Wiltshire
Encyclopedia
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 3485 km² (861,161.5 acre). The ancient county town
was Wilton
, but since 1930 Wiltshire County Council
and its successor Wiltshire Council
(from 2009) have been based at Trowbridge
.
Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland
and wide valley
s. Salisbury Plain
is famous as the location of the Stonehenge
and Avebury
stone circle
s and other ancient landmarks and as the main training area in the UK of the British Army
. The city of Salisbury
is notable for its medieval cathedral
. Important country houses
open to the public include Longleat
, near Warminster
, and the National Trust
's Stourhead
, near Mere
.
, itself named after the river Wylye
, one of eight rivers which drain the county.
Wiltshire is notable for its pre-Roman
archaeology
. The Mesolithic
, Neolithic
and Bronze Age
people that occupied southern Britain built settlements on the hills and downland that cover Wiltshire. Stonehenge
and Avebury
are perhaps the most famous Neolithic sites in the UK.
In the 6th and 7th centuries Wiltshire was at the western edge of Saxon
Britain, as Cranborne Chase
and the Somerset Levels
prevented the advance to the west. The Battle of Bedwyn was fought in 675 between Escuin
, a West Saxon
nobleman who had seized the throne of Queen Saxburga
, and King Wulfhere of Mercia
. In 878 the Danes invaded the county. Following the Norman Conquest, large areas of the country came into the possession of the crown and the church.
At the time of the Domesday Survey the industry of Wiltshire was largely agricultural; 390 mills
are mentioned, and vineyards at Tollard and Lacock. In the succeeding centuries sheep-farming was vigorously pursued, and the Cistercian monasteries of Kingswood and Stanley exported wool to the Florentine and Flemish
markets in the 13th and 14th centuries.
In the 17th century English Civil War
Wiltshire was largely Parliamentarian
. The Battle of Roundway Down
, a decisive Royalist victory, was fought near Devizes
.
Around 1800 the Kennet and Avon Canal
was built through Wiltshire providing a route for transporting cargoes from Bristol
to London until the development of the Great Western Railway
.
Information on the 261 civil parishes of Wiltshire is available on the Wiltshire Community History website, run by the Libraries and Heritage services of Wiltshire County Council. This site includes maps, demographic data, historic and modern pictures and short histories.
men by hiding their alcohol, possibly French brandy
in barrels or kegs, in a village pond. When confronted by the excise men they raked the surface in order to conceal the submerged contraband
with ripples, and claimed that they were trying to rake in a large round cheese visible in the pond, really a reflection of the full moon. The officials took them for simple yokels or mad and left them alone, allowing them to continue with their illegal activities. Many villages claim the tale for their own village pond, but the story is most commonly linked with The Crammer in Devizes
.
Two thirds of Wiltshire, a mostly rural county, lies on chalk
, a kind of soft, white, porous limestone that is resistant to erosion, giving it a high chalk
downland
landscape. This chalk is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation
that underlies large areas of Southern England from the Dorset Downs
in the west to Dover
in the east. The largest area of chalk in Wiltshire is Salisbury Plain
, a semi-wilderness used mainly for arable
agriculture and by the British Army
as training ranges. The highest point in the county is the Tan Hill
–Milk Hill
ridge in the Pewsey Vale
, just to the north of Salisbury Plain
, at 295 m (968 ft) above sea level.
The chalk uplands run northeast into West Berkshire
in the Marlborough Downs ridge, and southwest into Dorset as Cranborne Chase
. Cranborne Chase, which straddles the border, has, like Salisbury Plain, yielded much Stone Age and Bronze Age archaeology
. The Marlborough Downs are part of the North Wessex Downs AONB
(Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), a 1,730 km2 (668 square mile) conservation area.
In the northwest of the county, on the border with South Gloucestershire
and Bath and North East Somerset
, the underlying rock is the resistant oolite
limestone
of the Cotswolds
. Part of the Cotswolds AONB is also in Wiltshire, in the county's northwestern corner.
Between the areas of chalk and limestone downland are clay
valley
s and vale
s. The largest of these vales is the Avon Vale
. The Avon cuts diagonally through the north of the county, flowing through Bradford on Avon
and into Bath and Bristol
. The Vale of Pewsey has been cut through the chalk into Greensand
and Oxford Clay
in the centre of the county. In the south west of the county is the Vale of Wardour. The southeast of the county lies on the sandy soils of the northernmost area of the New Forest
.
Chalk is a porous rock so the chalk hills have little surface water. The main settlements in the county are therefore situated at wet points. Notably, Salisbury is situated between the chalk of Salisbury Plain and marshy flood plains.
, Wiltshire has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 °C (33.8 °F) or 2 °C (35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores
high pressure affects the south-west of England, however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection
. Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (27.6 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.
(GVA) of Wiltshire at current basic prices with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
The Wiltshire economy benefits from the "M4 corridor
effect", which attracts business, and the attractiveness of its countryside, towns and villages. The northern part of the county is richer than the southern part, particularly since Swindon is home to national and international corporations such as Honda
, Intel, Motorola
, Alcatel-Lucent
, Patheon
, Catalent (formerly known as Cardinal Health
), Becton-Dickinson, WHSmith, Early Learning Centre
and Nationwide
, with Dyson located in nearby Malmesbury
. Wiltshire’s employment structure is distinctive in having a significantly higher number of people in various forms of manufacturing
(especially electrical equipment
and apparatus, food products, and beverages, furniture, rubber, pharmaceuticals, and plastic goods) than the national average.
In addition, there is higher than average employment in public administration
and defence
, due to the military establishments around the county, particularly around Amesbury
and Corsham
. There are sizeable British Army
barracks at Tidworth
, Bulford
and Warminster
, and further north RAF Lyneham
is home to the RAF's Hercules C130 fleet. Wiltshire is also distinctive in having a high proportion of its working age population who are economically active – (86.6% in 1999–2000), and its low unemployment rates. The gross domestic product (GDP) level in Wiltshire did not reach the UK average in 1998, and was only marginally above the rate for South West England
.
, and another thirteen independent secondaries, including Marlborough College
, St Mary's Calne
, and Dauntsey's
. The county schools are nearly all comprehensives
, with the older pattern of education surviving only in Salisbury
, which has two grammar schools (South Wilts Grammar School for Girls
and Bishop Wordsworth's School
) and three secondary moderns
. All but two of the county secondary schools in the former districts of West Wiltshire
and North Wiltshire
have Sixth form
s, but only half of those in the rest of the county.
Wiltshire Council
operates Urchfont Manor College
, which is a residential adult education
college. There are also three further education
colleges, New College, Swindon
, Wiltshire College
and Swindon College
, providing some higher education.
