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Wiltshire
County Council's Community History website includes a
section featuring questions frequently asked by members of
the public, which has brought some fascinating stories to
light.
Serial
killer
Among
the stories is one which tells of possibly Wiltshire's first
serial killer.
In
the 18th and early 19th centuries, a small inn called The
Shepherd and Dog stood on the Lydeway, near Urchfont.
The
inn had an evil reputation while Thomas Burry was the landlord,
as it was said that solitary visitors such as peddlers were
never seen again after entering.
One
story suggests that more than a dozen bodies were exhumed
from shallow graves behind the inn, and that they had become
victims of the landlord's greed.
Records
suggest that Burry, who died in 1842, was never tried and
convicted, but local folklore claims the church bells refused
to chime at his funeral.
Lepers
The
website also reveals the unusual origin of the village name,
Maiden Bradley.
The
'Bradley' part of the name means an open woodland space, but
'Maiden' refers to a time when there was a leper hospital
here for 'maidens' who had been affected by the disease.
The
hospital was founded in 1152 to look after wealthy or aristocratic
women who were suffering from leprosy, and later there was
also a priory on the site.
By
the end of the 13th century, there were no lepers in residence,
but the priory continued to prosper until King Henry VIII
dissolved the monasteries.
The
last prior before the dissolution was the notorious Richard
Jennings (1506-1536). He claimed to have a papal licence to
keep mistresses and chose the prettiest women as his lovers,
but then married them off when they became pregnant.
By
the time the priory was dissolved, he had fathered six sons
and several daughters.
Holy
detective
A
Pewsey cleric turned detective to solve the murder of a farmer
in 1798.
The
rector of the village church, the Reverend Joseph Townsend,
found an unusual way to unmask the murderer.
Playing
on the superstition that the body of a murdered man knows
its killer, he hauled the corpse into his church on Sunday.
Every
member of the congregation was asked to place their hands
on the dead man's face and declare their innocence. One man,
whose surname is recorded as Amor, was afraid to take the
test and he was later charged with the murder and hanged.
Horn
blower
One
other frequently asked historical question relates to the
identity of a statue of a man blowing a horn which stands
in the river at Wylye.
The
statue is thought to be 18th century and represents a post
boy who had fallen from the mail coach into the river and
drowned.
Drummer
boy
The
website also contains some chilling ghost stories, including
the story of the 'Tidworth drummer'.
Legend
has it that the drummer was arrested while begging in Tidworth
and put in prison in Salisbury.
At
the time, prisoners normally either had their food provided
by family or friends or they had to pay for it. The drummer
had no friends, family or money, so he starved to death.
After
his death, the sound of a drum was often heard beating in
the house of the magistrate who jailed him.
Other
fascinating stories include the history of the 'Purton Spa'
- water from which was sold commercially for its reputed medicinal
value throughout the 19th century and into the 1920s.
The
website also tells the story of Isaac Pitman, the inventor
of the shorthand system, who was born and brought up in Trowbridge.
The
Wiltshire Community History website will map out the history
of every single town and village in the county over the next
few years.
Many
communities are already featured on the site, which also features
more than 2000 images, including maps, prints and photographs.
Local
studies librarian, Mike Marshman, said: "We have received
inquiries from all over the world - from local people in Trowbridge
to inquiries from as far away as Australia and New Zealand.
"Many
of the questions we are asked throw up some very interesting
stories and show what a fascinating history the county has,
beyond the better known aspects such as Stonehenge and Avebury."
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The Wiltshire Community History website can be visited
at www.wiltshire.gov.uk.
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