Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre

26/08/2026

Treasures from History – bringing Wiltshire's past to life!

Treasures from History (formerly View the Treasures) from the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre encourages new and returning visitors to explore Wiltshire's archives in creative and meaningful ways, and you can get involved at home too.

To ensure that more people can enjoy Treasures from History, the recently released remote access booklet is now available to borrow from selected libraries. Packed with historic recipes and practical advice that brings the past to life. To see what others have been cooking up, have a read of the History Centre’s blog here: Treasures from History: Bringing Wiltshire's Past to Life - Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre

As a direct result of the sessions, participants, and History Centre staff independently recreated various, traditional Wiltshire pursuits, including knitting, sewing, smocking, brewing beer and historic baking. Applying what they had learned in this hands-on way fostered curiosity, empathy, and a deeper understanding of everyday life, while also highlighting lesser-known collections
Interested in taking part? Borrow a copy of the Treasures from History booklet from one of the featured libraries mentioned in the link below, share your historic bakes on social media using The next session on 3 October at 11am.

We are also working on digital access!

Amesbury Library Bradford on Avon Library Calne Library Chippenham Library Corsham Library Devizes Library Wiltshire Mobile Libraries Marlborough Library

26/08/2026

The Route That Never Was: Conserving an Extraordinary 1834 Railway Map: a document capturing both the ambition of the railway age and the uncertainty of its early planning. Archivist Sophie Johns and Conservator Sophie Coles reveal this extraordinary six-metre-long map, created in 1834, it records a proposed railway line from Basing to Bath and presented some challenging conservation conundrums!

https://wshc.org.uk/conserving-an-1834-railway-map/

The Route That Never Was: Conserving an Extraordinary 1834 Railway Map Few documents capture both the ambition of the railway age and the uncertainty of its early planning quite like this extraordinary six-metre-long map. Created in 1834, it records a proposed railway line from Basing to Bath that p...

25/08/2026

A few upcoming meet the author events!

Saturday 5 Sept 11am at Corsham Library
Dr Lucy Andrews on A Very Vexing Murder (tickets are £3 available from Corsham Library, book on 01249 468490)

Monday 21 September 6pm at Melksham Library
Anne Holland on Stand By To Get Married: Letters of Love and Life in World War II (tickets are £3 available from Melksham Library, book on 01225 702039)

Wednesday 23 September 6.30pm here at the History Centre in Chippenham
Kate Werran on Black Yanks: Defending Leroy Henry in D-Day Britain (free, please book on [email protected]) There is a chance to get books signed following the talk

25/08/2026

This book list belonging to Lady Dorothy Long (ref 2943B/1/35) sits alongside original manuscripts, paintings and books from across the country brought together in Chippenham Museum's exhibition on "Wiltshire and the World: John Aubrey and the Quest for Knowledge" which is on until 19th September. We highly recommend a visit! https://www.chippenham.gov.uk/chippenham-museum/exhibitions/

We continue our exhibition spotlight series with another fascinating loan featured in 'Wiltshire and the World: John Aubrey and the Quest for Knowledge'.

🌟 This week’s spotlight comes from Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre.

This is a list of books owned by Aubrey’s close friend, Lady Dorothy Long. Long was intellectually curious. Her bookshelves held translations of Italian and Portuguese epic poetry, French novels, classical history, and political satire. She also owned books on natural philosophy, including Robert Hooke’s 'Micrographia', and early literary works by women, such as the poetry of Katherine Philips and the first romance published by an English woman, Lady Mary Wroth. Copies of Philips' 'Orinda' and Hooke’s 'Micrographia' can be seen in the exhibition.

Women were excluded from formal education, yet Long’s list reveals a mind ranging freely across European literature and science. Long was more than just a reader, her papers also reveal she collected coins from across the world; Roman, Arabian, Venetian, Dutch, Swedish, Portuguese, and even Japanese. In an era when women’s knowledge was mostly hidden, these lists make it visible.

In 1683, the same year the institution opened, Long donated a magnificent ivory crosier head to The Ashmolean Museum. The museum's Book of Benefactors records:

'The most noble of ladies, Dorothy, wife of that most generous and learned of men, Sir James Long, Bart, of Draycot Cerne in the county of Wiltshire, was the pride and joy of her family and her s*x, and showed a deep interest in primitive religions and antiquities. Her piety and great good will to this University led her to give a carved ivory crosier which had belonged to Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, to this museum to be placed with the other treasures.'

The crosier in fact dates to the thirteenth century, rather than the fourth century of Saint Augustine of Hippo. The metal mounts are likely later additions, possibly in the 16th century. The crosier can be seen on display in The Ashmolean Museum’s England 400-1600 gallery.

🖼️ ‘Books to put into ye High Shelfe’, 1704, Dorothy Long, Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre

This exhibition is open until Saturday 19 September. Chippenham Museum is open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, and entry is free.

