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Warminster in Wilts County England History and GeographyWARMINSTER, a market town and parish in the hundred of WARMINSTER, county of WILTS, 21 miles (W.N.W.) from Salisbury, and 97 (W.S.W.) from London, containing 5612 inhabitants. Antiquaries are at variance respecting the etymology of its name: according to Camden, this was the Verlucio of the Romans, and he considers the first syllable to be a corruption of that of its ancient appellation: others deduce it from the wears near which the town stood, and from a minster, or monastery, stated to have been once situated in its vicinity; which conjecture receives confirmation from the supposed site being still called 'The Nuunery,' and a walk upon the neighbouring hill, 'Nuns' Path.' At the Conquest it was denominated Guermistre, and, according to the Norman survey, was then possessed of many privileges: at a later period it became celebrated for its corn market, which, in the time of Henry VIII., appears to have been of considerable note. The town is situated on the river Willey, near the south-western extremity of Salisbury Plain, and consists principally of one street, nearly a mile long, well paved by the commissioners of the roads, and of clean appearance; it is considered one of the most healthy towns in England, and has been remarked for the longevity of its inhabitants. The malt trade was formerly carried on here to a greater extent than in any other town in the West of England, and it is still a respectable branch of trade; the manufacture of broad cloths and kerseymeres was also much more extensive than it is at present: the silk business has been recently introduced, and affords employment to many females and children. The market, which is on Saturday, is very considerable for the sale of corn: the whole is previously warehoused in the town, and a sack from every load is pitched in the market-place: the average quantity sold each market day is from two to three thousand quarters, and the annual value, in 1828, exceeded £160,000. The want of a canal navigation is, however, beginning to affect this trade; and Devizes, which possesses this advantage, promises, within a few years, to rival it successfully. Fairs are held on April 22nd, August 10th, and October 26th; the last is pre-eminently called 'The Great Fair,' for sheep, cattle, and cheese. A high constable, deputy constables, and tythingmen, are chosen annually at the manorial court of the Marquis of Bath. The county sessions of the peace for the summer quarter are holden here annually in July. A court of requests, for the recovery of debts not exceeding £5, is held every fortnight, on Tuesday, at Warminster and Westbury alternately, the jurisdiction of which extends over the hundreds of Warminster, Westbury, and Heytesbury: petty sessions are held monthly by the neighbouring magistrates. The town hall has been lately pulled down, and the Marquis of Bath has erected, at his own expense, a noble building in the centre of the market-place, in the same elegant style of architecture as his lordship's own mansion at Longleat, comprising every accommodation for holding the sessions, and a handsome suite of apartments for assemblies, public meetings, &c. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Salisbury, rated in the king's books at £18. 0. 2½., and in the patronage of the Bishop of Salisbury. The parochial church, dedicated to St. Denis, is situated on the Bath road, near the north-western extremity of the town, and is a spacious and handsome structure, of various styles of architecture, with a tower rising from the centre, originally built about the time of Edward III., but the body and aisles were rebuilt, on the old foundation, in 1724. A proprietary chapel, founded in the reign of Edward I., and dedicated to St. Lawrence, stands near the market-place: it was endowed by two maiden sisters, named Hewett, and is vested in feoffees; the original tower remains, but the body of the chapel was rebuilt in 1725, and has lately been repaired and beautified. A new church, called Christ Church, has also been recently built by voluntary subscriptions, aided by a grant from the parliamentary commissioners; it occupies an elevated site, and forms an interesting object in the view of the town: many other improvements have also been made. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyan Methodists, and Unitarians. A free grammar school was built and endowed by the first Viscount Wey-mouth: the appointment of the master belongs to the Marquis of Bath; he receives a salary of £30 per annum, for which twenty boys are instructed. A National school for boys and girls, and a Lancasterian school for girls, are supported by voluntary contributions. A variety of Roman coins, both of silver and brass, has been found here. In the vicinity are many British tumuli, and several remains of Roman encampments, particularly Battlesbury, a strong earthwork with double sides, where spear-heads and other weapons have been occasionally ploughed up. Near this intrenchment, on the edge of the river Willey, a beautiful tesselated pavement, and the foundations of a Roman villa, with its hypocaust, sudatory, &c., were discovered, in 1786: among other portraits was a figure of Diana, with a hare; the former was too much injured to be removed; the latter is carefully preserved at Longleat House. On the west side of the town is Clay hill, a steep and conical eminence surmounted by a tumulus: it is nearly nine hundred feet above low water mark at Bristol, and was formerly used as a beacon. The environs are rich in fossil remains, many of which have been deposited in the British Museum. In the year 1816, a toad and a newt, both living, were found imbedded in a thick stratum of rock, which had not the smallest crack, or orifice; an account of this discovery was published in the thirty-eighth volume of the Medical and Physical Journal, for 1817. Dr. Huntingford, Bishop of Hereford; and Dr. Samuel Squire, Bishop of St. David's, an able and learned writer, were natives of this town. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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