was a frequent visitor and, from time to
time, took part in the proceedings. As has been noted
above it was the observation of the Overton Down’s
ditch silting which led to her being able to say that
only Windmill Hill’s ditch bottom silt could be
attributed to natural agencies and that subsequently
chalk rubble had been raked down to cover and bury
the deposits found in them. Her frequent visits to

221

Overton Down were valuable in that she was able
to record the precise date of surface stability of the
bank and take photographs of the massive snow
cover of early 1963. At this time one made frequent
visits to Avebury as, at the outset, the chalkland
earthwork (Ashbee and Jewell 1998) was investigated
at intervals of six months, one year, two years, four
years and eight years, this last in 1968. As I worked
upon the Horslip long barrow excavation and Isobel
the finds, letters were frequently exchanged, as were
offprints and Christmas cards. Especial visits were
made to Isobel’s excavation of the Beckhampton
Road long barrow in 1964 and joint visits were made
to John Evans and his excavation of the South Street
long barrow during 1966 and 1967 (Smith and Evans
1968; Ashbee, Smith and Evans 1979). Beckhampton
Road was notable for the loyal band of helpers who
laboured on the excavation and those who supported
the later laboratory work.

The present writer became President of the
Cornwall Archaeological Society in 1976 and,
thereafter, until 1980, when he was succeeded by
Geoffrey Wainwright, there were four annual visits
to Cornwall. The route from Norfolk was always via
Avebury and an hour was spent almost each time
talking about what we were both doing. After this
Avebury became a considerable distance and liaison
with Isobel became offprints, the odd letter (about
the building threats in the area), and Christmas
cards.

Isobel was considered as an entirely private
person and few knew of her beyond her eminence
in the pursuit of prehistory. In 1951 when, for a
while Isobel supervised the excavation of an area of
the Mawgan Porth excavation (Bruce Mitford 1997;
Ashbee 1998-9), she brought with her, as a fellow
camper on the Cornish coast, her friend, at first
sight austere but one who proved to be charming
and competent. The friend said “call me Poppy”
and during the duration of their stay she managed
domestic, camp and other matters. It also emerged
that Poppy was a musician, primarily a violinist, of
considerable talent. Poppy was encountered from
time to time when visits were made to Church Walk
Cottage, although she always absented herself from
archaeological discussion. At some point across
the years it emerged that Isobel was also a violinist
and that from time to time they supported the
Marlborough College orchestra, although Poppy
was often absent from Avebury as she played in a
notable London based combination. So far as can
be remembered, when an unannounced visit was
made, Isobel was encountered, in her new car, near

222 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

the Red Lion, Avebury. It was felt that she seemed
far from her normal self and thereupon she told me
of Poppy’s recent demise.

It should also be recorded how, from time to
time, when domestic problems came to pass in
Church Walk Cottage they were lessened, if not
entirely solved, by Robin Kenward, a member of
the Prehistoric Society and one of the London
archaeological scene. Thus it emerged that Isobel
slept upon the plan-press in the little first-floor
bedroom, where, from time to time she wrote at
a small table. Robin prepared lightweight planks,
cut to the dimensions of the press, and screwed
them into position as bed-heads. Robin, who was a
practical and caring person, repaired the primitive
outside lavatory, and introduced Isobel to Calor
Gas for cooking. A continuing problem was that
the cottages, a row, were built of broken sarsen
stone and that it sweated and induced dampness,
sometimes acute. Robin concluded that there must
have been constant wood, or perhaps turf, fires in the
hearth of the small downstairs room. She brought in
wood, and even some of the consolidated Irish turf
available at that time; and an autumnal regime of
fires ameliorated, although never entirely cured, the
damp conditions that sometimes softened paper.

Richmal and I had a great affection for Isobel,
her friendship, organisation, and discussion at
the Institute of Archaeology, her constructive
visits and active help with the Wiltshire barrow
excavations, besides broader discussions at the
report and publication stages, plus letters and cards.
As a person she was the complete prehistorian,
her excavations were meticulously recorded, in
notebooks, drawings and photographs. The small
excavations on Windmill hill and at Avebury were
unerringly directed to the specific problems that
she had detected. Working with her on the Horslip
long barrow was a memorable experience as the
pottery, lithics and environmental materials, such
as they were, became a developing dimension of
the operation. Her interest in Neolithic pottery was
encouraged by Stuart Piggott, who had, in 1931,
brought together the Neolithic Pottery of the British
Isles (Piggott 1931). It should be remembered that
in those early days and even during the early 1950s
diffusion was seen as the fundamental European
pattern, but Isobel saw the changes as developmental
rather than the result of external stimuli. Her
PhD thesis (University of London, 1956) has been
consulted by many, and many, including the present
writer, urged its publication, but there was always
resolute refusal. Isobel’s interest in lithics, flint

implements and, particularly, fine-grained rock axes,
was considerable, although secondary to her pursuit
of pottery. Grahame Clarke (Fagan 2001, passim)
particularly recommended her analysis of the flint
and stonework from Windmill Hill (Smith 1965, 85-
144). From the first, Isobel was keenly observant of
field monuments and a visit to Stonehenge, prior to
Stuart Piggott and Richard Atkinson’s excavations
and trilithon raising is vividly remembered. Various
undamaged barrows in the supportive landscape
were also visited and she was swift to note that their
profiles were above the normal angle of rest for chalk
rubble. Another joint foray was the scrutiny of long
barrows, and some sites thereof, in the vicinity of
Avebury and their close examination for fragments
of imported oolite (Piggott 1962, 58, tbl. iv). Another
earthwork interest was the Wansdyke and the
manner in which it emphasised the Avebury area.
This ability to analyse earthworks by category and
dimension was carried on into her association with
RCHME and it undoubtedly enhanced the status of
the Salisbury office.

Isobel led a secluded life, even when immersed
in Windmill hill and Avebury. There was music
with Poppy and she was a prodigious reader and,
because of her early interest, was conversant with
French prehistory and was sent offprints by P. R.
Giot, who had visited her. Despite overtures, Isobel,
apart from her work with Gordon Childe, kept
university prehistory at a distance and never came to
conferences. Nonetheless, she was always interested
in what was being done in various university
departments and liked to see the programmes and
field notes put out by the Prehistoric Society. Isobel
was always reticent about her life although from time
to time one sensed that she had seen much of the
world and its arcane affairs. My memories are of a
brilliant mind and a generous critic who was one of
the twentieth century’s foremost prehistorians.

Paul Ashbee

References

ASHBEE, P, 1960, The Bronze Age Round Barrow in Britain,
London.

ASHBEE, P, 1966. The Fussell’s Lodge Long Barrow.
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ASHBEE, P, 1978. Amesbury Barrow 51, Excavations 1960.
WANHM 70/71, 1-60

ASHBEE, P, 1981. Amesbury Barrow 39, Excavations 1960.
WANHM 74/75, 1-34

ASHBEE, P, 1985. The Excavation of Amesbury Barrows

NOTES AND SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS

58, 6la, 61, 72. WANHM 79, 39-91

ASHBEE, P, 1986. The Excavation of Milton Lilbourne
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ASHBEE, P, 1998-9. Mawgan Porth Remembered. Cornish
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ASHBEE, P, SMITH, I.F, and EVANS, J.G., 1979.
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207-300

ASHBEE, P. and JEWELL, PA., 1998. The Experimental
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BELL, M., FOWLER, PJ. and HILLSON, S.W., 1996, The
Experimental Earthwork Project, 1960-1992, Council for
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BOWEN, H.C. and SMITH, I.F, 1977. Sarsen Stone in
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BRUCE MITFORD, R.L.S., 1997, Mawgan Porth, A
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coast, Excavations 1949-52, 1954 and 1974, English
Heritage Archaeological Report 13. London

BURL, A., 1969, Prehistoric Avebury, New Haven and
London

CHILDE, V.G., 1955. Report of the Director for the Session
1953-54. Annual Report of the University of London
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CHILDE, V.G., 1956. Report of the Director of the Session
1954-55. Annual Report of the University of London
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CLARK, J.G.D., 1966. The invasion hypothesis in British
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CLEAL, R.M.J., WALKER, K.E. and MONTAGUE,
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EVANS, J.G. and SMITH, I.F, 1983. Excavations at
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FAGAN, B., 2001, Grahame Clark. Colorado and Oxford

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GILLINGS, M., PETERSON, R. and POLLARD, J.,
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SMITH, I.E, 1973, ‘The prehistoric pottery from Baston
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SMITH, I.F, 1974, ‘The Neolithic’, in C. Renfrew (ed.),
British Prehistory a new Outline, 100-36. London

SMITH, I.F, 1981. Stone Artifacts and Pottery, Excava-
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SMITH, I.F, 1997. ‘The Neolithic Pottery’, in R. Mercer,
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THOMAS, N., 2003. Frederick Kenneth Annable - ‘Ker’
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96, 1-6

UCKO, P, HUNTER, M., CLARK, A.J. and DAVID, A.,
1991, Avebury Reconsidered, from the 1660s to the 1990s.
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Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 224-5

WANHS Archaeology Field Group: recent activities

and future plans

by Fim Gunter, Brian Clarke, Robin Holley, Christina Staff and Susie

Stidolph

Recent activities of the Archaeology Field Group have led to both an increase in members and fieldwork undertaken by
the Group. The results of work on minor sites (Rodbourne, Crowden Hill, Wilton and Wilcot) will be published next

year in ‘Excavation and Fieldwork in 2006’.

Winter workshop

The first of a series of archaeological illustration
workshops was run by professional illustrator
and AFG member, Liz Gardner. The workshop
concentrated on ceramics, demonstrating how
information derived from a single pot-sherd
can often facilitate complete reconstruction of a
vessel. The next workshop, in 2007, will focus on
illustrating stone tools.

Tilshead Project

During Easter 2006 fieldwork continued as part
of the Tilshead Project (NGR SU 034481; Gunter
and Stidolph 2006) and focussed on the interior
of the enclosure whose banks and ditches had
been the subject of earlier excavations and which
had produced evidence of occupation from the
Early Neolithic to Iron Age. A magnetometer
survey of the interior revealed a series of circular
anomalies (Figure 1). Excavation of the boundary
ditch revealed only medieval green-glazed pottery
indicating that the enclosure is somewhat later than
indicated by previous work. A second trench across
one of the circular anomalies proved more rewarding

and excavation revealed the remains ofa child facing
east-south-east in the circular ditch. An examination
of the teeth indicated that the child was below 10
years of age. An x-ray of a metal object found with
the skeleton suggests that it is a bow brooch of the
Late Iron Age or Romano-British period. Teeth
submitted for C14 dating have provided a date of
2200 + 50 BP (c.270 BC) placing the burial in the
Middle Iron Age, allowing the ditch to be tentatively
interpreted as that of an Iron Age roundhouse. Two
test pits in the centre of the enclosure investigated
geophysical anomalies. Both produced sherds of
Romano-British Black Burnished Ware and one pit
revealed a posthole. Three seasons of excavations
have shown that the area covered by the enclosure
has a history of use beginning in the Neolithic with
its principal period of occupation in the Middle to
Late Iron Age, extending into the Romano-British
period. Further roundhouses within and without the
enclosure warrant investigation.

Additional work was undertaken to the south
of the investigations described above. A bank at
NGR SU03454785 running through a field to the
south of the A360 owned by WANHS chairman Bill
Perry was investigated to determine if it was related
to the features excavated to the north. Resistivity
survey showed no evidence of a ditch but areas

Wiltshire Heritage Museum, 41 Long Street, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 1NS

2 3-4 ~

WANHS ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD GROUP: RECENT ACTIVITIES AND FUTURE PLANS 225

Sted ee
5 Bhs

(rue

=< fe.
Ey

Fig. 1 Magnetometer survey results at Tilshead (north)

of high resistance suggesting possible buildings.
Eight cuttings were made during the August Bank
Holiday weekend to investigate features revealed by
the geophysical survey. No evidence for substantial
buildings was found, although cobbled surfaces and
possible cob walls (indicated by flint base layers)
suggest livestock pens. A possible drainage gully
in a cobbled surface at the eastern side of the field
may indicate stabling associated with a former inn
nearby. The majority of the dateable evidence was
Victorian, including bottles, pottery, iron objects and
a halfpenny dated 1897. An abraded sherd of residual
prehistoric pottery was also found. A further trench
was excavated in October cutting through the bank
itself, revealing modern rubble and assorted rubbish,
but also patches of cobbles. Sherds of medieval
pottery were found on the stone surfaces. Research
at Tilshead continues.

Pollisoirs

A limited number of polissoirs, utilised in the Neolithic
for finishing polished flint and stone axes are known
from the Avebury area including the Marlborough
Downs. Recorded in Britain in the Avebury area,
they are more common in Northern France. The
Group is now engaged in a survey checking every
sarsen on the Downs and beyond. Both Piggledene
and Lockeridge Dene were examined during the year
with several possible polissoirs identified. In late
Summer a field trip to the Marlborough Downs to
examine known polishing stones, revealed another
possible example on Overton Cow Down.

Stonehenge and FOAM

Group members continued to provide assistance and
gain experience on projects run by other organisations
ranging from the prestigious Neolithic/Bronze Age
Stonehenge Riverside Project run by Professor
Mike Parker Pearson, Dr Joshua Pollard, Professor
Julian Thomas and others to the more gruelling but
equally important scrub clearance of barrows near
Stonehenge with FOAM (the Friends of Ancient
Monuments) led by Julian Richards.

Future plans

Following work reported last year (Gunter and
Stidolph 2006) the search for Roman activity around
Calne continues and 1s likely to be.developed further
in 2007. Several Group members are currently
training to take part in the North Wessex Downs
AONB Woodland Archaeology project. Woodland
has long been known to conceal archaeological
features protected by tree and scrub cover. The aim
is to conduct audits to identify both pre-woodland
archaeological features as well as the archaeology of
woodland and its related industries such as coppicing.
This project will combine the archaeological and
natural history interests of the Society.

Acknowledgements

The AFG would like to thank all of the landowners
who facilitated the work outlined in this report and in
Excavation and Fieldwork in 2005: Julian Pearson, Sue and
Chris Barlett and the Blake family. Dr Rosamund Cleal and
Dr Nicola Snashall, Alexander Keiller Museum, Avebury,
kindly assisted with finds identification.

Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 226-31

Reviews
edited by Bob Clarke

The Avebury Landscape. Aspects of the field archaeology
of the Marlborough Downs, edited by Graham Brown,
David Field and David McOmish. Oxbow Books,
2005, 224pp, black and white figures and plates,
paperback, price £30. ISBN 184217 152 6.

We have been well blessed over the last several years
with volumes focussed on the archaeology of the
major Avebury monuments and their immediate
environs. However since Chris Gingell’s publication
of the work of the Marlborough Downs Project
(Gingell 1992) there has been a notable lack of
attention afforded to the wider landscape of the
Marlborough Downs. This volume goes some way
to addressing this imbalance, drawing together
papers presented at a conference held at the
University of Bath in Swindon in April 2002 and
also incorporating additional contributions; most
notably from the former Royal Commission on the
Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) and
Peter Fowler.

Papers are arranged both thematically and
chronologically. This familiar arrangement mitigates
to some degree the lack of an index, which though
common in conference volumes nevertheless detracts
somewhat from ease of use. Fowler’s Foreword
provides a thoughtful springboard that sets the
tone for the rest of the volume. He commends the
wide-ranging and flexible approach to the definition
of the boundaries of the Marlborough Downs taken
by the authors. The flexibility within the volume
extends to chronology, style and subject matter
allowing for the inclusion of material as diverse
as Julie Scott Jackson’s highly useable gazetteer of
palaeolithic evidence from across the Marlborough
Downs to Jon Cannon’s more focussed discussion
of the contemporary use of Swallowhead Spring as
a ritual site.

The earthwork survey plans of all of the major
monuments within the Avebury landscape are of

excellent quality and will ensure that this volume is
destined to have an enduring and useful life on the
bookshelves of students and researchers alike. Add to
these the plans of Avebury Trusloe, Avebury Manor
and the summary of aerial survey and geophysical
work across the Marlborough Downs, including the
work of the RCHME and latterly English Heritage,
the volume is well worth the purchase price. Notable
not only for the quality of the visual output, much
new evidence is contextualised and interpreted with
rigour, as exemplified by Field’s paper on the use,
perception and meaning of sarsen from prehistory
to the post-medieval period.

It is not possible in a short review to do justice
to the work of each contributor and there are few
volumes that create in the reader a desire to read
each and every paper. This volume is a notable
exception. It is to be hoped that its publication will
mark a starting point for future research into the
archaeology of the Marlborough Downs, not only to
set Avebury in its local and regional context, but also
to provide a better understanding of the Downs as an
area of immense archaeological significance.

GINGELL, C. 1992, The Marlborough Downs: A Later Bronze
Age Landscape and Its Origins. Wiltshire Archaeological
and Natural History Society Monograph 1 with the
Trust for Wessex Archaeology

NICOLA SNASHALL

Snail Down, Wiltshire, The Bronze Age Barrow
Cemetery and Related Earthworks, in the Parishes
of Collingbourne Ducis and Collingbourne Kingston.
Excavations, 1953, 1955 and 1957, by Nicholas
Thomas. Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural
History Society Monograph 3. 2005, 325pp, black
and white figures and plates, paperback, price £25.
ISBN 0947723129.

REVIEWS

Between 1953 and 1957 substantial excavations
were carried out at the extensive early Bronze Age
barrow cemetery on Salisbury Plain known as Snail
Down. The investigation was carried out under the
able direction of Nicholas Thomas, then curator of
Devizes Museum, and Professor Charles Thomas.
The resulting monograph is divided into three
major parts. Part one covers the excavation of the
monuments, each receiving its own section. Part two
covers the specialist and technical reports including
human remains, artefacts, environmental evidence
and radiocarbon determinations. In Part Three, the
Snail Down Cemetery is placed within a landscape
context and a useful discussion covers possibilities
for the choice of location.

The site produced Neolithic pottery and a
possible Beaker period settlement. Imported stone
tools were also present. The cemetery contains
many traditional Wessex barrow types, including
bell, bowl, disc, saucer and pond. Excavation
demonstrated that the burial rite was predominantly
cremation followed by deposition in pits. Grave
goods were considered to be ‘modest’ across all
excavated features, although more impressive finds
from excavations by Cunnington and Colt-Hoare
in 1805 are discussed and include the Early Bronze
Age copper-alloy dagger and ring headed pin with
two free-cast rings from the double bell-barrow.
The pin forms part of the Stourhead Collection at
the Wiltshire Heritage Museum and is an important
example of Early Bronze Age metalwork. One
example of trepanning was present among the
burials. A secondary inhumation of an adolescent
male recorded in barrow XXII is considered to be
from a group passing through the area as complete
burial is otherwise alien to the site. This latter aspect
and the landscape location support the theory that
Snail Down was the focus of one community’s
sepulchral activities.

The Snail Down report raises two interesting
points. First is the continued use of Salisbury Plain
by the Ministry of Defence. The primary reason for
the excavation was damage to the barrow cemetery
caused by military vehicles, in this case tanks. Whilst
this kind of damage is clearly a product of intensified
land use in a time of crisis, the volume’s principal
author suggests damage is still being caused to more
discreet remains in the locality of the cemetery.
Whilst on rare occasion this may be true, it has to

_ be noted that over the last decade the situation has

radically improved, due in part to the work of the
Defence Lands Archaeological Officer, and the work
carried out by Graham Brown and David Field of

227,

English Heritage. The second issue is the time that
has elapsed between fieldwork and publication. This
monograph benefits from comprehensive treatment
of all facets of the excavation and this, in part, has
delayed publication. This reviewer, however, is of
the view that this monograph bears witness to an
increasing problem of publishing archaeological
excavations to a depth that transmits all relevant
information but within a limited budget. The
generous funding of English Heritage, however, is
to be noted and commended. This monograph adds
significantly to our understanding of Early Bronze
Age funerary location and practice and is a worthy
addition to the Society’s monograph series.

BOB CLARKE

Mosaics in Roman Britain: Stories in Stone, by Patricia
Witt. Tempus Publishing, 2005, 192pp, black and
white figures, black and white and colour plates,
paperback, price £17:99. ISBN 0754 34217.

‘Stories in Stone’ deals with Romano British
mosaics from a figurative point of view providing
both identification and interpretation. After an
introduction to how mosaics were constructed and
the history of their discovery, the author takes a
thematic approach with chapters on love stories,
heroes, Rome, religion and culture, protection and
prosperity, time, deities and hunting. The final
chapter is most thought provoking and concentrates
on the messages in mosaics and what they can tell
us of the people who commissioned them. Good
comparative material is presented. Scenes at Brading
on the Isle of Wight are compared with closely
related scenes at Frampton in Dorset and Pitney
in Somerset. The author discusses the deities and
characters represented and their relationship to
each other.

The volume notes a number of Wiltshire mosaics,
in particular Bradford on Avon, Downton and
Littlecote Park. A popular theme emerges relating
to Bacchus, as represented by depictions of canthari
(drinking vessels), dolphins, and panthers. Canthari
are often shown in association with dolphins and
were seen as reinforcing a good luck message. They
perhaps denote the mix between wine and water and
the importance of both commodities. However it
is suggested that Bacchus turning the Tyrrehenian
pirates into dolphins is perhaps why they are
represented. At Bradford on Avon, a panel in the
main reception room mosaic shows a cantharus with

228 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

dolphins on either side. At Downton, the mosaic’s
central theme shows a cantharus with handles
formed by dolphins. The cantharus is also shown
in two panels in the Orpheus mosaic at Littlecote,
in one accompanied by panthers and in the other by
sea leopards and dolphins. Other Wiltshire mosaics
are briefly mentioned. The Rudge mosaic, now
lost, is thought to have contained a design scheme
based on Achilles, similar to that at Keynsham in
Somerset. The mosaic fragment of a hound from
Cherhill compares well with hunting scenes found
at Hinton St Mary, Dorset.

The author suggests there is no clear evidence
of iconoclasm. Whilst this may be true, there
is evidence from Bradford on Avon to suggest
deliberate destruction of the central design theme
of the mosaic. A hole was cut through the mosaic,
the central design removed and the hole surrounded
by acircular stone building. It is suggested that this
may have been a baptistery, the hole made to contain
a tank or font.

It is interesting that similarities in design
schemes could be drawn from the far reaches of
the empire. The reason given for this penchant for
figurative design is perhaps enforcing a message of
belonging to a wider cultural world. It is also pointed
out that seasonal mosaics appear to have particular
resonance to regions of agricultural production such
as North Africa and Britain.