As yet there are no universities within Wiltshire, except that Bath Spa University
has a small campus at Corsham Court
and Oxford Brookes University
maintains a minor campus in Swindon
(almost 50 km from Oxford). Early outline plans for a projected University of Swindon or University of Wiltshire were announced by the Borough of Swindon in November 2008, but the scheme remains uncommitted. Swindon is the UK's largest centre of population without its own university. The closest university to Wiltshire's county town of Trowbridge is the University of Bath
. Wiltshire is therefore one of the few remaining English counties, including Herefordshire
and Northumberland
, without a university or university college.
. The population density is low at 178 PD/km2. In 1991 there were 230,109 dwellings in the county. In 1991 98.3% of the population was indigenous and 17.9% of the population were over 65.
Population of Wiltshire:
and Swindon Borough Council
.
Until the 2009 structural changes to local government in England
, Wiltshire (apart from Swindon) was a two-level county, divided into four local government districts, Kennet, North Wiltshire
, Salisbury
and West Wiltshire
, which existed alongside Wiltshire County Council
, covering the same area and carrying out more strategic tasks, such as education and county roads. However, on 1 April 2009 these five local authorities were merged into a single unitary authority
called Wiltshire Council. With the abolition of the District of Salisbury, a new Salisbury City Council
was created at the same time to carry out several city-wide functions and to hold the City's charter.
As a result of elections held in 2009, Wiltshire Council comprises 61 Conservatives
, 24 Liberal Democrats, eight Independents
, three Devizes Guardians
and two Labour
members. The council is led by Jane Scott
(Conservative), who had previously led the former Wiltshire County Council since 2003.
At the parliamentary
level, rural Wiltshire is represented by four Conservative and one Liberal Democrat Members of Parliament, while the predominantly urban area of Swindon
is represented by two Conservative Members.
, who play at the County Ground
stadium near Swindon
town centre. They joined the Football League on the creation of the Third Division
in 1920, and have remained in the league ever since. Their most notable achievements include winning the Football League Cup
in 1969 and the Anglo-Italian Cup
in 1970, two successive promotions in 1986 and 1987 (taking them from the Fourth Division
to the Second
), promotion to the Premier League as Division One
play-off winners in 1993 (as inaugural members), the Division Two title in 1996, and their recent promotion to League One
in 2007 after finishing third in League Two
.
Salisbury City played in the Conference Premier League however they entered administration in the Summer of 2009 and now play in the Southern League Premier Division as of Summer 2010 due to a breach of Conference rules. They are currently two leagues under Conference National Level.
Swindon Robins
Speedway team, who compete in the Sky Elite League, have been at their track at the Blunsdon
Abbey Stadium since 1949.
Rich Benke, the international snowboarder, hails from Chippenham in Wiltshire. He currently resides in Whistler, Canada.
:
A list of settlements is at List of places in Wiltshire.
Places of interest in Wiltshire include:
Areas of countryside in Wiltshire include:
, an ancient route, and Roman roads the Fosse Way
, London to Bath road
and Ermin Way
. National Cycle Route 4
and the Thames Path
, a modern long distance footpath, run through the county.
Routes through Wiltshire include:
Other routes include:
The major junction stations are Salisbury
and Westbury
, and important junctions are also found at Swindon
and Trowbridge
.
, Clench Common Airfield and Redlands Airfield
. RAF Lyneham
is an air transport hub for British forces. Airports for scheduled airlines near Wiltshire include Bristol International Airport
, Bristol Filton Airport, Gloucestershire Airport
, London Oxford Airport, London Heathrow Airport
and Southampton Airport
.
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
in South West England
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
and Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. It contains the unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
of Swindon and covers 3485 km² (861,161.5 acre). The ancient county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
was Wilton
Wilton, Wiltshire
Wilton is a town in Wiltshire, , England, with a rich heritage dating back to the Anglo-Saxons. Today it is dwarfed by its larger and more famous neighbour, Salisbury, but still has a range of notable shops and attractions, including Wilton House.The confluence of the rivers Wylye and Nadder is at...
, but since 1930 Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county....
and its successor Wiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council is the unitary authority for most of the county of Wiltshire, in the West of England, the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council and to four districts—Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, and West Wiltshire—all of which had been created in 1973 and were...
(from 2009) have been based at Trowbridge
Trowbridge
Trowbridge is the county town of Wiltshire, England, situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, approximately 12 miles southeast of Bath, Somerset....
.
Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland
Downland
A downland is an area of open chalk hills. This term is especially used to describe the chalk countryside in southern England. Areas of downland are often referred to as Downs....
and wide valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
s. Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
is famous as the location of the Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
and Avebury
Avebury
Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles which is located around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, south west England. Unique amongst megalithic monuments, Avebury contains the largest stone circle in Europe, and is one of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain...
stone circle
Stone circle
A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons....
s and other ancient landmarks and as the main training area in the UK of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. The city of Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
is notable for its medieval cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
. Important country houses
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
open to the public include Longleat
Longleat
Longleat is an English stately home, currently the seat of the Marquesses of Bath, adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster in Wiltshire and Frome in Somerset. It is noted for its Elizabethan country house, maze, landscaped parkland and safari park. The house is set...
, near Warminster
Warminster
Warminster is a town in western Wiltshire, England, by-passed by the A36, and near Frome and Westbury. It has a population of about 17,000. The River Were runs through the town and can be seen running through the middle of the town park. The Minster Church of St Denys sits on the River Were...
, and the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
's Stourhead
Stourhead
Stourhead is a 2,650 acre estate at the source of the River Stour near Mere, Wiltshire, England. The estate includes a Palladian mansion, the village of Stourton, gardens, farmland, and woodland...
, near Mere
Mere, Wiltshire
Mere is a small town in Wiltshire, England. It lies at the extreme southwestern tip of Salisbury Plain close to the borders of Somerset and Dorset....
.
Toponymy
The county, in the 9th century written as Wiltunscir, later Wiltonshire, is named after the former county town of WiltonWilton, Wiltshire
Wilton is a town in Wiltshire, , England, with a rich heritage dating back to the Anglo-Saxons. Today it is dwarfed by its larger and more famous neighbour, Salisbury, but still has a range of notable shops and attractions, including Wilton House.The confluence of the rivers Wylye and Nadder is at...
, itself named after the river Wylye
River Wylye
The River Wylye is a classic southern England chalk stream; champagne clear water flowing over gravel. Consequently, it is popular with anglers keen on fly fishing.- Course :...
, one of eight rivers which drain the county.
History
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
. The Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
, Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
people that occupied southern Britain built settlements on the hills and downland that cover Wiltshire. Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
and Avebury
Avebury
Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles which is located around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, south west England. Unique amongst megalithic monuments, Avebury contains the largest stone circle in Europe, and is one of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain...
are perhaps the most famous Neolithic sites in the UK.
