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| Local
Towns and Villages - Index
- Devizes |
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Devizes is an old market town, sitting at the
geographic centre of Wiltshire on the edge of the Marlborough
Downs. The name Devizes, possibly came from a medieval Latin
reference to the castle
ad divisas ("at the boundaries").
The town first became important when the Normans built a
castle
here. This was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentary
troops during the English Civil War, and a 19th century crenellated
manor house now occupies the site. In 1643, at the height
of the Civil War, Royalist Ralph, Lord Ralph, was marching
an army from Somerset to Oxford where Charles I had his headquarters.
The Parliamentarian general Sir William Waller tried to stop
him at Bath. Although the Royalists won the Battle of Lansdown
Hill on July 5th, Hopton was injured by an exploding ammunition
cart, and his army, short of supplies, withdrew to Devizes.
Waller followed and was threatening to besiege the Royalists
in the town. Hopton ordered his cavalry to make a run for
it to Oxford, while he would hold the town and wait for relief.
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Devizes was besieged and bombarded for three
days, but on July 13th a relief force arrived, and Waller
marched out to face it at Roundway Down. The Roundhead army
was smashed, Hopton's force was relieved, and King Charles
was so encouraged by the success he launched a new campaign
in the West Country to take Bristol.
In the large market place stands the market cross, erected
in 1814 and famous for a moral tale inscribed on it. The story
goes that one Ruth Pierce, caught up in an argument over money,
called on Heaven to strike her dead if she was lying. At that
moment she fell down dead. A street market takes over the
market place every Thursday, and the rest of the week it is
a central car park.
Probably the two most notable features
of the town are Wadworths
Brewery, and the Kennet
and Avon Canal. Wadworth's is home to 6X beer, delivered
locally by the brewery's horse-drawn drays which make
a popular sight around town - unless you're caught in
the traffic jam behind them! The canal, linking Bristol
with the River Thames at Reading, is looked after by
the British Waterways Board and by the Kennet and Avon
Canal Trust; the trust has its headquarters in Devizes
and a canalside museum.
Most spectacular of all is the Caen Hill flight of
29 locks which lift the canal up to Devizes. Every year,
at Easter, the town is the start point for the Devizes-Westminster
Canoe Race. Hundreds of canoeists, from the superfit
to the out-to-enjoy-themselves, set off up the canal
heading for London. The Kennet and Avon joins the Thames
near Reading, in Berkshire. During the rest of the year
the waterway is used at a far more leisurely pace by
canal boats gently puttering up and down, and by a host
of wildlife.
Home of Moonrakers
Devizes also lays claim to being the home of the Moonraker
legend, a story which gave Wiltshire folk the nickname
of Moonrakers. The legend has it that a gang of 17th
century smugglers had hidden their cargo of brandy in
the town pond, and had returned under cover of darkness
to recover it. As they were dragging the pond with long
farm rakes, the excisemen appeared and challenged them.
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The smugglers claimed the moon's reflection in the
pond was a round cheese, and they were trying to rake
it in. The excise officers rode off laughing at the
daft "moonrakers" - who promptly gathered in their haul
and made good their escape.
Whatever the truth of the story, it must be said that
a number of the surrounding villages also lay claim
to being the birthplace of the legend. |
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Crop Circles
A newer legend, if that's the right word, is that of
the crop
circles. Whatever they are, and whatever causes
them, the high downland of Wiltshire around Devizes
seems to be the world centre for them.
Strange and often elaborate shapes appear in the wheat
fields shortly before harvest, and bring crowds of sightseers,
UFOlogists, meterologists and photographers crowding
the area. |
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Military Background
For many years the town was home to the Wiltshire
Regiment, a proud name in the country's military
history. As one of the garrison towns on the edge of
the Salisbury Plain military training area, it was also
an important staging post for the various units travelling
to and from exercises.
The regiment's presence in the town is still marked
by street names that bear the names of battles fought
by the Wiltshires around the world.
More recent regimental mergers and changes in organisation
meant the military presence gradually faded away. The
barracks and depots were bulldozed into industrial estates,
and the final presence - the county's territorial until
housed in the former regimental HQ - was ended in 1999.
It would be wrong to view Devizes purely from the historical
context.
Today it is a living, breathing town with modern factories
and businesses as well as its mellow old brickwork.
It is home to the county police headquarters and the
police helicopter, still has its own cinema (a rarity
in small country towns) and boasts an annual music festival
as good as any. |
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