this text with a red number. red a with text this TRAIL points of special significance and noted in in noted and significance special of points Shambles. Look for the plaques mounted on walls at at walls on mounted plaques the for Look • held in the Market Square and the indoor indoor the and Square Market the in held market traditional is is a Thursdays On • MEDIEVAL building behind the fountain. the behind building Europe. The trail starts at the Market Place at the the at Place Market the at starts trail The • Hill flight of locks, one of the longest in in longest the of one locks, of flight Hill ing the towpath or the spectacular Caen Caen spectacular the or towpath the ing Devizes. - walk Museum, Canal Avon and Kennet TOWN to discover the fascinating past of Medieval Medieval of past fascinating the discover to visiting the Wharfside area and the the and area Wharfside the visiting Ages. Follow the plaques around the town town the around plaques the Follow Ages. a major feature of Devizes. Don’t miss miss Don’t Devizes. of feature major a meant and how it evolved during the Middle Middle the during evolved it how and meant Kennet and Avon Canal Avon and Kennet remains remains The • will give you an insight into what Devizes Devizes what into insight an you give will Stonehenge. Stonehenge. DEVIZES This walk around the centre of the old town town old the of centre the around walk This • and features Gold from the Time of of Time the from Gold features and winning museum is nationally important important nationally is museum winning today. Museum in Long Street. The award- award- The Street. Long in Museum innovation, much of which is still evident evident still is which of much innovation, of Devizes Gallery at the Wiltshire Wiltshire the at Gallery Devizes of battles, royal presence, prosperity and and prosperity presence, royal battles, Devizes Museum Devizes • Visit the Story Story the Visit which has seen over the years many bloody bloody many years the over seen has which often historically significant past. A town town A past. significant historically often Devizes ... Devizes of town historic the in at A Town with a fascinating, turbulent and and turbulent fascinating, a with Town A • fascinating areas and things to look look to things and areas fascinating medieval route, there are many many are there route, medieval DEVIZES Besides Tobias Midwinter’s Midwinter’s Tobias Besides • THE SOLDIER’S TALE ... Question: On which building are the faces of the 2 famous displayed. Can you name them? Cross the road and halt at the top of Castle 1 Lane. 4 Stand facing the Bear Hotel from the For some splendid views of the Castle double fountain. Close your eyes to what back and proceed to the end of Castle Lane. On surrounds you - shut your ears to traffic sounds and imagine - standing next to you your right you’ll see what has happened to the is an armed soldier. Castle now. About turn and rejoin the trail at the Crown Centre. “My name is Tobias Midwinter, Captain of the Guard. Cross St John’s Street at a safe place and you’ll discover There’s been a castle in Devizes for sometime, you know. St John’s Alley, tucked away on the left. Here, cordwainers, Before this one, a great three storey wooden tower sat on tanners and the odd skinner flourish. a mound surrounded by a fenced courtyard. But this one, Cross back over the road towards St John’s Church. it’s the best in Europe and that’s a fact! If you like, you can march round with me as I’m making my tour of inspection. I’ll explain as we travel. Now this great castle was built by one Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, the Royal Chaplain and Number Two in the “You’re now standing at the approach to one of the most realm. The King, Henry I that is, favours him because important medieval fortresses in the west of England. It’s he can speed read the mass. His son is Chancellor; his got every sort of fortification and modern appliance of war nephew, the Treasurer and Bishop of Ely and his other that you can imagine. nephew, the Bishop of Lincoln - sort of keeping it in the There’s been a terrible civil war going on here for the last family - know what I mean! few years - from 1139 - 1154, if you want to be precise. Anyway, he’s started using this new art of building in You see, when Henry I died his daughter Matilda, known stone. Watch your backs! There will be carts coming as Empress Maud, was living in Normandy with her “We’re now standing in St John’s Court, there’s through from Box or French husband. So, Henry’s nephew, Stephen of Blois, a medieval hall house on your right. Step inside Hazelbury carrying quickly took the opportunity to get himself crowned. Now the Garrison or Castle Church, named after John stone. It has three the Empress has returned to England to claim the throne. the Baptist and built in the year of our Lord 1130. entrance gates and Now, here in Castle Lane, before this great gateway, the town is encircled Stephen and his troops set siege to Devizes. After three Question: How many nails can be found in the by a double line long days, the Chancellor of England, arrayed in chains door? of earthworks and and with a halter about his neck. ditches. Around this 5 “One night in St John’s church, Hubert de Burg, Earl of castle the tides of 3 Kent and Justice of the Realm, was dragged in chains from the battle have swirled altar after claiming sanctuary following a bitter row with King and Earls of England About turn and go to your right into St Henry III. You’d never believe the things that have happened have kept council John’s Street. Walk 40 paces to the Crown in Devizes! here. Centre. It’s a beautiful church, with stone work to be proud of, some Do you know that “Look towards your left and there’s what I call the say the best in Wiltshire. The next section of our tour is very the crown jewels of Bretasche, others La Brutax but you can call it the Brittox. steep and it might make you puff unless you’re sound in wind England were once Here’s a great wooden raised walkway leading back and limb, so some of you may want to take the easy route (to stored in this very into the castle. Halfway along is a drawbridge crossing plaque 8) as follows.” place? And we’ve a twenty foot deep ditch. Then there’s a wooden barbi- Take the footpath into the main road, Long had royal babies can or watchtower containing the prison where, covered born here! But if Street, and head right, crossing the road into in festering sores, men see more dark than daylight. If you want to learn Bridewell Street on your left. these prisoners are even taken inside our castle, they’ll be more you will have to locked up in dank cells, massive and impregnable, lying march with me.” beneath the 10 acres which this great castle covers. I’m gone. here awhile and rest. Inside, above the en- Question: What did the Sexton’s cottage used Move On.” trance door you can see a carved pelican - a to be? 8 At Hare and Hound Street. wonderful bird is the pelican! From the town of For the rest of us, pass the cottage called “Here we are at the outer ditch of the town and this church you can see our downs stretched ‘Tower Lee’ and catch a splendid view of beyond it is nothing; nothing except wild wastelands out about the town. the castle and its grounds on our right. called the Wastelands of Bishop Cannings From the church gate we turn right and Keep moving - stop puffing! - for 500 manor and the first bit of wasteland that you get travel along to New Park Road to is Southbroom or Gorseway as my men call it - paces. This leads to the New Park, 11 the deer park “You now stand at the very summit of the some of them come back scratched to pieces.” of the castle surrounded by bank and ditch. fortifications of the castle, 122 metres (pardon Proceed slowly forward up Sheep Street. It’s full of stags, hinds and wild boar. One day my Norman!), above sea level. The gallows “Keep close to me to avoid the vagabonds and I saw a boar ripping dogs left and right before stood here and at your feet, in unconsecrated rogues and we reach Monday Market Street which he was taken down. Falcons and hawks are ground outside the town’s boundaries, suicides as the name suggests is where the original town flown here by the rich and mighty, arrayed in were buried. market took place on a Monday. Here stands the the finest with their leather gloves, holding their Town Cross. 6 Look back - from here you can see why birds high. This is private land and poaching is ‘Castrum ad Devizas’, the castle on the 9 There’s a Thursday market here and, as in many severely punished. Some of those that languish boundaries, was built. It stands on a naturally towns (until around the 13th Century that is), a in the Bretasche are there for poaching.