In the 6th and 7th centuries Wiltshire was at the western edge of Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
Britain, as Cranborne Chase
Cranborne Chase
Cranborne Chase is a Chalk plateau in central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. The plateau is part of the English Chalk Formation and is adjacent to Salisbury Plain and the West Wiltshire Downs in the north, the Dorset Downs to the south west and the...
and the Somerset Levels
Somerset Levels
The Somerset Levels, or the Somerset Levels and Moors as they are less commonly but more correctly known, is a sparsely populated coastal plain and wetland area of central Somerset, South West England, between the Quantock and Mendip Hills...
prevented the advance to the west. The Battle of Bedwyn was fought in 675 between Escuin
Aescwine of Wessex
Æscwine was a King of Wessex from about 674 to 676, but probably not the only king in Wessex at the time.Bede writes that after the death of King Cenwalh: "his under-rulers took upon them the kingdom of the people, and dividing it among themselves, held it ten years". West Saxon tradition has...
, a West Saxon
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
nobleman who had seized the throne of Queen Saxburga
Seaxburh of Wessex
Seaxburh was a wife of Cenwalh of Wessex who according to tradition ruled Wessex as queen for a year following Cenwalh's death in 674. She should not be confused with her near-contemporary, Seaxburh of Ely, the saintly daughter of Anna of East Anglia....
, and King Wulfhere of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
. In 878 the Danes invaded the county. Following the Norman Conquest, large areas of the country came into the possession of the crown and the church.
At the time of the Domesday Survey the industry of Wiltshire was largely agricultural; 390 mills
Mill (grinding)
A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...
are mentioned, and vineyards at Tollard and Lacock. In the succeeding centuries sheep-farming was vigorously pursued, and the Cistercian monasteries of Kingswood and Stanley exported wool to the Florentine and Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
markets in the 13th and 14th centuries.
In the 17th century English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
Wiltshire was largely Parliamentarian
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
. 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...
, a decisive Royalist victory, was fought near Devizes
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...
.
Around 1800 the Kennet and Avon Canal
Kennet and Avon Canal
The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is commonly used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section...
was built through Wiltshire providing a route for transporting cargoes from Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
to London until the development of the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
.
Information on the 261 civil parishes of Wiltshire is available on the Wiltshire Community History website, run by the Libraries and Heritage services of Wiltshire County Council. This site includes maps, demographic data, historic and modern pictures and short histories.
The Moonrakers
The local nickname for Wiltshire natives is moonrakers. This originated from a story of smugglers who managed to foil the local ExciseExcise
Excise tax in the United States is a indirect tax on listed items. Excise taxes can be and are made by federal, state and local governments and are far from uniform throughout the United States...
men by hiding their alcohol, possibly French brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
in barrels or kegs, in a village pond. When confronted by the excise men they raked the surface in order to conceal the submerged contraband
Contraband
The word contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French contrebande "a smuggling," denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold....
with ripples, and claimed that they were trying to rake in a large round cheese visible in the pond, really a reflection of the full moon. The officials took them for simple yokels or mad and left them alone, allowing them to continue with their illegal activities. Many villages claim the tale for their own village pond, but the story is most commonly linked with The Crammer in Devizes
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...
.
Geology, landscape and ecology
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
, a kind of soft, white, porous limestone that is resistant to erosion, giving it a high chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
downland
Downland
A downland is an area of open chalk hills. This term is especially used to describe the chalk countryside in southern England. Areas of downland are often referred to as Downs....
landscape. This chalk is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation
Southern England Chalk Formation
The Chalk Formation of Southern England is a system of chalk downland in the south of England. The formation is perhaps best known for Salisbury Plain, the location of Stonehenge, the Isle of Wight and the twin ridgeways of the North Downs and South Downs....
that underlies large areas of Southern England from the Dorset Downs
Dorset Downs
The Dorset Downs are an area of Chalk downland in the centre of the county Dorset in south west England. The downs are the most western part of a larger Chalk Formation which also includes Cranborne Chase, Salisbury Plain, Hampshire Downs, Chiltern Hills, North Downs and South Downs.The Dorset...
in the west to Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
in the east. The largest area of chalk in Wiltshire is Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
, a semi-wilderness used mainly for arable
Agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
agriculture and by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
as training ranges. The highest point in the county is the Tan Hill
Tan Hill, Wiltshire
Tan Hill is a hill which lies just to the north of the village of Allington in the parish of All Cannings, Wiltshire, England.Its summit is 294 metres above sea level and is the second highest point of the North Wessex Downs AONB hill range and of Wiltshire. It is also the third highest point...
–Milk Hill
Milk Hill
Milk Hill, located near Alton Priors east of Devizes, is the highest point in the county of Wiltshire, southwest England, at some 295 m / 968 ft above sea level...
ridge in the Pewsey Vale
Vale of Pewsey
The Vale of Pewsey or Pewsey Vale is an area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the town of Pewsey.-Geography:...
, just to the north of Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
, at 295 m (968 ft) above sea level.
The chalk uplands run northeast into West Berkshire
West Berkshire
West Berkshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England, governed by a unitary authority . Its administrative capital is Newbury, located almost equidistantly between Bristol and London.-Geography:...
in the Marlborough Downs ridge, and southwest into Dorset as Cranborne Chase
Cranborne Chase
Cranborne Chase is a Chalk plateau in central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. The plateau is part of the English Chalk Formation and is adjacent to Salisbury Plain and the West Wiltshire Downs in the north, the Dorset Downs to the south west and the...
. Cranborne Chase, which straddles the border, has, like Salisbury Plain, yielded much Stone Age and Bronze Age archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
. The Marlborough Downs are part of the North Wessex Downs AONB
North Wessex Downs AONB
The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire...
(Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), a 1,730 km2 (668 square mile) conservation area.
In the northwest of the county, on the border with South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...
and Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset
Bath and North East Somerset is a unitary authority that was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the County of Avon. It is part of the Ceremonial county of Somerset...
, the underlying rock is the resistant oolite
Oolite
Oolite is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Hellenic word òoion for egg. Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 mm; rocks composed of ooids larger than 2 mm are called pisolites...
limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
of the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
. Part of the Cotswolds AONB is also in Wiltshire, in the county's northwestern corner.
Between the areas of chalk and limestone downland are clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
s and vale
River Valley
River Valley is the name of an urban planning area within the Central Area, Singapore's central business district.The River Valley Planning Area is defined by the region bounded by Orchard Boulevard, Devonshire Road and Eber Road to the north, Oxley Rise and Mohamed Sultan Road to the east, Martin...
s. The largest of these vales is the Avon Vale
River Avon, Bristol
The River Avon is an English river in the south west of the country. To distinguish it from a number of other River Avons in Britain, this river is often also known as the Lower Avon or Bristol Avon...
