Marlborough is a market town and civil parish in the English county of
Wiltshire on the Old Bath Road, the old main road from London to Bath. It boasts
the second widest high street in Britain, after Stockton-on-Tees. The
town is on the River Kennet. History
The earliest sign of human habitation is a 62 feet high prehistoric tumulus in
the grounds of Marlborough College. Recent radiocarbon dating has found it
to date from about 2400 BC. It is of similar age to the larger Silbury Hill
about 5 miles west of the town. Legend has it that the Mound is the burial site
of Merlin and that the name of the town, Marlborough comes from Merlin's Barrow.
On John Speed's map of Wiltshire, the town's name is recorded as Marlinges
boroe. The town's motto is Ubi nunc sapientis ossa Merlini - Where now are
the bones of wise Merlin. More plausibly, the town's name probably
derives from the medieval term for chalky ground "marl" – thus "town on
chalk". Further evidence of human occupation
comes from the discovery of the Marlborough Bucket, an Iron Age burial
bucket, with decorations of human heads and animals on sheet bronze, now on
display at the Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes.
Roman remains and coins have been found two miles to the east of Marlborough, at
Mildenhall. A later Saxon settlement grew up around The Green and two early
river crossings were made at Isbury Lane and Stonebridge Lane.
In 1067 William the Conqueror assumed control of the Marlborough area and set
about building a wooden motte and bailey castle, sited on the prehistoric mound.
This was completed in around 1100. Stone was used to strengthen the castle in
around 1175. The first written record of Marlborough dates from the Domesday Book
in 1087. William also established a mint in Marlborough, which coined the William
I and the early William II silver pennies. The coins display the name of
the town as Maerlebi or Maerleber. He also established the neighbouring
Savernake Forest as a favourite Royal hunting ground and Marlborough Castle
became a Royal residence. Henry I observed Easter here in 1110. Henry II
stayed at Marlborough Castle in talks with the King of Scotland. His son,
Richard I gave the castle to his brother John, in 1186. King John was married
here and spent time in Marlborough. He even established a Treasury.
In 1204 King John granted Charter to the Borough which permitted an annual
eight-day fair, commencing on 14 August, the vigil of the Feast of the Assumption
of Our Lady, in which "all might enjoy the liberties and quittances customary
in the fair at Winchester". He also established that weekly markets may be
held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. These continue to this day.
Later Henry III was also married here. Henry III held Parliament here, in 1267,
when the Statute of Marlborough was passed. This seven-hundred-year-old law
states that no-one shall seize his neighbour's goods for alleged wrong
without permission of the Court. Apart from Charters, it is the oldest statute
in English law which has not yet been repealed.
The castle fell into disrepair by the end of the 14th century but remained
Crown property. Edward VI then passed it to the Seymour family, his mother's
relatives. In 1498 Thomas Wolsey was ordained priest in St Peter's church. He
later rose to become a cardinal and Lord Chancellor.
In 1642 Marlborough's peace was shattered by the English Civil War. The
Seymours held the Castle for the King but the town was for Parliament. With
his headquarters in nearby Oxford, King Charles had to deal with Marlborough. "A
Town the most notoriously disaffected of all that Country, otherwise, saving the
obstinacy and malice of the inhabitants, in the situation of it very unfit for a
garrison... this place the King saw would prove quickly an ill neighbour to
him, not only as it was in the heart of a rich County, and so would straighten
him, and even infest his quarters." The King sent Lord Digby to take the
town who left Oxford, the head of four hundred horses, 24 November 1642. When
he arrived, he chose to parley first, thus giving the inhabitants a chance to
prepare defences and to recruit troops. They mustered about seven hundred poorly
armed men. At this point, the town issued a reply to Digby: "The King's
Majesty, providing he were attended in Royal and not in war like wise, should
be as welcome to that town as ever was Prince to People; but as to delivering
up the good Town of Marlborough to such a traitor as Lord Digby ... they would
sooner die". After some early skirmishes, Royalist troops infiltrated
the town down its small alleyways. The town was captured and looted and many
buildings were set ablaze. One hundred and twenty prisoners were marched in
chains to Oxford. The town was later abandoned by the King and took no
further part in the war. On 28 April 1653 the Great Fire of
Marlborough started in a tanner's yard and spread quickly, eventually after
four hours burning the Guildhall, St Mary’s Church, the County Armoury, and
244 houses to the ground. During the rebuilding of the town after the Great
Fire, the high street was widened and is often claimed to be the widest in
England though the actual widest is in Stockton-on-Tees. This wide street
allows ample space for the local market. Fire swept through the Town again in
1679 and again in 1690. This time, an Act of Parliament was passed "to
prohibit the covering of houses and other buildings with thatch in the Town
of Marlborough". In 1804 the Marlborough White Horse was
cut by boys from Mr Greasley's Academy in the High Street.
In 1901 and 1934 the boundaries of the borough were extended to include the
hamlet of Preshute and the village of Manton, both to the west of the town.
