274 South Wilts in Bomano- British Times. 



Wishford, and an abstract of it and annotations upon it have been 

 lent me by the Rector, the Rev. F. W. Macdonald. It is interesting 

 to the folk-lorist. 



A.11 the evidence goes to show that the centre of population was 

 not where the valley widens out towards Warminster, but rather 

 on the hills to the south-east and east. There appear to be no 

 traces of a British settlement on the spurs of the hills above the 

 down — the place in which we have seen the earliest settlements 

 are to be found. 



The name itself does not appear to be Celtic. The only name 

 that appears to be Celtic is Cley Hill. But Celtic names do appear 

 where there is a thicker British population ; as Brims-Down, 

 Cold Kitchen, Codford (Coed-ford = Woodford), which are all 

 heights above the Dever-ell, a Celtic river-name. 



But that there were Romanised Britons at Warminster is certain. 

 Coins running to late Roman times have been found, the latest 

 date being that of Magnentius (d. 353 A.D.). The latest date of 

 coins found at Battlesbury is the reign of Constantine (d. 337) ; 

 but these dates are not as late as those on coins found in Hey tesbury 

 field. There the latest is that of Arcadius (d. 408) ; of those found 

 at Stockton works the dates run from Claudius to Theodosius 

 (d. 395) ; while those found by Pitt-Rivers at Bokerly Dyke run 

 as late as Honoriua (d. 423). Further, the coins found in the 

 Warminster district were not scattered widely, but found in three 

 hoards. ^ 



It is likely enough tliat the Romano-British settlement at 

 Warminster was somewhere near Cold Harbour and the church. 



It looks as if the original population at this end of the valley 

 was settled just on the edge of the forest the end of which survives 

 in Norridge Wood, where the springs that run by the church 

 afforded water and lent themselves to irrigation. There was 

 certainly connection with Bath along a route which can be traced 

 by names and coins. We may believe that the site was too near 

 Selwood to be safe, or perhaps it was hardly cleared of the woodland, 



' Daniell, History of Warminster, p. 6. On the significance and general 

 date of boards, see Haverfield, op, cit. 26. 



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