Amesbury

Coordinates: 51°10′23″N 1°46′48″W / 51.173°N 1.780°W / 51.173; -1.780
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Amesbury
Cottages in Amesbury
Amesbury is located in Wiltshire
Amesbury
Amesbury
Location within Wiltshire
Population12,995 (2021 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceSU1642
Civil parish
  • Amesbury
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSALISBURY
Postcode districtSP4
Dialling code01980
PoliceWiltshire
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
WebsiteTown Council
List of places
UK
England
Wiltshire
51°10′23″N 1°46′48″W / 51.173°N 1.780°W / 51.173; -1.780

Amesbury (

Boscombe Down
military airfield.

Etymology

The derivation of the name of the town is uncertain. It may derive from an Anglo-Saxon named Ambre, or from the Old English amore-burh meaning 'fortification frequented by buntings or/and Yellowhammers'.[3] It has also been suggested that the name is derived from Ambrosius Aurelianus, leader of Romano-British resistance to Saxon invasions in the 5th century.[4]

Geography

Amesbury is located in southern

Boscombe Down.[5]

Climate

Climate data for
WMO
identifier: 03746) 1991–2020
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 7.9
(46.2)
8.4
(47.1)
10.6
(51.1)
14.3
(57.7)
17.5
(63.5)
20.5
(68.9)
23.6
(74.5)
21.5
(70.7)
19.1
(66.4)
15.1
(59.2)
10.6
(51.1)
9.5
(49.1)
14.9
(58.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.1
(41.2)
5.3
(41.5)
6.8
(44.2)
9.6
(49.3)
12.5
(54.5)
15.6
(60.1)
18.2
(64.8)
16.8
(62.2)
14.7
(58.5)
11.7
(53.1)
7.6
(45.7)
6.7
(44.1)
10.9
(51.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 2.2
(36.0)
2.1
(35.8)
3.0
(37.4)
4.8
(40.6)
7.5
(45.5)
10.7
(51.3)
12.7
(54.9)
12.0
(53.6)
10.2
(50.4)
8.2
(46.8)
4.6
(40.3)
3.6
(38.5)
6.8
(44.3)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 92.3
(3.63)
70.0
(2.76)
61.3
(2.41)
49.0
(1.93)
49.4
(1.94)
43.1
(1.70)
51.2
(2.02)
61.4
(2.42)
55.7
(2.19)
79.0
(3.11)
85.4
(3.36)
90.4
(3.56)
788.2
(31.03)
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) 14.6 12.3 11.1 8.5 9.5 7.0 6.4 10.1 9.1 12.9 14.0 13.6 129.1
Average
relative humidity
(%)
87 85 80 77 76 76 76 77 80 85 88 88 81
Average dew point °C (°F) 3
(37)
2
(36)
3
(37)
4
(39)
7
(45)
10
(50)
12
(54)
12
(54)
10
(50)
8
(46)
5
(41)
3
(37)
7
(44)
Source 1: Meteoclimat[6]
Source 2: Time and Date (dewpoints and humidity, 1985–2015)[7]

History

Stonehenge

Ancient and medieval

The land around Amesbury has been settled since

Boscombe Down by Wessex Archaeology found the Amesbury Archer and Boscombe Bowmen.[8]

During the

River Avon. The fort could easily have catered for up to 1000 people, and was probably surrounded by smaller settlements and farming communities.[9]

Roman remains are poorly documented at Amesbury, but excavations have revealed Roman structures in the Stonehenge landscape, and Wessex Archaeology have discovered a large Roman graveyard in the area of the Amesbury Archer burial.[10] It is likely that there was a large Romano-British settlement overlooking the River Avon at this point.[11]

If this is the case he is likely to have used the hill fort as a stronghold.[citation needed] It is possible that an order of monks established a monastery in the area that was destroyed by the Saxons before they settled the area in the 7th century.[12]

Aethelweard (c. 880–922).[citation needed] In 1086, Domesday Book recorded a settlement named Amblesberie or Ambresberie with 111 households and eight mills. The largest estate was held by Wilton Abbey, and other land was held by Edward of Salisbury.[13]

In 979 AD a Benedictine abbey, the

Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540, after which its buildings – including the church with its lead-covered spire – were demolished.[14]

