Historical and Lively

When I first saw Wootton Bassett it was winter, and I was dismayed at the prospect of trying to get around town in the summer when the tourists came. I needn't have worried; it's a gem, but a hidden gem. The beautiful, largely Georgian High Street has estate angents, not tea rooms, in the prime commercial spots (the exception is the Town Hall Tea Rooms). You can get your hair done three times over, but you won't find a souvenir shop. Yet this is one of the most historic market towns around. The first reference to "Wodeton" was in the year 681, when it was a axon settlement in a clearing in a wood (a local historian wonders hether Brynards Hill was once Bryn Arth - Celtic for fortified hill. he Romans were certainly nearby, but Celtic origins have yet to be proved). "Wodeton" turned to "Wootton" which it remained until Alan Bassett, a Norman who became Lord of the Manor in about 1200, added his own name. The town is mentioned in the Domesday Book, and has held a weekly market since the year 1219. As far as we know, it took a couple of hundred more years before Wootton Bassett elected it's first Mayor, John Wollmonger, who also ran the market and acted as chief magistrate and coroner. It was around this time that the town also sent two MPs to parliament, and later aquired the infamy of being known as a 'Rotten Borough' for its dubious electoral practices. Henry VIII's last wife, Katherine Parr, owned Vastern Manor in Wootton Bassett, where he allegedly kept a mistress. It was Henry who instructed the town to record its births, deaths and marriages (you have to wonder why!) and the parish church, St Bartholomews and All Saints, has records dating back to 1594. And now a mention for our curious Town Hall! It was built at the end of the 17th century, a gift from the Hyde family (Earls of Clarendon). The first Earl of Clarendon, Edward Hyde, was MP for Wootton Bassett. He went on to be adviser to both Charles I and Charles II and was instrumental in the restoration of the monarchy. The Earl's daughter daughter, Anne, married the king's brother and heir, James Duke of York, and was mother to both Queen Mary and Queen Anne. Wootton Bassett has a beautiful High Street with many buildings every bit as old as the Town Hall, and interesting, independent shops with free parking. Find us a mile or so off junction 16 from the M4 motorway.

Janet Georgiou