There could have been further discussion on the
geographical spread of figured mosaics in Britain,
with only brief mention made of the concentration in
the South West and on Humberside. Overall, however,
the book is well illustrated and is complemented by
a comprehensive gazetteer and a large bibliography.
The book fills a gap in the current study of mosaics
and presents a balanced view, even where opinions
are divided. The author is to be congratulated for
producing a valuable reference work and a further
addition to the literature on mosaics.

MARK BRACE

Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture Volume VII,
South-West England, by Rosemary Cramp. Oxford:
Oxford University Press on behalf of The British
Academy, 2006, 446pp, black and white figures and
plates, hardback, price £65. ISBN 0197263348.

The publication of the seventh volume of the
Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture brings to
full publication for the first time all of the surviving

material from the core shires of Anglo-Saxon
Wessex: Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire.
Cornwall is to be covered in a volume of its own in
due course. While the sculptural record of Wessex
is rather more limited than other regions of the
British Isles (such as Lincolnshire and Yorkshire),
its quality is outstanding and includes a number of
nationally key pieces, several of them from Wiltshire.
The number of sites that have yielded Anglo-Saxon
stone sculpture is uneven in distribution among
the four counties covered (Devon 10, Dorset 21,
Somerset 29 and Wiltshire 21). Western Somerset
has only a few pieces and that is where the density
of known finds drops off to the low level observed
in Devon. Virtually all of the material is derived
from ecclesiastical sites with a very few exceptions.
The inscribed stone from the late- to sub-Roman
cemetery at Cannington (Somerset) is the only
dubious inclusion in the volume and can hardly be
considered as a piece of ‘art’. The high-quality 11th-
century figural sculpture from Congresbury, found
under the floor of an 18th century barn in 1995, is
itself almost certainly derived from St Andrew’s
Church, the probable site of the monastic community
documented by King Alfred’s biographer Asser in
the later 9th century.

The range of sculpture from the four counties
comprises the remains of grave covers and markers,
standing crosses, architectural detail and up to three
probable examples of rare stone fonts (from Melbury
Bubb, Potterne and Wells). That from Potterne is
placed in the earlier 11th century rather than in the
immediate post-Conquest period, as has been argued
elsewhere, on the basis of the style of the inscription
around its rim. While certain of the material is
derived from major Anglo-Saxon minster churches,
in Wiltshire from Amesbury, Avebury, Bradford-on-
Avon and Ramsbury, other churches were clearly
only ever of parish status and no doubt attest secular
patronage of estate churches: Wiltshire examples
include the fine pieces from Codford St Peter (the
famous ‘dancing man’) and Broad Chalke. Other high
quality or stylistically important material includes
that from Avebury, Bradford-on-Avon, Britford,
Colerne, Cricklade, Inglesham and Ramsbury.
A striking feature of the Wiltshire material in
particular is the very high-quality of the 8th and
9th century sculpture. The finely decorated 8th
century stone slab of unknown function from Holy
Trinity at Bradford-on-Avon (now reset as an altar
in the adjacent St Lawrence’s chapel ofc. A.D. 1000)
provides an insight into the embellishment of one of
south-western England’s earliest and most important

REVIEWS

monastic churches, while the fine sculpture from
Britford probably reflects royal patronage of c.A.D.
800. Further 8th or 9th century material includes
that from Codford St Peter, Colerne and Hanging
Langford. The Codford ‘dancing man’ mentioned
above is related to a period when Wessex art styles
were influenced by foreign models, notably the
eastern Christian world, while the pose of the man
and the composition of the decorative scheme are
suggested to represent King David celebrating his
defeat of the Philistines.

The quality of the volume is faultless, with
excellent maps and black and white plates showing
each piece, often with additional views showing
details. The text is highly readable and easy to
relate to the plates, which are bound at the back
of the volume. Apart from simply collecting and
illustrating the Wessex corpus, the volume uses
the material to examine key social issues, not least
the nature and range of cultural influences on the
West Saxon kingdom. The research encapsulated in
the present volume represents a huge undertaking.
Professor Cramp, her co-authors and research
assistants, have once again provided a first rate
source for those working on the art, archaeology
and history of the early middle ages. The book will
remain the standard work of reference for decades
to come and this reviewer strongly recommends its
purchase to all those with an interest in the Wessex
region — the volume also serves as an excellent field
guide.

ANDREW REYNOLDS

In Defence of Landscape: An Archaeology of Porton
Down, by David Ride. Tempus Publishing, 2006,
172pp, black and white figures, black and white
and colour plates, paperback, price £17:99. ISBN
0752437496.

A comprehensive book on Porton Down has
been long awaited and this volume substantially
addresses that need. Dr Ride worked at Porton
Down for some 23 years, 17 of which he spent
leading the Archaeology Section of the Porton Down
Conservation Group. He begins by discussing the
military origins of Porton Down and the reasons
for its existence and also provides a good overview
of the prehistoric archaeology of the area. Dr Ride
then gives a vivid description of the life and work
of J.ES. Stone, his education, sport and army career
in the Royal Garrison Artillery (R.G.A.) and his

229

early work at the Chemical Warfare Experimental
Station. There is a clear account of how Stone’s
interest in archaeology developed during this time
including the important excavations of Neolithic
flint mines on Easton Down and the Anglo-Saxon
Saxon cemeteries, including decapitated skeletons,
on Roche Court Down and Stockbridge Down (the
latter in Hampshire). Stone’s many and varied
field projects included the rescue excavation of the
Iron Age hillfort on Boscombe Down West in 1947
which added much to the archaeology of Wessex.
His work on spectrographic analysis of glass and
faience in Bronze Age Europe made a fundamental
contribution to the subject.

The following chapter describes the chalk
geology of Porton Down (consisting of three types;
Seaford, Newhaven and Tarrant), considering the
process of fossilization and, later, the way that flint
was mined for tool making at Easton Down, Martins
Clump and Tower Hill. Ride also comments on the
low number of recognised flint mines in view of the
apparent demand over many hundreds of years and
the possibility that many may yet be found. The
forms and uses of round barrows and the burials
and finds that they contain are also considered.
Thomas Guest’s oil painting of the Saxon burial
from the Winterslow Hut group of Barrows, partially
excavated by Rev. A.B. Hutchins, shows a shield boss
and hand grip, spearhead, buckle and the bronze
bound remains of a wooden bucket. These finds
accompanied the secondary burial ofa large skeleton,
presumably male.

Ride then considers the division of land both
for agriculture and defence with a discussion of the
10km long earthwork known as the Quarley High
Linear and its relationship to the hill forts of Quarley
and Danebury. The possibility of such intense
building activity is suggested to be attributable
to some scare or threat in the middle phase of the
Iron Age, which seems to have disappeared fairly
suddenly causing the work to remain uncompleted.
Excavation of the Quarley High Linear showed that
it was in fact round bottomed instead of flat as at first
thought; compacted silt gave a false impression of
the ditch bottom profile. The author also comments
on the value of the rivers Avon and Bourne as
defensive barriers.

A most interesting chapter shows how the arrival
of the Saxons altered the pattern of setthkement and
laid the foundations of the villages we know today.
In the Bourne valley, the medieval hamlet of East
Gomeldon came and went over a period of 200 years,
not depopulated by the Black Death it seems but

230 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

more by economic factors. Ride then describes sheep
farming and the technology of their management
telling us something of the families who managed the
land and the sheep of Porton Down and in some cases
the survival of those families into the present day.

The closing chapters consider the more recent
history of the locality, including the fascinating life
of William Benson and his fight to ingratiate himself
with George I, the building of Wilbury House, fully
describing the construction and design and the
local gun flint industry. The concluding chapters
describe agriculture on Porton Down during the
18th and 19th centuries and the abundant plant
and animal life there and the book finishes with a
section on the development of the camp and artillery
ranges, their use and remains. This is a well written
and informative book of interest to layman and
professional alike.

COLIN KIRBY

Wiltshire Reformatory for Boys Warminster 1856-1924,
by Ivor Slocombe. Hobnob Press, 2005, 42pp, black
and white figures and plates, paperback, price £3:95.
ISBN 0946418454.

Wiltshire’s first Reformatory for boys, set up in
1856, quickly became a model for such institutions
nationally. Movement away from the ‘short,
sharp, shock’ of prison or corporal punishment to
reformatory is described through the actions of one
of the country’s leading prison reformers of the
time, Mary Carpenter. She considered the home
to be one of the major causes of child crime and
urged that children should be removed from poor
influence and placed in a new type of reformatory.
These institutions were to promote such things as
personal cleanliness, moral health and a sense of
duty. From these opening observations the author
takes the reader through the establishment of the
first reformatory at Bugley in the shadow of Cley
Hill, near Warminster. Treatment is then given to
the development of the site. The degree of research
undertaken is demonstrated by the in-depth view
of every facet of life therein, including issues
surrounding the schoolmasters. It is interesting,
but not surprising, to learn that ‘drunkenness’ was
a major problem amongst the staff. The publication
goes on to discuss the many facets of life for the boys
and it is a relief to note that there were, indeed,
success stories. This is a fascinating insight into
the Victorian, and later, penal reform system and

is presented in a thoroughly absorbing and well
written manner.

BOB CLARKE

Wiltshire Toll Houses, by Robert Haynes and Ivor
Slocombe. Hobnob Press, 2004, 94pp, black and
white figures and plates, paperback, price £6:50.
ISBN 0946418217.

Wiltshire Toll Houses, in fact toll houses in
general, are a poorly serviced group of structures.
This publication goes some way to addressing
this situation, for our county at least. Toll houses
have often been the neglected part of the turnpike
network, but this book reminds the historian
of the importance of such structures, especially
when considering the development of the county’s
roads. Contained within this volume is a very
usable introduction covering the types that may
be encountered and various functions of the
Turnpike Trusts. Without doubt the highlight of
the publication is the Gazetteer. The authors cover
every known site with the parish name, toll house
location, where possible, a six figure National
Grid Reference and a photograph of the existing
structure with a plan or map. The book is well laid
out making the topic accessible to both enthusiast
and lay reader alike, very reasonably priced and well
presented. This reviewer recommends this book to
those who frequently travel the county’s highways,
be it through business or pleasure.

BOB CLARKE

In Wiltshire’s Skies, by Colin Cruddas. Tempus
Publishing, 2004, 127pp, black and white figures,
black and white plates, price £12:99, paperback,
ISBN 0 7524 3235 4.

Following his previous books, which include the
aviation histories of Dorset and Hampshire, the
author has now concentrated his efforts on probably
the most important and influential area of British
military aviation, namely Wiltshire. The book is
arranged in broadly chronological order starting
around 1909 with the building of the Barber Hangar
and the establishment of the Bristol Flying School
at Larkhill. From these early beginnings, coupled
with the large military presence in the Salisbury
Plain area, followed a rapid build up in the number

REVIEWS

of airfields and training establishments in the region.
The importance of training aircrew and maintenance
personnel in the build up to and during the First
World War led to a massive growth and expansion
in the size and number of airfields in Wiltshire. The
author has managed to unearth some fascinating and
unique photographs of the era.

The inter-war years brought an inevitable
reduction in all things military with the closure and
rationalization of military sites across the country.
As the author points out, this had a lesser impact on
Wiltshire aviation due to its high profile training
commitments. The author has listed and located
around 40 airfields and landing sites around the
county and has managed to find illustrations from
quite a number of these.

As war once again loomed, the Wiltshire skies
came alive with training aircraft based around

231

the county. As the war progressed an additional
requirement was realised in the research and
development field. The result was the metamorphosis
of Boscombe Down from a training role into its
present day position as one of the leading research
establishments in the world. The author has rightly
devoted a complete chapter to Boscombe Down and
its importance in the history of not only Wiltshire
but also British aviation as a whoie.

The work is lavishly illustrated with interesting
photographs with explanatory captions where
required. Narrative is kept to a minimum and the
author has allowed the illustrations to speak for
themselves. This is a fascinating book for anyone
associated with or interested in the history of
aviation in Wiltshire.

BARRY HUNTINGFORD

Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 232-39

Excavation and Fieldwork in Wiltshire 2005

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Fig. 1 Location of excavation, fieldwork and PAS highlights.

Ashton Keynes

1. The Long House (SU 04560 94170); medieval

In May/June 2005 Cotswold Archaeology carried out
an archaeological excavation at The Long House,
Ashton Keynes. Archaeological features recorded
included a series of possible gravel quarrying pits,
postholes, tree-throw pits and shallow ditches/gullies.
The latter represented a previous site boundary (the
present site boundary was immediately to the south
of the excavated area). The majority of the pottery

retrieved from these features was 11th-13th century in
date, with some later medieval and occasional modern
material. Two large inter-cutting pits were recorded in
the north of the site, with a third at the northern limit
of excavation. These features were relatively rich in
pottery and organic remains. It is possible that they
relate to medieval crop processing activity.

Avebury

2. Silbury Hill (SU 100 685)

A geophysical survey was carried out in February
2005 by the geophysics team, English Heritage
Research Department, immediately east of Silbury
Hill (SAM 21707) in an attempt to identify any
significant archaeological activity in this area and
assist the wider interpretation of the monument
within a landscape context. An extensive caesium
magnetometer survey was conducted and successfully
recorded a wide range of anomalies. Many of these
anomalies appear to result from the variable geology
of the river valley location on the floodplain of the
Winterbourne stream (or river Kennet). However,
immediately east of Silbury Hill a series of linear
magnetic anomalies indicates the presence of a
complex of ditched enclosures and associated
occupation activity. More weakly defined anomalies
suggest the presence of further enclosures extending
under deposits of alluvium running up to the present
course of the Winterbourne stream. These results
suggest that the Romano-British activity previously
recorded beyond the survey area, directly east of
the Winterbourne, may extend up to the external
quarry ditch around Silbury Hill. Additional
limited earth resistance survey provided tentative
indications of possible structural features within the
enclosures identified by the magnetic survey but an
archaeological interpretation of these anomalies is
perhaps less likely than a natural explanation, given
the variable underlying geology of the floodplain and
river terrace location.

EXCAVATION, FIELDWORK AND THE PAS IN WILTSHIRE 2005 233

Blunsdon St Andrew

3. Groundwell Ridge (SU 141 893)

Following the previous successful geophysical
results from this extensive Roman site (SAM 29664)
a trial Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey
was conducted by the geophysics team, English
Heritage Research Department in August 2005 in
an attempt to locate a deep wall feature identified
in the 2005 excavation trench. A 30m x 30m grid
was established, partially overlapping the excavation
trench and known location of the wall, and surveyed
with a low (225MHz) centre frequency GPR antenna.
The resulting data was inconclusive, possibly due
to a combination of the back-fill of the excavation
trench and the uneven surface vegetation. However,
the high conductivity soils found over this site
may also limit the effective depth of GPR signal
penetration.

Bratton

4. Church of St James the Great (ST 9145 5191);
medieval

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by
Cotswold Archaeology in June 2005. Two trenches
were excavated within the proposed development
area. Three overlapping ditches were identified
during the course of the evaluation and probably
represent silting up and re-cutting of a single
property boundary. Pottery recovered from the fill
of the ditches suggests a mid-late medieval date for
this activity. A notable build up of colluvial material,
in places sealing an earlier ground surface, was also
observed. The work has indicated that medieval
boundary ditches survive 0.8m below ground at the
western end of the site.

Bulford

5. Beacon Hill (SU 215 454); Neolithic, Roman and
Modern

During fieldwork by the former RCHME (now
English Heritage) a particularly large cluster of
Neolithic struck flint was observed during recording
of an early 20" century trench system on Beacon
Hill. This is the largest such concentration noted
on SPTA in over a decade of fieldwork by members
of RCHME. Along with a few small sherds of
Roman-British pottery, the flintwork had been
revealed both by the trench digging and later scrub
clearance. No material was collected but instead
left, pending a satisfactory collection scheme, as
earthworks and the presence of scrub rendered a grid
layout and collection difficult. No further fieldwork
is planned.

Burton

6. Nettleton Road (ST 8172 7942); post-medieval

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by
Cotswold Archaeology in September 2005 at the
request of Meadgate Homes. The evaluation aimed
to investigate a line of stones running alongside the
lane known as Church Hill and thought by local
residents to have once been a causeway. Five trenches
excavated across the putative causeway confirmed the
presence of a causeway alongside the east-west spur
of the Church Hill lane. The causeway comprised
several phases of stone surfacing approximately
2.6m wide, built on to a 4m wide bank of redeposited
natural clay. Although only limited dating evidence
was recovered, the causeway appears to have been
in use by the 17th century, and may be medieval in
origin. The causeway seems likely to have been used
until the construction of a dry-stone wall along its
centre line in the 19th or 20th century. A possible
early road surface extending beneath the modern
lane was also identified and, although poorly dated,
its construction and use appear to have been broadly
contemporary with the causeway. The causeway
survived along much of the Church Hiil lane.

Chippenham

7. Cocklebury Cottages, Eastern Avenue (ST 928
739); medieval

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by
Cotswold Archaeology. A single linear feature was
uncovered containing fragments of 13th to early 14th
century pottery, and possibly represents farming
activity. A large depth of subsoil yielded pottery ofa
wide date range, including 12th-century sherds.

8. St Mary’s Street (ST 9226 7326); post-medieval

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken
by Cotswold Archaeology in October 2005. Two
trenches were excavated across the proposed
development area indicating that post-medieval
deposits survive at a depth of 0.5m below the modern
ground level. A probable garden wall was uncovered
with an associated rough stone surface, as well as
two boundary or drainage ditches. These features in
all likelihood relate to the use of the area as a yard,
garden or orchard in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Devizes

9. Nursteed Close (SU 0175 6075); Prehistoric to post-
medieval

In September 2005, Oxford Archaeology carried
out a field evaluation on behalf of The Ministry
of Defence, Defence Estates. Three twenty 1m

234 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

wide trenches revealed no archaeological remains.
Residual worked flint and pottery from subsoils
indicates activity from the prehistoric to the post-
medieval period.

10. Quakers Walk (SU 0100 6220); prehistoric, post-
medieval

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by
Cotswold Archaeology in July 2005. Nine trenches
were excavated revealing a number of ditches, one
of which contained a residual blade-like flint of
possible Mesolithic date. A large post-medieval
ditch extended through two of the evaluation
trenches in the western part of the site. This
latter feature correlates well with one of a series
of cropmarks previously identified within the
proposed development area and plotted from aerial
photographs. It is noteworthy that physical evidence
for the majority of the cropmarks was not observed
despite being targeted by evaluation trenches.

Durrington

11. Durrington Walls (SU 151 436); Neolithic

A geophysical survey was conducted by the
geophysics team, English Heritage Research
Department in August 2005 over the unexcavated
portion of the Neolithic circular timber structure
(SAM 10365) originally revealed inside the henge
monument of Durrington Walls during excavations
in 1966-7 in advance of the rerouting of the A345.
Prior to the survey a small trench of approximately
10m x 7m was opened with a mechanical excavator to
remove topsoil and colluvial overburden to a depth
of 1m, well above the suspected prehistoric land
surface. Fluxgate magnetometer, earth resistance
and ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were
then conducted over the stripped area to identify
the location of underlying archaeological remains
and estimate the remaining depth of colluvium
overburden. Ground conditions in the trench were
too dry to obtain useful earth resistance data but
the magnetometer and 450MHz centre frequency
antenna GPR surveys detected post-pit type
anomalies proved through subsequent excavation.
The GPR data also provided a useful estimate of the
depth to the top of the post-pit anomalies, indicating
that the colluvial overburden was shallower than had
been anticipated from a previous auger survey.

Edington

12. Greater Lane Farm, ST 9239 5296; medieval

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by
Cotswold Archaeology with two trenches excavated

across the development area. Two phases of
medieval activity comprising pitting and ditches
were identified along with a possible prehistoric pit
and features dating to the modern period. Residual
prehistoric, Roman and Anglo-Saxon artefacts
were also recovered and the site was protected by
a considerable thickness of colluvium and modern
topsoil/subsoil.

Easton Grey

13. Works to Existing Water Main (ST 8970 8820 and
ST8890 8700); Roman

A watching brief undertaken by Cotswold
Archaeology during maintenance work on a water
main revealed a ditch and posthole of Roman date
to the south of the SAM there and the River Avon.
A quantity of Roman pottery was recovered from
the backfill of the original pipeline trench where it
passed through the Romano-British settlement at
Easton Grey (Scheduled Monument SM12046).

Highworth

14. Highworth Cemetery (SU 201 922)

In May and November 2005, Oxford Archaeology
carried out an archaeological watching brief at
Highworth Cemetery in advance of redevelopment.
The work was commissioned by CgMs Consulting
on behalf of McCarthy and Stone (Developments)
Ltd. No archaeology was revealed.

15. Rear of No. 24, High Street (SU 201 922);
Modern |

In April 2005, Oxford Archaeology carried out a field
evaluation on behalf of Gregory Gray Associates.
The evaluation revealed 18th, 19th and 20th century
worked soils overlying cornbrash. An 18th century
cobbled path associated with the standing dwellings
was also observed. No earlier deposits, features or
artefacts were encountered.

Imber

16. St Giles Church (ST 965 485), Medieval
Between December 2005 and February 2006,
Oxford Archaeology carried out archaeological and
historical analysis of St Giles Church, Imber. The
church is the most substantial surviving element of
the village taken over for military use in the 1940s.
The work was carried out in response to a restoration
project carried out in 2005 and 2006. This project
saw the replacement of stone work of the tower
parapet and the re-roofing of the south aisle. An
archaeological record was made both before and
during these works. The south aisle roof was stripped

—t—-

EXCAVATION, FIELDWORK AND THE PAS IN WILTSHIRE 2005 235

and rotten wallplates renewed and faulty guttering
rebuilt. The roof consisting of five bays divided by
moulded principal rafters with one order of moulded
purlins appears to be late medieval in style and is
probably the original 15th century roof of the aisle.
Two missing merlons from the 15th century tower
parapet were replaced. The carved finial of the
south-east tower pinnacle and a crocketted member
from the south-west pinnacle were also replaced.
The replacements to roof and parapet were made of
traditional materials and care was taken to preserve
and protect the surviving historic fabric.

Ludgershall

17. Station Approach (SP 264 507); Modern

In June 2005, Oxford Archaeology carried out a field
evaluation on behalf of Purbeck Plant Hire (Andover)
Ltd, prior to development which revealed that the
site was ploughed prior to the 19th century.

18. Willis Green Golf Course (SU 275 495); Prehistoric
and medieval

An archaeological evaluation of the site was
undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in August and
September 2005. Eighteen trenches were excavated,
and trackway ditches and pits of possible prehistoric
date were recorded dispersed across a wide area.
An infilled ditch, forming the boundary of one of
the medieval deer parks of Ludgershall Castle, and
marking the county boundary, was also identified.

