Warminster is situated in the hundred of the same name, and is the most western town in the county.

It is a large and populous town, consisting chiefly of one long street, situated on the river Willy, which rises not far from it, and pursues a southwest course until it joins the Avon, at Salisbury, as before-mentioned. Camden calls this place Verlucio, an ancient town mentioned by Antoninus in his Itinerary, and derives its present name from Ver, part of the original appellation, and minster, the Saxon word for a monastery, which was formerly here.

This town, before the Conquest, possessed peculiar privileges, for, according to Doomsday-book, it was neither gelded nor rated by hides, that is, it was not taxed.

The principal part of the houses here are ranged in one very long street, stretching along the sides of the turnpike road. The parish, Church stands at the western extremity of the town, a spacious and handsome edifice of stone, with a square tower at one end, and near the centre of the town is a neat Chapel of Ease.

Here are also two places of worship for Dissenters; a good Market-house; an Assembly-room; and a free Grammar-school, for the education of twenty poor boys. This Institution is endowed with a salary of thirty pounds per annum, and is in the gift of the Marquis of Bath. The town and parish of Warminster contains 1073 houses, and a population of 4866 persons. The great woollen trade here has suffered considerably by the late change in our continental relations.

The municipal government of the town is superintended by the neighbouring magistrates, assisted by constables annually chosen at the court-leet of the Marquis of Bath, who is lord of the manor.

The manor of Warminster, with many others in this county, formerly belonged to the family of Hungerford; but in the reign of Edward IV. they went by marriage to Lord Hastings, who suffered in the reign of Richard III. when that prince gave all his estates to the Duke of Norfolk.

Near Warminster is a lofty eminence, called Clay Hill, which may be seen for many miles round the country, and upon which there is a small double trenched circular camp. This place is supposed to be the Aeglea, mentioned in the Saxon Chronicle, where Alfred encamped the night before he attacked the Danes at Eddington. On the Downs, northeast of the town, are two camps, about a mile and a half asunder: the northern double trenched called Battlesbury, probably Danish; the southern square single trenched, called Scratchbury, with a barrow in it.

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WARMINSTER is a market and union town with a station on the Salisbury and Westbury section of the Great Western railway, head of a county court district and petty sessional division and parish, giving name to the hundred, and is in the Western division of the county, and in the rural deanery of Wylye (Heytesbury portion), archdeaconry of Sarum and diocese of Salisbury, and is situated at the western extremity of the county and of Salisbury Plain, on the river Wylye, here only a mill-stream, 97 miles by road and 106 by rail from London, 4 south from Westbury, 9 south from Trowbridge, 14 south from Melksham, 21 ¼ south from Chippenham, 37 south-west from Swindon, 17 south-west from Devizes and 21 north-west from Salisbury. This place, according to Camden, was the Roman Verlucio; in the Domesday Survey of 1086, it is called “Guermisbre,” and was then already possessed of many privileges. The town stands at the junction of the roads from Bath, Frome, Salisbury and Shaftesbury, and consists principally of one street, about a mile in length, lighted by gas and well paved: it was governed by a Local Board of Health from June, 1867, until the establishment of the present Urban District Council, under the provisions of the “Local Government Act, 1894,” (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73). Water works were erected by the old Local Board in 1883, at a total cost of £10,000, the water being obtained from springs at Shearwater, miles south.

The Minster or church of St. Deny’s, at the western extremity of the town, formerly an ancient edifice of stone in various styles, dating mainly from the time of Edward III. was completely rebuilt, with the exception of the tower, south transept and Lady aisle, in 1887—89, from plans by Sir Arthur William Blomfield M.A. A. R. A, at a cost of £10,700, and is now a cruciform structure, chiefly in the Perpendicular style, consisting of chancel, with south aisle or chapel, clerestoried nave of five bays, aisles, transepts, south and west porches, vestries, organ chamber, and the original central embattled tower, with pinnacles containing 8 bells, partly recast in 1881: the organ, first used in 1792, was built to the order of King George HI. for Salisbury Cathedral: the east window is stained, and there are memorial windows to a son of Mr. H. P. Jones, Mr. and Mrs. Feltham, 1856—66, and others; and numerous mural monuments, dating from 1635: the church was re-opened Feb. 21st, 1889 and has sittings for 1,000 persons. The earliest date of the register is 1556. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £475, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of Salisbury, and held since 1897 by the Rev. Henry Robert Whytehead M.A. of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and surrogate.

Christ Church, Sambourne, is an ecclesiastical parish formed in 1838; the church, erected in 1831 as a chapel of ease, is a plain building of stone, consisting of chancel, nave, north and south porches and an embattled western tower, with pinnacles, containing 8 bells: in 1870, the interior was restored and a chancel added at a cost of £1,350, and in 1881 the interior was further restored at a cost of £1,400 and will now seat 960 persons. The register dates from the year 1833. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value, £282, including 3 acres of glebe, in the gift of the vicar of Warminster, and held since 1867 by the Rev. William Hickman M.A. of Wadham College, Oxford, and chaplain to Warminster union.