. The Avon cuts diagonally through the north of the county, flowing through Bradford on Avon
Bradford on Avon
Bradford on Avon is a town in west Wiltshire, England with a population of about 9,326. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restaurants make it popular with tourists....
and into Bath and Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. The Vale of Pewsey has been cut through the chalk into Greensand
Greensand
Greensand or Green sand is either a sand or sandstone, which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment, that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called glauconies and consist of a mixture of mixed-layer clay...
and Oxford Clay
Oxford Clay
The Oxford Clay Formation is a Jurassic marine sedimentary rock formation underlying much of southeast England, from as far west as Dorset and as far north as Yorkshire. The Oxford Clay is of middle Callovian to lower Oxfordian age and comprises 2 main facies. The lower facies comprises the...
in the centre of the county. In the south west of the county is the Vale of Wardour. The southeast of the county lies on the sandy soils of the northernmost area of the New Forest
New Forest
The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....
.
Chalk is a porous rock so the chalk hills have little surface water. The main settlements in the county are therefore situated at wet points. Notably, Salisbury is situated between the chalk of Salisbury Plain and marshy flood plains.
Climate
Along with the rest of South West EnglandSouth West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
, Wiltshire has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter mean minimum temperatures of 1 °C (33.8 °F) or 2 °C (35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
high pressure affects the south-west of England, however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection
Convection
Convection is the movement of molecules within fluids and rheids. It cannot take place in solids, since neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion can take place in solids....
. Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (27.6 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the south-west.
Economy
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value addedGross value added
Gross Value Added ' is a measure in economics of the value of goods and services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy...
(GVA) of Wiltshire at current basic prices with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Year | Regional gross value added | Agriculture | Industry | Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 4,354 | 217 | 1,393 | 2,743 |
| 2000 | 5,362 | 148 | 1,566 | 3,647 |
| 2003 | 6,463 | 164 | 1,548 | 4,751 |
The Wiltshire economy benefits from the "M4 corridor
M4 corridor
The M4 corridor is the area in the United Kingdom adjacent to the M4 motorway, which runs from London to South Wales. The area is a major hub for high-technology companies...
effect", which attracts business, and the attractiveness of its countryside, towns and villages. The northern part of the county is richer than the southern part, particularly since Swindon is home to national and international corporations such as Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
, Intel, Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
, Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent is a global telecommunications corporation, headquartered in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. It provides telecommunications solutions to service providers, enterprises, and governments around the world, enabling these customers to deliver voice, data, and video services...
, Patheon
Patheon
Patheon Inc. is a contract pharmaceutical company, based in Ontario, Canada. The company undertakes development, manufacturing and packaging of pharmaceutical products, both prescription and over the counter , for a plethora of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, at sites...
, Catalent (formerly known as Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health, Inc., is a Fortune 500 health care services company based in Dublin, Ohio. Cardinal Health specializes in health care supply chain services, providing pharmaceuticals and medical products to more than 40,000 locations each day. The company is also a manufacturer of medical and...
), Becton-Dickinson, WHSmith, Early Learning Centre
Early Learning Centre
The Early Learning Centre is a British chain of shops selling toys for very young children.-History:Originally set up as a mail order company in 1974 and was always based near Swindon; by 1980 it had ten shops; and it has grown to include 215 shops in the UK and over 80 in 19 other countries such...
and Nationwide
Nationwide Building Society
Nationwide Building Society is a British building society, and is the largest in the world. It has its headquarters in Swindon, England, and maintains significant administration centres in Bournemouth and Northampton...
, with Dyson located in nearby Malmesbury
Malmesbury
Malmesbury is a market town and civil parish located in the southern Cotswolds in the county of Wiltshire, England. Historically Malmesbury was a centre for learning and home to Malmesbury Abbey...
. Wiltshire’s employment structure is distinctive in having a significantly higher number of people in various forms of manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
(especially electrical equipment
Electrical equipment
Electrical equipment includes any machine powered by electricity. They usually consists of an enclosure, a variety of electrical components, and often a power switch...
and apparatus, food products, and beverages, furniture, rubber, pharmaceuticals, and plastic goods) than the national average.
In addition, there is higher than average employment in public administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
and defence
Defense (military)
Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
, due to the military establishments around the county, particularly around Amesbury
Amesbury
Amesbury is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is most famous for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is in its parish, and for the discovery of the Amesbury Archer—dubbed the King of Stonehenge in the press—in 2002...
and Corsham
Corsham
Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in north west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south western extreme of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 which was formerly the main turnpike road from London to Bristol, between Bath and Chippenham ....
. There are sizeable British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
barracks at Tidworth
Tidworth
Tidworth is a town in south-east Wiltshire, England with a growing civilian population. Situated at the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain, it is approximately 10 miles west of Andover, 12 miles south of Marlborough, 24 miles south of Swindon, 15 miles north by north-east of Salisbury and 6 miles east...
, Bulford
Bulford
Bulford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, close to Salisbury Plain. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,698.The name is derived from the Old English bulut ieg ford meaning 'ragged robin island ford'....
and Warminster
Warminster
Warminster is a town in western Wiltshire, England, by-passed by the A36, and near Frome and Westbury. It has a population of about 17,000. The River Were runs through the town and can be seen running through the middle of the town park. The Minster Church of St Denys sits on the River Were...
, and further north RAF Lyneham
RAF Lyneham
RAF Lyneham is a Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire, England. It was the home of all the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft of the Royal Air Force before they were relocated to RAF Brize Norton.The station was also home to No...
is home to the RAF's Hercules C130 fleet. Wiltshire is also distinctive in having a high proportion of its working age population who are economically active – (86.6% in 1999–2000), and its low unemployment rates. The gross domestic product (GDP) level in Wiltshire did not reach the UK average in 1998, and was only marginally above the rate for South West England
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
.
Education
Wiltshire has twenty-nine county secondary schools, publicly funded, of which the largest is Warminster KingdownWarminster Kingdown
Kingdown Community School is a dual Sports College and Vocational College in Warminster, Wiltshire.There are currently about 1428 pupils attending.- School :...
, and another thirteen independent secondaries, including Marlborough College
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
, St Mary's Calne
St Mary's School (Calne)
St Mary's Calne, is an academically selective independent school at Calne, Wiltshire, for girls aged eleven to eighteen, with about 320 on roll. Most girls are boarders...
, and Dauntsey's
Dauntsey's School
Dauntsey's School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the village of West Lavington, Wiltshire, England. The School was founded in 1542, in accordance with the will of William Dauntesey, a master of the Worshipful Company of Mercers....
