Wiltshire

A county of approximately 430,000 people covering 1,345 square miles (3,484 sq km) in South central England. The county seat is Salisbury. Known as "The gateway to the West Country", Wiltshire is a beautiful county of great diversity, with much of the county designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,

In Wiltshire there are the popular towns of Chippenham, Marlborough, Trowbridge, Devizes, Salisbury, Warminster, Durrington, Westbury and Swindon.

 

Geography

More than half of Wiltshire is occupied by the Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs. It is an undulating landscape of grassy chalk hills.

 

Industry

A very agricultural county, Wiltshire provides large areas for sheep grazing in the uplands, and the fertile valleys of the Lower Avon, the East Avon, and the Kennet rivers have extensive dairy farming. Pigs are also raised and grains cultivated. Textiles, metal products, processed foods, farm machinery, and electrical goods are manufactured. Swindon, the leading industrial centre, is known for its locomotive works.

 

History

The county is rich in historical associations. Stonehenge is known the world over as an ancient monument of huge significance. Avebury's stone circles lie in the centre of Wiltshire's landscape, with Europe's largest man-made prehistoric mound, Silbury Hill, and Britain's largest burial chamber, the West Kennet Long Barrow, close by. These monuments are up to 4,000 years old and show a high degree of culture and sophistication. Old Sarum, which sits on the hill above the later city of Salisbury, was a bishopric until the 13th century, when the office was transferred to Salisbury, famous since then for its cathedral. Wilton was once the capital of the powerful Saxon kingdom of Wessex. King Alfred’s grandson, King Athelstan, is buried at Malmesbury Abbey (famous for it’s sweet wine), and Queen Guinevere spent her last days in the nunnery at Amesbury.