TIMBER used to build Westbury’s Oak Inn, which has now been demolished, is believed to have been up to 525 years old.
A report commissioned by the Wiltshire Buildings Record has revealed that timbers from the inn and its brewhouse date back as far as 1489, with a number of them felled in the 14th and 15th centuries.
This made the building, until its destruction, one of the oldest in the town. The inn on Warminster Road was torn down in 2012, to make room for an Aldi supermarket.
Steven Hobbs, a Westbury resident and archivist at Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, said, “Shock and sadness among some residents that such an old building could slip through the planning process is only confirmed by this valuable dating evidence. I was really shocked that the Oak was demolished; it should never have been allowed.”
Steven Hobbs and Alex Prowse failed to stop the demolition, but have not given up hope. Steven said, “No decision has been made about the timbers, but it would be worth investigating whether they can be reconstructed in some meaningful form on another local site.”
Alex, who drew the impression below, said “The building dates back to when Westbury would have been only one or two houses, and it wouldn’t have been a pub, but a private merchant’s house.
“There is smoke on the roof because the structure would not have allowed a chimney; the building would have had an open fire.”
Alex has consulted contractors about the possibility of reconstructing the original, and said, “We are putting the spotlight on the council to rebuild, because the structure was older than some of the buildings surrounding Salisbury Cathedral. This building predates the Civil War, its historical significance is huge.”
To find out more, watch their YouTube video, titled ‘Demolition of The Oak Inn and Brewhouse Buildings, Westbury.’
