Roundway
Encyclopedia
Roundway is a Parish near to Devizes
in English
county
of Wiltshire
.
Roundway is still a parish independent from Devizes, but housing development has continued over northwards from Devizes over the parish boundary. In the census of 2001, the village had a population of 2,267. It is located in the north of Devizes, and lies off the A361, which passes from Devizes to Swindon
. Roundway provides a bypass from the north of Devizes to the west through Conscience Lane.
The village is home to the Devizes White Horse, a chalk hill figure
of a horse that was created in September 1999 to celebrate the millennium. It replaces the white horse of Devizes (Snob's Horse) that was lost after 1845.
The village used to have a hospital serving Devizes until it was closed in 1995, after the decision to close it was made in 1989, in favour of the locally famous Green Lane hospital
in the south of Devizes.
Most of the land surrounding Roundway is used for agricultural purposes and to the north of Roundway is Roundway Hill, a popular place for walking, kite fyling and model aircraft flying.
Oliver Cromwell
fought at the Battle of Roundway Down
in 1643 which was fought on the Roundway downs, hence the alternative name for the Roundway Downs, 'Olivers Castle'.
Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week...
in English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county
Counties of the United Kingdom
The counties of the United Kingdom are subnational divisions of the United Kingdom, used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. By the Middle Ages counties had become established as a unit of local government, at least in England. By the early 17th century all...
of Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
.
Roundway is still a parish independent from Devizes, but housing development has continued over northwards from Devizes over the parish boundary. In the census of 2001, the village had a population of 2,267. It is located in the north of Devizes, and lies off the A361, which passes from Devizes to Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
. Roundway provides a bypass from the north of Devizes to the west through Conscience Lane.
The village is home to the Devizes White Horse, a chalk hill figure
Hill figure
A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. It is a type of geoglyph usually designed to be seen from afar rather than above. In some cases trenches are dug and rubble made from material brighter than the natural...
of a horse that was created in September 1999 to celebrate the millennium. It replaces the white horse of Devizes (Snob's Horse) that was lost after 1845.
The village used to have a hospital serving Devizes until it was closed in 1995, after the decision to close it was made in 1989, in favour of the locally famous Green Lane hospital
Green Lane Hospital
Green Lane Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in the Wick district of Devizes in Wiltshire. It is part of Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership for the NHS. In 2008 permission was granted to the WIltshire PCT to relocate its several local clinics into one centralised primary care centre and...
in the south of Devizes.
Most of the land surrounding Roundway is used for agricultural purposes and to the north of Roundway is Roundway Hill, a popular place for walking, kite fyling and model aircraft flying.
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
fought at the Battle of Roundway Down
Battle of Roundway Down
The Battle of Roundway Down was fought on 13 July 1643, during the First English Civil War. A Royalist cavalry force under Lord Wilmot won a crushing victory over the Parliamentarians under Sir William Waller who were besieging Devizes in central Wiltshire, which was defended by Lord Hopton...
in 1643 which was fought on the Roundway downs, hence the alternative name for the Roundway Downs, 'Olivers Castle'.
See also
- DevizesDevizesDevizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week...
- Roundway Down and CovertRoundway Down and CovertRoundway Down and Covert is a 86.0 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, notified in 1971.-Source:* -External links:*...
, a nearby Site of Special Scientific InterestSite of Special Scientific InterestA Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon... - Henry BillingtonHenry BillingtonHenry Billington was a British professional tennis player, and the maternal grandfather of Tim Henman.Billington competed at Wimbledon between 1948 and 1951, and also participated in the Davis Cup on three occasions....
a tennis player is born there. He is the maternal grandfather of tennis player Tim HenmanTim HenmanTimothy Henry "Tim" Henman OBE is a retired English professional tennis player and former British Number One. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis that suited the grass courts of Wimbledon. He was the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the...
.