48 Mr. J. Britton’s Address. 
county, of a hundred, or even a parish; whilst the experience of 
the Societies above referred to proves that there are many persons 
who are at once capable and ready to prepare short essays on the 
history, the architecture, and the characteristics of an ancient castle, 
a mansion, a monastery, a church, or some other single subject, and 
thereby contribute essential matter towards a County History. 
“The counties of Gloucester, Somerset, Kent, Northampton, 
Hertford, Northumberland, York, Sussex, and Norfolk, as well as 
the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, already possess their 
respective Archeological and Architectural Societies; and when 
the many remarkable and important objects of antiquity which 
belong to Wiltshire are considered, it must at once be acknowledged 
that the Historian, the Topographer, and the Archzologist will find 
within its limits ample subjects for study and for elucidation.” 
The Congress of the Archeological Institute at Salisbury, as 
above stated, constituted a memorable epoch, not only for the city, 
but for the county; and exhibited to the inhabitants of both, the 
spirit, the zeal, the varied knowledge which the members possess, 
and have successively displayed, in Canterbury, Winchester, York, 
Norwich, Gloucester, Bristol, and Lincoln. The results of their 
visits to those interesting cities, have been partially exhibited to 
the world by the publications they have produced ; but the seeds 
sown in the minds of many who attended their meetings, cannot 
yet be known, though they must germinate, and eventually pro- 
duce abundant crops. Had such a Society met in Salisbury at the 
end of the last century, it would have experienced a cordial and 
cheering reception from the antiquaries of that city, and others in 
the county ; and the Topographer and Archeologist of the present 
age would have seen very different works on “ Ancient Wiltshire,” 
“South Wiltshire,” “Beauties of Wiltshire,” or on “Salisbury 
Cathedral,” than the volumes which have been published with 
those titles. 
To this appeal there were not replies enough to justify a public 
meeting ; and until the commencement of 1853, nothing more was 
done on the subject. Having amassed a large collection of books, 
manuscripts, drawings, sketches, models, &c., relating to Wiltshire, 
I printed a catalogue of the whole, and distributed a few copies 
amongst my friends in the county. Mr. Scrope and Mr. Cunning- 
ton immediately saw and felt the desirableness of securing such a 
mass of Topographical and Archzological materials within the 
area of the shire to which they referred. The latter, in the true spirit 
and zeal of his revered and amiable grandfather, to whom the 
county and Archeology are essentially indebted for the contents of 
the two splendid volumes on “ Ancient Wiltshire,” now before the 
public, after some entreaty amongst his friends at Devizes, formed a 
committee in that town, appealed to several gentlemen in the county, 
and raised a subscription to purchase my collection. One hun- 
dred and fifty pounds have been raised and paid to me, the whole 
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