Amesbury is also associated with the Arthurian legend: the convent to which Guinevere retired was said to have been the one at Amesbury.[17] This legend has its origins in the world of Middle English Arthurian romance: the Stanzaic Morte Arthur (c. 1350-1400) is the earliest text to claim that Guinevere retired to Amesbury, rather than to Caerleon, as had previously been claimed by the historian Geoffrey of Monmouth.[18] The claim was repeated in Sir Thomas Malory's Le_Morte_d'Arthur.[18] In 1542, the antiquarian John Leland took things further, stating that Guinevere had actually been buried at Amesbury before being disinterred and translated to Glastonbury Abbey to lie beside her husband, King Arthur.[19] The tradition of Guinevere's Amesbury burial came to a head in the early 1600s, when an ancient noblewoman's grave was discovered during renovation work at the old Abbey site, then in the hands of the Earls of Hertford.[20] Inigo Jones, the lead architect, was convinced that the grave was Guinevere's, and in the decades after the discovery visitors flocked to Amesbury to see the grave for themselves, where a plaque had apparently been erected to mark the location.[21]

Modern history

On

hundred
) and Ambersbury (for the town itself).

After the Dissolution, Amesbury became a secular estate and was given to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford by the Crown;[22] the Seymour family held the estate until 1675. A new mansion which took the name Amesbury Abbey was completed in 1661, designed for William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset (d. 1660) by John Webb in neo-classical style.[23]

The estate subsequently passed to the

Admiral Nelson
, and had the hillfort landscaped as part of the grounds around the mansion.

In 1824 Sir Edmund Antrobus acquired the estate and, finding the mansion in poor repair, had it rebuilt in 1834–1840 to designs of Thomas Hopper.[23] In 1915 Lord Antrobus sold the grounds – including Stonehenge – to private bidders, although the mansion remained in Antrobus family hands until 1979.[25] The house is now operated as a nursing home.[26]

In 1677, John Rose, gentleman, founded two schools at Amesbury, a grammar school for teaching grammar, writing, and ciphering to twenty children born in the parish, and an "English school" to prepare twenty children of poor parents for the grammar school. By a decree in Chancery of 1831, the freedom of the grammar school was extended to children of "mechanics, artisans, and small tradesmen".[27] The grammar school was closed in 1899, and the children were transferred to a National School.[28]

Recent history

With the establishment of the military

Boscombe Down in 1939, Amesbury began to expand. As it lies within the A303 commuter belt, Amesbury has seen substantial developments on the land between the old town centre and Boscombe Down. Several new housing estates have been completed, and the most recent one – Archers Gate – has taken its name from the discovery of the Amesbury Archer
. At the Boscombe Down junction of the A303, a mixed business development known as Solstice Park has been built.

On 30 June 2018, two British nationals were poisoned using Novichok nerve agents before being found unconscious at a property in Amesbury; one of them, Dawn Sturgess, later died.[29] Almost four months earlier, the same nerve agents were used in the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in nearby Salisbury. In 2020 it was reported that the Amesbury property would be demolished.[30]

Population

At the

Wylye in the west).[33]

Local government

The civil parish elects a

, which is responsible for all significant local government functions.

Transport

Amesbury is 6 miles (10 km) from the nearest station at

Bulford Camp Railway
.

Amesbury Bus Station closed in January 2014 along with the bus station in nearby Salisbury as a cost-cutting measure,[34] but Salisbury Reds services still stop in the town. Stagecoach and Salisbury Reds jointly operate a frequent Salisbury-Amesbury-Tidworth-Andover service,[35] and National Express provide a service to London. Salisbury Reds also operate the X4 Salisbury-Amesbury-Larkhill and the X5 Salisbury-Amesbury-Swindon.

Local media

Local TV coverage is provided by BBC West and ITV West Country from the Mendip TV transmitter. BBC South and ITV Meridian, can also be received from either the Hannington or Rowridge TV transmitters. The town's local radio stations are BBC Radio Wiltshire, Greatest Hits Radio Salisbury and British Forces Broadcasting Service that provides radio programmes for His Majesty's Armed Forces in nearby Salisbury Plain. The local newspapers that cover the town is the Salisbury Journal and Avon Advertiser.

Religious sites

The church of St Mary and St Melor, the town's parish church, is Grade I listed.[36] Its nave is from the early 12th century and much of the rest is 13th-century. The large size of the building may reflect Amesbury's early royal connections, or a link to Amesbury Abbey; it is thought that the abbey had its own church until its dissolution in the 16th century, but no evidence of that church survives above ground.[15]

Amesbury Methodist Church was built in 1900, replacing an 1816 chapel.[37][38] Christ the King Catholic church opened in 1985, replacing a 1933 building on a different site.[39][40] Amesbury Baptist Church was built in 1997.[41][42]