Marlborough

19. 95 London Road (SU1944 6900) Romano-Bnitish,
Post-Medieval

A watching brief carried out by Bernard Phillips and
Mogs Boon during the cutting of house foundations
recorded features and finds of the late 18th and
19th centuries. No earlier features were evidenced
despite the previous finding of a truncated Romano-
British pit during the cutting of an archaeological
evaluation trench by Wessex Archaeology (project
code 59000).

North Wraxall

20. Truckle Hill (ST 837 762); Roman

In 2004 the well preserved remains of a Roman
building were unexpectedly recovered in a small
valley immediately beneath Truckle Hill near North
Wraxall in Wiltshire during quarrying for stone
rubble by the landowner. A rapid building recording
exercise was carried out by Wessex Archaeology
and the surviving wall footings were remarkably

well preserved. Subsequently, the English Heritage
Geophysics Team carried out a geophysical survey
in September 2005 in the immediate vicinity to
determine whether any further Roman remains
might be present. A second aim of the survey was
to identify areas likely to be free of archaeological
features from which material could be excavated to
cover the exposed remains, thus protecting them from
weather damage. Earth resistance measurements
indicate that the partially excavated building extends
further beyond the exposed remains and the site of
at least one potential additional structure has been
located as well as evidence suggestive of landscaping
and a possible road running along the base of the
valley. It appears that the entire head of the valley
may have formed a managed landscape in Roman
times, perhaps similar in character to the nearby
site at Nettleton about 1.5km to the north-west,
albeit on a smaller scale. The site is close to Truckle
Hill Roman Villa (Wiltshire Scheduled Monument
878) which lies approximately 100m up-slope to
the south-west on the edge of the plateau forming
Truckle Hill. This substantial villa was excavated
in 1859-60 by G. Poulett Scrope, although there is
no evidence that he investigated any remains in the
valley in which the recent discovery lies.

Oaksey

21. All Saints Church (ST 9910 9365); modern

A watching brief and historical research were
undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology during
the replacement of existing drainage. The works
disturbed only reworked graveyard soils, although
three coffins were revealed during the excavation
of a soakaway pit at the western end of the church.
These were not disturbed, and the trench was
backfilled once recorded. Historical research
comprised a search of cartographic sources and
aerial photographs of the development area in the
Wiltshire SMR and NMR. Neither search revealed
relevant information.

Ogbourne St Andrew

22. Barbury Castle (NGR SU163731); Early Bronze
Age

A group of three Early Bronze Age round barrows
are found at the head of a south-facing dry valley
in an area of undulating chalk downland known
as Maizey Down, near the village of Ogbourne St.
Andrew, Wiltshire, including a bell barrow 20m in
diameter and 4m high (SAM 12206), a bow! barrow
26m in diameter and 0.75m high (SAM 12207) anda

236 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

second bowl barrow with an adjacent plough levelled
saucer barrow 15m to the west (SAM 12208). All
three upstanding barrows show evidence of partial
excavation in the late 19th century and contain
a large number of sarsen blocks (especially SAM
12207) that appear to represent the result of field
clearance, rather than forming an integral part of
the monuments. In addition, the barrow group
has also been subject to more recent damage due
to burrowing animals, from active badger setts and
extensive rabbit warrens.

In 2005 a detailed geophysical survey was
conducted by the geophysics team, English Heritage
Research Department over the smaller of the two
bowl barrows SAM 12208, also known also as OSA8,
as part of a programme of research designed to
examine the impact of badger activity on prehistoric
funerary monuments. This was followed by the
partial excavation of the barrow and a wider area
magnetic survey in April 2006 to cover the other
extant barrows and potentially reveal the remains
of any more degraded monuments in the immediate
vicinity of OSA8. The initial geophysical survey of
OSA8 involved the application of magnetometer and
earth resistance techniques to delimit the extent of
the barrow, including the location of the surrounding
ditch. A Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), using
900, 450 and 225MHz centre frequency antenna,
was then used in an attempt to image both internal
archaeological features within the barrow and also
the tunnels and chambers of the intrusive badger
setts. The initial magnetic survey successfully
identified both the circular ditch and some intense
anomalies from ferrous litter over the centre of the
mound. The GPR data was highly complex with the
high frequency antenna (900MHz) detecting very
subtle anomalies in the near surface and the lower
frequencies providing a greater penetration depth (to
approximately 1.8m with the 225MHz antenna). It
would appear that the 900MHz data has identified
the main badger burrows as low amplitude anomalies
between 0.5m to 1.0m from the surface. It is of
interest to note that these anomalies correlate with
two high resistance responses in the earth resistance
data, suggesting the presence of air-filled voids.

Shrewton

23. Shrewton Church of England Primary School
(SU 0680 4400); post-medieval and modern

In February 2005 Cotswold Archaeology excavated
nine evaluation trenches on land at Shrewton at the
request of Wiltshire County Council Environmental

Services Department. The trenches were positioned
to explore earthworks, previously recorded by the
RCHME, and any below-ground archaeological
remains. In those instances where such a relationship
could be shown, the earthworks were found to result
from post-medieval/modern structures, apparently
shown on 19th century cartographic sources. A
small number of minor undated ditches and pits
were also uncovered, as was an undated but probably
pre-1773 water channel. Late post-medieval/modern
disturbance of the ground was widespread, especially
in the present school field. A single residual sherd
of medieval pottery suggests limited occupation of
the site in that period.

Swindon

24. The Triangle Site (SU 1750 8840); prehistoric

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken
by Cotswold Archaeology in December 2004
on land known as the “Triangle Site’, Swindon.
The evaluation comprised 30 trenches across the
proposed development area. Archaeological features
consisting of ditches, pits and postholes were
found on a raised plateau on the eastern part of the
site, and on level ground in the southern part. No
archaeological features were present on the western
part of the site. Other recorded features included
tree-throw pits, plough furrows and modern infilled
field boundaries. Dated features belong within
the Early to Middle Iron Age period. Evidence
for domestic activity and nearby settlement was
identifiable from concentrations of animal bone and
pottery. Postholes indicate the presence of domestic
structures. The majority of features, consisting of
truncated pits and ditches, were undated, although
their association with the dated features suggests an
earlier Iron Age date for these also; the ditches were
probably field boundaries.

25. Commonhead Roundabout Geotechnical Survey
(SU 193 823); Roman

A watching brief was undertaken by Cotswold
Archaeology of 20 geotechnical pits which showed
that the level of the land in the area had been
greatly altered by the construction of the original
roundabout. One of the pits uncovered an undated
ditch and associated stone deposit, believed to be the
drainage ditch and bedding for an earlier road.

26. St. Foseph’s Upper School (SU 1790 8570);
prehistoric
An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by

EXCAVATION, FIELDWORK AND THE PAS IN WILTSHIRE 2005 237)

Cotswold Archaeology in June 2005. Five trenches
were excavated across the development area revealing
a single small undated oval pit containing a charcoal-
rich fill and sealed by a layer of alluvium associated
with the River Cole. Although the pit contained no
dating evidence, the presence of a small quantity of
burnt flint may suggest a prehistoric origin. The
fieldwork also demonstrated that ground levels had
been artificially raised throughout in recent times,
probably during the construction of the school in
the 1960s.

27. Kingsdown Crematorium, (SU1712 8902)
Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Post-Medieval
Continued observation following car park, road
and path construction for a new cemetery revealed
1227 struck or utilised flint artefacts of Mesolithic
to Bronze Age date. Of these 174 are tools or core
related items including microliths, a variety of
scrapers, knives, awls, notched flakes and blades, and
arrow heads. The work was carried out by Bernard
Phillips for Swindon Borough Council.

28. ‘The Beeches’ 364 Marlborough Road, (SU1740
8282) Mesolithic, Neolithic, Romano-Bnitish, Anglo-
Saxon

An archaeological evaluation by Bernard Phillips
and Mogs Boon, comprising eight test pits, revealed
struck flints dating to the Mesolithic and Neolithic
periods, negative features of Romano-British date
and a possible sunken floored Anglo-Saxon building
associated with grass tempered pottery sherds.

29. Plot I11c, South Marston Park (SU 192 888);
Romano-British

In November 2005, Oxford Archaeology carried
out a field evaluation for Michael Sparks Associates
on behalf of Graftongate Developments Ltd. Seven
trenches were excavated and the evaluation revealed
one possible Romano-British field boundary and
several smaller undated gullies and pits.

30. Swindon Gateway, Coate (SU 185 815); Late
Mesolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman and
Medieval

In December 2005 and February/March 2006, Oxford
Archaeology carried out a field evaluation on behalf
of John Samuels Archaeological Consultants (JSAC)
on the proposed Swindon Gateway development.
84 trenches were excavated of which 48 contained
archaeological features other than medieval ridge
and furrow. Fieldwalking was also undertaken across
a 20 hectare field in the north-west of the site. The

evaluation defined areas of known archaeological
potential, as well as previously unknown ones. 315
features were identified, 128 of which can be dated
by pottery. The evaluation demonstrated the survival
of archaeological features and activity across most of
the landscape from the late Mesolithic, Bronze Age,
Iron Age, Roman and Medieval periods.

Tisbury

31. Old Wardour Castle (ST 939 264); Medieval

A small scale Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
survey was conducted by the geophysics team,
English Heritage Research Department in august
2005 with 225 and 450MHz centre frequency
antennae over a 10m x 10m square to investigate
a partially collapsed void feature immediately
south east of the castle building (SAM 26706,). No
significant anomalies had been detected in this area
during the previous earth resistance survey of the site
conducted in 1997. The results of the GPR survey
contained no convincing evidence for any additional
features, such as a drainage conduit, approaching the
location of the void from the main castle building.
However, the course of some building foundations
was revealed, following the known location of walls
destroyed during the civil war, and a degree of buried
rubble perhaps associated with the subsequent
landscaping of the site. Whilst the geophysical
survey failed to provide any conclusive evidence
to suggest the origin of the void feature, it seems
unlikely that this forms part of a larger, unstable
structure. A single piece of wood recovered from the
void during the survey was identified as coniferous,
possibly a worked stake or plank rather than root
material, and may suggest that the void represents
the location of a former tree planting pit, although it
may also be related to the levelling of the site when
the garden terrace was created.

32. The Old Coalyard (ST 94 29); Undated and
modern

In November 2005, Oxford Archaeology carried out a
field evaluation on behalf of Stephens Cox Associates
revealing two undated ditches, and a range of modern
features, most of which are associated with the most
recent phase of land-use as a coalyard.

Trowbridge

33. Land rear of 55 Castle Street (ST 856 578)

In February 2005,Oxford Archaeology carried out
an archaeological watching brief commissioned by
Food Convertors Ltd. No archaeological deposits or
features were revealed.

238 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Wroughton

34. National Museum of Science and Industry (SU
143 795); Undated and modern

In March and September 2005, Oxford Archaeology
was commissioned by Creative Planet to undertake
an archaeological evaluation in advance of proposed
development on the periphery of the airfield at
the National Museum of Science and Industry at
Wroughton. Phase 1 of the evaluation comprised
nine 3.5m by 1.6m trenches and one 5m by 1.6m
trench, evenly distributed across the site. The sole

feature uncovered was a possible shallow ditch
running NE/SW through the site. Construction of
the airfield during the 1940s does not seem to have
resulted in any truncation in the area. Phase 2 of the
evaluation revealed a limited quantity of modern
archaeological remains that included undated
ditches, a probable hollow-way or former track-way,
a quarry pit and a the remains ofa structure, possibly
a gun emplacement, most likely dated to the Second
World War period.

Highlights from the Portable Antiquities Scheme

(PAS) in Wiltshire in 2005

recorded by Katie Hinds (Wiltshire Finds Liaison Officer)

WILT-95B052 — A five-piece hoard of bronze Roman
trulli (3) and wine strainers (2) from Kingston
Deverill. One of the trulli is stamped P.CIPI.
POLIBI, for Publius Cipius Polibius, a well-known
maker of these objects near Pompeii at the end of
the Ist century. The find was discovered by metal
detectorist Paul Bancroft who immediately alerted
the Wiltshire FLO. She was able to contact Wessex
Archaeology, who excavated the hoard the following
day. From Kingston Deverill.'

WILT-E14271 - Penny of Offa from Chiseldon by
the moneyer Eadnoth. It is of a type only previously
represented by a specimen in the Fitzwilliam
Museum, Cambridge (ex Blunt collection), though
it is not present in Blunt’s corpus. The new corpus
of the coinage of Offa will feature this type as no.
165. The coin has a large flan 19mm in diameter and
weighs 1.24g and is of the East Anglian series with
a runic description. The coin was identified for the
PAS by David Algar (Salisbury & South Wiltshire
Museum) and Paul Robinson (WHM).

1 For the location of find-spots see Figure |

Whey

EXCAVATION, FIELDWORK AND THE PAS IN WILTSHIRE 2005 239

|
|
0

no
QO
=,

WILT-FA2766 — Incomplete copper alloy button
from Kington St Michael, Late Bronze Age/ Iron
Age in date. It is 19mm in diameter, 3mm thick
(excluding loop) and weighs 2.81g - about a sixth is
missing from the edge (a recent break). The button
was brought along for identification to the launch of
Brian Read’s Metal Buttons c.900 BC —c. AD 1700 on
Ist April at Wiltshire Heritage Museum.

WILT-BBDAS2 —- Incomplete copper alloy Anglo-
Scandinavian buckle from Shrewton, missing
its backplate and pin. It is 51mm in length, max
27mm wide and weighs 19.39g. Kevin Leahy, PAS
Early Medieval Finds Adviser, comments: A very
interesting and important find. It is an example of
a buckle with a hollowed, angled front bar decorated
in the Anglo-Scandinavian Urnes style of the 11th-
12th centuries.

WILI-207221 - A piece of oval-sectioned curving
copper alloy rod, apparently broken at one end with
an enamelled square mounted to one side of the rod
at the other. The enamel decoration, light green
colour of the metal and smooth patina suggest this
is of Iron Age date. The object is possibly part of a
decorative horse harness. Found in Chiseldon.

>
ee Large
® a oe a Dae =

WILT- 0774B1 - Roman copper-alloy female figurine
of Abundantia or Fortuna from Urchfont, 55mm
in height and with a 4mm diameter shank beneath
the feet for attachment. It is worn/corroded almost
to the level of the bottom of the feet. The object
weighs 30.16g. The figure holds a filled dish in one
hand and a slightly flat cornucopia in the other and
is remarkably similar to one from Duncliffe Hill,
Dorset (Henig and Keen, Dorset Proceedings Vol.106
1984), identified probably as Fortuna, who also
carried a cornucopia, more usually associated with
Abundantia.

WILT-1CCC24 — The back face of a medieval lead
papal bulla with the inscription in relief +/NICO/
LAVS/PPV, from Malmesbury, 37mm in diameter,
2.5mm thick and weighing 17.77g. The reverse,
much worn, has been smoothed off. Nick Griffiths
comments “There is some evidence that bullae
were kept as souvenirs once the document had
been removed, perhaps to use the Papal name as
a good luck charm, a bit like pilgrim souvenirs”.
Nicholas V was Pope from 6th March 1447 to 24th
March 1455.

Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Magazine, vol. 100 (2007), pp. 240-53

Index
by Philip Aslett

NOTE: Wiltshire places are indexed or referenced under civil parish. Page numbers in italics refer to figures.

Abies alba (silver fir), 63

Abingdon (Oxfordshire), 140

Abona (Sea Mills), 106

Abundantia (goddess), 239

Abury see Avebury

Acer campestre (field maple), 52-3, 56-7
Acer cappadocicum (Cappadocian maple),

Acer platanoides (Norway maple), 46

Acer pseudoplatanus (sycamore), 50, 58

Ackworth School (Yorkshire), 139

Aconitum napellus ssp. napellus
(monkshood), 30

Adams, W. Maurice (b. 1847), Sylvan
Savernake and its Story (1903), 184

Addington, Henry, 1st Viscount Sidmouth
(1757-1844), 145-6, 150

adjectives, placement, 200

Adlam, Samuel, 143

Adonis annua (pheasant’s-eye), 29, 36-7

adzes, 187

aerial photography: Bulford, 172;
Chapperton Down, 108; Devizes,
234; Marlborough Downs, 226;
Oaksey, 235; Snail Down, 74, 78;
trench systems, 175-6, 177, see also
cropmarks

Aesculus hippocastanum (horse chestnut),
48,55

AFG see Archaeology Field Group (AFG)

agricultural depressions, 171

agriculture: Romano-British, 88;
medieval, 108; post-medieval, 108;
18th—19th century, 230; 19th—20th
century, 154, 155, 156, 157; decline,
164; mechanisation, 157, 164

Agrostemma githago (corncockle), 29

Ailesbury, Marquess of, 45, 56, 146, 181

Ailesbury family, 54-5, 58

airfields, 230-1, 238

Alcock, Thomas (1709-98), 144

Aldbourne, High Clear Down, 50

Alderbury, 21

alders: charcoal, 126; growth, 42

Aldershot (Hampshire), 175

Alfred, King (849-99), 198, 228

Algar, David, 238

Alice Holt (Hampshire), 98, 99, 101, 118

All Cannings: St Ann’s Hill, 157; Tan
Hill, 157

Allen, G. W. G., 74

almshouses, 143

Alnus spp. (alders), 126

Alton: All Saints Church, 61; Alton
Priors, 61-2; Golden Ball Hill, 69;
Knap Hill, 61; Walkers Hill, 61

Amber Foundation, 55

amber objects, 76

Amberley Wild Brooks (West Sussex), 45

America, 139, 150

American Civil War (1861-5), 171

American troops, 55, 184-5

American War of Independence, 144

Americans, 143

Amesbury, 69, 137; barrows, 75, 79, 81,
189, 211, 218, 220; Boscombe Down,
76, 87, 231; Boscombe Down West,
229; Butterfield Down, 87, 117, 120,
124-5; Cursus, 189; excavations, 80;
Normanton Down, 77; sculpture,
228, see also Stonehenge

AML (Ancient Monuments Laboratory),
85

ammunition stores, 55, 184

Amor, Henry (c. 1815-99), 162

Amor, Mary, 143

Anagallis arvense ssp. foemina (blue
pimpernel), 30

Ancient Monuments, 74, 77

Ancient Monuments Laboratory (AML),
85

Ancient Tree Forum, 57

Anderson, Sir J. W., 146

Andover (Hampshire), 88

Andrews and Dury, map (1773), 58, 60

Andrews, Peter, 50

angiosperms, 18

Anglicanism, 136, 137, 138, 140;
Evangelical, 138

Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, 156

animal bone see bone, animal

animal husbandry, 87-8, 89

Annable, Frederick Kenneth (1922-2002),
Vill, 187, 189, 190, 212, 213

Anstie, Benjamin Webb, 143

Anstie, John, 138, 141, 143, 144, 145, 148;
and local government, 149, 150

Anstie family, 138

anti-slavery movement, 139

antlers, worked, 76, 88, 101

Antonine Itinerary, 94

apodyterium, 102

apples, Tan Hill Fair, 164

apprentices, 144, 145, 160; cloth industry,
143; education, 146-7

Aquae Sulis, 105, see also Bath

Arabic numerals, 203, 205, 206

Araucaria spp. (conifers), 3

Araucaria mirabilis (conifer), 13

Araucarites sizerae (conifer), 3

arboreta, 60

Archaeologia, 76

archaeological damage: early excavations,
75-6, 77; military, 74, 77; ploughing,
75, 77, 81, 220; proposed, 220; rabbits,
78

Archaeological Survey of India, 76-7

Archaeology Field Group (AFG), vii;
activities, 224, 225; fieldwork, 224-5

architecture: Adam style, 150;
ecclesiastical, 131; Georgian, 136, 150

Arden (Warwickshire), 200

armlets, 87

arrowheads, 78; flint, 237

art styles, Wessex, 229

artefacts, use of term, 77

Arthurian romances, 200

Asarum europaeum (asarabacca), 38-9

ash, Romano-British, 95

Ash Ranges (Surrey), 175

ash trees, 34, 46, 49

Ashbee, Paul, viii; obituary by, 217-23;
paper on Bronze Age barrow cemetery
at Snail Down, 74-82

Ashbee, Richmal Crompton Lamburn
(née Disher) (d. 2005), 222

Ashmolean Museum, 194

Ashton Keynes, Long House, 232

Asia Minor, 47

assembly rooms, 150

Asser (dc. 909), 228

Athersuch, J., note on molluscs from
Chapperton Down, 126

Atkinson, Richard John Copland
(1920-94), viii, 216, 222

Atworth, Roman villa, 211

Aubrey, John (1626-97), 201; Wiltshire
Collections (1862), 211

Avebury, 45, 197, 212, 213, 215, 220, 221,
222; Alexander Keiller Museum, 191,
192, 213, 220, 221; Avebury Down,
196-7; Avebury Manor, 218, 220, 226;
Avebury Manor House, 220; Avebury
Trusloe, 226; Avenue, 216; Bath
Road, 220; Beckhampton Road long
barrow, 221; Church Walk Cottage,
221, 222; field archaeology, 226;
Hackpen, 191-2; henge monument,
196, 216; Horslip long barrow, 80,
218, 221, 222; Overton Hill, 191-2,
220; polissoirs, 225; Red Lion, 222;
Sanctuary, 220; sarsen stones, 149;
sculpture, 228; Silbury Hill, 46,
76, 211, 232; South Street long
barrow, 221; Swallowhead Springs,
226; Wayden’s Penning, 192; West
Kennett, 68, 71; West Kennett
Avenue, 191, 215, 220; West Kennett
Farm, 220; West Kennett long barrow,
192, 219; Windmill Hill, 192, 211,
212, 215, 216, 218-19, 221, 222

aviation history, 230-1

Avon, River (North), 68, 69, 234

Avon, River (South), 27, 36, 83, 85, 87,
104, 155, 229; barrows, 218; hand
axes, 65-73; settlements, 126

Avon Valley, 69, 88; pottery, 117; re-
colonisation, 65-73; Roman villas, 89

Avon Valley (Hampshire), 141

awls, flint, 237

Axe, River, 67

Axe Valley, 71

axeheads, 187

axes: palstaves, 193-6; stone, 225, see also
hand axes

Badeni, June, vili
badger setts, 191, 192, 236
Bagshot Beds, 198

INDEX

Bagshot Sands, 21

Bailey, Susanna, 192

Baldwin, Stanley, 1st Earl Baldwin of
Bewdley (1867-1947), 60

Baldwin, Thomas (1750-1820), 150

Bancroft, Paul, 238

Bancroft, Thomas, 140

Baptist Church, 138, 140

Barber, Martyn, 196; note on Middle
Bronze Age palstave from Broad
Blunsdon, 193-6