In 2004 Marlborough celebrated 800 years of its Town Charter. Among the
celebrations was a street play by the Marlborough Players entitled "Wheels of
Time" and a visit from HRH Prince Charles.
Town events Every summer the town holds a jazz
festival with local pubs, clubs, hotels and various other venues playing host to
live jazz music over the course of a weekend. The Marlborough mop fair was
originally a hiring fair for agricultural workers seeking employment,
but now has become a travelling funfair. It takes place over two weekends in
October, as the "big mop" and "little mop" fairs. In 2014 these were set for
3–4 and 17–18 October. Notable buildings
On the north side of the high street is the Merchant's House, which is currently
under restoration but part of which is open to the public for guided tours on
Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from April to October. The house was built
following the Great Fire of 1653. It was the property of a silk merchant and,
rarely for a house of this type in a town centre, still retains its original
room pattern. Notable are the wall paintings recently uncovered, which are
undergoing conservation. One room painted in a striped pattern, copying
silk hangings, is perhaps unique in Great Britain.
Governance The local authority is Wiltshire
Council, which, after the 2009 local elections, is Conservative controlled.
Marlborough lies within the Devizes constituency.
There are 2 electoral wards in the town. Their area and population are identical
to that quoted above. Education
Marlborough College, an independent boarding school, is located on the west
side of the town. The town's local authority secondary
school, St John's Academy had been considered an above average school and
sixth form college by OFSTED, and in the June 2014 report it was considered
outstanding. It was formed when the former Marlborough Grammar School and
secondary modern school were amalgamated. There is also a junior
school, St Peter's and an infant school, St Mary's, which are named after the two
churches in Marlborough. Sport
Marlborough is home to Marlborough Rugby Club, who completed their most
successful season in recent history in the 2009-10 South West Division Dorset &
Wilts 1 North League. Marlborough won 22 games from 22 to secure promotion to the
Southern Counties South league. The club has a 2nd XV senior team as well as over
220 juniors from U6 to U15. Marlborough Town F.C. play their home games at Elcot
Lane, to the east of the town, and are current members of the Wiltshire League.
There is a cricket team whose 1st X1 compete in the WEPL Wiltshire Premier
Division. Religion
= Church of England= The town is at the heart of the Church
of England Marlborough Deanery in the Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of
Canterbury. The Rural Dean has responsibility for the Benefices of
Marlborough, Ridgeway, Upper Kennet and Whitton which in total comprise 16
parishes. Of the town's two Church of England parish churches, St Peter's has
been made redundant and converted into an arts centre. St Mary's remains in use
for worship. The late renowned jockey Sir Gordon
Richards is buried in the new cemetery on Marlborough Common,the second of two
such cemeteries to be opened after the two churchyards stopped being used for
burials. Transport
Although once served by two railway lines the town no longer has any direct
rail access. The nearest railheads, by connecting bus are Bedwyn railway
station, Pewsey railway station and Swindon railway station. There are plans
to reintroduce a railway connection to the main line at Savernake, but these
plans face serious opposition locally. As a former coaching town, Marlborough
is well connected by road, with the A4 from Hungerford to Calne, A346 from
Tidworth to Swindon and A345 from Salisbury all meeting in the town.
Notable people David Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of Cardigan,
31st hereditary warden of Savernake Forest
William Golding Nobel Prize-winner, author of Lord of the Flies, grew up in
the town. Lived in a house on the green and educated at the former Marlborough
Grammar School, where his father was a science master
Phil Harding, Time Team archaeologist, educated in the town
Eglantyne Jebb, founder of Save the Children Fund, taught at St. Peter's
Junior School then located at the western end of the High Street. It is
said that Jebb was inspired to action by the rural poverty she saw amongst her
pupils Twin towns
Marlborough is twinned with: Gunjur, the Gambia, since 1982
Margency, France, since 2002 References
Further reading Aston, Michael; Bond, James. The
Landscape of Towns. Archaeology in the Field Series. London: J.M. Dent & Sons
Ltd. p. 60. ISBN 0-460-04194-0. Crowley, D.A.; Baggs, A.P.; Freeman,
Jane; Stevenson, Janet H.. A History of the County of Wiltshire. Victoria County
History. 12: Ramsbury and Selkey hundreds; the Borough of Marlborough.
London: Oxford University Press for the Institute of Historical Research. pp.
199–229. ISBN 978-0197227596. Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget
[1963]. Wiltshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
pp. 333–341. ISBN 0 14 071026 4. External links
Marlborough Town Council Marlborough, Wiltshire at DMOZ
Historic Marlborough photos at BBC Wiltshire
Day Out: Avebury and Marlborough - A 30-minute BBC TV programme made in 1982
of a day spent exploring Avebury and Marlborough at BBC Wiltshire
Wiltshire Community History - includes a wealth of historical information
"Marlborough" by A. G. Bradley in Macmillan's Magazine, Vol. LII, May to
Oct., 1885, pp. 188–198