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Warminster (St. Denis)

WARMINSTER (St. Denis), a market-town and parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of Warminster, Warminster and S. divisions of Wilts, 21 miles (W. N. W.) from Salisbury, and 97 (W. S. W.) from London; containing 6211 inhabitants. According to Camden, this place was the Verlucio of the Romans, and the first syllable of its name is considered by him to be a corruption of that of its ancient appellation. Others deduce the name from the little stream Were that runs through the town, and from a minster, or monastery, stated to have been situated in its vicinity; a spot is still called The Nunnery, and a walk upon the neighbouring hill, Nuns' Path. At the Conquest, the place was denominated Guerminstre, and, having been held in demesne by Edward the Confessor, paid neither danegeld nor hidage: 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, and of clean appearance. It is one of the most healthy towns in England, and has been remarkable for the longevity of its inhabitants. The malt-trade was formerly carried on to a greater extent here than at any other town in the west of England, and it is still a considerable branch of trade. The manufacture of broadcloths and kerseymeres was also extensive until of late years, but these branches are at present entirely discontinued: the silk business has been introduced, and affords employment to many females and children. An act was passed in 1845 for making a railway from near Chippenham, by Warminster, to Salisbury. The market is on Saturday, and is very considerable for the sale of corn, of which the whole is previously warehoused in the town, and a sack from every load pitched in the market-place. Fairs are held on April 22nd, August 10th, and October 26th, the last being pre-eminently called "The Great Fair." A high constable, deputy constables, and tythingmen, are chosen annually at the manorial court of the Marquess of Bath. The countysessions of the peace for the summer quarter take place here in July; petty-sessions occur monthly. The powers of the county debt-court of Warminster, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Warminster. The town-hall was pulled down a few years since, and the Marquess of Bath erected, at his own expense, an elegant building in the centre of the market-place, comprising every accommodation for holding the sessions, and a handsome suite of apartments for assemblies, public meetings, &c.

The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £18. 0. 2½.; net income, £324; patron, the Bishop of Salisbury; appropriators, the Dean and Chapter. The tithes were commuted in 1780, for land and annual money payments. The parochial church, situated on the Bath road, near the north-western extremity of the town, is a spacious and handsome structure of various styles, with a low tower rising from the centre; the body and aisles were rebuilt on the old foundation, in 1724. A chapel, founded in the reign of Edward I., and dedicated to St. Lawrence, stands near the marketplace: it was endowed by two maiden sisters named Hewett, and after the general surrender was granted by Edward VI. to Richard Robertes in free socage; at present it 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. Christ Church, to which a district has been assigned, was built in 1831, at an expense of £4708, defrayed by subscription, aided by a grant from the Parliamentary Commissioners; it occupies an elevated site, and forms an interesting object in the view of the town. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £150; patron, the Vicar. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyans, and Unitarians; also a free grammar school, built and endowed by the first Viscount Weymouth, in 1707. The poor-law union of Warminster comprises 21 parishes or places, and contains a population of 17,109. Dr. Samuel Squire, Bishop of St. David's, an able and learned writer, was a native of the town.

In the vicinity are many British tumuli, and several remains of Roman encampments, including Battlesbury, a strong earthwork with double sides, where spearheads and other weapons have been ploughed up. Near this intrenchment, on the edge of the river Willey, a beautiful tessellated pavement, and the foundations of a Roman villa, with its hypocaust, sudatory, &c, were discovered in 1786; among other paintings was a figure of Diana, with a hare, the former of which was too much injured to be removed, but the latter is carefully preserved at Longleat House. On the west side of the town is Clay or Cly Hill, a steep conical eminence surmounted by a tumulus, 900 feet above low-water mark at Bristol. 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.


Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.

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