. The county schools are nearly all comprehensives
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
, with the older pattern of education surviving only in Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, which has two grammar schools (South Wilts Grammar School for Girls
South Wilts Grammar School for Girls
South Wilts Grammar School for Girls, or just South Wilts Grammar School or SWGS, is a secondary school in Salisbury, south Wiltshire, England. It is an Academy with specialist Mathematics and Computing College status.-History:...
and Bishop Wordsworth's School
Bishop Wordsworth's School
Bishop Wordsworth's School is a Church of England boys' day grammar school located in Salisbury, England. In 2010, there were 748 pupils aged between 11 and 18. The school is regularly amongst the top-performing schools in England, and in 2011 was the top school performer for the English...
) and three secondary moderns
Secondary modern school
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s, under the Tripartite System, and was designed for the majority of pupils - those who do not achieve scores in the top 25% of the eleven plus examination...
. All but two of the county secondary schools in the former districts of West Wiltshire
West Wiltshire
West Wiltshire was a local government district in Wiltshire, England, formed on 1 April 1974, further to the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the former urban districts of Bradford-on-Avon, Melksham, Trowbridge, Warminster and Westbury, along with Bradford and Melksham Rural District and...
and North Wiltshire
North Wiltshire
North Wiltshire was a local government district in Wiltshire, England, formed on 1 April 1974, by a merger of the municipal boroughs of Calne, Chippenham, and Malmesbury along with Calne and Chippenham Rural District, Cricklade and Wootton Bassett Rural District and Malmesbury Rural District...
have Sixth form
Sixth form
In the education systems of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and of Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica and Malta, the sixth form is the final two years of secondary education, where students, usually sixteen to eighteen years of age,...
s, but only half of those in the rest of the county.
Wiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council is the unitary authority for most of the county of Wiltshire, in the West of England, the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council and to four districts—Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, and West Wiltshire—all of which had been created in 1973 and were...
operates Urchfont Manor College
Urchfont Manor College
Urchfont Manor College is a residential college for adult education which opened in 1947. The college is owned and operated by Wiltshire Council; it is also used as a conference centre.-Urchfont Manor:...
, which is a residential adult education
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
college. There are also three further education
Further education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
colleges, New College, Swindon
New College, Swindon
New College is a further and higher education institution, founded in 1983 and located in Swindon, England. The latest OFSTED report rated the college as good stating that: "This is a good college with outstanding features and good capacity to improve.." and that: "Achievement and standards are...
, Wiltshire College
Wiltshire College
Wiltshire College is a tertiary college of education founded in 2002 by the merger of Chippenham Technical College, Lackham College and Trowbridge College. Consolidation will be completed with the merger of Salisbury College, which commenced in January 2008...
and Swindon College
Swindon College
Swindon College is a further education college in Swindon, England. Its campus is at North Star, just outside the town centre. The college has HNC/Ds and Foundation Degrees, through to BA courses and a postgraduate programme....
, providing some higher education.
As yet there are no universities within Wiltshire, except that Bath Spa University
Bath Spa University
Bath Spa University is a university based in, and around, Bath, England. The institution was previously known as Bath College of Higher Education, and later Bath Spa University College...
has a small campus at Corsham Court
Corsham Court
Corsham Court is an English country house in a park designed by Capability Brown. It is in the town of Corsham, 3 miles west of Chippenham, Wiltshire and is notable for its fine art collection, based on the nucleus of paintings inherited in 1757 by Paul Methuen from his uncle, Sir Paul...
and Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University is a new university in Oxford, England. It was named to honour the school's founding principal, John Brookes. It has been ranked as the best new university by the Sunday Times University Guide 10 years in a row...
maintains a minor campus in 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...
(almost 50 km from Oxford). Early outline plans for a projected University of Swindon or University of Wiltshire were announced by the Borough of Swindon in November 2008, but the scheme remains uncommitted. Swindon is the UK's largest centre of population without its own university. The closest university to Wiltshire's county town of Trowbridge is the University of Bath
University of Bath
The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, United Kingdom. It received its Royal Charter in 1966....
. Wiltshire is therefore one of the few remaining English counties, including Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
and Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, without a university or university college.
Demographics
The county registered a population of 613,024 in the Census 2001United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
. The population density is low at 178 PD/km2. In 1991 there were 230,109 dwellings in the county. In 1991 98.3% of the population was indigenous and 17.9% of the population were over 65.
Population of Wiltshire:
- 1801: 185,107
- 1851: 254,221
- 1901: 271,394
- 1951: 386,692
- 2001: 613,024
Politics and administration
The ceremonial county of Wiltshire consists of two unitary authority areas, Wiltshire and Swindon, governed respectively by Wiltshire CouncilWiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council is the unitary authority for most of the county of Wiltshire, in the West of England, the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council and to four districts—Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, and West Wiltshire—all of which had been created in 1973 and were...
and Swindon Borough Council
Swindon (borough)
The Borough of Swindon is a local government authority in South West England. It is centred on the town of Swindon and forms part of the ceremonial county of Wiltshire...
.
Until the 2009 structural changes to local government in England
2009 structural changes to local government in England
Structural changes to local government in England were effected on 1 April 2009, whereby a number of new unitary authorities were created in parts of the country which previously operated a 'two-tier' system of counties and districts...
, Wiltshire (apart from Swindon) was a two-level county, divided into four local government districts, Kennet, North Wiltshire
North Wiltshire
North Wiltshire was a local government district in Wiltshire, England, formed on 1 April 1974, by a merger of the municipal boroughs of Calne, Chippenham, and Malmesbury along with Calne and Chippenham Rural District, Cricklade and Wootton Bassett Rural District and Malmesbury Rural District...
, Salisbury
Salisbury (district)
Salisbury was a local government district in Wiltshire, England from 1974 to 2009. Its main urban area was the city of Salisbury.The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the previous municipal boroughs of Salisbury and Wilton, along with Amesbury...
and West Wiltshire
West Wiltshire
West Wiltshire was a local government district in Wiltshire, England, formed on 1 April 1974, further to the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the former urban districts of Bradford-on-Avon, Melksham, Trowbridge, Warminster and Westbury, along with Bradford and Melksham Rural District and...
, which existed alongside Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county....
, covering the same area and carrying out more strategic tasks, such as education and county roads. However, on 1 April 2009 these five local authorities were merged into a single unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
called Wiltshire Council. With the abolition of the District of Salisbury, a new Salisbury City Council
Salisbury City Council
Salisbury City Council is a parish council, currently led by the Liberal Democrats.It came into existence in April 2009 to serve the city of Salisbury, Wiltshire, as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, although its first elections were not held until June 2009...
was created at the same time to carry out several city-wide functions and to hold the City's charter.
As a result of elections held in 2009, Wiltshire Council comprises 61 Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, 24 Liberal Democrats, eight Independents
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
, three Devizes Guardians
Devizes Guardians
The Devizes Guardians are a local political party based in Devizes, Wiltshire. The party was formed in 2001 and has been successful in winning seats on Kennet District Council and Wiltshire Council.It is sometimes called the "local conservation party"....
and two Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
members. The council is led by Jane Scott
Jane Scott (politician)
Jane Antoinette Scott OBE is an English Conservative politician, Leader of the former Wiltshire County Council from 2003 to 2009 and of its successor the new Wiltshire Council from June 2009....
