NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Westbury, Wiltshire

Coordinates: 51°15′32″N 2°11′26″W / 51.25891, -2.19055 Image File history File links Download high resolution version (600x800, 11 KB) Summary Description: A blank map of the United Kingdom, with country outline and coastline; contact the author for help with modifications or add-ons Source: Reference map provided by Demis Mapper 6 Date: 2006-21-06 Author: User... Image File history File links Red_pog2. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... The districts of England are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. ... West Wiltshire is a local government district in Wiltshire, England. ... Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties are one of the four levels of English administrative division used for the purposes of local government. ... Wiltshire (abbreviated Wilts) is a large southern English county. ... The region, also known as Government Office Region, is currently the highest tier of local government subnational entity of England in the United Kingdom. ... South West England is one of the regions of England. ... Constituent countries is a phrase used, often by official institutions, in contexts in which a number of countries make up a larger entity or grouping; thus the OECD has used the phrase in reference to the former Yugoslavia[1], the Soviet Union and European institutions such as the Council of... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This is an alphabetical list of the sovereign states of the world, including both de jure and de facto independent states. ... Wiltshire Constabulary is the police force covering Wiltshire and Swindon in south-west England. ... A Fire Appliance belonging to the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service The fire service in the United Kingdom has undergone dramatic changes since the beginning of the 21st century, a process that has been propelled by a devolution of central government powers, new legislation and a change to operational... The Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is the county-wide, statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Great Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust provides services in Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire in the South West England region. ... This is a list of Members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom in the 2004 to 2009 session, ordered by name. ... The constituency (first used 2004) within England; Gibraltar is in the inset. ... List of cities in the United Kingdom List of towns in England Lists of places within counties List of places in Bedfordshire List of places in Berkshire List of places in Buckinghamshire List of places in Cambridgeshire List of places in Cheshire List of places in Cleveland List of places... This is a list of cities, towns and villages in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire, England. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

Westbury is a town and civil parish (population 11,135 in the 2001 census) in the west of the English county of Wiltshire, most famous for the Westbury White Horse. Ronda, Spain Main street in Bastrop, Texas, United States, a small town A town is a community of people ranging from a few hundred to several thousands, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. ... A civil parish (usually just parish) in England is a subnational entity forming the lowest unit of local government, lower than districts or counties. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Wiltshire (abbreviated Wilts) is a large southern English county. ... The Westbury White Horse is a chalk carving on Salisbury Plain in England. ...

Name

The most likely origin of the West- in Westbury is simply that the town is near the western edge of the county of Wiltshire, the bounds of which have been much the same since the Anglo-Saxon period. The History of Anglo-Saxon England covers the history of early medieval England from the end of Roman Britain and the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th century until the Conquest by the Normans in 1066. ...

The -bury part of the name is a form of borough, which has cognates in many languages, such as the German -burg and the Greek -pyrgos. It carries the idea of a hill or fortified town. For a fuller explanation, see borough. In Wiltshire, -bury often indicates an Iron Age or Bronze Age fortified hill fort, and such a site is to be found immediately above the Westbury White Horse. Look up cognate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Borough in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... A hill fort is a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for military advantage. ... The Westbury White Horse is a chalk carving on Salisbury Plain in England. ...

Location

Westbury is located 18 miles (29 km) south east of the city of Bath and about 4 miles (6.5 km) south of Trowbridge. Other nearby towns and cities include Bristol, Frome, Salisbury, Swindon, and Warminster. Nearby villages include Bratton, Chapmanslade, Dilton Marsh, North Bradley, Rudge, Standerwick, Semington and Upton Scudamore. â€œMilesâ€ redirects here. ... KM, Km, or km may stand for: Khmer language (ISO 639 alpha-2, km) Kilometre Kinemantra Meditation Knowledge management KM programming language KM Culture, Korean Movie Maker. ... Bath is a city in Somerset, England most famous for its baths fed by three hot springs. ... , Trowbridge is the county town of Wiltshire, England. ... This article is about the English city. ... Frome (pronounced ) is a medium-sized town in Somerset, England, near the Mendip Hills. ... Salisbury Cathedral by Constable. ... , For other places with the same name, see Swindon (disambiguation). ... This article is about the English town. ... Bratton is a small village near Westbury in Wiltshire. ... Chapmanslade is a village and parish in the County of Wiltshire, in the south west of England. ... Dilton Marsh is a village and parish in the County of Wiltshire, in the south west of England. ... The village of North Bradley lies between the towns of Trowbridge and Westbury, and is now separated from the former by only a couple of fields. ... Standerwick is a village in the civil parish of Beckington and in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, about four miles north east of Frome, five Miles from Warminster and thirteen miles from Bath. ... Semington is a medium-sized village in West Wiltshire, England. ... Upton Scudamore, Wiltshire, United Kingdom, is a village about a mile to the north of the town of Warminster. ...