Notable buildings

The mansion known as Amesbury Abbey, standing in parkland close to the site of the former abbey, is Grade I listed.[23] It was built in 1834–1840 by architect Thomas Hopper for Sir Edmund Antrobus, and replaced a similar house built in 1661 by John Webb for the 2nd Duke of Somerset. Features in the grounds include an ornamental bridge rebuilt in 1755.[43] The house is now operated as a nursing home. Diana's House[44] and Kent House[45] are flint and stone gatehouses to the property from the early 17th century; both are Grade II* listed and are irregular in plan with a high stair-tower, leading Pevsner to call them "curious".[46]

The Red House

The Red House on Salisbury Road is a five-bay former farmhouse, rebuilt in red brick c.1700[47] and described by Pevsner as "the best older house ... with a pretty early-19th-century cast-iron porch".[46] This is the former home of Francis Stephen Long, Esquire, whose wife, Ann, remained at the Red House until her death in 1856.[48] Nearby on Salisbury Road, Antrobus House was built in 1924–5 under a bequest of Lady Florence Antrobus (1856–1923) as a memorial to her son Edmund, who died at war in Belgium in 1914.[49] Although intended as a village hall, Historic England state it is "built to a high standard". In handmade brick, the tall five-bay central block contains the hall and has substantial wings on both sides.[50] The low roadside wall in flint and stone has an overall length of 43m and a central iron gate set back from the road; the tall brick gate piers have stone vases.[51]

West Amesbury House is from the 15th century and is Grade I listed; in flint and stone chequer, it was remodelled in the early 20th century by Detmar Blow.[52]

Education

Amesbury has a secondary school – The Stonehenge School – and four primary schools:

  • Amesbury Archer Primary School[53]
  • Amesbury Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School[54]
  • Christ The King Catholic Primary School[55]
  • King's Gate Primary School[56]

Amenities

The town centre has a hotel and restaurant, the Antrobus Arms (18th century and early 19th),[57] and four pubs: The George Hotel (originally c. 1560 with later alterations),[58] The Kings Arms (mid 18th century),[59] The New Inn (early 19th)[60] and The Bell (1908).[61]

Antrobus House is a venue for community organisations, weddings and other events.[62]

Amesbury has a Non-League football club, Amesbury Town F.C., which plays at Bonnymead Park. Amesbury Bowls Club have their green and clubhouse at Antrobus House.[63]

In popular culture

Although Stonehenge falls within the parish of Amesbury, the town does not directly benefit from the monument's fame.[64] However, Amesbury has appeared in the public eye on its own merits in the past.

In 2002, the discovery of the richest Bronze Age burial site yet found in Britain was made at Amesbury. The remains of two men of apparently aristocratic rank were accompanied by over 100 objects including arrowheads, copper knives and the earliest worked gold in the country. The occupant of the more richly furnished grave has become known as the "Amesbury Archer".[8]

The town is linked to the Arthurian legend as it is popularly believed that Guinevere retired to the original convent at Amesbury after leaving Arthur. Legend holds that she is buried in the grounds of the former Abbey.[65]

From 3–5 May 1965, The Beatles stayed at The Antrobus Hotel during the filming of Help! on Salisbury Plain. The Antrobus Hotel and the former Plaza Cinema were both used as locations for the filming of a BBC Miss Marple mystery.[66]