(Conservative), who had previously led the former Wiltshire County Council since 2003.
At the parliamentary
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
level, rural Wiltshire is represented by four Conservative and one Liberal Democrat Members of Parliament, while the predominantly urban area of 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...
is represented by two Conservative Members.
Sport
The county is represented in the Football League by Swindon TownSwindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
, who play at the County Ground
County Ground, Swindon
The County Ground is a stadium located near the town centre of Swindon, England. It is home to Swindon Town Football Club and has been for over a century.The current capacity is 15,728, all-seated...
stadium near 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...
town centre. They joined the Football League on the creation of the Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
in 1920, and have remained in the league ever since. Their most notable achievements include winning the Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
in 1969 and the Anglo-Italian Cup
Anglo-Italian Cup
The Anglo-Italian Cup is a defunct European football competition that was played intermittently between 1970 and 1996 between clubs from England and Italy. Founded by Gigi Peronace in 1970, following the success of the Anglo-Italian League Cup, it was played as a professional tournament until 1973...
in 1970, two successive promotions in 1986 and 1987 (taking them from the Fourth Division
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...
to the Second
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
), promotion to the Premier League as Division One
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
play-off winners in 1993 (as inaugural members), the Division Two title in 1996, and their recent promotion to League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
in 2007 after finishing third in League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
.
Salisbury City played in the Conference Premier League however they entered administration in the Summer of 2009 and now play in the Southern League Premier Division as of Summer 2010 due to a breach of Conference rules. They are currently two leagues under Conference National Level.
Swindon Robins
Swindon Robins
The Swindon Speedway team, also known as the Swindon Robins, are an English Motorcycle Speedway team established in 1949 that competes in the Elite League....
Speedway team, who compete in the Sky Elite League, have been at their track at the Blunsdon
Blunsdon
Broad Blunsdon is a village in the Borough of Swindon, England, about north of Swindon itself.Together with the nearby villages of Blunsdon St Andrew and adjoining Lower Blunsdon, the settlement is usually known simply as Blunsdon...
Abbey Stadium since 1949.
Rich Benke, the international snowboarder, hails from Chippenham in Wiltshire. He currently resides in Whistler, Canada.
Principal settlements
Wiltshire has twenty-one towns and one cityCity status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
:
- AmesburyAmesburyAmesbury is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is most famous for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is in its parish, and for the discovery of the Amesbury Archer—dubbed the King of Stonehenge in the press—in 2002...
- Bradford on AvonBradford on AvonBradford on Avon is a town in west Wiltshire, England with a population of about 9,326. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restaurants make it popular with tourists....
- CalneCalneCalne is a town in Wiltshire, southwestern England. It is situated at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs hill range, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty....
- ChippenhamChippenhamChippenham may be:* Chippenham, Wiltshire* Chippenham * Chippenham, Cambridgeshire-See also:* Virginia State Route 150, also known as Chippenham Parkway, USA* Cippenham, Berkshire, UK...
- CorshamCorshamCorsham is a historic market town and civil parish in north west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south western extreme of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 which was formerly the main turnpike road from London to Bristol, between Bath and Chippenham ....
- CrickladeCrickladeCricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire in England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester.On 25 September 2011 Cricklade was awarded The Royal Horticultural Society's 'Champion of Champions' award in the Britain in Bloom competition.Cricklade is twinned with...
- 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...
- HighworthHighworthHighworth is a market town in the unitary authority of Swindon in Wiltshire, England, located about north-east of Swindon town centre. At the 2001 census it had a population of 7,996...
- LarkhillLarkhillLarkhill is a garrison town in the civil parish of Durrington, Wiltshire, England. It is a short distance west of Durrington village proper and north of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. It is about north of Salisbury....
- LudgershallLudgershall, WiltshireLudgershall is a town and civil parish north east of Salisbury, Wiltshire, at grid SU264509. The population was: 535 in 1831; 1,906 in 1951; and 3,775 in 2001. Ludgershall is now officially a town.-Historical features:...
- MalmesburyMalmesburyMalmesbury is a market town and civil parish located in the southern Cotswolds in the county of Wiltshire, England. Historically Malmesbury was a centre for learning and home to Malmesbury Abbey...
- Marlborough
- MelkshamMelkshamMelksham is a medium-sized English town, lying on the River Avon. It lies in the county of Wiltshire.It is situated southeast of the city of Bath, south of Chippenham, west of Devizes and north of Warminster on the A350 national route. The 2001 UK census cited Melksham as having 20,000...
- MereMere, WiltshireMere is a small town in Wiltshire, England. It lies at the extreme southwestern tip of Salisbury Plain close to the borders of Somerset and Dorset....
- Royal Wootton Bassett
- Salisbury (city)
- SwindonSwindonSwindon 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...
- TidworthTidworthTidworth is a town in south-east Wiltshire, England with a growing civilian population. Situated at the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain, it is approximately 10 miles west of Andover, 12 miles south of Marlborough, 24 miles south of Swindon, 15 miles north by north-east of Salisbury and 6 miles east...
- TrowbridgeTrowbridgeTrowbridge is the county town of Wiltshire, England, situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, approximately 12 miles southeast of Bath, Somerset....
- WarminsterWarminsterWarminster is a town in western Wiltshire, England, by-passed by the A36, and near Frome and Westbury. It has a population of about 17,000. The River Were runs through the town and can be seen running through the middle of the town park. The Minster Church of St Denys sits on the River Were...
- WestburyWestbury, WiltshireWestbury is a town and civil parish in the west of the English county of Wiltshire, most famous for the Westbury White Horse.-Name:The most likely origin of the West- in Westbury is simply that the town is near the western edge of the county of Wiltshire, the bounds of which have been much the same...
- WiltonWilton, WiltshireWilton is a town in Wiltshire, , England, with a rich heritage dating back to the Anglo-Saxons. Today it is dwarfed by its larger and more famous neighbour, Salisbury, but still has a range of notable shops and attractions, including Wilton House.The confluence of the rivers Wylye and Nadder is at...
A list of settlements is at List of places in Wiltshire.