The town is an important junction point on the railway network, as it lies at the point where the main line railway from London to the Exeter and the West Country intersects the cross country line from South Wales, Bristol, Bath and Chippenham to Salisbury, Southampton, Portsmouth and Brighton. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The city of Exeter is the county town of Devon, in the southwest of England, also known as the West Country. ... The West Country is an informal term for the area of south-western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. ... Approximate extent of South East Wales. ... Statistics Population: 30,000 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: ST919733 Administration District: North Wiltshire Shire county: Wiltshire Region: South West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Wiltshire Services Police force: Wiltshire Constabulary Fire and rescue: Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service Ambulance: Great Western Post office... For other uses, see Southampton (disambiguation). ... For other places with the same name, see Portsmouth (disambiguation). ... Brighton is located on the south coast of England, and together with its immediate neighbour Hove forms the city of Brighton and Hove. ...

Features and history

In the past, Westbury was sometimes known as Westbury-under-the-Plain to distinguish it from other towns of the same name. Westbury is nestled under the north-western bluffs of Salisbury Plain, and it is there that the town's most famous feature can be seen: the Westbury White Horse. It is sometimes claimed locally that the White Horse was first cut into the chalk face as long ago as the year 878, to commemorate the victory of King Alfred the Great over the Danes in the Battle of Eðandun (probably, but not certainly, at the nearby village of Edington). However, scholars believe this to be an invention of the late 18th century, and no evidence has yet been found for the existence of the Westbury White Horse before the 1720s. The form of the current White Horse dates from 1778, when it was restored. In the 1950s it was decided that the horse would be more easily maintained if it were set in concrete and painted white. In recent years, there has been a multitude of calls to clean or paint the "old grey mare" and such a renovation began in May 2006. Image File history File linksMetadata WestburyWhiteHorse. ... Image File history File linksMetadata WestburyWhiteHorse. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1600 Ã— 1200 pixel, file size: 884 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Westbury White Horse... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1600 Ã— 1200 pixel, file size: 884 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Westbury White Horse... Westbury is the name of more than one place. ... This article is about the plateau in southern England; Salisbury Plain is also an area on South Georgia Island. ... The Westbury White Horse is a chalk carving on Salisbury Plain in England. ... Alfred (849? – 26 October 899) (sometimes spelt Ælfred) was king of England from 871 to 899, though at no time did he rule over the whole of the land. ... The Battle of Edington (May 878) was a battle which took place near Edington in the county of Wiltshire in the south-west of England. ... Edington. ... The Westbury White Horse is a chalk carving on Salisbury Plain in England. ...

The horse's original form may have been quite different from the horse seen today. One 18th century engraving shows the horse facing to the right, but in its current form it faces to the left.

Westbury centres on its historic Market Place, with the churchyard of All Saints' Church (fourteenth century) behind it. All Saints' boasts the third heaviest ring of bells in the world, an Erasmus Bible and a sixteenth century clock with no face constructed by a local blacksmith. A ring of bells (or peal of bells) is a complete set of bells, hung in a circle â€“ usually in a tower â€“ for change ringing. ... Textus Receptus (Latin: received text) is the name given to the first Greek-language text of the New Testament to be printed on a printing press. ...

In the early part of September 1877 there was found on Bremeridge farm, in the parish of Westbury, Wilts, belonging to Charles Paul Phipps, esq. of Chalcot, a hoard of 32 gold coins. They were found during repairs and improvements of the homestead, about a foot and a half below the surface, in the courtyard, piled, one above another, without any appearance of a purse or box. Coin Hoard Article Charles Paul Phipps (1815-1880), of Chalcot House, Westbury, Wiltshire, was a Brazil merchant, Conservative MP for Westbury (1869-1874) and High Sheriff of Wiltshire (1875). ...

Local government

The most significant local government functions (including schools, roads, social services, waste disposal and emergency planning) are carried out by Wiltshire County Council. Together with the neighbouring village of Dilton Marsh, Westbury is divided into two county council divisions, each electing one member. At the elections in May 2005, one Independent, Christopher Newbury, and one Conservative, Miss Fleur de Rhé-Philipe, were returned. Prior to 2005, Westbury had elected only one county councillor and had returned Newbury as an Independent since 1997. Wiltshire (abbreviated Wilts) is a large southern English county. ... Dilton Marsh is a village and parish in the County of Wiltshire, in the south west of England. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ...

