Westwood, Wiltshire

Westwood is a big village and a civil parish in Wiltshire, England.

Location

The village is located 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of Bradford on Avon, with Avoncliff railway station, Kennet & Avon canal and river Avon setting the northern boundary for the village.

The neighbouring villages are Winsley and Turleigh from north, and Freshford and Sharpstone from west.

History

Westwood's recorded history begins in 983 A.D., when King Ethelred's charters granted various pieces of land to his servant Aelfnoth, and four years later to his huntsman Leofwine. In Norman times, Westwood was one of the estates assigned for the support of the monks at Winchester Priory. The residents of the manor continued to be tenants of the Priory until it was dissolved by Henry VIII. The medieval population of Westwood, as recorded in Domesday Book of 1086, consisted of just 13 households, growing to 45 recorded taxpayers in the late 14th century. The earliest part of the present parish church of St Mary dates from the 13th century or even earlier, though its most impressing features – the Perpendicular Gothic nave, chapel and tower – were added in the late 15th century.

The earliest records of a substantial quarrying industry at Westwood date from 1649. By the mid-19th century, the quality of Westwood stone had earned a good reputation, and over the next half-century, output increased at a great rate. Westwood stone went to build many houses in Bath, as well as Holy Trinity church in Trowbridge (1838). A narrow-gauge railway was constructed to transport the huge blocks of rough cut stone from the quarry to the cutting-yard at Avoncliff railway station. Nowadays, all that remains from the centuries of intensive quarrying is the labyrinth of tunnels, eight feet high and twelve feet wide. They have been put to a number of imaginative uses, especially after they were taken over by the Ministry of Supply in 1939. For example, the eastern part of the quarry tunnels had since 1928 been used for growing mushrooms, as the relatively stable ambient temperatures and the high humidity of the underground were found perfectly suitable. Since 1941, about six hundred workers manufactured gun-control equipment at an underground factory which had been located in the tunnels to defend against Luftwaffe raids. Additionally, by the end of 1942 the Westwood tunnels had "probably housed the greatest and most valuable collection of cultural and artistic artifacts assembled in one location anywhere in the world", including exhibits from British Museum, pictures from the National Portrait Gallery, tapestries from the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Elgin Marbles, and the Wright brothers' aeroplane. A special air conditioning plant had to be installed to control the humidity underground.

External links

• Westwood Parish Council Website
• Wiltshire Council - Wiltshire Community History