Places of interest
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Lydiard Country Park Lydiard Park is a country park at Lydiard Tregoze, west of central Swindon, Wiltshire, UK near Junction 16 of the M4 .The park contains Lydiard House, the former residence of the St John family, the Viscounts Bolingbroke... , West Swindon.   Malmesbury Abbey Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, was founded as a Benedictine monastery around 676 by the scholar-poet Aldhelm, a nephew of King Ine of Wessex. In 941 AD, King Athelstan was buried in the Abbey. By the 11th century it contained the second largest library in Europe and was... Maud Heath's Causeway Maud Heath's Causeway is a pathway in rural Wiltshire which rises above the Avon floodplain on sixty-four brick arches, as it carries an undistinguished country road between Bremhill and Langley Burrell.... Mompesson House Mompesson House is an 18th-century house located in the Cathedral Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The house has been in the ownership of the National Trust since 1952.-Miscellanea:... Old Sarum Old Sarum is the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury, in England. The site contains evidence of human habitation as early as 3000 BC. Old Sarum is mentioned in some of the earliest records in the country... , the former cathedral  Philipps House Philipps House is an early nineteenth-century Neo-Grecian country house at Dinton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The house was designed by Jeffry Wyatt, later Sir Jeffry Wyatville for William Wyndham, and was built between 1813-16 on the site of an earlier, demolished seventeenth-century... Richard Jefferies John Richard Jefferies was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood on a small Wiltshire farm had a great influence on him and provides the background to all his major works of fiction... Birthplace and Museum (The Old House at Coate)  Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture.... Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, commonly known as Salisbury Museum is a museum in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It houses one of the best collections relating to Stonehenge and local archaeology.... Shearwater (lake) Shearwater is a man-made freshwater lake near Crockerton village, close to the town of Warminster in Wiltshire. Part of the Longleat Estate, the lake is surrounded by mature woodland, and is popular with anglers, walkers and cyclists.... Silbury Hill Silbury Hill is a prehistoric artificial chalk mound near Avebury in the English county of Wiltshire. It is part of the Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites UNESCO World Heritage Site, and lies at .... Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks... Stourhead Stourhead is a 2,650 acre estate at the source of the River Stour near Mere, Wiltshire, England. The estate includes a Palladian mansion, the village of Stourton, gardens, farmland, and woodland... Swindon and Cricklade Railway The Swindon & Cricklade Railway is a heritage railway in Wiltshire, England, that operates on a short section of the old Midland and South Western Junction Railway line between Swindon and Cricklade.-History:... Swindon Steam Railway Museum STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway, also known as Swindon Steam Railway Museum, is located at the site of the old railway works in Swindon, England – Wiltshire's 'railway town'... Trafalgar House (Wiltshire) Trafalgar House, also known as Trafalgar Park, is a country house located south of Salisbury, in the county of Wiltshire, England. This country estate is a popular venue for events such as weddings, corporate meetings and charity fundraisers. In recent years, it has also been used as a set for film... Wardour Castle Wardour Castle is located at Wardour, near Tisbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Salisbury. The original castle was partially destroyed during the Civil War...  West Kennet Long Barrow The West Kennet Long Barrow is a Neolithic tomb or barrow, situated on a prominent chalk ridge, near Silbury Hill, one-and-a-half miles south of Avebury in Wiltshire, England. The site was recorded by John Aubrey in the 17th century and by William Stukeley in the 18th century.Archaeologists... Westbury White Horse The Westbury or Bratton White Horse is a hill figure on the escarpment of Salisbury Plain, approximately east of Westbury in England. Located on the edge of Bratton Downs and lying just below an Iron Age hill fort, it is the oldest of several white horses carved in Wiltshire... Westwood Manor Westwood Manor is a 15th-century manor house with 16th century additions and 17th century plaster-work situated near Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England. It contains fine furniture and tapestries collected by Edgar Lister between 1911 and 1956... Woodhenge Woodhenge is a Neolithic Class I henge and timber circle monument located in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in Wiltshire, England. It is north-east of Stonehenge in the parish of Durrington, just north of Amesbury.-Discovery:... Wilton House Wilton House is an English country house situated at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire. It has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years.... Wilton Windmill The Wilton Windmill is a five floor brick tower mill located on a chalk ridge between the villages of Wilton and Great Bedwyn in the southern English county of Wiltshire.-History:... Wilts and Berks Canal The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington, near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a branch to the Thames and Severn Canal at Latton near... Wiltshire Heritage Museum The Wiltshire Heritage Museum, formerly known as Devizes Museum, is a museum, archive and library and art gallery in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The museum was established and is still run by, the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society , a registered charity founded in 1853. After... Dorset Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974... ) Wroughton Wroughton is a large village in Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and is south of Swindon.-History:The earliest evidence of human presence in the area is from the Mesolithic period, although this is fairly limited... |
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Areas of countryside in Wiltshire include:
- Cranborne ChaseCranborne ChaseCranborne Chase is a Chalk plateau in central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. The plateau is part of the English Chalk Formation and is adjacent to Salisbury Plain and the West Wiltshire Downs in the north, the Dorset Downs to the south west and the...
- Marlborough Downs
- Salisbury PlainSalisbury PlainSalisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
- Vale of PewseyVale of PewseyThe Vale of Pewsey or Pewsey Vale is an area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the town of Pewsey.-Geography:...
Road
Roads running through Wiltshire include The RidgewayThe Ridgeway
thumb|right|thumb|The ancient tree-lined path winds over the downs countrysideThe Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road...
, an ancient route, and Roman roads the Fosse Way
Fosse Way
The Fosse Way was a Roman road in England that linked Exeter in South West England to Lincoln in Lincolnshire, via Ilchester , Bath , Cirencester and Leicester .It joined Akeman Street and Ermin Way at Cirencester, crossed Watling Street at Venonis south...
, London to Bath road
Roman road from London to Bath
The route of the Roman road from London to Bath is as follows: Londinium to Pontes to Calleva Atrebatum to Spinae to Cunetio to Aquae Sulis. Portions of the original road are extant, and in certain other places all apparent vestiges are absent from view...
and Ermin Way
Ermin Street
Ermin Street or Ermin Way is one of the great Roman roads of Britain. It runs from Gloucester via Cirencester to Silchester . Much of it is now covered by the modern A417, A419 and B4000 roads....
. National Cycle Route 4
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
and the Thames Path
Thames Path
The Thames Path is a National Trail, opened in 1996, following the length of the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Thames Barrier at Charlton. It is about long....
, a modern long distance footpath, run through the county.
Routes through Wiltshire include:
- A4 road
- M4 motorwayM4 motorwayThe M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
/ M4 CorridorM4 corridorThe M4 corridor is the area in the United Kingdom adjacent to the M4 motorway, which runs from London to South Wales. The area is a major hub for high-technology companies... - A303A303 roadThe A303 is a 92-mile long trunk road in England. It is the main road between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon. The M3, the A303 and the A30 together make up one of the main routes from London to South West England, running from London to Land's End in Cornwall...
trunk road - A350 road
- A417 roadA417 road-Streatley - Gloucester :It runs from Streatley at its junction with the A329 to Wantage, over the picturesque Berkshire Downs. In Wantage, it negotiates the market place -Streatley - Gloucester (M5):It runs from Streatley at its junction with the A329 (between Reading and Wallingford) to Wantage,...