Barford St Martin, 69

barges, 154

Barrington, Shute (1734-1826), 131,
137, 145

barrows: Neolithic, 189; Beaker, 75,
76, 220; Bronze Age, 74-82, 226-7;
Early Bronze Age, 187, 235-6; bell,
75, 79, 80, 221, 227, 235; bowl, 187,
189, 227, 235-6; cenotaph, 79;
chronology, 79-80; cursus line of,
75; damage, 74, 75-6, 77; disc, 227;
excavation methods, 75-6, 77, 80,
221; grave robbing, 79; lithics, 190;
long, 75, 187, 189, 216, 218, 219, 222;
maintenance, 79; pond, 80, 227;
round, 75, 76, 77, 80-1, 229, 235-6;
saucer, 227, 236; scrub clearance,
225turk, 76

Basal Beds, Fossil Forest, 2, 3, 14-17

base-cruck halis, 203-7

Baston Manor (Kent), 219

Bath, 34, 106, 139, 146, 150, 200;
Aquae Sulis, 105; assembly rooms,
150; contractors, 149; provincial
movement, 149

Bath Hospital, 143

Bath and North East Somerset see
Camerton; Keynsham

Bath and West Society, 144-5

Bathe, Graham: note on King Oak,
Savernake Forest, 181-6; note on lye
pit in Savernake, 207-10

baths, Romano-British, 95, 97, 101, 102

Batsford (publishers), 74

battle training, 170-80

battlefields, World War I, 170

Bawcombe, Isaac, 155

Baydon, East Leaze Farm, 97

Bayley, Francis, 139

BBC South Today, 203

beads, glass, 101

beakers, 80; Romano-British, 97, 98, 99,
101, 118; burials, 75

bean trees, 48, 49

Bear Club, 145-6

bears, brown, 71

Beaumont-Hamel (France), 170

Bedan, 198

Bede, Venerable (c.672—735), 198

Bedewindan, 198

bedw, 198

bedw wend (white birch), 198

bedwen, 198

bedwind (wild clematis), 198

bedwine (wild clematis), 198

Bedwyn: origin of name, 198-9, see also
Great Bedwyn; Little Bedwyn

Bedwyn Brook, 56

beeches, 47, 48, 53, 54, 56,58; ash, 208

beehives, 164

Behuninia spp. (?conifers), 13-14, 17

Behuninia joannei (?conifer), 9

Behuninia cf. joannei (2conifer), 9, 10

Behuninia provoensis (?conifer), 7—9, 10,

Behuninia cf. provoensis (?conifer), 9

Behuninia scottu (?conifer), 9

Belgium see Ypres

bell founders, 137

bells, church, 137

benefit clubs, 144-7

Benger, Albert Charles (c. 1843-1904),
161, 162

Benger, Sarah (c. 1844-1932), 162

Benson, William (1682-1754), 230

Bentham, Jeremy (1748-1832), 145

Berkshire, 143, 175, 203; plants, 40;
woollen industry, 208, sce also West
Berkshire

Berriasian, 10, 17

Berwick St James, Yarnbury, 177

bessalis, 95, 101

Bettey, J. H., viii

Betula papyrifera (paper-bark birch), 61

Betula pendula (silver birch), 199

betwa (birch), 198

Betwowindjon, 199

Bewsher, I. P, Snail Down under
Excavations, August 1953, 75

Bible, 140

Biddestone, Slaughterford, 201

Big Belly Oak, 52

Biggs, James, 138, 140

Biggs, Thomas, 150

Binford, Lewis Roberts (1930- ), New
Archaeology (1988), 77

birch trees, 61, 198-9, 208; growth, 42

Birmingham, 146; provincial movement,
149

Bishop, Beatrice Maud (née Hillier)
(1884-1973), 161, 164, 165

Bishop, Elizabeth (b. 1884), 158

Bishop, Frederick George (1880-1949),
154-69; biographical notes, 158,
164-5

Bishop, George, 150

Bishop, Herbert (b. 1882), 158

Bishop, Mary, 158

Bishop, Tom (b. 1886), 158

Bishop, William, 158

Bishops Cannings: agriculture, 154, 155;
Bishops Cannings School, 155; Black
House Farm, 158; Bourton, 154, 155,
156, 162; Bridge Inn, 156; Calcote
Farm, 156; Cannings Marsh, 156;
Coate, 154, 155, 156, 157, 162, 163;
coffin makers, 154-69; Cross Farm,
156; Dairy Farm, 163; Easton, 154,
155; Easton Farm, 158, 161; Easton
Hill, 155; Horton, 154, 155, 156-7,
162, 164; Horton Bridge, 156, 158-9;
Horton Bridge Inn, 158; Horton
Chain Bridge, 156, 159; Horton
House, 156-7, 158, 162-3, 164;
Horton Mill, 157, 162; Horton Road,
157; The Island, 158; landowners,
155-6; Lodge Farm, 156; Lower
Farm, 156; Lynes House, 156, 158,
162; Manor Farm, 156; Manor Farm
House, 156; Manor House, 158, 161;
Methodist Chapel, 156; occupations,
157-8; Old Manor House, 158; Pig
Lane, 157; population, 157; Ruddles’
Piece, 156; St Mary the Virgin
Church, 154, 155, 157, 161, 162,
164-5; School House, 156; schools,
155; Shepherds Shore, 189; The
Shop, 162; Townsend Bridge, 156;
Townsend Farm, 158; Vicarage, 158;
West End Farm, 156, 158, 161, 162;
The Yard, 158-9, 164

Bishopstone, Crowden Hill, 224

bison, 65

Bix (Oxfordshire), 200

Black Book of Carmarthen (c. 1250), 200

Black Death, 230

Black slate, 187-9

Blackdown Hills, 67

blacksmiths, 157, 158, 159, 160, 163, 165

blackthorn trees, 58

blades: Mesolithic, 234; flint, 237

blaen gwydd tew (crest of the close trees),
200

241

Blanchard, Peter, 58

bluebells, 27, 58

Blunsdon St Andrew: Abbey Meads, 94;
Broad Blunsdon, 193-6; Castle Hill,
93, 193; Cold Harbour, 94; Great
Rose Lane, 92; Groundwell Ridge,
233; Little Rose Lane, 93; Lower
Burytown Farm, 193; Stubb’s Hill,
94; Upper Burytown Farm, 193

Blunt, C. E., 238

Boer Wars (1880-1; 1889-1902):
memorials, 157; trenches, 171-2

bombing practice, 177

Bonar Law, Andrew (1858-1923), 60

bone: animal, 1, 2, 21,71, 78, 236 (Early
Neolithic, 192; Middle Iron Age, 93;
Middle/Late Iron Age, 86; Romano-
British, 113, 114, 115, 117, 123-6,
127, 128); charred, 123; gnawed, 123;
human, 75 (Romano-British, 87, 88,
113, 115, 122-3, 128); worked, 117, see
also cattle bones; pig bones; sheep/goat
bones; teeth

bone objects, Romano-British, 113, 122

Bonney, Desmond, Stonehenge and its
environs, Monuments and Land Use
(1979), 219

books, for poor, 145

Boon, Mogs, 235, 237

boot plates, 101

Borsay, Peter, 149

Botanical Society of the British Isles,
BSBI Atlas Update Project, 29

botany: importance of Wiltshire’s, 27-8;
recording, 27-41, see also flora; plants

bottles: Romano-British, 97; 19th
century, 225

boundaries, county, 235

bourgeoisie: urban investment, 150, see
also élites

Bourne, River, 85, 104, 229

Bourne Valley, 229-30

Bow Street officers, 148

Bowen, Collin, 77, 219

bowls, Romano-British, 97, 98, 99, 101,
102, 116, 118, 120

Brace, Mark, review by, 228-9

Brachyphyllum spp (conifers), 17

Bradford-on-Avon, 138, 183, 211; Holy
Trinity, 228-9; mosaics, 227-8; St
Lawrence’s chapel, 228; sculpture,
228-9

Brading (Isle of Wight), 227

Branigan, K., 196

Bratton, 155; Church of St James the
Great, 233

Braydon, 200

Braydon Oak, 51

bread, daily requirements, 147

Breeze, Andrew, note on Britons and
Saxons at Chittoe and Minety,
199-202

Brentnall, H. C. (d. 1955), 212

Breton language, 200

Breuton, D., 61

brickearth, 68, 71

bricks, manufacture, 21

brickworks, 65, 66, 68

brickyards, 21; stratigraphy, 22-3

Bristol, 139, 146, 150, see also Sea Mills

Bristol Baptist Academy, 138

Bristol City Museum, 187

Bristol Flying School, 230

Bristol University, 213; Archaeology
Department, 213

Britannia, Province of, 98

Britford, 70; sculpture, 228, 229

British Archaeological Association, 211

British Celtic place-names, 199-200

British and Commonwealth troops, 185

British and Foreign Bible Society,
Committee of the Wiltshire Auxiliary,

242 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

140

British Geological Survey, 68

British Medical Journal, 47

British Museum: Department of British
and Medieval Antiquities, 219;
Department of Prehistory and Early
Europe, 213

Britons, 199-202

Brittany (France), 189, 190

Britton, John (1771-1857), 213, 211

Brittonic language, 198, 199, 200, 201

Brixton Deverill, Cold Kitchen Hill, 211

Broad Chalke: Knighton Down, 187;
sculpture, 228

Bromham: Chittoe, 154, 199-200; pottery,
99; Spye Park, 51; Verlucio, 97, 200

bronze objects: Bronze Age, 193; Roman,
238; palstaves, 193-6

brooches: Late Iron Age/Early Romano-
British, 224; fibulae, 196-7

Brothwell, Don, 216

Brown, C. E., 3-6

Brown, Graham, 227; ed. The Avebury
Landscape (2005), review, 226; paper
on training trenches on Salisbury
Plain, 170-80

Browne, Marion, 213

Broyle Bailiwick, 56

Bruce, Charles, 3rd Earl of Ailesbury, 4th
Earl of Elgin (1682-1747), 45

Bruce-Mitford, Rupert Leo Scott
(1914-94), 75, 219

Brudenell-Bruce, Chandos Sydney Cedric,
7th Marquess of Ailesbury (1904-74),
The Wardens of Savernake Forest (1949),
184

Brudenell-Bruce, George William
Frederick, 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury
(1804-78), 184

Brudenell-Bruce, George William James
Chandos, 6th Marquess of Ailesbury
(1873-1961), 56

Brudenell-Bruce, Henry Augustus, 5th
Marquess of Ailesbury (1842-1911),
184

Brudenell-Bruce, Thomas, 2nd Baron
Bruce of Tottenham (1729-1814), 45,
56, 181, 182-3

Bruges, Robert, 143, 149, 150

BSBI Atlas Update Project, 29

buckets, 229

Buckinghamshire: coffin makers, 160,
see also Haddenham; Verney estates;
Whiteleaf Hill

buckles, 229; Anglo-Scandinavian Urnes
style, 239; bronze, 197

Bugg, S. C., 3-6

building materials: Romano-British, 87,
95-7, 121; trees, 57, see also bricks;
ceramic building materials (CBMs);
tiles

buildings: Neolithic, 234; Romano-
British, 85, 86—7, 88, 91, 94, 102-3,
114-15, 116, 117, 235; Anglo-Saxon,
237; 16th century, 220; 19th century,
236; timber, 91, 203-7, see also
churches; roundhouses; villas; walls

Bulford: Beacon Hill, 172, 174, 175, 233;
Bulford Rifle Ranges, 172, 173

Bulkemore, Anastasia (née Harden), 203

Bulkemore, Sir Robert de, 203

Burbage: Churchyard, 59; Great Lye,
209; Great Lye Field, 209; Little Lye
Field, 209; Lye Magna, 209; Rolfe’s
Lye, 209; trees, 58-9; Upper Lye,
209; Wolfhall, 45, 56, 58-9; Wolfhall
Farm, 58-9

Burbage Cluster Oak, 52

Burgess, C. B., 195

burials, 229; beaker, 75; deviant, 202;
foundation, 128; infant, 88, 128;
neonatal, 113, 115, 116, 117, 122-3,

128; procedures, 76, 79; rituals,
76, 79; trepanning, 227, see also
cemeteries; cremation burials; graves;
inhumations

Burke, Edmund (1729-97), 144

Burl, Aubrey, viii

Burrough, James, 137

Bush, Matilda, 163

butchery: Romano-British, 123, 124;
carcass processing, 124, 125, 127;
marks, 123, 125

Butler, Jay Jordan (1921—), 195, 217-18;
Razors, Urns and the British Middle
Bronze Age (1956), 218

Butler, Jill, 57

Butler, Rupert, 58

buttons, Late Bronze Age/Early Iron
Age, 239

Buxton, Jonathan, note on medieval base-
cruck hall at Westcourt Farmhouse,
Shalbourne, 203-7

Bydemill Brook, 91, 93

CA see Cotswold Archaeology (CA)

Caerleon (Newport), 76

Calais (France), siege of, 174

caldarium, 102

Calder, M. G., 13, 14

Calleva (Silchester), 93

Calne, 33, 199, 225

Calne Without, Bowood, 213

Calvanistic Methodism, 138

Cambridge: Fitzwilliam Museum, 238;
Trinity College, 183

Cambridge University, 213

Cambridge University Museum of
Archaeology and Anthropology, 213

Camden Society, 211

Camerton (Bath and North East
Somerset), 144, 146

Campaign to Protect Rural England
(CPRE), Savernake Committee, 184

Canada, 209, 215, 217, see also Ontario;
Toronto

canals, 154

candlesticks, Romano-British, 97

Cannington (Somerset), 228

Cannock (Staffordshire), 200

Cannock Chase (Staffordshire), 175, 177

Cannon, Jon, 226

Canterbury (Kent), 150

Capper, Samuel, 139

Carboniferous, 69

Cardiff (Wales), 76, see also St Fagans

Cardiff University, 213

Cardigan, Earl of, 45

Carex humilis (dwarf sedge), 30

Carex stricta (tussock sedge), 156

Carn Brea (Cornwall), 219, 220

Carpenter, Mary (1807-77), 230

carpenters, 157, 158, 159-60, 165

Carpinus betulus (hornbeam), 49, 50

Carpinus japonica (Japanese hornbeam),
61

Carpolithes spp. (fossil seeds), 6
Carpolithes acinus (fossil seed), 5
Carpolithes gibbus (fossil seed), 5
Carpolithes glans (fossil seed), 5—6, 17
Carpolithes provoensis (?conifer), 7—9
Carpolithes radiatus (fossil seed), 10
Carpolithes rubeola (fossil seed), 3-5
Carpolithes westi (fossil seed), 3, 6, 17
Carpolithes cf. westi (fossil seed), 3, 6
carriages, mourning, 160, 163, 164
carts, 158, 159
Case, Humphrey John (1918-—), viii, 80
Castanea sativa (sweet chestnut), 54, 56,
58, 59-60
castles, medieval, 237
CAT (Cotswold Archaeological Trust), 93
Catalpa bignonioides (Indian bean tree),
48, 49

Cathedral Oak, 51-2

Catholics, 139

cattle: farming, 155, 157; production, 89,
157; teeth, 124 :

cattle bones, Romano-British, 87, 88, 123,
124, 125

Caucasus, 47

causeways, 233

Cavallini, Pietro (1259-1330), 135

CBMs see ceramic building materials
(CBMs)

Celtic language, 198, 200, 201

Celts, 201

cemeteries: Bronze Age, 74-82, 226-7;
Romano-British, 122-3; Anglo-
Saxon, 229; medieval, 202; barrow,
74-82, 226-7; cremation, 94, see also
graves; inhumations

censuses, 140, 157, 160

Centaurea cyanus (cornflower), 29, 36-7

ceramic building materials (CBMs):
Romano-British, 116, see also bricks;
tiles

ceramics see pottery

cereals: charred, 126; cultivation, 156,
157; importation, 141; processing,
232; production, 87, 88-9, see also
wheat

Cerne Abbas (Dorset), 201

Cerro Cuadrado (Patagonia), fossil plants,
15-2; 10-135 17

Cervus elaphus (red deer) see deer

CgMs Consulting, 234

Chadwick, Brenda, 24

Chalk, 44, 66, 68, 71, 93, 198; divisions,
229

chalk downs, scarce plants, 31

chalk quarries, 117

Champion Trees of Britain and Ireland
(2003), 44

Chandler, John, viii; activities, 213

Chandler, M. E. J., 7,9, 10, 18

Channel 4, 83

Channel Islands, 183, see also Guernsey

charcoal, 126; prehistoric, 237; Middle/
Late Iron Age, 86

charities, 139, 140, 143, 145, 146; goals,
147; motivations, 147; and social
control, 147-

Charles, Richard, 56

Charlton (South), Roman villa, 89

Chauncey, Nathaniel, 138

Cheater, John, 138

cheese presses, Romano-British, 97

cheese production, 127

chelonians: bite marks, 25-6; bones, 21;
carapaces, 24-5; costal plates, 24-5,
see also turtles _

Chemical Warfare Experimental Station,
229

Cherhill, 219; mosaics, 228; Yatesbury,
211

chert, 66, 67, 69-70, 189

Cherty Freshwater Member, 10

Cheshire see Vale Royal Abbey

chestnut trees, 48, 54, 55, 59-60; growth,
42

Chetan, A., 61

Chetewe, 199-200

Chicksgrove Plant Bed, 2

Chicksgrove Quarry: plant fossils, 1-20;
as Site of Special Scientific Interest, 2; |
stratigraphy, 1

Childe, Vere Gordon (1892-1957), 76,
212, 215, 2175:2185.220;222

children: apprentices, 145, 146-7;
employment, 141

Chilton Foliat, trees, 49

Chippenham: Cocklebury Cottages, 233;
Eastern Avenue, 233; St Mary’s
Street, 233

Chippindale, Christopher Ralph (1951- ),

INDEX

Vill; activities, 212-13; Stonehenge
Complete (1983), 212-13

Chiseldon, 238

chisels, 115, 127

Chitterne, 175; Berril Down, 104;
Chapperton Down, 104—30, 175, 177

Christchurch Bay, 65

Christian’s Way to Heaven, The, 145

Christies, Patricia, 80

Chrysanthemum segetum (corn marigold),
37

Church, Established: membership, 136;
and Nonconformism, 139-40; and
social control, 137-8; social functions
of, 136

church services, attendance, 136, 137

churches: Anglo-Saxon, 228; Norman,
61, 155; medieval, 61-2, 155, 234-5;
incomes, 136—7; repairs, 137

Churches Conservation Trust, 62

Churchill, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer
(1874-1965), 60

churchwardens, 137

church-state issues, 137-8

Chute, 200

Chutuwe, 200

Cirencester (Gloucestershire), 200;
Corinium, 93; neonatal burials, 123;
pottery, 101

Cirsium acaule (dwarf thistle), 30

Cirsium x medium (hybrid thistle), 30

Cirsium tuberosum (tuberous thistle), 27,
29-30

civic improvements, 148-50

civil wars (1642-51), 138, 174, 237

Clacton (Essex), 216

Clarendon Park: Clarendon, 21; Fussell’s
Lodge, 80, 218, 219

Clark, Grahame, Prehistoric England
(1940), 74

Clarke, Bob, viii; reviews by, 226-31

Clarke, Brian, note on the activities of the
Archaeology Field Group, 224-5

Clarke, Grahame, 222

Clausentum (Southampton), 106

Clay, John, 48

Clay, Mrs, 48

clay, fired, 116

Clay-with-flints, 44,50, 51, 69, 198

clays, 21, 198

Cleal, Ros, viii, 191, 192; Monuments and
Material Culture. Papers in honour of
an Avebury archaeologist: Isobel Smith
(2004), 216; obituary by, 215-17

Clematis vitalba (old man’s beard), 198

Clement, E. J., 28

Clements, F, 192

Clench Common—Martinsell road, 58

Clifford Hill (Northamptonshire), 71

cloth industry, 138; apprentices, 143;
benefit clubs, 144; decline, 141;
mechanisation, 141

Cluster Oak, 184, 185

Clutton-Brock, Juliet, viii

Clyffe Pypard, 187, 211

Coates, Richard A., 200, 201; note on the
name Bedwyn, 198-9

Cobbett, William (1762-1835), 141, 144,
147

Cochlearia danica (Danish scurvy-grass),
38

Codford, Codford St Peter, 228, 229

coed tew (thick wood), 200

coed (wood), 200

coffin makers, 154-69

coffins, 235; costs, 160, 161; fittings,
160; manufacture, 159-60, 163;
timber, 76

coins: Iron Age, 93; Roman, 80, 86, 87,
88, 97, 101, 117, 121, 127-8; Anglo-
Saxon, 238; nummi, 86, 87

cold plunges, 97, 101, 102

Cole, Joseph, 148

Cole, River, 237

Colerne: sculpture, 228, 229; Thickwood,
200

Collado, Luys, 174

Collingbourne Ducis, 183, 211; Cow
Down, 189; Snail Down, 74-82,
226-7

Collingbourne Kingston, 226-7

Collingwood, Robin George (1889-1943),
79

Collins family, 138

Colman, Pamela, viii

colonisation, Palaeolithic, 65-73

Colquhoun, Patrick (1745-1820), 140,
144, 145, 147, 148

Colt Hoare, Sir Richard see Hoare, Sir
Richard Colt (1758-1838)

Combes, A. J., 161

Combes, J., 161

combs, weaving, 86, 88

Commissioners of His Majesty’s Woods
and Forests, 156

community, and religion, 136

Compton Census (1676), 139

Compton Chamberlayne, 69

Compton, Charles, Earl of Northampton
(1760-1828), 146

Concise Oxford Dictionary of English
Placenames (DEPN) (1960), 198

cones, fossil, 14

Conformism, 138

Congregational Church, 138, 140

Congresbury (North Somerset), St
Andrew’s Church, 228

conifers, 55, 63

Conservative Party, 162

Constans, Flavius Julius (320-350), 101

Constantius II (317-361), 101

consumerism, 144

Cook, Norman Charles (1906-94), 218

Cooke, N., note on coins from Chapperton
Down, 121

Coote, Sir Eyre (1726-83), 146

copper alloy objects: Late Bronze
Age/Early Iron Age, 239; Iron Age,
239; Romano-British, 115, 117, 121;
Anglo-Scandinavian, 239

coppicing, 42-3

Coral Ragstone, 91, 93, 95

Corallian Limestone, 93

cores: flint, 237, see also flintwork

Corinium, 93, see also Cirencester

corm-like specimens, fossil, 10-13

corn driers, 85, 88

corn measures, 147

Corney, Mark, viii

Cornish language, 200, 201

Cornus sanguinea (common dogwood), 58

Cornwall, Ian Wolfran (1909-94), 77,
80, 217

Cornwall, 187-9, 190, 221, 228, see also
Carn Brea; Helman Tor; Mawgan
Porth; Mount Pleasant; Mountjoy;
Newquay; iregulland Burrow

