Successful completion of local archaeology project

LOCAL people will soon be able to learn more about the history of the Westbury area, thanks to the successful completion of a year long investigative project carried out by the Westbury Heritage Society

Earlier this year the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) awarded a grant of £20,700 to Westbury Heritage Society to enable a community investigation of several sites of historical and archaeological importance in the town and local area.

The aim of the WHAT (Westbury History and Archaeological Tour) project was to bring together current knowledge about these sites as well as carrying out geophysics surveys on three of them.

After a series of training talks and a visit to the English Heritage Archive in Swindon, dates were set for the surveys. Despite the terrible weather this summer, the surveys took place on some of the few rain-free days.

Volunteers from the local community, the Heritage Society and the U3A, led by a group of professional archaeologists, were able to use equipment including resistivity meters and radar to search for the remains of buildings at three moated sites in the area, on The Ham and at Bratton and Penleigh. Later analysis of the results produced evidence of previously undiscovered buildings on all three sites.

Liz Argent of Westbury Heritage Society said, “This has been a fascinating project to work on and the society is very grateful to the HLF for its help in funding it. Our thanks go as well to Wiltshire Heritage Museum, Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre and English Heritage Archive for their help, and to the landowners who allowed us on to their property.

“However none of this would have been possible without the time and effort of the volunteers who got involved with the surveys and research; the project’s success is very much due to them. We are now looking forward to sharing the results with the wider community.”

HLF’s  acting head of South West, Richard Bellamy said, “In recent years there has been a rise in popular interest in archaeology, particularly for smaller community led initiatives such as the WHAT project.  We at HLF are delighted to have been able to support and foster this enthusiasm, enabling local volunteers to learn the skills needed to rediscover their own past and open it up for others to enjoy.”

The results of the research and reports on the surveys are now available  as a presentation on two laptops which can be viewed in the Westbury Heritage Centre or taken out to local organisations. Clubs and societies can book this presentation by contacting the Heritage Centre on 01373 825784 or westburyheritage@hot mail.co.uk.