The town also falls within the area of West Wiltshire District Council, which deals with housing and leisure services, development control, refuse collection and street cleaning. At the last district elections in May 2007, it elected five members, of whom two are Conservatives, two Liberal Democrats, and one Independent. West Wiltshire is a local government district in Wiltshire, England. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ...

Westbury is a civil parish with an elected town council of sixteen members. This has an almost wholly consultative and ceremonial role, and the chairman of the town council has the title of Mayor of Westbury.

Representation in Parliament

Westbury was formerly a rotten borough, which led to gifts from the owners of the parliamentary borough, including the magnificent Town Hall in the Market Place donated by Sir Manasseh Massey Lopes. The term rotten borough referred to a parliamentary borough or constituency in Great Britain and Ireland which, due to size and population, was controlled and used by a patron to exercise undue and unrepresentative influence within parliament. ...

At present the town falls within the Westbury parliamentary constituency and is represented by Andrew Murrison M.P., but as a result of boundary changes it will form part of the new constituency of South West Wiltshire, with effect from the next General Election. Westbury is a rural parliamentary constituency in the English county of Wiltshire. ... Dr Andrew William Murrison (born 24 April 1961, Colchester) is a doctor and politician in the United Kingdom. ... South West Wiltshire will be a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

Members of Parliament for Westbury

Richard Godolphin Walmesley Chaloner, 1st Baron Gisborough (12 October 1856-23 January 1938), was a British soldier and Conservative politician. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ... Geoffrey William Algernon Howard JP (12 February 1877 â€“ 20 June 1935) was a British Liberal politician. ... This article is about the historic Liberal Party. ... Richard Eric Onslow Long, 3rd Viscount Long (22 Aug 1892 â€“ 12 January 1967) was a British Conservative Party politician. ... Robert Villiers Grimston, 1st Baron Grimston of Westbury (8 June 1897 â€“ 8 December 1979) was a British Conservative politician. ... Sir Dennis Murray Walters (born November 1928) was Conservative Party (UK) Member of Parliament for Westbury for 28 years from 1964 until he retired in 1992. ... David Faber (born July 7, 1961) was a Conservative member of the British Parliament. ... Dr Andrew William Murrison (born 24 April 1961, Colchester) is a doctor and politician in the United Kingdom. ...

Schools

Westbury currently has one secondary school, two primary schools, a junior school and an infants school.

The secondary school, Matravers School, is designated a specialist Arts and Technology college. It has a sixth form offering a range of subjects. It serves both the community of Westbury and several of the surrounding villages, including Chapmanslade, Bratton, Dilton Marsh and Edington.

Some natives of Westbury

Rev George Bourne used by permission of owner Reverend George Bourne (1780â€“1845) was a 19th century American abolitionist and editor credited as the first public proclaimer of immediate emancipation without compensation of American slaves. ... Bryan Edwards (May 1, 1743 â€“ July 15 or 16, 1800) was an English politician and historian born in Westbury, Wiltshire. ... The Reverend Dr.Joshua Marshman was born in 1768 in Westbury Leigh, Wiltshire, England and died In Serampore India in 1837. ... Sir William Austin Zeal (December 5, 1830 - March 11, 1912) was an Australian railway engineer and politician. ... Charles Paul Phipps (1815-1880), of Chalcot House, Westbury, Wiltshire, was a Brazil merchant, Conservative MP for Westbury (1869-1874) and High Sheriff of Wiltshire (1875). ... John Lewis Phipps (1801-1870), of Leighton House, Westbury, Wiltshire was a Brazil merchant, briefly Conservative MP for Westbury (1868) and High Sheriff of Wiltshire (1864). ... Charles Nicholas Paul Phipps (1845-1913), of Chalcot House, Westbury, Wiltshire, was a Brazil merchant, Conservative MP for Westbury (1880-1885) and High Sheriff of Wiltshire (1888). ...

Other residents

Arthur Merric Boyd (born at Dunedin, New Zealand, on 19 March 1862; died at Melbourne, Australia, in July 1940) was an Australian painter, and founder of the Boyd artistic dynasty. ... Father Mackonochie The Symbol of the Society of the Holy Cross Alexander Heriot Mackonochie SSC (August 11, 1825 - December 14, 1887) was a Church of England clergyman and mission priest known as the martyr of St. ... Colonel Hilary Hook was a soldier in armies of the British Empire in India and later in Africa. ...

Encyclopedia > Westbury, Wiltshire

Contents