Cornwall Archaeological Society, 221

Coronation (1821), 140

corporations, development, 149

Corsley, Cley Hill, 66, 230

Corylus spp. (hazels), 126

Cotswold Archaeological Trust (CAT),
evaluations, 93

Cotswold Archaeology (CA): evaluations,
233, 234, 235, 236-7; excavations,
232, 236; historical research, 235;
watching briefs, 233, 234, 235

Cotswolds, 219

counter-mines, 174

County Biological Record Centres, 44

Coute, Vanessa, 191

Coventry, 140

Coventry’s Dole, 140

243

Cowbridge (Vale of Glamorgan), 201

CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural
England), 184

crab apple trees, 58

Cramp, Rosemary, Corpus of Anglo-Saxon
Stone Sculpture Volume VII, South-West
England (2006), review, 228-9

craters, 176

Crawford, Osbert Guy Stanhope
(1886-1957), viii

Creative Planet, 238

Crécy, Battle of (1346), 174

cremation burials, 75, 187, 189; Bronze
Age, 76, 227

creosote bush, 61

Cretaceous, 24

Crichel Down (Dorset), 76, 218

Cricklade: North Meadow, 27, 36;
sculpture, 228

crime: causes of, 147-8; deterrents,
148-9; and punishment, 148,
150, 230; rewards, 148, 150; and
unemployment, 147

Crimean War (1854-6), 155, 171

Croagh Patrick (Ireland), 79

Crockmere Oak, 52

crocodiles, 26

crocodilians: bones, 2; teeth, 2

cropmarks, 175, 234

crops see cereals

crosses, 228

Crowfoot, Elizabeth, viii

Crowley, D. A., viii

Crown Estates, 50, 53, 58,59, 154

Crowthorne Wood (Wokingham), 175

Cruddas, Colin, In Wiltshire’s Skies (2004),
review, 230-1

Cruse, Anne, 139

Cruse, Francis, 139

Cruse, Gabriel, 139

Cumbria, kilns, 208

Cundy, Thomas, the elder (1765-1825),
45

Cunetio, 106

Cunnington, Edward Benjamin Howard
(1861-1950), viii, 211

Cunnington, Maud Edith (née Pegge)
(1869-1951), viii, 76, 106, 187, 211

Cunnington, Robert Henry (c.1877—1959),
viil :

Cunnington, William (1754-1810), 141,
220, 227; excavations, 75-6, 77, 79

Cunnington, William III (1813-1906),
viil, 83, 85, 88, 187

Cunnington family, viii

Cupressinocladus valdensis (conifer), 17

cups, Romano-British, 97

Currant, A., 71

cushion stones, 189

Cuttewe, 200

Cutting, Mary, 147

Cycadales family, 9

Cycadophyte family, 7

cycads, 17

cypress trees, 47

Cyprus, 196

daggers: Bronze Age, 76, 79, 196; Early
Bronze Age, 227

dairy production, 127

Danebury (Hampshire), 87, 229

Daniels, E R., 9, 13-14, 17

Darby, Michael, 213

Dartmoor (Devonshire), 171, 172, 177

dating: dendrochronology, 203, 206, see
also radiocarbon dating

daub, 117

Daubeney, Charles, 137

David, King, 229

Davies, Joan: note on King Oak,
Savernake Forest, 181-6; paper on
large and special trees in Kennet

244 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

District, 42-64

Davies-Shiel, M., 208

Dayvault, Richard, 2, 3, 9, 10, 13-14, 17

DBH (diameter at breast height), 43

DE (Defence Estates), 85, 104, 233-4

de Marinis, Dr, 196

Deacon, Henry, 60

decapitations, 229

Decentius, Magnus (d. 353), 87

Déchelette, Joseph (1862-1914), 220

deer, 65, 88, 101; bones, 124, 192; giant,
71, see also antlers

deer parks, 45, 235

Defence Estates (DE), 85, 104, 233-4

Defence Lands Archaeology Officer, 227

defences, see also earthworks

Defoe, Daniel (c.1661-1731), 142, 147

Delair, Justin, paper on early Tertiary
turtles, 21-6

dendrochronology, 203, 206

dentition see teeth

DEPN (Concise Oxford Dictionary of
English Placenames) (1960), 198

Devensian Cold Stage, 65, 71

Devizes, 28, 33, 34, 66, 156, 161, 162;
Bear, The, 145, 149, 150, 164;
benefit clubs, 144; Brittox, 138, 150;
economic issues, 141—3; Georgian,
136-53; Green, 139, 145; Hare and
Hounds, 144; High Street, 139;
Hillworth, 139; Improvement Acts,
149; King’s Arms, 144; lighting, 149-
50; Market, 149, 164; Millennium
White Horse, 157; New Park Street,
138; Newtown, 143; Nursteed Close,
233-4; Presbytarian Church, 138;
Quaker’s Walk, 234; Queen’s Head,
145; Rectory, 136; riots, 147; Royal
Oak, 144; St James’s Chapelry, 142;
St John the Baptist Church, 136-7,
140, 142-3, 149; St Mary’s Church,
136-7, 139, 140-1, 142, 143, 149;
Shambles, 150; Sheep Street, 138;
Short Street, 143; Southbroom, 154;
Town Hall, 139, 150; undertakers,
162; Union Workhouse, 160; urban
collectivism, 136-53; wagons, 158;
Wool Hall, 150, see also Wiltshire
Heritage Museum (WHM)

Devizes Annuity Society, 145

Devizes Board of Guardians, 162

Devizes Corporation, 137, 139, 140, 141,
146; development, 149-50

Devizes Gazette, The, 162

Devizes Meeting House, 139

Devizes Museum see Wiltshire Heritage
Museum (WHM)

Devizes Prosecution Society, 148

Devizes Rural District Council, 156

Devizes Savings Bank, 145

Devizes School, 146

Devizes Trustees, 149

Devizes—Pewsey road, 156

Devon, 190; sculpture, 228, see also
Dartmoor; Okehampton; Phear Park

Devonian—Carboniferous killas, 190

diameter at breast height (DBH), 43

Dickens, Charles (1812-70), 146

diet, Romano-British, 123, 124

Dillon, Patrick, 213

Dines, T. D., 29

dinosaurs, 2, 17

Dinton, hand axes, 65-73

dishes, Romano-British, 97, 98, 99, 101,
118

Dissent, 136, 137, 139-40; development,
138, see also Nonconformism

ditches, 232, 236, 238; undated, 236, 237;
Neolithic, 220; Bronze Age, 105, 173,
174; Late Bronze Age, 174; Iron Age,
105; Middle Iron Age, 93; Romano-
British, 85-6, 92, 108, 113-14, 127;

medieval, 233, 234; post-medieval,
234; linear, 105, see also gullies;
linears; pits

dogs, 88, 123; bones, 87, 117, 124; meat,
124; skinning, 124, 127

dogwoods, 58

Domesday Book, 49, 91, 154

Domesday Book for Wiltshire, 211

Dorset, 230; Durotrigians, 98; fossil
plants, 2; kilns, 98; plants, 32,
33; pottery, 87; sculpture, 228, see
also Cerne Abbas; Crichel Down;
Duncliffe Hill; Durlston Bay;
Frampton; Hambledon Hill; Hinton
St Mary; Launceston Down; Maiden
Castle; Melbury Bubb; Minterne;
Portesham Quarry; Poundbury;
Purbeck, Isle of; Sherborne;
Thorncombe; Verwood

Downton, mosaics, 227, 228

drains, 225; Romano-British, 91, 92, 95,
101, 102; cleaning, 149

Drew, Lt Col, 187

droveways, 125

Duckett, Rosemary, 40

Dufty, (Arthur) Richard (1911-93), 219

Duke’s Vaunt Oak, 51-2, 184

Dunbar, James, 208

Duncliffe Hill (Dorset), 239

Dunmore, Earl of (1732-1809), 137

Duntisbourne Abbots (Gloucestershire),
200

Durham Cathedral, 76

Durlston Bay (Dorset), 10

Durnford, Woodford Green, 27, 36

Durocornovium (Wanborough), 94

Durotrigians, 98

Durrington: Barber Hangar, 230; Bristol
Flying School, 230; Durrington
Walls, 120, 216, 234; Larkhill, 230;
pottery, 87; Woodhenge, 216

Eadnoth, 238

Eagles, Bruce, vili, 219

earth resistivity surveys, 85, 191, 224-5,
232, 234, 235, 236

earths see soils

earthworks, 105-6; Bronze Age, 74;
Iron Age, 219; Romano-British,
219; 17th century, 45; 20th century,
170-80; military, 175, see also ditches;
enclosures; hillforts

East Anglia, 33, 98, 238

East Anton (Hampshire), 88

East India Company, 146

East Kennett, 45

East Sussex see Hastings

Easton Grey, 234; tiles, 101

Ecclesiastical Commissioners, 154

Ede, J., note on charred plant remains
from Chapperton Down, 126

Eden, Sir Frederick Morton (1766-1809),
141, 144

Edinburgh University Press, 219

Edington, Greater Lane Farm, 234

Edward I, King (1239-1307), 135

Edward VI, King (1537-53), 45

Ekblom, R., 198

Ekwall, Eilert (1877-1964), 198, 199-200

Elderton, Mr, 137

Eleanor of Castile (1241-90), Queen of
England, 135

élites, 137; and poor, 143; roles, 136

Elizabeth II, Queen (1926—), 52

Ellen, E., 143

elms, 34; uses, 160

Ely Cathedral, 135

Emery, R., note on metalwork from
Chapperton Down, 121-2

employment: children, 141; women, 141

enclosures: Neolithic, 224; Iron Age,
83-90, 93; Middle Iron Age, 93, 224;

Romano-British, 117, 224; banjo,
83-90, 93; causewayed, 216, 219;
ditched, 232; farm, 91, 125, see also
hillforts; settlements

Enford: Chisenbury Warren, 88, 117,
120, 122, 124-5, 128; Compton, 89;
Coombe Down, 88, 12455; Liitlecott,
89; Roman villas, 89

English, Judie, 175

English Heritage, 202, 216, 226;
Geophysics Team, 235, 237

English Heritage Research Department:
excavations, 234; surveys, 232, 233,
236, 237

English Nature, 191, 192

English Place-Name Society, 201

Entwistle, Roy, 85, 88

environmental change, 219

Eocene, 21, 22, 26

Eosphargis spp. (turtles), 26

Epipactis phyllanthes (green-flowered
helleborine), 30

Erlestoke, Wadman’s Coppice, 105

Ermine Street, 92-4

Essex, 142, 215, see also Clacton; Harlow

Essex Archaeological Society, 210

Esturmy, Richard, 45

Esturmy family, 45

Euonymus europea (European spindle
tree), 58

Europe, 212; foundation rites, 128;
Saalian Glaciation, 65; turtles, 26

Evangelical Anglicanism, 138

Evangelicalism, 136

Evans, John G. (1941-2005), viii, 219, 221

Evening Club (Manchester), 145

Everett, S., 30

Everleigh, 75, 83

Every, Elizabeth (be. 1855), 163

Every, Frank (be. 1867), 163

Every, John (c. 1842-1917), 163

excavation methods, barrows, 75-6, 77,
80, 221

Excellent Daughter, The, 145

executions, 202-3

Eyles, Sir John, 138

Eyles, John, jnr, 138

Eyles family, 143

Eyre and Spottiswoode, 212

Fagus sylvatica (beech), 53, 54, 56

Fagus sylvatica ‘Atropurpurea’ (copper
beech), 48

Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’ (copper beech),
47

Fagus sylvatica ‘Quercoides’ (oak-leaved
beech), 53

Falkner, FE, 146

famine, relief, 89

farmers, 162-3

farming see agriculture

farms, Iron Age, 93

farmsteads, Romano-British, 87, 88, 128

Farnham (Surrey), 98

fences, 79

Fenner, Rev., 145

Fens, 125

fern ash, 208

ferns, 17

fibulae, Bronze Age, 196-7

Field, David, viii, 227; ed. The Avebury
Landscape (2005), review, 226; paper
on training trenches on Salisbury
Plain, 170-80

field systems: Middle Bronze Age, 174;
Celtic, 83, 87, 88, 105, 174, 175

Fielden, Kate, 213

Fielding, Henry (1707-54), 147

fields: boundaries, 105, 236, 237; Celtic,
176

fieldwalking, 85

Figheldean, 69, 120, 128; animal bone,

INDEX

124-5; Bourne Bottom, 83; Roman
villa, 89

files, 127

Filkes family, 138

finger stones, sponge, 187, 189

fir trees, 185-6

First World War see World War I

fish: bones, 2; teeth, 2

Fishlock, Mrs, 163

Fittleton, Beach’s Barn, 83-90, 124-5

Fitzpatrick, Andrew, vili

flagons, Romano-British, 97, 98, 99, 101,
116, 118, 120

flakes, flint, 66, 67, 191, 192, 237, see also
flintwork

flint mines, Neolithic, 229

flint nodules, 66, 86, 114-15

flints, 75, 189; burnt, 86, 116, 237;
fragments, 128; polished, 225; struck,
233525)

flintwork, 78, 116, 120, 216, 222, 234;
Neolithic, 120, 233; Early Bronze
Age, 120; waste, 78, see also axes;
blades; cores; flakes, flint; knives;
scrapers; tools

floors: chalk/mortar, 86; clay, 127;
mortar, 88; tessellated, 91, 102

flora: fossils, 1-20; petrified, 2;
recording, 27-41

Flower, John, 149

FOAM (Friends of Ancient Monuments),
225

fonts, 228

food: imported, 89; prices, 141-2, 147;
shortages, 147, see also diet

Food Convertors, 237

Ford, George, 155

Fordingbridge (Hampshire), 21

Forest of Dean, 174, 209

Forestry Commission, 51, 52, 58, 60,
184, 185

forests, Celtic names, 200

forges, 159

forts: redoubts, 171, 175, 177, see also
hillforts

Fortuna (goddess), 239

Fossil Forest horizon, 2, 3, 13, 14-17

fossils, 193; collections, 24; plant, 1-20;
turtles, 21-6 :

Foster, M. C., 28

foundation rites, 128

Fourth International Oak Conference
(2003), 52

Fovant, 69

Fowler, Peter, viii, 226

Fox, Sir Cyril (1882-1967), 76, 79

foxes, 65, 71

Frampton (Dorset), 227

France, 196; polissoirs, 225, see also
Beaumont-Hamel; Brittany; Calais;
Crécy; Grenoble; Paris; Verdun; Vimy
Ridge

Eranciss Je; 113317

Fraxinus excelsior (ash), 49

French Revolution, 140

Friend, Charles (d. 1980), 212

friendly societies, 144-7

Friends see Quakers

Friends of Ancient Monuments (FOAM),
225

frigidarium, 102

Fritillaria meleagris (snake’s head fritillary),
27, 35-6

Frome, River, 68, 104

Froxfield: All Saints Church, 50; Cross
Ford, 49; Harrow Crossroads, 49-50;
Harrow Farm, 50; Monk’s Lane, 49;
Ramsbury Road, 49-50; Rudge, 228;
trees, 49-50

Froxfield Stream, 49-50

Froxfield Valley, trees, 44, 49-50

Fry, Sir Geoffrey Storrs (1888-1960), 60

Fry, John, 139

Fry, Joseph, 139

Fry, Mary, 139

Fulford, M. G., 88

Fullard, Joseph, 24

fullers, 208

Fumaria parviflora (fine-leaved fumitory),
30

funerals, 160—3, 164
furnaces, Romano-British, 95, 97, 102

Galanthus nivalis (common snowdrop), 34

Gale, Rowena, note on charcoal from
Chapperton Down, 126

Gandy, Ida (née Hony) (1885-1977),
154-6, 158, 161

gardens, 60

Gardner, Liz, 224

gastropods, 2

Gaul, 98, 99

Gault Clay, 68, 93

Gauntlett, Bruce, 59

GCR (Geological Conservation Review), 2

Gent, James, 137, 145

Gentianella amarella (felwort), 31, 39, 40

Gentianella anglica (early gentian), 30, 31

Gentianella germanica (Chiltern gentian),
39-40

Gentianella x pamplini (hybrid gentian),

Gentleman’s Magazine, The, 132

Geological Conservation Review (GCR), 2

geology: Great Bedwyn, 198; Porton
Down, 229; Salisbury Plain Training
Area, 104; Stanton Fitzwarren, 93

geophysical surveys: Avebury, 191,
232; Blunsdon St Andrew, 93, 233;
Durrington, 234; Fittleton, 85, 86,
87, 88; North Wraxall, 235; Ogbourne
St Andrew, 236; Stanton Fitzwarren,
91-2, 103; Tilshead, 225

George I, King (1660-1727), 230

George VI, King (1895-1952), 155

geotechnical surveys, 236

Geranium rotundifolium (round-leaved
cranesbill), 38

Gerard, John (1545-1612), 201

Germany, 88-9, 217

gewind (winding), 198

Giddings, Elizabeth (d. 1924), 161, 162

Gifford and Partners, 104

Gilke family, 139

Gillam, B., 27

Gillings, Mark, 191, 192

Gingell, Christopher J., viii, 213, 226

Ginkgo biloba (maidenhair tree), 55

Gito, P R., 222

glacial erosion, 70

glass: Romano-British, 101, 116, 121-2,
127; analysis, 229; production, 207,
208

glazes, 209

Gloucester, 209

Gloucestershire, 215, 216, 219; plants,
33; pottery, 101, see also Cirencester;
Duntisbourne Abbots; Maisemoor;
Thick Wood; Uley

Gloucestershire and Wiltshire General
Committee (Quakers), 139

goats, see also sheep/goat bones

Goddard, Edward Hungerford (1854—
1947), 75, 80, 91, 183, 187, 193, 194;
activities, 211—12

gold objects, 79, 115

Gough, Richard (1735-1809), 131-5

Gover, J. E. B., 198

Gowland, William (1842-1922), 211

GPR (ground penetrating radar) surveys,
233, 234, 236, 237

gradiometry surveys, 85

Grafton, East Grafton, 183

Graftongate Developments, 237

245

grains see cereals

grave covers, 228

grave furniture, 76, 79, 80

grave goods, 227

grave robbing, 79

gravels, 71

graves: Bronze Age, 76; Romano-British,
113, 115, 116, 117; digging, 160, see
also cemeteries; inhumations

graveyards see cemeteries

Greader, Frederick (bc. 1867-1927), 162-3

Greader, Mary (be. 1878), 162-3

Greader, William (be. 1876), 162-3

Great Bedwyn, 44, 45, 183, 211; Bedwyn
Brail, 56-7; Bedwyn Common, 56;
Broad Walk, 56; Chisbury, 49, 207;
Chisbury Camp, 198, 199; Conduit,
56; Folly Farm, 56,57; geology, 198;
origin of name, 198—9; trees, 56-7;
Wilton Brail, 56

Great Bedwyn—Ramsbury road, 49

Great Bedwyn-Shalbourne road, 57

Great Grey Ride Chestnut, 54

Great Haseley (Oxfordshire), Church
Farm, 206

Great War see World War I

Great Western Railway (GWR), 154

Greece see Menelaion; Therapnai

Greeks, 208

Green, Bert, 66

Green, Ted, 57

green lanes, 92-3

Greenaway, Dick, note on lye pit in
Savernake, 207-10

Greenfield, Ernest, 80

Greensand, 66, 67, 69-70

Greenwell, William (1820-1918), British
Barrows (1877), 76

Gregory Gray Associates, 234

Grenoble (France), 217

Griffiths, Nick, 239

Grimes, William Francis (1905-88), 218

Grinsell, Leslie V. (1907-95), viii, 74, 75,
80, 189, 193

Grittleton, Leigh Delamere, 211

Grose, Joseph Donald (1900-1973), 28,
29, 39, 40

Grose, Mr, 161

ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys,
233, 234, 236, 237

Guernsey, 181, 211; Guernsey Museums
and Galleries, 183; Lukis Museum,
183; States of, 183

Guest, Rob, 52

Guest, Thomas Douglas (1781-1845), 229

Guido, Cecily Margaret (‘Peggy’) (d.
1994), viii, 213

gullies, 237; Romano-British, 92, 95,
108-10, 113-14, 116, 117, see also
ditches

gun emplacements, 238

Gunter, Jim, 191; note on the activities of
the Archaeology Field Group, 224—5

GWR (Great Western Railway), 154

habitats, man-made, 27, 38-9

Haddenham (Buckinghamshire), 158

Hadrian’s Wall, 98

hair pins, bone, 113

Halcomb, William, 150

Hambledon Hill (Dorset), 216

Hamilton, Derek, note on early medieval
execution at Stonehenge, 202-3

hammers, 187

Hampshire, 200, 230; barrows, 216, 219;
enclosures, 87; plants, 33; pottery,
87, see also Aldershot; Alice Holt;
Andover; Avon Valley; Danebury;
East Anton; Fordingbridge; Lyeway;
Lyeway Farm; Lyewood House;
Martin; Martin’s Clump; Melchet;
Minstead; Moor Green; New Forest;

246 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Portsmouth; Quarley High Linear;
Rockbourne; Silchester; Solent;
Southampton; Stockbridge Down;
Tower Hill; Wellow; Winchester;
Woodgreen

Hampshire Basin, stratigraphy, 21, 22

Hand, Mrs (c. 1859-1935), 163

Hand, Tom (c. 1861-1935), 163

hand axes: Palaeolithic, 65—73; bout coupé,
65, 69, 71; cordate, 65, 66, 67, 68;
cordiform, 69, 71; flat butted, 65;
Mousterian, 68; ovate, 68; Wymer’s
type J, 66

Hanging Langford, sculpture, 229

Hankerton, 68

Hannington: Oxlease Farm, 92; Stanton
Water Bridge, 94

Hanover, house of, 138

Harden, William de (dc. 1330), 203

Harding, Philip, viii; note on worked
flint from Chapperton Down, 120;
paper on Iron Age banjo enclosures
and Romano-British villa and
settlement at Beach’s Barn, Fittleton,
83-90; paper on Palaeolithic hand
axes from Warminster, Pewsey and
Dinton, 65-73

Harlow (Essex), 45

Harraway, J., 161

Harris, Henry, 197

Hartridge Lye Wood (West Berkshire),
209

harvests, failures, 141, 142

Hasiam, Jeremy, 213

Hastings (East Sussex), 174

Hatch, H. S., 3, 9, 10

Hatchwell, Richard, viii

Hawkes, Charles Francis Christopher
(1905-92), 76, 196

Hawley, William, 75-6

Hawtrey’s School, 55

Haycock, Lorna, viii; note on Wiltshire
Archaeological and Natural History
Magazine and its editors, 210-14;
paper on urban collectivism in
Georgian Devizes, 136-53