The chapel of St. Laurence, an old chantry of the reign of Edward I. standing near the Town Hall, is of stone in the Decorated style, and consists of nave and western tower, with spire containing one bell; the chapel affords sittings for 100 persons, and is used for week day services.

St. John the Evangelist’s chapel of ease, at the east end of the town, was erected in 1865, at a cost of about £3,000, on a site given by the late W. Temple esq. of Bishopstrow House, and his son, the late G. Temple esq. and is a building in the Gothic style of the 13th century, consisting of chancel, with vestry and organ chamber, nave, north aisle, south porch and a central turret, containing one bell: the reredos of carved alabaster was erected in 1867, in memory of William John Temple, d.1849: the chancel has three stained windows, one of which is a memorial to Walter Kerr Hamilton D. D. Bishop of Salisbury, d.1869: the brass chancel screen was given by Mrs. Temple, of Bishopstrow, in memory of George, her son, d.1868, and there is a memorial to the Rev. John Rule, d.1872: the stone lych-gate was erected in memory of the wife of the late W. Temple esq.: the chapel has 300 sittings.

Here is a Congregational chapel, founded in 1827, with 300 sittings; a Baptist chapel, erected in 1812, with 350 sittings, and a Wesleyan chapel, erected in 1825, and seating 200.

The Missionary College of St. Boniface was established in 1860, by the Rev. Sir James E. Philipps bart. M.A. late vicar of Warminster, for the training of young men who desire to devote their lives to the work of Foreign Missions. The foundation stone of a new building, estimated to cost £10,000, was laid in June, 1897, by Lady Philipps. There are at present 20 students.

The Community of St. Denys’ was established by the Rev. Sir James E. Philipps bart. M.A. in 1866, for the preparation of women desirous of assisting in missionary work abroad, or acting as nurses at home; and connected with it is a high school for young ladies, in which boarders are received.

The Orphanages of Pity consist of two houses, one in West street for boys, the other in Vicarage street for girls, and are available for 30 orphan children from all parts who are of legitimate birth. The Warminster Cottage Hospital, established in 1866, was endowed in 1897 with £4,000 by Miss Susannah Smith, of Warminster, who also made a donation of £1,000: there are 11 beds, and during the year 1897 124 patients were treated here. In 1873 almshouses for four aged women, with a gift of 6s. per week each, were erected by Mrs. Warren, in memory of her husband.

The Town Hall is an edifice of stone in the Elizabethan style, erected in 1830 by the Marquess of Bath, and contains courts for the administration of justice, and rooms for assemblies and for public meetings: the Urban District Council also meets here: petty sessions are held here monthly, and the July quarter sessions for the county: the County court is also held here: in 1888 additional cells were built for the confinement of prisoners at quarter sessions.

Here are engineering and agricultural implement and steam plough works, and brewing and malting are carried on to a considerable extent. A corn market is held on Saturday, and monthly sales of fat and store cattle, sheep &c. are held at the Repository on Monday, and fairs on 22nd April, 11th August and 26th October.

The Savings Bank, a fine building, in the Elizabethan style, was erected in 1852, at a cost of £2,000. There is also an Athenaeum, which in 1897 was transferred by the trustees to the Urban District Council, and is now conducted under the “Technical and Industrial Institutions Act, 1892.” In connection with the Athenaeum is a large hall, erected in 1879 as a memorial of the late Charles Bleeck esq. at a cost of £1,500, and holding between 500 and 600 people: it is licensed for stage plays: there is also a literary institution.

Warminster is the head quarters of the 1st Wiltshire Rifle Volunteers.

The charities amount to about £320, arising from various bequests, and are distributed annually at Christmas in money, clothing, coals and food.

At the junction of the Bath and Frome roads is a triangular obelisk, erected in 1782, and in the Market place is a drinking fountain of Aberdeen granite, erected as a memorial to the wife of F. W. Morgan esq.

A track on the side of a hill to the north is called the Nuns’ path. Battlesbury Camp, one of several ancient entrenchments, covers upwards of 23 acres; there is a smaller one in Southleigh Wood, called” Robin Hoods Bower,” and another crowns the larger of two abrupt and conspicuous knolls, called “Cley Hill,” the parochial boundary between Warminster and Corsley passing over the larger hill; it was formerly a custom for the parishioners to assemble here on Palm Sunday. In Pitmead, a large meadow on the Wylye, 2 miles east from Warminster, some beautiful mosaic pavements and other Roman remains have been discovered at various times; in a vale of the same river is King Barrow, one of the largest British barrows in the county: and on the summit of the conical eminence of Copheap Hill is another large barrow, opened in 1809 by Sir R. C. Hoare, and found to contain several skelet as. Cold Harbour was a Roman military halting plate Fossil remains are also numerous here.

The Marquess of Bath, who is lord of the manor, Grenville Newton Temple esq. of Bishopstrow, and Captain Arthur Howard Southey, of Eastleigh Court, Bishopstrow, are the principal landowners. The area is 6,564 acres; rateable value, £22,293; the population in 1891 was 5,562, including 63 officers and inmates in the workhouse and 63 in the reformatory. The population of St. Denys’ ecclesiastical parish in 1891 was 3,770, and of Christ Church, Sambourne, 1,766.