21/08/2026

Meet the author: Professor Oliver Creighton

Warminster Library & Museum Thursday 10 September, 6pm

The charging knight is one of the Middle Ages’ most powerful images—and at its heart stood the warhorse. Discover how these remarkable animals shaped warfare and aristocratic identity as Professor Oliver Creighton (University of Exeter) explores their evolution, drawing on the ground-breaking research behind his acclaimed book and featured on BBC’s Digging for Britain.
“Truly a seminal body of work” — Aleksander Pluskowski, Antiquity
Book of the Year — Current Archaeology and History Today
Originally from near Warminster, Creighton is a leading expert on medieval castles, landscapes, and warfare. He has authored ten books and over sixty academic works, and has appeared on Castles: Britain’s Fortified History, Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry, Digging for Britain, and Time Team.

Tickets are £3 and available from Warminster Library 01985 216022, book early to avoid disappointment.

To discover more information about this and other National Year of Reading events taking place across Wiltshire Libraries, please visit https://orlo.uk/sxoHA

To go all in and learn more about National Year of Reading 2026, please visit https://orlo.uk/Fc2dD

Meet the author: Professor Oliver Creighton

Warminster Library, Thursday 10 September, 6pm

The charging knight is one of the Middle Ages’ most powerful images—and at its heart stood the warhorse. Discover how these remarkable animals shaped warfare and aristocratic identity as Professor Oliver Creighton (University of Exeter) explores their evolution, drawing on the ground-breaking research behind his acclaimed book and featured on BBC’s Digging for Britain.

“Truly a seminal body of work” — Aleksander Pluskowski, Antiquity

Book of the Year — Current Archaeology and History Today

Originally from near Warminster, Creighton is a leading expert on medieval castles, landscapes, and warfare. He has authored ten books and over sixty academic works, and has appeared on Castles: Britain’s Fortified History, Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry, Digging for Britain, and Time Team.

Tickets are £3 and available from Warminster Library 01985 216022, book early to avoid disappointment.

To discover more information about this and other National Year of Reading events taking place across Wiltshire Libraries, please visit https://orlo.uk/sxoHA

To go all in and learn more about National Year of Reading 2026, please visit https://orlo.uk/Fc2dD

21/08/2026

20/08/2026

There have been some fascinating cases highlighted on the Grounds for Appeal blog sharing stories from appeals for exemption from military service in the First World War submitted to Tribunals across England and Wales.

Read more about when the army argued against itself in a case from Calne Rural District Local Tribunal; volunteer Anya Page tells us about some unusual claims among Great Yarmouth Tribunal papers at Norfolk Record Office; and volunteer for Warwickshire County Record Office, Chris Davis, looks at the other side of the Tribunal and investigates the panel's Military Representative Major Thomas Bairnsfather.

https://wwigroundsforappeal.substack.com/

Follow the link to subscribe and get stories direct to your inbox!

The Grounds for Appeal project is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund - find out more about the project here: https://wwigroundsforappeal.substack.com/p/grounds-for-appeal-first-world-war

12/08/2026

Congratulations to The Women Who Made Me on the first year anniversary of the History Portal Club!

Lucy is running the below upcoming events in Chippenham if you would like to take part!

Destroyed Chippenham (Part 1) & History Portal Club's First Birthday
Tuesday 25 August, 7pm
Wine Monkey, Borough Parade
History Portal Club turns one year old this August, and I’ve planned a celebration for us all.
We'll enjoy a shorter meeting exploring some of Chippenham's most significant lost buildings (part two to follow in the autumn), before raising a glass together and marking the club's first birthday.
The history session will last around an hour, with plenty of time afterwards to relax, have a drink and get to chat with fellow members.
To mark the occasion, this shorter meeting is half price:
£5 for members and first-time attenders | £7 drop-in

Lost Pubs Walk Returns – One Day Only!
Sunday 30 August, 12pm
Back by popular demand for our birthday celebrations, Lost Pubs returns for one day only.
We'll wander through Chippenham discovering the pubs, inns and hostelries that have disappeared from the streets, sharing the stories behind them before finishing with a well-earned pint at the Three Crowns.
To celebrate our first birthday, we're also offering a special two-for-one deal. Book with a friend and you'll both pay just £5 each.
Meet outside Cousin Norman's, Union Road
Approx. 2.4km (1.5 miles) – not circular
£10 per person, or £5 each when two book together
Booking is essential.

https://www.lucywhitfieldhistorian.co.uk/history-club

06/08/2026

White Horse Trades Union Council is currently undertaking a project to raise funds for a CD album recording of the critically acclaimed "The Innocent" - the tragic story of Thomas Hellliker's unjust death told in words and song.

"We aim to raise £2,000 to cover the recording and production costs. We want to ensure that his story is told and that he is remembered in this poignant tale.

Any amount you can afford whether it is £5 or £50 will help to bring this project to fruition. Those who donate £40 or more will receive a free CD.

The Trowbridge Martyr, Thomas Helliker was unjustly hanged in Salisbury on his 19th birthday, 22 March 1803, for a crime he did not commit during the industrial unrest that followed the introduction of machines in the wool industry. His story is told in words and song written by well respected and popular musicians Mick Ryan and Steven Faux and they are joined by folk singers Bob and Gill Berry, Dave Bordeway, Bryony McGinty, Dave and Anni Fentiman and Rosie Upton."

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-innocent---the-life-of-thomas-helliker-in-son?utm_campaign=sharemodal&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email