Rail
Three main railway routes, all of which carry passenger traffic, cross Wiltshire.- Great Western Main LineGreat Western Main LineThe Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
- Wessex Main LineWessex Main LineThe Wessex Main Line is the railway line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton. Diverging from this route is the Heart of Wessex Line from Westbury to Weymouth.- Places served :The places served are listed below.*Bristol*Keynsham*Oldfield Park*Bath...
- West of England Main LineWest of England Main LineThe West of England Main Line is a British railway line that runs from , Hampshire to Exeter St Davids in Devon, England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter...
Other routes include:
- Reading to Taunton LineReading to Taunton lineThe Reading to Taunton line also known as the Berks and Hants is a major branch of the Great Western Main Line that diverges at Reading, running to Cogload Junction near Taunton, where it joins the Bristol to Exeter line....
- Heart of Wessex LineHeart of Wessex LineThe Heart of Wessex Line, also known as the Bristol to Weymouth line, is a United Kingdom railway line that runs from Bristol to Westbury to Weymouth...
- Golden Valley LineGolden Valley LineThe Golden Valley Line is a railway line from Swindon to Cheltenham in the UK.The line was originally built as the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway in the 1840s...
The major junction stations are Salisbury
Salisbury railway station
Salisbury is a railway station serving the city of Salisbury, Wiltshire. Located southwest of London Waterloo, the station is the crossing point of the West of England Main Line and the Wessex Main Line...
and Westbury
Westbury railway station
Westbury railway station serves the town of Westbury, Wiltshire, England. The station is managed by First Great Western.The station is a major junction, serving the Reading to Plymouth Line with services to and from Penzance and London Paddington, the Wessex Main Line with services to and from...
, and important junctions are also found at Swindon
Swindon railway station
Swindon railway station is in the town of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The station entrance is on Station Road, to the south of the line.It is approximately from the central bus station and the town centre...
and Trowbridge
Trowbridge railway station
Trowbridge railway station is a railway station on the Wessex Main Line between and . The station is south east of and is managed by First Great Western....
.
Air
Airfields in Wiltshire include Old Sarum AirfieldOld Sarum Airfield
Old Sarum Airfield is located north northeast of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England.The aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee . The aerodrome is not licensed for night use.The site is a...
, Clench Common Airfield and Redlands Airfield
Redlands Airfield
Redlands Airfield is an unlicenced private airfield in Wanborough, east of Swindon, Wiltshire, a few miles from junction 15 of the M4. Redlands Airfield has been operating since 1990 after being granted planning permission by Swindon Borough Council for a microlight flying club and school...
. RAF Lyneham
RAF Lyneham
RAF Lyneham is a Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire, England. It was the home of all the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft of the Royal Air Force before they were relocated to RAF Brize Norton.The station was also home to No...
is an air transport hub for British forces. Airports for scheduled airlines near Wiltshire include Bristol International Airport
Bristol International Airport
Bristol Airport , located at Lulsgate Bottom in North Somerset, is the commercial airport serving the city of Bristol, England and the surrounding area. At first it was named Bristol Lulsgate Airport and from March 1997 to March 2010 it was known as Bristol International Airport...
, Bristol Filton Airport, Gloucestershire Airport
Gloucestershire Airport
Gloucestershire Airport , formerly Staverton Airport, is located at Staverton, in the Borough of Tewkesbury within Gloucestershire, England. It lies west of Cheltenham, near the city of Gloucester and close to the M5 motorway. According to the sign at the airport's entrance it is Gloucestershire's...
, London Oxford Airport, London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
and Southampton Airport
Southampton Airport
Southampton Airport is the 20th largest airport in the UK, located north north-east of Southampton, in the Borough of Eastleigh within Hampshire, England....
.
See also
- Outline of EnglandOutline of EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Its 51,092,000 inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population, while its mainland territory occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain. England is bordered by Scotland to the north, Wales to the...
- Flag of WiltshireFlag of WiltshireThere are three flag designs associated with the English county of Wiltshire. Like the proposed flags of many other counties, two of the three have no official status as they were not designed by the College of Arms...
- High Sheriff of WiltshireHigh Sheriff of WiltshireThis is a list of High Sheriffs of Wiltshire.Until the 14th century the shrievalty was held ex officio by the castellans of Old Sarum.-To 1400:*1066: Edric*1067-1070: Philippe de Buckland*1085: Aiulphus the Sheriff*1070–1105: Edward of Salisbury...
- King's Play HillKing's Play HillKing's Play Hill is a 29.5 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, notified in 1971.-Source:* -External links:*...
- Knapp and Barnett's DownsKnapp and Barnett's DownsKnapp and Barnett's Downs is a 71.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, notified in 1971.-Source:* -External links:*...
- Knighton Downs and WoodKnighton Downs and WoodKnighton Downs and Wood is a 203.7 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, notified in 1971.-Source:* -External links:*...
- List of Chairmen of Wiltshire County Council
- List of civil parishes in Wiltshire
- List of Deputy Lieutenants of Wiltshire
- List of Lords Lieutenant of WiltshireLord Lieutenant of WiltshireThis is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire. From 1750, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Wiltshire.-Lord Lieutenants of Wiltshire:*William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke 1551 – 17 March 1570...
- List of places in Wiltshire
- Swindon local electionsSwindon local electionsOne third of Swindon Unitary Council in Wiltshire, England is elected each year, followed by one year without election. Since the last boundary changes in 2002, 59 councillors have been elected from 22 wards.-Political control:...
- Wiltshire Historic Buildings TrustWiltshire Historic Buildings TrustThe Wiltshire Historic Buildings Trust is a charitable organization which works to preserve the architectural heritage of Wiltshire, in the West of England.-History:...
- Wiltshire Horn breed of sheepWiltshire HornThe Wiltshire Horn is a breed of domestic sheep originally from Wiltshire in southern England raised for meat. The breed is unusual amongst native British breeds, for it has the unusual feature of moulting its short wool and hair coat naturally in spring, alleviating the need for shearing. They...
- Wiltshire local electionsWiltshire local electionsAs a result of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, the former Wiltshire County Council and the four districts within its geographical area were replaced by the new Wiltshire Council, which is a unitary authority covering the same area, with elections continuing to be held...
- "The Vly be on the TurmutThe Vly be on the TurmutThe Vly be on the Turmut is a traditional song sung in the Wiltshire dialect and is one of the regimental marching songs of the Wiltshire Regiment....
" - Category:Grade I listed buildings in Wiltshire
External links
- Wiltshire Council
- Merlin local information (Wiltshire council)
- Wiltshire Community History (Wiltshire council)
- Geology map of Wiltshire (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) (Wiltshire council)
- Wiltshire Tourist Office
- Wiltshire Intelligence Network