Petty Sessions are held at the Town hall every Saturday at 11.30 a.m. & on the first Thursday in every month at 11.30 a.m. The parishes & places comprised in the division are:-Bishopstrow, Boyton & Corton, Chitterne All Saints, Chitterne St. Mary, Codford St. Mary, Codford St. Peter, Corsley, Deverill Brixton, Deverill Hill, Deverill Kingston, Deverill Longbridge, Deverill Monkton, Fisherton & Bapton, Heytesbury, Horningham, Imber, Knooke, Maiden Bradley, Norton Bavant, Sherrington, Stockton, Sutton Veney, Upton Lovell, Upton Scudamore, Warminster & Wylye.

Volunteer Fire Brigade; engine station, George street, J. H. Neat, 40 Market place, captain; T. J. Rushton.

Warminster Union

Office, Workhouse, Sambourne. Board day, every alternate Monday at 11 a.m. at the Workhouse.

The union comprises the following parishes:-Bishopstrow, Boyton, Brixton Deverill, Chitterne All Saints, Chitterne St. Mary, Codford St. Mary, Codford St. Peter, Corsley, Heytesbury, Hill Deverill, Homing-sham, Imber, Knook, Longbridge Deverill, Norton Bavant, Sherrington, Stockton, Sutton Veney, Upton Lovell, Upton Scudamore & Warminster. The population in 1891 was 13,033; area, 58,450 acres; rateable value in 1898, £65,955.

The Workhouse, Sambourne hill, erected in 1836, at the cost of £7,000, is an edifice of brick & stone, & will hold 130 inmates.

PLACES OF WORSHIP, with times of service.

The Minster, Rev. Henry Robert Whytehead M.A. vicar; Rev. James Senior Stuart M.A. & Rev. Edgar Simmons Buchanan M.A. curates; 8 a.m. (H.C. ), 11 a.m. 3 & 7 p.m.; Wed.11.15 a.m.; Fri. 7.30 p.m.

Christ Church, Rev. William Hickman M.A. vicar; Rev. R. L. A. Westlake, curate; H.C.1st & 3rd Sundays in month at noon; other Sundays at 8.30 a.m.; 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; daily, 9.45 a.m.; Wed. 7 p.m.

St. John the Evangelist’s, chapel of ease to the parish church; 8 a.m. (H.C. ), 11 a.m. & 6.30 p.m.; wed. 7.30 p.m.

St. Laurence, chapel of ease, daily, except Sunday, 10 a.m. & daily, except Fri. & Sun. at 5.30 p.m. in winter & 6.30 p.m. in summer.

Christ Church, licensed school chapel, Common; 3 p.m.

Baptist, North row, Rev. George Waters Roughton; 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Tues. 7.30 p.m.

Congregational, The Close, Rev. Robt. Maine McClumpha; 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Thur. 7.30 p.m.

Wesleyan, George street, Rev. Robert Whitehead; 10.30 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Mon. 8 p.m.; Wed. 7.15 p.m.

SCHOOLS

Lord Weymouth’s Grammar, Church street, founded in 1704 by Sir Thomas Thynne, first Viscount Weymouth. The school prepares for mercantile pursuits, the Oxford local examinations, the professions, civil & military services & the universities. In connection with the school there is a fine swimming bath, a cricket field, tennis & fives courts, a workshop & a playground. William Foulkes Blaxter esq. M.A. Cambridge, headmaster; A. G. Topple esq. M.A. Henry Symons Hawkey esq. M.A. London & Arthur March Taylor esq. resident assistant masters; Mons. Le Page, french master; T. J. Hallett esq. (S. Kensington), drawing master.

The School of Art, in connection with the Science & Art Department, South Kensington, & the County Council, in High street; science & technical classes are also held in Church street; T. J. Rushton, sec. 32 George st.

Missionary College of St. Boniface, Rev. Canon Sir J. E. Philipps bart. M.A. warden; Rev. John Francis Welsh M.A. principal; Rev. John T. Kershaw M.A. viceprincipal.

St. John’s, Boreham road (mixed), built in 1871, for 90 children; average attendance, 81.

Christ Church, Common, built in 1872, for 100 children; average attendance, 65.

National, Samborne hill, built in 1825, for 195 children; average attendance, 100.

National (girls & infants), Sambourne hill, built in 1825, for 195 children; average attendance, 100.

National (girls), Vicarage street, built in 1883, for 120 children; average attendance, 70.

National (infants), Vicarage street, built 1874, for 300 children; average attendance, 91.

British (boys), The Close, built in 1836, for 250 children; average attendance, 100.

British (girls), North row, built in 1704, for 150 children; average attendance, 100.

British (mixed), Common, built in 1845, for 150 children; average attendance, 107.

British (infants), The Close, built in 1836, for 50 children; average attendance, 46.

Wilts Reformatory, Frome road (for boys), certified December 23, 1856; Rev. William Moore B.A., manager; William Verity, superintendent.