Hayes (Kent), 219

Haynes, Robert, Wiltshire Toll Houses
(2004), review, 230

Hazel Farm (Mendips), 70

hazel trees, charcoal, 126

hearses, 161

Heath, Beverley, 67, 156

Heathcote, George, 138

Helleborus foetidus (stinking hellebore), 30

Helman Tor (Cornwall), 220

Helmsdale (Sutherland), 2

Hendy, Eliza (be. 1851), 163

Hendy, Harry (be. 1886), 163

Hendy, Sydney (be. 1881), 163

Hendy, Thomas (c. 1853-1915), 163

Hendy family, 163

henges, 196

Henig, Martin, vili

Henley-on-Thames (Oxfordshire), 200

Henry III, King (1207-72), 135

Henry VII, King (1457-1509), 207

Henry VIII, King (1491-1547), 45,59

Henry Mountains (US), 9

Herbert, George Augustus, 11th Earl
of Pembroke and 8th Earl of
Montgomery (1759-1827), 145

Herbert, Henry, 10th Earl of Pembroke
and 7th Earl of Montgomery
(1734-94), 56

Herbert, Sir William, Ist Earl of
Pembroke of the second creation
(c.1501-70), 45, 56

Hertford, Earl of, 45

Hertfordshire see St Albans

Heytesbury, 69, 75, 106

High Church, 138

Highworth, 92, 93; High Street, 234;
Highworth Cemetery, 234; Priory
Green, 94; Wrde Hill, 94

Hill, Rowland (1744-1833), 138

hillforts: Iron Age, 83, 93, 128, 177, 198,
229, see also enclosures

Hillier, Albert James, 158

Hillier, Emily (c. 1869-1944), 163

Hillier, Henry (c. 1845-1926), 163

Hillier family, 138

Hillman, Stephen, 143

Hinds, Katie, note on Portable Antiquities
Scheme, 238-9

Hinton St Mary (Dorset), 228

Hiscock, Abel (c. 1834-1910), 162

Hiscock, Alfred, 158

Hiscock, FE, 162

Hiscock, Isabella, 158

Hiscock, James, 158

Hiscock, Job (bc. 1867), 162

Hiscock, Maria (be. 1876), 162

Hiscock, Mary (bc. 1870), 162

Hiscock, Rosanna, 162

History of Savernake Forest (pamphlet), 184

hives, 164

Hoare, Sir Richard Colt (1758-1838),
105-6, 220; The Ancient History of
South and North Wiltshire (1812; 1821),
75, 76; excavations, 75-6, 77, 79;
finds, 227

Hobnob Press, 213

Hocken, Brian, 66

Hodder, Ian Richard (1948- ), viii

Holley, Robin, note on the activities of the
Archaeology Field Group, 224-5

hollow ways, 88, 105, 238

holly trees, 58, 60, 61; charcoal, 126

hones, 187

Hony, Charles W., 154, 161

hornbeams, 49, 50, 61

Horningsham, Longleat, 211

horse harnesses, Iron Age, 239

horses, 87; bones, 65, 71, 124, 125;
economic importance, 125; meat,
125; shoeing, 159; uses, 127;
working, 156, 159

horseshoes, Romano-British, 97, 101

Hoskins, W. G., viii

House of Commons, 145

Howell, Alan, 183

howitzers, 172

Hughes, William, 140

Humberside, 228

Hungerford (West Berkshire), Town Hall,
150

Hungry Hill (Surrey), 175

Hunt, Henry, 141

Hunt, Julia, 193, 194

hunting, 124; and religion, 139

Huntingford, Barry, review by, 230-1

Hurst, Cecil Prescott, 57

Hutchins, A. B., 229

hyaenas, 65, 71

hypocaust systems, 95, 97, 101

ice ages, 198-9

Idmiston: East Gomeldon, 229-30;
Porton Down, 27, 32, 33, 229-30

Ilex spp. (holly trees), 126

Tlex aquifolium (holly), 60

Tlex aquifolium ‘Heterophylla’ (holly), 61

Imber, 175, 176; St Giles Church, 234—5

imbrex, 101

Implement Petrology Committee, 187

implements see tools

Improvement Acts, 149

Improvement and Paving Commissions,
148-50

Independent Church, 138

India, 76-7, 146

individualism, 150

infanticide, 123

Inferior Oolite, 3

influenza epidemics, 163

Inglesham, sculpture, 228

Ingram, C., note on animal bone from
Chapperton Down, 123-6

inhumations, 189; Bronze Age, 76, 80,
219; Early Bronze Age, 227; Late
Iron Age/Early Romano-British, 224;
Romano-British, 88; Anglo-Saxon,
202, 229; decapitated, 229, see also
cemeteries; graves

Innes, Edward, 137, 138

Institute of Archaeology, 74, 76, 77, 80,
213; creation, 217; Smith at, 212,
215, 217-18, 220, 222

Ireland: Christianisation, 79, see also
Croagh Patrick

iron objects, 196-7; Roman, 97, 101, 113,
117, 121; 19th century, 225; modern,
121

Isle of Wight: barrows, 216, 219, see also
Brading

Italian prisoners of war, 157

Italy, 196-7, see also Modena; Naples;
Pompeii; Redu; University of Milan

Ixer, Rob A., 190

Jackson, Guy, 161

Jackson, John Edward (1805-91), 181;
activities, 211; A History of Grittleton
(1843), 211

Jackson, Julie Scott, 226

Jacobi, R., 71

jars, Romano-British, 97, 99, 116, 118,
120, 127

cf. Fensensispermum spp. (fossil seeds), 6-7

Fensensispermum redmondi (fossil seed), 7

Jewell, Juliet (née Clutton-Brock), 77, 80

Jewell, Peter Arundel (1925-98), 77, 80,
220

jewellery see brooches; gold objects; rings

JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation
Committee), 2

John Samuels Archaeological Consultants
@GSAG); 237.

Joint Nature Conservation Committee
(JNCC), 2

Jones, William Henry Rich (1817-85),
211

Jope, Edward Martyn (1915-96), vili

Jope, Margaret, 216

JSAC (John Samuels Archaeological
Consultants), 237

juniper trees, 172

Funiperus communis (common juniper), 27

Jurassic-Cretaceous transition, 10

Kateshill (Worcestershire), 56

Keiller, Alexander (1889-1955), 187, 212,
215, 216, 218, 220

Keiller, Gabrielle, 216, 219, 221

Kennet and Avon Canal, 28, 56, 60, 156;
restoration, 154

Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, 154

Kennet District, trees in, 42-64

Kennet District Council, 220

Kennet, River, 44, 47, 50, 68, 198, 232

Kennet Valley, trees, 42, 44, 45-58

Kent, 32, 139, 142, see also Baston
Manor; Canterbury; Maidstone
Museum; Reculver; Rochester Castle;
Springhead

Kent Archaeological Society, 210

Kenward, Robin, 222

Kenyon, Kathleen (1906-78), 218

Ker, James Innes, 5th Duke of Roxburghe
(1736-1823), 137

Kerridge, Eric, viii

Keswick, Henry, 60

Keynsham (Bath and North East
Somerset), 228

keys, padlock, 115

<= |

Tt eo ee

INDEX

kilns: Romano-British, 87, 97, 98; brick,
68; corn drying, 85; lye manufacture,
208, 209

Kimmeridge Clay, 93

King, A., 125

King, Denis Grant, 216

King of Limbs Oak, 51-2, 181-6

King Oak, 181-6

Kingston Deverill, 238

Kington St Michael, 239

Kinver (Staffordshire), 200

Kinwardstone Hundred, 203

Kirby, Colin, review by, 230

Knight, Richard, 138, 140, 143

Knight family, 138

knives: Roman, 101; flint, 237, see also
blades

La Verme see Savernake Forest

Lacock, Lacock Abbey, 49

Laidlaw, M.: note on building material
from Chapperton Down, 121; note
on pottery from Chapperton Down,
117-20

Lake District, 61

Lambeth Palace MS 2215, 131-5

Lambourn (West Berkshire), 219

lamplighters, 150

lamps, Romano-British, 97

Lancashire, trees, 59

land divisions, 110, 127, 128, 229, see also
boundaries

land ownership, and trees, 45

land-use, changes, 157

landowners, 155-6

Lane, John (c. 1857-1935), 163

Lane, Thomas (be. 1828), 163

Lansdowne, Marquess of, 146

larceny, 147-8

larch trees, 185

Larrea tridentata (creosote bush), 61

Last Glacial, 71

Latin, 201

Latton, Seven Bridges, 92

Launceston Down (Dorset), 76, 218

lava, 86, 87, 88

Laverstock, 24

Le Broyle, 45

lea, in place-names, 209

Leach family, 138

lead objects, 101, 239

Leahy, Kevin, 239

Lediard, James, 137, 138, 140

Leicester, 219

Leucojum aestivum (summer snowflake),
27, 30, 36

Leucojum aestivum ssp. aestivum (summer
snowflake), 36

Leucojum aestivum ssp. pulchellum (summer
snowflake), 36

Lever, Ronald, 68

Lewis, Mary, 143

Lewis, Samuel, the elder (d. 1865), A
Topographical Dictionary of England
(1831), 204

Liddiard, Mr, 53

Liddington, 93

lighting, public, 148-50

lignotubers, fossil, 10-13, 17

lime trees, 208

limes, 54, 55, 56, 59, 60

limestone, 1, 69, 187, 189

Lincoln, 150; South Common, 175

Lincolnshire, 33, 228

linears: Bronze Age, 173; Late Bronze
Age, 174; Iron Age, 229; Romano-
British, 128, see also ditches

lithics, 216, 222; Neolithic, 187-91;
Bronze Age, 187-91; petrological
analyses, 187-91, see also flintwork

Little Bedwyn, 185; Chisbury, 49, 207;
Chisbury Camp, 198, 199; Cobham

Frith, 54, 207-10; Knowle Farm, 69;
Knowle Hill, 207; origin of name,
198-9

Llandow (Vale of Glamorgan), Sutton 268
barrow, 76

local government, development, 149-50

Locke, Wadham, 137, 140

Locke family, 138

Lockey, Alexander, 149-50

Lolla, Maria Grazia, 132

London, 60, 139, 143, 145, 146, 150, 163,
164, 221; Bethnal Green Road, 160;
Lambeth, 162; Lambeth Palace,
131; Lancaster House, 76; lighting,
149; Philanthropic Society, 147;
Regent’s Park, 74, 217, 220; St John’s
Lodge, 217, 218; Southwark, 162;
Spitalfields, 162; urban development,
150; Westminster, 148-9; Whitehall,
217, see also British Museum; Natural
History Museum (NHM)

London Basin, 57

London Clay, 21, 22, 23, 26, 44, 57, 198

London Museum, 76

London—Bath road, 149

Long, William (1817-86), 211

Longworth, Ian, 216

Lord Chancellor, 136

Lower Chalk, 66

Lower Cretaceous, 10

Lubbock, Sir John, Ist Baron Avebury
(1834-1913), viii

Lucas, Charles, 148

Lucas, T. S., 161

Lucombe, William, 55

Ludgershall, 104; Ludgershall Castle,
235; Station Approach, 235; Willis
Green Golf Course, 235

Lukis, Francis Du Bois, 183

Lukis, Frederick Corbin, 183

Lukis, William Collings (1817-92), 76,
181, 189, 211; biographical notes, 183

Lulworth Formation, 10

lydion, 95, 101

lye: in place-names, 209; production,
207-9

lye pits, 207-10

Lye Wood (West Berkshire), 209

Lyeway Farm (Hampshire), 209

Lyeway (Hampshire), 209

Lyewood House (Hampshire), 209

lynchets, 174, 175

Mabey, Richard, 29

Mabinogion, 200

McCarthy and Stone (Developments), 234

maceheads, 187

machine guns, 172

McKinley, Jacqueline I., viii; note on
human bone from Chapperton Down,
122-3

McOmish, David, 128, 196; ed. The
Avebury Landscape (2005), review, 226

McVeigh, A., 40

Maendy (stone house), 201

Maendy (Vale of Glamorgan), 201

maes mavwr (great field), 200

magn- (stone), 201

Magnentius (303-353), 87

magnetic surveys, 85, 236

magnetometer surveys, 191, 209, 224, 225,
232, 234

Maiden Castle (Dorset), 75, 76, 128

Maidstone Museum (Kent), 218

main- (stone), 201

Maisemoor (Gloucestershire), 200

Malim, Caroline, paper on Romano-
British settlement on Chapperton
Down, 104-30

Mallowan, Sir Max (1904-78), 218

Malmesbury, 138, 239; Pinkney Park, 61;
trees, 46

247

Malone, Caroline, 213

Maltby, M., 125

Malthus, Thomas Robert (1766-1834),
144

mammals, bones, 1, 2, 123-6

mammoths, 65, 71

Manchester, Evening Club, 145

Manningford, 69

mansios, 94

maple trees, 46, 47, 52-3, 56—7

maps, 211; Andrews and Dury (1773),
58, 60

marching camps, 174

Margary, I. D., 106

markets, 150

Marlborough, 34, 45, 49, 51, 58, 76, 146;
Bath Road, 46, 47; Castle, 46; Castle
Inn, 47; Figgin’s Lane, 48; George
Lane, 47-8; Granham Hill, 47; Herd
Street, 48; High Street, 47; Littlefield
House, 46; Lloran House, 47, 48;
London Road, 235; Mound (Mount),
46-7; Priory Gardens, 48; River Park,
48; Town Hall, 150; trees, 42, 47-8,
50; West Woods, 27, 58, 209; woollen
industry, 208; Wye House, 48

Marlborough College, 36, 211; Duelling
Lawn, 47; Master’s Lodge, 47;
Mound (Mount), 46-7; orchestra,
221; trees, 45-7, 48

Marlborough Downs, 93, 154, 155; field
archaeology, 226; polissoirs, 225;
settlements, 196; trees, 42, 44, 50

Marlborough Downs Project, 226

Marlborough—Bedwyn road, 185

Marlborough—Burbage road, 45

Marlborough—London Road, 47, 49

Marlborough—Pewsey road, 47

Marren, P, 29, 31

Martin, Anthony, paper on Romano-
British settlement on Chapperton
Down, 104-30

Martin (Hampshire), 33

Martin’s Clump (Hampshire), 229

Maurice, David Pierce (1802-80), 47

Maurice, James Blake (1839-1912), .47

Maurice, Thelwall Blisset (1767-1830), 47

Maurice, Walter Byron (1872-1956), 47,
48, 76

Maurice family, 47

Mawgan Porth-(Cornwall), 75, 77, 81,
220, 221

Mayo, James, 149

Meadgate Homes, 233

meat, 123, 124, 125, see also butchery

mechanisation: agriculture, 157, 164;
cloth industry, 141

Medlyn, D. A., 9, 10, 13, 17

meeting houses, 138, 139

Megaw, J. V. S., viii

Melbury Bubb (Dorset), 228

Melchet (Hampshire), 200

Melksham, 139

Mells (Somerset), Lime Kiln Hill Quarry,
69, 71

memorials, war, 157

men (my), 201

Mendips, 65, 69, 70, 71, 187, 189

Menelaion (Greece), 196

mentha (mint), 201

Mentha aquatica (water mint), 201

Mere, Mere Down, 39

Merewether, John (1797-1850), 76

Mesozoic, 2

metal detectors, 238

metal objects, see also bronze objects;
copper alloy objects; gold objects; iron
objects; lead objects

metalwork: Bronze Age, 195, 196; Early
Bronze Age, 227; Middle Bronze
Age, 195; Romano-British, 113,
121-2; debris, 116; Taunton style,

248 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

195, see also blades; bronze objects;
copper alloy objects; gold objects; iron
objects; knives; lead objects; nails;
scrapers; tools

Methodism, 138; Calvanistic, 138;
chapels, 157; Wesleyan, 138-9, 140

metric system, criticisms, 78

meyndi (stone house), 201

Meyrick, Owen, 212

Michael, W., 184

Michael Sparks Associates, 237

microliths, 237

middens, Middle/Late Iron Age, 86

middle classes, formation, 150-1

Middle Jurassic, 18

Middle Purbeck, 10

Middlesex, 142

Midlands: riots, 147; South, 99

Mildenhall, Cunetio, 106

milestones, 106

military archaeology, 170, 171

milk, 124,125; production, 157

Mills, A. D., 200

Milton Lilbourne, barrows, 77, 79, 80,
221

min (edge), 201

Minety: Oaksey Nursery, 101; origin of
name, 199, 200-1; pottery, 101

Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI),
124

mining (explosives), 176

Ministry of Defence (MoD), 30, 171, 172,
227, 233-4

Ministry of Works, 74, 77, 221

Minstead (Hampshire), 201

Minsted (West Sussex), 201

minte (mint), 201

Minteg (mint island), 201

Minterne (Dorset), 201

Mintie (mint stream), 201

Mintig, 200-1

Mintih, 200-1

Minty, 200-1

MNI (Minimum Number of Individuals),
124

MoD (Ministry of Defence), 30, 171, 172,
227, 233-4

Modena (Italy), 196

molluscs, 78, 126, see also snails

Monkton Farleigh, 69, 71

monuments, church, 137

Moor Green (Hampshire), 77

Moorhead, Sam, viii

More, Hannah (1745-1833), Cheap
Repository Tracts (1795-8), 145

Morfe (Staffordshire), 200

Morrison Formation (US), 1, 2, 3, 6, 7-9,
10, 13, 14, 18; floras, 17

mortaria, Romano-British, 97, 98, 118

mosaics: Romano-British, 227-8;
seasonal, 228

Mount Ellen (US), 3, 6

Mount Pleasant (Cornwall), 201

Mountjoy (Cornwall), 201

Mountjoy (stone house), 201

Murray, John, 4th Earl of Dunmore
(1732-1809), 137

musk oxen, 65, 71

Musty, John, viii

myn (young kid), 201

Mynty, 201

myxomatosis, 78

Nadder, River, 68, 69, 70, 71

nails, Romano-British, 101, 117, 121

Naples (Italy), 196

Napoleonic Wars, 137

National Museum of Science and
Industry, 238

National Museum of Wales, 76

National Register for Black Poplars, 57

National Trust, 77, 191, 219, 220

Natural History Museum (NHM), 6;
Morrison Formation collection, 3;
Palaeontology Department, 2

Nature Conservancy Council, 1-2

Neanderthals, hand axes, 65, 71

Neaves, John, 139

Neaves, Joseph, 139

Neaves, Thomas, 139

Needham, John E., paper on Upper
Jurassic silicified plant fossils from
the Portland Stone Formation of
Chicksgrove Quarry, 1-20

Needwood (Staffordshire), 200

neonates, remains, 113, 115, 116, 117

Neotinea spp. (orchids), 32, see also Orchis
ustulata (burnt orchid)

Netheravon, 83, 137; Fifield Folly, 89;
Roman villa, 89

Nettleton, 235; Burton, 233; Church
Hill, 233

New Forest (Hampshire), 201; barrows,
76; plants, 33; pottery, 87, 118

New Sarum see Salisbury

Newall, R. L. S., 76

Newbury, Jack of (d. 1519), 208

Newhaven Chalk Formation, 229

Newport see Caerleon; University of Wales
College

Newquay (Cornwall), 201

Newton, Joy, 50

Newton Tony, Wilbury House, 230

NHM see Natural History Museum
(NHM)

Nicholas V, Pope (1397-1455), 239

Nine Mile River, 83

Nixon, Marion, paper on Frederick
George Bishop, coffin maker, 154-69

Nonconformism, 136, 137, 149, 150, 155;
charities, 140; development, 138-9;
Protestant, 139-40, see also Dissent

Norfolk, 142, 221

Norman Conquest (1066), 45

North Africa, 212; agriculture, 228;
turtles, 26

North America, 139

North Bradley, 137

North Downs, 33

North Somerset see Congresbury

North Tidworth, 33, 104, 172; Perham
Down, 176, 177; Sidbury Hill, 74,
79, 80, 83

North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding

Natural Beauty Woodland

Archaeology Project, 225

North Wraxall, Truckle Hill, 235

Northampton, Earl of (1760-1828), 146

Northamptonshire see Clifford Hill

Northumberland see Otterburn

numerals: Arabic, 203, 205, 206; Roman,
206

nummi, 86, 87

OA see Oxford Archaeology (OA)

oak: charcoal, 126; uses, 160

oaks, 48, 49, 55, 56, 59, 60, 61, 63;
champion, 51-4, 55; growth, 42;
Savernake Forest, 51-4, 59, 181-6

Oaksey, All Saints Church, 235

obituaries, vii, 211, 215-23

occupations: Bishops Cannings, 157-8;
children, 141; poor, 143, 149; women,
141

Office of Works, 74, 76

Ogbourne St Andrew: Barbury Castle, 93,
235-6; Maizey Down, 235-6

OISs see Oxygen Isotope Stages (OISs)

Okehampton (Devonshire), 177

Old English, 201

Old Paunchy Oak, 52

Old Red Sandstone, 187, 189

Old Sarum, Sorviodunum, 105, 106

Oliver, Jack, paper on large and special

trees in Kennet District, 42-64

O’Neil, Bryan H. StJ., 74

Ontario (Canada), 217

opus signinum, 95, 101

Orcheston, Orcheston Down, 175

Orchis ustulata (burnt orchid), 27, 30, 31-2

Ordnance Survey, 21, 68, 80, 175, 181;
Archaeological Division, 193;
Gazetteer, 198, 209

Ordo Prophetarum, 132

organs, repairs, 137

Ornithogalum pyrenaicum (spiked star-of-
Bethlehem), 30, 34-5

orphans, 142, 143

ostracods, 126

Otterburn (Northumberland), 177

outdoor relief, 142, 143, 144

Overseers of the Poor, 140; accounts, 143

Ovibos moschatus (musk ox), 65, 71

Oxford, 21; Ashmolean Museum, 194

Oxford Archaeology (OA): analyses,
234-5; evaluations, 233-4, 235, 237,
238; watching briefs, 234, 237

Oxford Clay, 93

Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory,
206

Oxford gravels, 77

Oxford University, Research Laboratory
for Archaeology and History of Art,
202

Oxfordshire, 200; plants, 37; pottery, 87,
98, 99, 101, 118, see also Abingdon;
Bix; Great Haseley; Henley-on-
Thames; Stonesfield