The Salisbury Poisonings, a three-part dramatisation of the 2018 poisonings in Salisbury and Amesbury, was broadcast on BBC One in June 2020.[67]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Amesbury". City population. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  2. ^ Brown, Mark (1 May 2014). "Britain's oldest settlement is Amesbury not Thatcham, say scientists". Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Key to English Place-names". The University of Nottingham. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  4. S2CID 162394119
    .
  5. ^ Chandler & Goodhugh 1979, p. 1.
  6. ^ "Boscombe Down Climate Period: 1991–2020". Meteoclimat. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Climate & Weather Averages at Boscombe Down weather station". Time and Date. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  8. ^ a b Wessex Archaeology The Amesbury Archer: Background Archived 15 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Chandler & Goodhugh 1979, p. 3.
  10. ^ "Wessex Archaeology: Boscombe Down Graves". Archived from the original on 4 July 2008. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
  11. ^ "Wessex Archaeology: Boscombe Down Settlement". Archived from the original on 4 July 2008. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
  12. ^ "Elfinspell: Amesbury Monastery, by John Timbs from Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales, Their Legendary Lore and Popular History, Re-edited, Revised and Enlarged by Alexander Gunn, Volume II, History, architecture and legends, English and Welsh Architecture, Ecclesiastical History online text, free e-book". www.elfinspell.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  13. ^ Amesbury in the Domesday Book
  14. ^ a b Pugh, R.B.; Crittall, Elizabeth, eds. (1956). "Houses of Benedictine nuns: Abbey, later priory, of Amesbury". A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 3. Victoria County History. University of London. pp. 242–259. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021 – via British History Online.
  15. ^ a b "Church of St. Mary and St. Melor, Amesbury". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  16. ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Order and Abbey of Fontevrault". www.newadvent.org. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  17. ^ Chandler & Goodhugh 1979, p. 16.
  18. ^ a b Bateman 2022, p. 415.
  19. ^ Bateman 2022, p. 415-16.
  20. ^ Bateman 2022, p. 417.
  21. ^ Bateman 2022, p. 418-22.
  22. ^ Chandler & Goodhugh 1979, p. 24.
  23. ^ a b c Historic England. "Amesbury Abbey (1131079)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  24. ^ Historic England. "Chinese Temple (1131080)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  25. ^ "Amesbury". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  26. ^ "Our heritage". Amesbury Abbey Group. Archived from the original on 16 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  27. ^ "Amesbury – Rose's Schools" in Public Charities: Analytical digest of the Reports made by the Commissioners of inquiry into charities. Digest of schools and charities for education (W. Clowes & Son, 1842), p. 127
  28. ^ Wiltshire Community History Timeline for Date 1899 Archived 17 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine at wiltshire.gov.uk, Retrieved 14 July 2016
  29. ^ "Amesbury Novichok poisoning: Couple exposed to nerve agent". BBC News. 5 July 2018. Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  30. ^ Morris, Steven (9 June 2020). "Wiltshire flat where novichok victim fell ill to be demolished". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  31. ^ "Amesbury (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location".
  32. ^ "Amesbury Community Area - Census / Population". Joint Strategic Assessments for Wiltshire. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 30 August 2015.[permanent dead link]
  33. ^ "Amesbury Community Area". Joint Strategic Assessments for Wiltshire. Wiltshire Council. Archived from the original on 21 August 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  34. ^ "Salisbury and Amesbury bus stations to close". BBC News: Wiltshire. 19 November 2012. Archived from the original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  35. ^ "8 Bus Route & Timetable: Salisbury - Andover". Stagecoach. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  36. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Mary and St Melor, Amesbury (1182066)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  37. ^ "Upper Avon Methodist Church, Amesbury". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  38. ^ "Amesbury Methodist Church". Salisbury Methodist Circuit. Archived from the original on 4 January 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  39. ^ "Christ the King Roman Catholic Church, Amesbury". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  40. ^ "Christ the King". Archived from the original on 23 August 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  41. ^ "Amesbury Baptist Centre". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  42. ^ "Amesbury Baptist Church". Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  43. ^ Historic England. "Baluster Bridge and Gate Piers (1131082)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  44. ^ Historic England. "Diana's House (1131053)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  45. ^ Historic England. "Kent House (1131093)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  46. ^ .
  47. ^ Historic England. "The Red House (1182645)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  48. ^ "Obituaries". The Gentleman's Magazine. 201: 392. 1856.
  49. ^ "Death of Sir E. Antrobus". The Times. 13 February 1915. p. 27. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  50. ^ Historic England. "Antrobus House (1284468)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  51. ^ Historic England. "Front wall and piers to Antrobus House (1131067)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  52. ^ Historic England. "West Amesbury House (1318515)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  53. ^ "Amesbury Archer Primary School - Home". www.amesburyarcher.wilts.sch.uk. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  54. ^ "Home". amesbury.wilts.sch.uk. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  55. ^ "Christ The King Catholic School - Home". www.christtheking.wilts.sch.uk. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  56. ^ "King's Gate Primary School". Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  57. ^ Historic England. "Antrobus Arms (1182444)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  58. ^ Historic England. "George Hotel (1318491)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  59. ^ Historic England. "The Kings Arms (1131092)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  60. ^ Historic England. "The New Inn (1131060)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  61. ^ Historic England. "The Bell Inn (1318494)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  62. ^ "Antrobus House, Amesbury". Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  63. ^ "Amesbury Bowls Club". Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  64. ^ Young, Christopher; Chadburn, Amanda; Bedu, Isabelle (July 2008). "Stonehenge World Heritage Site Management Plan". UNESCO: 62.
  65. ^ "Amesbury: A Stepping Stone to History". www.timetravel-britain.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  66. ^ "The Antrobus Hotel". Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  67. ^ McIntosh, Steven (14 June 2020). "TV drama revisits Salisbury poison attack 'horror'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.

Bibliography

External links