Oxygen Isotope Stages (OISs): 2, 71; 3,
65, 66, 71; 6, 65

oysters, imported, 89

pacifism, 139

padlock keys, 115

paintings, vault, 131-5

palaeo-environmental evidence, 125-6

palaeobotany, 2

Palaeocene, 21, 26

Palaeolithic: hand axes, 65—73; Lower,
65, 66; Middle, 65, 71

palisades, 79

palstaves: Middle Bronze Age, 193-6;
typology, 195

Papal bullae, 239

Papaver hybridum (rough poppy), 37-8

Papists, 139

Pararaucaria patagonica (conifer), 14

Paris (France), 215; Sorbonne, 217

Parker Pearson, Mike, 225

PAS (Portable Antiquities Scheme), vil,
238-9

Passmore, Arthur D. (c.1873—1958), viil,
91, 102, 103, 193-4

Patagonia: fossil plants, 1, 2, 17, see also
Cerro Cuadrado

paths, 18th century, 234

paupers see poor

pear trees, 49-50

Pearce, S. M., 195

Pearman, D. A., 29

peasant economy, 127

pebbles: rounded, 189; unworked, 187,
189; utilised, 187

pedalis, 101

Peirson, Mr, 184

pelomedusids: carapaces, 26; fossils, 26,
see also turtles

Pembroke, Earl of, 45, 145

Pembroke, Lord, 68

Pembrokeshire, see also Penally

penal reform systems, 230

Penally (Pembrokeshire), 177

pepper pots, Romano-British, 97

Peredur, 200

Perry, Bill, 224

Peterborough, 216, 218

INDEX

Peterborough Cathedral, 135

Petrie, Sir (William Matthew) Flinders
(1853-1942), viii

petrological analyses, lithics, 187-91

Pettitt, P B., 71

Pewsey, 33, 61; coffin makers, 160; hand
axes, 65-73; Jones’s Mill, 67, 68;
Martinsell, 58, 69; Pewsey Down,
32; Station, 69; Vera Jeans Nature
Reserve, 67

Pewsey, Vale of, 68, 69, 87, 154, 155, 157;
sedges, 156; trees, 42, 44, 58-62

Pewsey—Marlborough road, 47

Phear Park (Devonshire), 55

Philanthropic Society, 147

philanthropy, 140, 146, 147, 148

Philistines, 229

Phillips, Bernard, 235, 237; paper on
Romano-British villa at Stanton
Fitzwarren, 91-103

Phyteuma orbiculare (round-headed
rampion), 30, 32-3

Phytophthora (fungi), 43

Picea abies (Norway Spruce), 60

pig bones, Romano-British, 124

Piggott, Stuart (1910-96), viii, 79,
80-1, 192, 215, 216, 218, 219; Neolithic
cultures of the British Isles (1954),
215-16; ‘Neolithic Pottery of the
British Isles’ (1931), 222

Pigott, D., 55, 61

pilae, 95,101

pillowstones, 189

Pin Hole Mammal Assemblage Zone, 71

Pinch, John, 150

Pinckney, Robert (1754-1809), 47

pine trees, 54, 61

Pinnock, John, 139

pins: Early Bronze Age, 227; nail-headed,
127

Pinus radiata (Monterey pine), 54

pipelines, water, 92

pipes, earthenware, 21

Pitney (Somerset), 227

pits, 232, 236, 237; 2prehistoric, 234;
Iron Age, 93; Middle Iron Age, 93;
Romano-British, 85, 86, 87, 97, 108,
113, 116, 127, 128, 235; medieval, 234,
see also ditches; middens; postholes

Pitt Rivers, Augustus Henry Lane Fox
(1827-1900), vili

Pitton and Farley, 34

Pitts, Mike, viii; note on early medieval
execution at Stonehenge, 202-3

place-names, origins, 198-202, 209

plane trees, 49

plant fossils, 1-20; contexts, 14-18

plant remains: carbonised, 1; charred,
126; conservation, 2; petrified, 2

plants: of man-made habitats, 38-9;
publishing records, 28; rare, 27, 29-
30, 34-6; Record List, 28-9; recording,
28; refound, 39-40; scarce, 27, 30-6;
taxonomy, 28, see also flora; weeds

Plashett[/Plaskett], Mr, 22, 23

plaster (wall) see wall plaster

Platanus x acerifolia see Platanus x hispanica
(London plane)

Platanus x hispanica (London plane), 49

Platanus x orientalis (oriental plane), 49

platters, Romano-British, 97

ploughing, archaeological damage, 75,
77, 81, 220

ploughs, horse-drawn, 156

pluralism, 140

podocarps, 61

Podocnemis spp. (turtles), 26

Polibius, Publius Cipius, 238

polissoirs, 225

Pollard, Josh, viii, 191, 213, 225;
Monuments and Material Culture. Papers
in honour of an Avebury archaeologist:

Isobel Smith (2004), 216

pollarding, 42-3, 50

Pompeii (Italy), 238

Pond Cairns, 76

poor: bequests to, 140; books for, 145;
and élites, 143; expenditures by,
141; expenditures on, 142, 143;
occupations, 143, 149; self-help
schemes, 144; surveys, 140

poor laws, 140, 142, 143; criticisms, 144;
goals, 147

Poor Rates, 140-1, 142-3, 144

poor relief, 137, 140-3; payments, 141,
142; views on, 144

Poore, Herbert (d. 1217), 203-4

poplars, 47-8, 57, 59; girth, 43; growth,
42

‘Poppy’, 221-2

population, trends, 157

Populus x canadensis ‘Regenerata’ (Railway
Poplar), 47-8

Populus nigra (black poplar), 57, 59

Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), vii,
238-9

Portesham Quarry (Dorset), 3,5, 6, 14~17

Portland Stone Formation, plant fossils,
1-20

Porton Down Conservation Group, 229

Portsmouth (Hampshire), 143; provincial
movement, 149

Portsmouth Beneficial School, 146

post-circles, 79

postholes, 232, 236; Middle Iron Age, 93;
Romano-British, 102, 113, 114, 116,
117, 234, see also pits

potash, 207, 208; importation, 209

potassium carbonate, 207

Potterne, 155; font, 228; Porch House,
Paty

pottery, 68; prehistoric, 117; Neolithic,
215-16, 219, 220, 222, 227; Early
Neolithic, 191, 192, 218; Late
Neolithic, 78; Beaker, 78; Bronze
Age, 116, 117, 229; Middle Bronze
Age, 191; Middle/Late Bronze Age,
108, 117, 128; Iron Age, 116, 117;
Early Iron Age, 108, 128; Middle
Iron Age, 87, 93; Middle/Late Iron
Age, 86, 87; Late Iron Age, 86, 88,
94; Romano-British, 85, 86, 87, 88,
91, 94, 97-101, 102, 113, 116, 117-20,
128, 193, 224, 233, 234; medieval,
120, 193, 224, 232, 233, 236; post-
medieval, 120; 19th century, 225;
Alice Holt ware, 98, 99, 101, 118;
Black Burnished ware, 87, 98, 118,
224; Bromham White Coated ware,
97; coarse greywares, 87; coarsewares,
101, 113, 118, 120; colour-coated
ware, 88; faience, 229; Fengate ware,
216, 218; finewares, 87, 113, 118;
flint-tempered, 117; grass-tempered,
237; greywares, 118; grog pellets, 97;
grog-tempered ware, 118; Grooved
Ware, 216; Mortlake sub-style, 218;
New Forest red-slipped ware, 118;
Oxfordshire parchment ware, 98, 99;
Oxfordshire red/brown colour coat
ware, 98; Oxfordshire ware, 118;
Oxfordshire white ware, 98, 101;
Peterborough ware, 216, 218; pink
fabric, 99; Rinyo-Clacton ware,
216; Samian, 87, 98-9, 102, 118, 127
(Central Gaulish, 99; South Gaulish,
99); sandy wares, 118; Savernake
ware, 87, 118; shell-tempered ware,
99, 101; Verwood type, 120; West
Swindon coarseware, 97, 99, 101;
Windmill Hill wares, 218; Woodlands
type, 216, see also bowls; ceramic
building materials (CBMs); cups;
dishes; jars; kilns; tiles; urns

249

Poundbury (Dorset), 123

poverty: of disaster, 142; growth of,
144; of inheritance, 142; and urban
collectivism, 136—53, see also poor

Powell, William, 139

Powell family, 138, 139

Pownall, Thomas (1722-1805), 135

practice trenches see training trenches

praefurnium, 102

Prehistoric Society, 222

Presbyterianism, 138, 140

Preshute: Clatford, 45; Manton Barrow,
76

Presland, John, paper on the recording of
Wiltshire flora, 27-41

Prest, J. M., 212

Preston, C. D., 29

Price, Ronald, 49

prisoner of war camps, 157

prisoners of war, Italian, 157

prisons, 230

Prophet Plays, 132

Protestant Nonconformism, 139-40

Protocupressinoxylon purbeckensis (conifer),
1397

provincial movement, 149

Prunus avium (wild cherry), 57

Prunus cerasifera ‘Pissardii’ (purple-leaved
plum), 50

Prunus ‘Shirofugen’, 61

pterosaurs: bones, 2; teeth, 2

Pugh, R. B., viii, 74, 212

Puppigerus spp. (turtles), 26

Purbeck, Isle of (Dorset), flora, 1

Purbeck Limestone Group, 1, 13; Basal
Beds, 2, 3,5, 14-17

Purbeck Plant Hire, 235

Purton, Dogridge, 97

Putnam, Ethel Annie, 160

Pyke, Henry (d. 1797), 160

pyres, 79

Pyrus communis (European pear), 49-50

Pywell, R., 33

Quakers, 138, 140; membership, 139

Quarley High Linear (Hampshire), 229

quarries, gravel, 232

quartz, 189

Queen’s University Belfast, 213

Quercus spp. (oaks), 126

Quercus cerris (Turkey oak), 52, 55

Quercus coccinea (American scarlet oak),
61

Quercus x hispanica ‘Lucombeana’
(Lucombe oak), 55

Quercus ilex (holm oak), 56

Quercus petraea (sessile oak), 52, 185

Quercus robur (English oak), 49, 51, 52,
61, 185

Quercus robur ‘Cristata’ (cluster oak), 52,
59, 185

Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata (poplar oak), 48

Quercus x rosacea, 185

Quercus suber (cork oak), 55

querns: Romano-British, 86, 87, 88, 113,
122, 128; rotary, 86, 87, 113, 122;
saddle, 122

rabbits, archaeological damage, 78

Rackham, O., 198

Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, 202

radiocarbon dating, 77, 78, 80, 219, 227;
barrows, 81; bone, 202; teeth, 224

railways, 91, 92, 97, 219; construction,
21, 69, 103

Ramsbury, 56; Littlecote Manor, 49;
Littlecote Park, 227, 228; sculpture,
228; trees, 49; West Lodge, 49

ranching, 125

Randell, A. G., 161

ranges: artillery, 230; rifle, 171, 172,
173, 174

250 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

rates, introduction, 149

RCHME see Royal Commission on the
Historical Monuments of England
(RCHME)

re-colonisation, Palaeolithic, 65-73

Read, Brian, Metal Buttons c.900 BC
—c.AD 1700 (2006), 239

Reading, lighting, 149

Reading Beds, 21, 23, 44, 57, 198

Reading University, 83-5

Record List, 28-9

Reculver (Kent), 123

red deer see deer

Redlynch: brickyards, 21, 22-3;
Hamptworth Lodge, 21-6; plants, 38

redoubts, 171, 175, 177

Redu (Italy), 196

Reeve, Matthew M., paper on vault
paintings of Salisbury Cathedral,
131-5

reformatories, 230

Relacement King Oak, 52

religion, and community, 136

reptiles, bones, 1, 2

resistivity surveys see earth resistivity
surveys

Restoration, 138

rewards, 148, 150

Reynolds, Andrew, viii, 213; note on early
medieval execution at Stonehenge,
202-3; review by, 229-30

Reynolds, Paul Kenneth Baillie
(1896-1973), 77

RGA (Royal Garrison Artillery), 229

Rhineland, 196

Rich, T. C. G., 40

Richards, Julian (1951— ), vii

Richardson, Richard, 149

Ride, David, In Defence of Landscape: An
Archaeology of Porton Down (2006),
review, 229-30

Ridgeway, 61

rifle ranges, 171, 172, 173, 174

Riley, Francis, 139

rings: bronze, 196-7; copper alloy, 117

riots, 147

roads: Roman, 92, 93-4, 106, 107;
metalled, 92; paving, 148-9;
turnpikes, 230, see also trackways

robber trenches, 86—7

Robbins, Richard, 148

Roberts, Vaughan, 191

Robinia pseudoacacia (false acacia), 47, 48

Robinson, Paul, viii, 238; note on North
Italian fibula from Avebury Down,
196-7; note on petrological analyses of
lithics in Wiltshire Heritage Museum,
187-91

Robinson, Sir Roy Lister (1883-1952),
184

Rochester Castle (Kent), 174

Rockbourne (Hampshire), 146

Rodden Brook, 68

Roe, D. A., 65

Roman Catholicism, 139

Roman invasion (43 ap), 98

Roman numerals, 206

Romans, 208

roofing materials: sandstone, 121;
terracotta, 95,101, 102

Rootes, Sir William Edward (1894-1964),
56

Rose, George, 145

Rose, Thomas, 139

Rose, Walter (bc. 1860), 160; The Village
Carpenter, 158

Rothwell, G. W., 18

roundhouses, Iron Age, 93, 224

Roundway, 145, 154, 157, 189; Duck
Ruddles, 156

rowans, 53-4, 60-1

Rowlands, M. J., 195

Roxburghe, Duke of (1736-1823), 137

Royal Archaeological Institute, 211

Royal Commission on the Historical
Monuments of England (RCHME),
175, 212, 216, 219, 222, 226; field
investigations, 170; fieldwork, 233;
surveys, 75, 78, 236

Royal Engineers, 175

Royal Flying Corps, 177

Royal Forests, 45

Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA), 229

rubbers, 187

rubbish pits see middens

Ruddle, Charles, 156

Ruddle, George (schoolmaster), 156

Ruddle, George (c. 1826-1903), 156,
161-2

Ruddle, George (dc. 1843), 162

Ruddle, George Giddings, 156, 158, 164

Ruddle, George Skeate (1828-1909), 156,
161, 162

Ruddle family, 155-6, 161

Runcie, Robert Alexander Kennedy,
Baron Runcie of Cuddesdon
(1921-2000), 62

Russians, 143

Saalian Glaciation, 65

Sabben-Clare, Ernest E. (1910-93), 212

sacrifices, human, 123

St Albans (Hertfordshire), 76

St Fagans (Cardiff), 201

St Paul Malmesbury Without, Rodbourne,
224

Salisbury, bishops of, 137, 138, 154

Salisbury, rural deans of, 211

Salisbury, 27, 36, 104, 106, 137, 144, 162,
183, 222; Annual General Meetings
at, 211; archdeaconry of, 136; Bishop
Wordsworth School, 212; Colonel
Pepper’s Ground, 69; Devizes Road,
69; diocese of, 136; Fisherton, 65,
69, 71, 72; Godolphin School, 69;
Harnham, 69, 70-1; Milford Hill, 69,
70, 71; provincial movement, 149, see
also Old Sarum

Salisbury Cathedral: Arabic numerals
in roof, 203; Beauchamp Chantry
Chapel, 131; Bishop’s Palace, 206;
Bishops Registry, 204; Hungerford
Chantry Chapel, 131; improvements,
137 (criticisms, 131); Lady Chapel,
131; vault paintings, 131-5

Salisbury Museum see Salisbury and
South Wiltshire Museum

Salisbury Plain, 44, 68, 155, 227; airfields,
230-1; animal bone, 124-5; neonatal
burials, 122; plants, 33; settlements,
83-90, 128; training trenches, 170-80

Salisbury Plain Training Area
(SPTA), 83; archaeology, 104-6;
extension, 74; geology, 104;
historical background, 171; military
archaeology, 170; plants, 27-8, 30, 33;
Romano-British settlements, 104-30;
struck flints, 233; training trenches,
170-80

Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum,
24, 66, 68

Salisbury Spelling Book, The, 145

Salix alba (white willow), 45-6, 59, 61

Salix fragilis (crack willow), 46, 50

Salmon, William, 137, 140, 145, 149

Salmon, William Wroughton, 145

Sandell, Richard Emery (1911-78), viii,
212

sands, 21

sandstones, 187, 189, 190; roofing
materials, 121

Saresbyri, see also Old Sarum

sarsen stones, 149, 189, 192, 219, 222,
225, 236

Sarum see Salisbury

Savernake, 185, 200; Batts Farm, 58;
Clench Common, 57-8; Compton
Farm, 58; Culley’s Farm, 58; Durley
Warren, 184; Great Park, 45, 57-8;
Leigh Hill, 209; Luton Lye, 209; Lye
Hill Cottage, 209; Mud Lane, 57-8;
Postern Hill, 185; St Katharine’s,
184; St Katharine’s School, 52;
Savernake Lodge, 184; Tottenham
House, 45, 54-5, 56; Tottenham
House Park, 44, 54-6; trees, 57-8;
Warren Farm, 53, 185

Savernake Estate, 51, 55, 181, 184

Savernake Forest, 49, 184; Amity Drive,
54; ammunition stores, 55, 184; Birch
Copse, 54, 185, 198, 199; Charcoal
Burners Road, 53,54; Cluster Oak,
184, 185; Column Ride, 185; Duke’s
Vaunt, 51—2, 184; Eight Walks, 51,
53, 181; Grand Avenue, 53; historical
background, 45; Holt Pound, 53;
Lewdens Lye Coppice, 209; London
Drive, 56; Long Harry, 53; Lye
Coppice, 209; lye pits, 207-10; oaks,
51-4, 59, 181-6; pottery, 87, 118;
trees, 44, 51-4, 57-8; Twelve O’Clock
Drive, 53, 181

Savernake Forest, Warden of, 45, 181, 186

Savernake Plateau, trees, 42, 44,51

Saville, Alan, 216

Savings Bank Act (1817), 145

Saxifraga tridactylites (rue-leaved
saxifrage), 38

Saxons, 199-202, 229

Scandix pecten-veneris (shepherd’s needle),
36-7

scavengers, 149, 150

schist, 189

Schmidt, P K., 195

Schnebbelie, Jacob, 131, 132

schools, 155

Scotland, trees, 58

Scott, Sir Warwick Lindsay (1892-1952),
218

scrapers, flint, 120, 237

Scribblers Club, 144-5

Scrope, George Julius Poulett (1797—
1876);3235.

sculpture: Roman, 239; Anglo-Saxon,
228-9 :

Sea Mills (Bristol), Abona, 106

Seaford Chalk Formation, 229

Second World War see World War II

sectionalism, 150

sedges, 156

seedlings, fossil, 10-13, 17

seeds: fossil, 1-7, 17; terminology, 2-3;
use of term, 2

Seend, 141

self-help schemes, 144

Selley, Alfred, 69

Sequoiadendron giganteum (Wellingtonia),
63

sermons, 140

servants, 158

sesquipedalis, 101

settlements: prehistoric, 85; Early
Neolithic, 224; Beaker, 227; Early
Bronze Age, 85; Middle Bronze Age,
104; Middle/Late Bronze Age, 196;
Iron Age, 83, 85, 88, 128, 224; Early
Iron Age, 93; Late Iron Age, 94, 104;
Romano-British, 83-90, 94, 104-30,
200, 234; Anglo-Saxon, 200, see also
castles; enclosures; towns; villages

Severn Estuary, 106

Seward, Sir Albert Charles (1863-1941), 3

Seymour, Edward, Ist Earl of Hertford
and Duke of Somerset (c.1506—1552),
45, 56, 203

Seymour, Edward Adolphus, 11th Duke of

INDEX

Somerset (1775-1855), 145

Seymour, Sir Edward, Earl of Hertford
(c.1539~1621), 45, 203

Seymour, Jane, Queen (c.1509-37), 45, 59

Seymour, Lord William (1759-1837), 146

Seymour family, 45, 46, 59

Shalbourne, 57; Bagshot, 203; Ham Hill,
40; Oxenwood, 203; River Road,
204; St Margaret’s chapel, 203-4;
Shalbourne Dormer, 203; Westcourt
Farmhouse, 203-7

Shalbourne History Project, 203

Sharp, William, 147

Shaw-Mellor, A., viii

sheep, 45; farming, 155, 157, 230; meat,
125; teeth, 124

sheep/goat bones, Romano-British, 87, 88,
117, 123, 124, 125

Sheldon, Gilbert (1598-1677), 138

shells, 116

shepherds, 155, 157

Sherborne (Dorset), 69

shield bosses, 229

shoots, fossil, 7-10, 14, 17

Shortt, Hugh (d. 1975), viii

Shrewton, 187; Maddington Farm, 117,
120, 128; pottery, 87; Shrewton
Church of England Primary School,
236; Shrewton Folly, 175

Shropshire, 139, see also Wroxeter

Sidmouth, Viscount (1757-1844), 145

Silchester (Hampshire), Calleva, 93

silt lenses, 1, 2

Simondston Cairn (Wales), 76

Simpkins, Charles, 146

Simpson, Derek Douglas Alexander
(1938-2005), viii, 187, 189, 190

Sites and Monuments Record (SMR), 83,
85, 204, 207

Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs):
Bulford, 172; Chicksgrove Quarry, 2

Skinner, J., 146

Skinner, John, 144

skinning, 124, 127, see also butchery

slag, iron, 97, 102

slaughtering, 124, see also butchery

Slocombe, Ivor: Wiltshire Reformatory for
Boys Warminster 1856-1924 (2005),
review, 230; Wiltshire Toll Houses
(2004), review, 230

Slocombe, P. M., 159

sloes (blackthorn trees), 58

Sloper, George, 139, 149

Sloper family, 138

Smith, Rev Alfred Charles (c.1823—99):
activities, 211; Fast: Sarisburiensis,
211; The Statutes of the Cathedral
Church of Sarum, 211

Smith, G. T., 161

Smith, Helen, 193

Smith, Henry, 193

Smith, Isobel Foster (1912-2005), viii,
80; activities, 212; The Decorative
Art of Neolithic Ceramics in South-
East England and its Relations (1956),
215-16, 218, 222; Late Beaker Pottery
of the Lyonesse (1955), 218; obituary,
215-23; Razors, Urns and the British
Middle Bronze Age (1956), 218;
Stonehenge and its environs, Monuments
and Land Use (1979), 219; Windmill
Hill and Avebury: excavations, by
Alexander Keiller, 1925-1939 (1965),
216, 218-19

Smith, Joshua, 145, 146

Smith, M. A., 195

Smith, Sidney John (b. 1889), 155, 156,
163

Smith, Thomas, 155

Smith family, 193

SMR (Sites and Monuments Record), 83,
85, 204, 207

snails, 125, 126

Snashall, Nicola: note on Neolithic site
at Hackpen, Overton Hill, Avebury,
191-2; review by, 226

soap manufacture, 209

social control: charities and, 147; church
and, 137-8

social groups, 136

Society of Antiquaries, 131, 132, 210, 211

Society for Bettering the Condition of the
Poor, 144

Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge (SPCK), 137

Society for the Suppression of Vice, 136

soils, buried, 81

Solenostelopteris spp. (ferns), 14

Solent (Hampshire), 65, 71

Somerset, Dukes of, 145

Somerset, 34; sculpture, 228, see also
Cannington; Mells; Pitney; Uphill
Quarry; Wells; Wookey Hole; Yeovil

Soper (surname), 209

Sorbiodunum see Sorviodunum

Sorbus aria (whitebeam), 58

Sorbus aucuparia (rowan), 53-4

Sorbus commixta (Japanese rowan), 60-1

Sorviodunum (Old Sarum), 195, 106

South Downs, 33

South Marston, 236; Nightingale Farm,
193

South Midlands, 99

South Newton, 69

South Tidworth, 176

South Western Group of Museums and
Art Galleries, Implement Petrology
Committee, 187

Southampton (Hampshire): Clausentum,
106; provincial movement, 149

Southampton University, Geology
Department, 21

Southampton-Salisbury railway line, 21

Southey, Robert (1774-1843), 137, 147

Spalding, Dr, 143

SPCK (Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge), 137

spearheads, 229

spikes, iron, 113

spindle trees, 58

spindlewhorls, 87; chalk, 86; clay, 122

spores, fossil, 2

Springhead (Kent), 123

spruce trees, 60

SPTA see Salisbury Plain Training Area
(SPTA)

SSSIs see Sites of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSIs)

Stace, C., 47

Staff, Christina, note on the activities of
the Archaeology Field Group, 224—5

Staffordshire, 200, 208, see also Cannock;
Cannock Chase; Kinver; Morfe;
Needwood

stake-circles, 76, 79

Stanley Baldwin Oak, 61

Stanton Fitzwarren, 193; geology, 93;
Romano-British villa, 91-103;
Stanton House, 91; Stanton Park, 99;
Stantone, 91

Stanton St Bernard, Milk Hill, 69

Stapleford, 69, 70

Stearn, L. F, 28, 39

Steele; E. H., 212

Steeple Langford, Yarnbury, 177

Steinerocaulis radiatus (fossil shoot), 9-10,
13

Stephens Cox Associates, 237

Stewart, A., 29

Stewart, W. N., 18

Stidolph, Susie, note on the activities of
the Archaeology Field Group, 224-5

Stockbridge Down (Hampshire), 229

Stockey, Ruth A., 10-13

Stockport, 150

Stockton, 137

Stone, J. E S., 229

Stone, T., 162

stone objects, 116, 189, see also lithics

Stonehenge, 74, 155, 213, 216, 218, 220,
222; articles on, 210-11; barrows, 75,
77, 80, 225; Cursus, 189; excavations,
216; execution at, 202-3, see also
Amesbury

Stonehenge Riverside Project, 225

Stonehenge World Heritage site, 190

stones: polished, 225; sarsen, 149, 189,
192, 219, 222, 225, 236; standing, 91

Stonesfield (Oxfordshire), 18

stonework, see also flintwork; querns

Stour, River, 65

Stourhead Collection, 187, 189, 227

Stourton with Gasper, 139; Stourhead
Gardens, 54

strainers, 127

Stratton St Margaret, Kingsdown, 92

streets see roads

Strutt, Jacob George (1790-1864), Sylva
Britannica, 181, 183, 184

studs, gold-plated, 115

Stukeley, William (1687-1765), 75

Succisa pratensis (devil’s-bit scabious), 33

Suffolk see Sutton Hoo

Sunday school movement, 136, 145

Surrey, 24, 142, see also Ash Ranges;
Farnham; Hungry Hill

Sussex, 142

Sutherland see Helmsdale

Sutton, James, 137, 143, 149

Sutton, Prince, 138

Sutton family, 138, 150

Sutton Hoo (Suffolk), 79, 219

Sutton Veny, Parsonage Down, 27, 32

Swan, William, 138

Sweden, 209

Swedes, 208

Swindon, 34, 193, 200, 226; Coate, 237;
Commonhead Roundabout, 236;
Groundwell Farm, 93; Groundwell
West, 93; kilns, 97; Kingsdown
Crematorium, 237; Marlborough
Road, 237; Old’s Close, 97; pottery,
97; St Joseph’s Upper School, 236-7;
Shaw Ridge, 97; South Marston Park,
237; Swindon Gateway, 237; Toothill
Farm, 97; Triangle Site, 236; Upper
Shaw Farm, 97; Westlea Down, 97;
Whitehill Farm, 97

Swindon Archaeological Society, 91

Swindon Borough Council, 91, 237

Swindon-Highworth railway, 91

sycamore trees, 50, 58

Tan Hill Fair (apple), 164

tankards, Romano-British, 97

Tanner, Robin (1904-89), vii

Tarrant Chalk Member, 229

Tasmania, 61

Tatton-Brown, Tim, viii

taxa, eligible, 28

Taxodium distichum (swamp cypress), 47

taxonomy, plants, 28

Tayler, Samuel, 137, 149

Taylor, Joan, viii

teeth: cattle, 124; crocodilians, 2; fish, 2;
human, 224; loose, 124; pterosaurs,
2; sheep, 124

Teffont, Teffont Magna, 68

tegula, 101, 102

Telford and Wrekin see Wrekin

Tennyson, Alfred, 1st Baron Tennyson
(1809-92), 47

Tennyson, Hallam, 2nd Baron Tennyson
(1852-1928), 47

Tennyson Beech, 47

Tephroseris integrifolia (field fleawort), 30

252 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

tepidarium, 102

terra sigillata, 98-9

terraces, 70—1, 110-13, 127

Tertiary, 2; turtles, 21-6

tessellation, Roman, 91, 95, 102

Test, River, 88

Test and Corporation Acts, 139

Thames, River, 68, 70, 93

Thames Valley, 36, 70, 93, 98

Therapnai (Greece), 196

Thesium humifusum (bastard toadflax), 30,
334

Thick Wood (Gloucestershire), 200

Thomas, Charles, 74-5, 227

Thomas, James, viii, 213

Thomas, Julian, 225

Thomas, Nicholas, viii, 187; Snail Down
(2005), reviews, 74-82, 226-7

Thomson, T. R. FE, 212

Thorncombe (Dorset), Broom pits, 67

threshing machines, 156

Thurman, Thomas, 137, 143

Thurman family, 138

Thurnam, John (1810-73), vii, 75, 76

Tidwell, W. D., 9, 10, 13, 17

tiles, 68; Romano-British, 95, 101, 121,
127; box-flue, 88, 101; floor, 88, 101;
manufacture, 21; pila, 101; ridge,
101; roof, 87, 88,91, 102, 117, 127;
voussoir, 101

Tilia cordata (small-leaved lime), 59, 61

Tilia x euchlora (Crimean hybrid lime), 60

Tilia x europea (common (hybrid) lime),
54, 56, 59

Tilia platyphyllos ssp. cordifolia (broad-
leaved lime), 54,55

Tilley, Mr, 186

Tilshead, 175, 176

Tilshead Project, 224-5

timber, in buildings, 117, 127

Time Team, evaluations, 83-90

Times, 77, 215, 220

Times Literary Supplement, viii

Tisbury, 1; Old Coalyard, 237; Old
Wardour Castle, 237; Upper
Chicksgrove, 1; Wardour, 139, see also
Chicksgrove Quarry

Tisbury Member, 1

tithes, 136

Tithonian age, 1

toll houses, 230

tools, 159; Bronze Age, 211; flint, 70,
229, 237; stone, 227, see also axes;
blades; hammers; hand axes; knives;
scrapers

Toone, E. K, 161

toponymy, 198-202, 209

Torilis arvensis (spreading hedge-parsley),
30

Toronto (Canada), 215, 217

tortoises, 21

Tower Hill (Hampshire), 229

town halls, 150

towns, urban development, 148-51

Townsend, Joseph, 144

trackways, 91, 238; ?prehistoric, 235;
Roman, 105-6, see also hollow ways;
paths; roads

training trenches, 170-80; distribution,
Wala,

Tree Register of the British Isles (TROBD),
44, 46, 48, 50, 55, 57, 59-60, 61

tree rings, 42

tree-throw holes, 236

trees: categorisation, 44; champion,
42-64; girth, 43; growth, 42-3;
height, 43-4; historical associations,
45; in Kennet District, 42-64;
and land ownership, 45; large,
42-64; locations, 44; measuring,
43-4; ornamental, 45; pathogens, 43;
records, 44; special, 42—64; species,

62-3; unrecognised, 63

Tregulland Burrow (Cornwall), 77

trenches: Boer War, 171-2; World War
I, 170-80; zigzag, 171, 172, 173, 174,
176, see also training trenches

trepanning, 227

Tritton, Sir Geoffrey Ernest (1900-76), 91

TROBI (Tree Register of the British Isles),
44, 46, 48, 50, 55, 57, 59-60, 61

troops: American, 55, 184-5; British and
Commonwealth, 185

Trowbridge: Castle Street, 237; cloth
industry, 138; Poor Rate, 142

trulli, Roman, 238

Tucker, Isaac, 149

tumuli see barrows

Turnpike Trusts, 149, 230

turtles: marine, 26; marsh, 26;
Tertiary, 21-6, see also chelonians;
pelomedusids

ty (house), 201

Tyburn Tickets, 148

Tylee, Charles, 139, 145

Tylee, John, 139, 145, 149

Tylee, Thomas, 139, 145

Tylee family, 139, 140

UCL (University College London), viii

Uley (Gloucestershire), 128

unemployment, and crime, 147

Unitarianism, 138

United Society, 138

United States (US): fossil plants, 1,
2, 17, 18; trees, 48, see also Henry
Mountains; Morrison Formation;
Mount Ellen; Utah

University of Bath, 226

University College London (UCL), viii,
213, see also Institute of Archaeology

University of London, 217

University of Milan (Italy), 196

University of Newcastle, 213

University of Oxford see Oxford
University

University of Toronto (Canada), 215, 217

University of Wales College (Newport),
213

Upavon, 104; Casterley Camp, 87

Uphill Quarry (Somerset), 70, 71

Upper Chalk, 83, 104

Upper Chicksgrove Quarry see
Chicksgrove Quarry

Upper Greensand, 44, 66, 154, 198

Upper Jurassic: climate, 17; plant fossils,
1-20

urban collectivism: Devizes, 136—53; use
of term, 149

urban development, 148-51

Urchfont, 239

urns, Deverel-Rimbury type, 117

Utah (US), 2, 3, 6, 7-9, 10, 13

Vale of Glamorgan see Cowbridge;
Llandow; Maendy

Vale Royal Abbey (Cheshire), 208

Valens, Flavius Iulius (328-378), 86

Valerianella carinata (keeled-fruited
cornsalad), 38

valley gravels, 70

van Hoey Smith, Dick, 53

Vatcher, Faith de Mallet (d. 1978), 80

vault paintings, 131-5

Venta (Winchester), 94

Verdun (France), 170

Verlucio (Sandy Lane, Bromham), 97, 200

Verney estates (Buckinghamshire), 208

Verwood (Dorset), pottery, 120

vessels: Romano-British, 97, 98, 118-20;
glass, 101, 127

Vetusta Monumenta, 132

Victoria, Queen (1819-1901), 155

Victoria County History, 75, 193

Victoria County History of Berkshire, 203

villages, medieval, 50, 229-30

villas: Romano-British, 56, 83-90,
91-103, 211, 235; distribution, 89

Vimy Ridge (France), 170

Viroconium (Wroxeter), 123

Vlitos, Roger, 192

WA see Wessex Archaeology (WA)

Wadworth (brewers), 164

wages, 142

wagons, 158, 159

Wainwright, Geoffrey, 221

Wales, see also Cardiff; Simondston Cairn

Walker, K., 33

wall plaster, 87,95, 101; painted, 87, 88

Wallis, E S., 187, 190

walls: Romano-British, 91, 95, 108, 110,
127; 19th century, 233; cob, 225;
drystone, 117, 233; flint, 110, 117,
127; flint and cob, 85; robbed, 108,
113, 116

WAM (Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine),
212, see also Wiltshire Archaeological and
Natural History Magazine (WANHM)

Wanborough: Durocornovium, 94; Mount
Pleasant Farm, 93; pottery, 87

WANHS see Wiltshire Archaeological and
Natural History Society (WANHS)

Wansdyke, 222

War Cabinet, 60

Ward, Mr, 182

Wardour, Vale of, 1, 67, 68, 69

Warminster, 104, 138; barrows, 187;
Bugley, 230; Bugley Barton Farm, 66;
hand axes, 65-73; reformatory, 230

Warminster Fault, 66

Warren Farm Great Beech, 53

Warren, Samuel Hazzeldine (1872-1958),
215

Warwickshire see Arden

watch boxes, 148, 149

watchmen, 150

water meadows, 45

water pipelines, 92

water sources, 126—7

Watkins, T., 196, 197

Watts, V., 198, 199

Waylen, Robert, 140

Waylen, Robert, Snr, 149

Waylen family, 138

weavers, 208

Webb, Amelia, 24

Webb, Martha Beatrice (née Potter)
(1858-1943), 150

Webb, Sidney James, Baron Passfield
(1859-1947), 150

Webb family, 138

weeds: arable, 36—8; charred remains,
126; seeds, 126

Weeks, S. V. D., 161

Wellingtonias, 63

Wellow (Hampshire), 24

Wells, William, 137

wells, 21

Wells (Somerset), 228; King’s Head Inn,
206; Priory of St John, 206

Welsh language, 198, 200, 201

Were, The, 66

Wesley family, 138

Wesleyan Methodism, 138-9, 140

Wessex: arrowheads, 78; art styles, 229;
barrows, 76, 80; lithics, 190; sarsen
stones, 219; sculpture, 228

Wessex Archaeology (WA), 80;
evaluations, 85, 87, 235; excavations,
238; recording exercises, 235

Wessex Culture, 81

West Bailiwick, 45

West Berkshire, 207—8, 209, see also
Hartridge Lye Wood; Hungerford;
Lambourn; Lye Wood

INDEX

West Country: hand axes, 65; riots, 147

West Overton: Lockeridge, 58, 225;
Overton Down, 218, 221, 225;
Overton Down Experimental
Earthwork, 79, 221; Piggledene, 225;
West Woods, 27,58, 209

West, Robert, 139

West Sussex see Amberley Wild Brooks;
Minsted

West Woods, 27, 58; Clark’s Leigh, 209

Westbury, 70; outdoor relief, 142

Western Front Experience, 170

Westlake, Ernest (1855-1922), 21, 22, 24

Weston, Annie (c.1864—-1937), 163

Weston, William (c.1862—1937), 163

whales, 26

wheat, prices, 141, 142

wheel ruts, 116, 117

Wheeler, Sir (Robert Eric) Mortimer
(1890-1976), 75, 76-7, 217, 218

Wheeler, Tessa, 217

wheelwrights, 157, 158, 160, 165

whetstones, 76, 87, 101, 115, 122, 127;
perforated, 187, 189, 190

white horses, 157; Millennium, 157

whitebeams, 58

Whiteleaf Hill (Buckinghamshire), 215,
218

Whitfield, Thomas, 148

Whittle, Alasdair W. R., viii

WHM see Wiltshire Heritage Museum
(WHM)

widows, 145

Wiggins, K., 174

Wilcot, 69, 224; North Copse, 61; Oare
Hill, 60; Oare House, 60—1; Park
Copse, 60; Pine Walk, 60, 61

wild plants see weeds

Wildash, John, 53

Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981), 2

William I, ‘the Conqueror’ (1027-87), 174

Williams-Ellis, Sir Clough (1883-1978),
60

willows, 45-6, 50, 59, 61; girth, 43;
growth, 42

Willy, William, 137

Wilsford: barrows, 187, 189; Normanton
Down, 189

Wilsford cum Lake, 69; Bush Barrow, 76

Wilton, 224

Wiltshire, population, 157

Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine (WAM),
212

Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural
History Magazine (WANHM), 75,
207; content changes, viii; early
contributors, vii; editors, viii, 210—
14, 216-17, 219-20; formats, vii—vili;

Volume 100, vii—vili; Wiltshire
Portraits, vii

Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural
History Society (WANHS), 74, 216;
150th anniversary, 193; Annual
General Meetings, 210, 211; Library,
183; minute books, 210; Secretary,
181, see also Archaeology Field Group
(AFG); Wiltshire Heritage Museum
(WHM)

Wiltshire Biological Records Centre, 28

Wiltshire Botanical Society, 27, 28;
membership details, 40; tree records,
44; website, 40

Wiltshire Botany, 28, 29, 40

Wiltshire County Council: Environmental
Services Department, 236; Library,
213

Wiltshire Flora, The (1993), 27, 28, 29, 39

Wiltshire Flora Mapping Project, 30,
31, 32, 33-4, 36, 37-8, 39-40;
establishment, 28; and Record List, 29

Wiltshire Heritage Museum (WHM), 28,
66, 69, 75, 85; collections, 76, 187-91,
227; curators, 74, 227; donations,
196-7; finds identification day, 193;
Library, 183; lithics, 187-91

Wiltshire Natural History Magazine, 212

Wiltshire Record Society, 210, 213

Wiltshire Society, 145

Wiltshire Studies see Wiltshire Archaeological
and Natural History Magazine
(WANHM)

Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office
(WSRO), 44

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, 28, 67

Wimbledon, W. A., 1

Winchester (Hampshire), 147; provincial
movement, 149; Venta, 94

Winchester Assizes, 148

winda (white), 198

windows, glass, 101

wine strainers, Roman, 238

Winsley, 35

Winterbourne Bassett, 196; Winterbourne
Bassett Down, 197

Winterbourne Monkton, 189

Winterbourne Stoke, 189

Winterbourne Stream, 232

Winterslow, 33; Easton Down, 229;
Roche Court Down, 229; Winterslow
Hut, 229

Witt, Patricia, Mosaics in Roman Britain
(2005), review, 227-8

Wockley Member, 1

Wokingham see Crowthorne Wood

wolves, 65, 71

women, employment, 141

253

wood, fossil, 1-2, 13-14

wood ash, production, 207-8, 209

Woodborough: Picked Hill, 69;
Woodborough Hill, 69

Woodgreen (Hampshire), 69

Woodland Trust, 57

Woodruffe, Pat, 27, 40

Wookey Hole (Somerset): Hyaena Den,
70, 71; Rhinoceros Hole, 70, 71

wool, 124, 125

woollen industry, 208-9

woolly rhinos, 71

Wootton Bassett, 139

Wootton Rivers: Brimslade Park, 45, 54,
59-60; Long Copse, 60; Mud Lane,
57-8

Wordley, Frank, 163

workhouses, 143, 160

working classes, 141

World Archaeology, 213

World War I, 215, 219; airfields, 231;
battlefields, 170; memorials, 157;
training trenches, 170-80

World War II, 55, 60, 74, 76, 215;
agriculture, 157; airfields, 238;
troops, 184-5

Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths, 165

Wrekin (Telford and Wrekin), 200

Wroughton: Barbury Castle, 93; National
Museum of Science and Industry, 238

Wroxeter (Shropshire), Viroconium, 123

WSRO (Wiltshire and Swindon Record
Office), 44

Wyatt, James (1746-1813), 131, 132, 150

Wylie, Hubert, 212

Wylye, River, 66, 68, 69, 70

Wylye Valley, 70, 71, 104

Wymer, J. J., 66, 68

x-ray fluorescence spectrometry, 190

Yates, Arthur, 185

Yeo, River, 69

Yeomen Cavalry, 147

Yeovil (Somerset), 69

yews, 46-7, 61-2, 63, 200; growth, 42

York, 150; Walmgate Stray, 175

Yorkshire, 228; West Riding of, 142, see
also Ackworth School

Young, Arthur (1741-1820), 144

Young, T., 182°

Young, William E. V., 216

Ypres (Belgium), 170

yw (yew), 200

Zeuner, Frederick Everard (1905-63), 80

254 THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE

Publications of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural
History Society

Recent and some earlier issues of the Magazine may be purchased from the Society. Volumes 96-99 are available at £15 per
copy. For details of earlier volumes apply to the Museum Shop. Other WA&NHS publications may also be purchased, as
follows:

Annable, EK., and Simpson, D.D.A., Guide catalogue of the Neolithic and Bronze Age collections in Devizes Museum, Viii,
133pp, plates, casebound, 1964 (reprinted), £15.00 (+ £3 p&p)
Dillon, Patrick (ed.), Mammals in Wiltshire, xii, 156pp, paperback, 1997, £7.50 (+ £1.50 p&p)

Ellis, Peter (ed.), Ludgershall Castle: excavations by Peter Addyman 1964-1972, ix, 268pp, ill, A4 paperback, 2000 (WANHS
Monograph Series 2), reduced to £5.00 (+ £4.50 p&p)

Ellis, Peter (ed.), Roman Wiltshire and after: papers in honour of Ken Annable, xii, 240pp, ill, casebound, 2001, £19.95
(+ £4.50 p&p)

Hatchwell, Richard, Art in Wiltshire, from the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society Collection, xii, 154pp,
coloured ill, casebound and paperback, 2005, £25.00 casebound; £20 paperback (+ £3.50 p&p)

Haycock, Lorna, Fohn Anstie of Devizes 1743-1830, an Eighteenth-Century Wiltshire Clothier, xii, 116pp, ill, paperback,
1991, £4.00 (+£2.00 p&p)

Haycock, Lorna, Devizes in the Civil War, 24pp, ill, paperback, 2000, £2.95 (+ £1.00 p&p)

Thomas, James H. (ed.), Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society: the first 150 years, xxxiv, 246pp, ill, case-
bound, 2003, £12.00 (+ £3.95 p&p)

Thomas, Nicholas, Snail Down, Wiltshire: The Bronze Age Barrow Cemetery and Related Earthworks, in the parishes of
Collingbourne Ducis and Collingbourne Kingston, Excavations, 1953, 1955 and 1957, 2005, £25 (+£4.50 p&p)

During 2007 the Society plans to publish a report on the excavation of the Saxon cemetery at Blacknall Field, Pewsey
between 1969 and 1975.

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WILTSHIRE HERITAGE

of
A

MUSEUM
GALLERY
LIBRARY

Published by
The Wiltshire Archaeological
and Natural History Society

ISSN 0262 6608

WANHS Archaeology Field Group: recent activities and future plans,
, by James Gunter, Brian Clarke, Robin Holley,
Christina Staff and Susie ayetpn

REVIEWS, ¢ edited by Robert rine

EXCAVATIONS and FIELDWORK in WILTSHIRE 2005,

“compiled by Andrew Reynolds

Highlights from the Portable Antiquities SENSE (PAS) i in Wiltshire
in 2005, recorded by Katie Hinds

INDEX, by Pi Astet

Internet Archive Audio

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