Venues in Wiltshire; hire a Jazz Band
Box
A large, straggling village with quarries that are still worked to produce the fine Bath stone. One of Isambard Brunei's masterpieces of Victorian railway engineering, the Box tunnel, nearly 2 miles long, links Box and Corsham.
jazz bands at Angel Hotel, Chippenham, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Bibury Club, Salisbury, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Blunsdon House Hotel, Swindon, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Chippenham Town Council, Chippenham, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Chiseldon House Hotel, nr Swindon, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Civic Offices, Swindon, Wiltshire
Bradford-on-Avon
A town quite different in character from any other town in Wiltshire. Almost every route into the town is down a steep incline, and the Bath-stone houses have a unique beauty. The bridge across the Avon has two original medieval arches and a curious domed structure on one side—once a chapel where pilgrims from Malmesbury to Glastonbury
jazz bands at Coach House, The, Avebury, Wiltshire
jazz bands at County Hall, Trowbridge, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Cricklade Hotel & Country Club, Cricklade, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Crudwell Court Hotel, nr Malmesbury, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Goddard Arms Hotel, Swindon, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Grasmere House Hotel, Salisbury, Wiltshire
Calne
Although, at the centre of busy crossroads, Calne manages to retain the aura of an old market town, sheltered comfortably in the valley. Like so many north Wiltshire towns, it derived its original prosperity from weaving. When the Industrial Revolution killed its livelihood, it turned to bacon-curing and the making of sausages and pies.
The Lansdowne Arms, reconstructed in the i8th century, is on the site of an
old inn dating back to the Middle Ages, and the original brew-house is still in the yard. The old almshouses in Kingsbury Street look across to the impressive parish church; its soaring nave arcades date from 1160, and much of the later i jth-century building was an offering by wealthy wool merchants of the time. Bowood House, 2 miles south-west, seat of the Marquess of Lansdowne, was partly designed by Robert Adam. The park of more than 1000 acres has a splendidly landscaped lake, with an Italianate cascade and shady walks.
jazz bands at Grittleton House, Chippenham, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Guildhall, The, Salisbury, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Guyers House, Corsham, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Hamptworth, Salisbury, Wiltshire
Chippenham
A stone-built town on the Avon, with an ancient market-place at its heart. The twin-gabled 15th-century town hall, with an unusual wooden turret, is probably the town's oldest building. The Hungerford Chapel of the parish church has many monuments of the i5th century, and some going back to the ijth century. The Grove was once the site of an early iSth-century spa, and Ivy House dates from c. 1730. At Hardon-huish (pronounced Harnish), just outside Chippenham, John Wood the Younger, of Bath, built the elegant Georgian church with its Venetian windows.
jazz bands at Hilton National Swindon, Swindon, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Lackham House, Chippenham, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Larmer Tree Gardens, Salisbury, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Luckington Court, Chippenham, Wiltshire
Trowbridge
The town was once a major settlement of Flemish weavers, who brought it great prosperity, and West of England broadcloth is still made here. In The Parade are some magnificent cream-coloured stone houses built by the i8th-century cloth merchants.
jazz bands at Lucknam Park Hotel, Colernie, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Manor House Golf Club, Chippenham, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Manor House Hotel, & Golf Club, The, Near Bath, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Marlborough Golf Club, Marlborough, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Marsh Farm Hotel, Swindon, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Milford Hall Hotel, Salisbury, Wiltshire
Warminster
A town at the head of the wooded Wylye Valley. Its prosperity as a wool town and corn market in the 18th century has left a heritage of beautiful houses and mullioned-windowed cottages, and two delightful inns.
Although the Army's School of Infantry is here, and there are many military camps near by, Warminster remains an attractive market town.
Dr Arnold, headmaster of Rugby School, was a pupil at the Warminster Grammar School, which was founded in 1707. A 2-mile drive west of the town centre leads to the foot of Cley Hill, 800 ft, on the prehistoric Ridge Way which ran from South Devon to the Wash.
jazz bands at Newhouse, Salisbury, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Old Bell, The, Malmesbury, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Old Lane Public House, Chippenham, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Old Wardour Castle, near Tisbury, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Pear Tree at Purton, Swindon, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Pheasant, The, Chippenham, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Philipps House, Salisbury, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Post House Hotel, Swindon, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Rollestone Manor, Shrewton, Wiltshire
Westbury
A small weaving and glove-making town with a little market-place, good Georgian houses and an imposing town hall. Palace Green takes its name from the one-time residence of the Kings of Wessex. Cut into the chalk of Bratton Down, ij miles north-east, is the most famous White Horse in Wiltshire. The existing figure was cut in the 18th century on the site of an earlier horse said to have commemorated King Alfred's victory over the Danes at the Battle of Ethandun in AD 878.
jazz bands at Rose and Crown Hotel, Salisbury, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Royal Oak, The, Marlborough, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Rudloe Hall, nr Corsham, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Shaw Ridge, De Vere Venues, Swindon, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Sign of the Angel, Chippenham, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Stanton House Hotel, Swindon, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Stanton Manor, Chippenham, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Swindon Marriott Hotel, Swindon, Wiltshire
Woodhenge
A Neolithic earthwork older than Stonehenge was found here in 1925. Six concentric rings of holes, now marked by concrete posts, appear to have been made for wooden posts and positioned, like Stonehenge, to indicate where the sun would rise on Midsummer Day. Woodhenge, and the circular earthworks of Durrington Walls near by, together probably formed a single religious centre which was moved to Stonehenge c. 1800 BC at the end of the Neolithic period.
From medieval times until the Industrial Revolution, north-west Wiltshire made its wealth from weaving, and many fine houses in rich, cream-coloured Bath limestone remain from this affluent period. Indeed, the special charm of this area today lies in the character of its towns and villages, such as Charlton, Biddestone and Yatton Keynell.
The countryside, too, has the appeal of unspoilt rusticity. Low-lying agricultural land, watered by the Lower Avon, stretches south from Malmesbury to Chippenham and Melksham, and eastwards to Wootton Bassett. Westwards the land rises sharply or dips into wooded dells which shelter famous beauty spots such as Bradford-on-Avon and Castle Combe.
This is a land with its roots in history. The route of the Roman road from London to Bath passed just south of Calne, and along this route have been discovered the site of an important Roman settlement, Verlucio, and the remains of a number of villas. The medieval period, too, has left its mark in the number of fine churches that survive around Malmesbury and Chippenham.
jazz bands at The Radstock Hotel, Radstock, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Thistle Hotel, Swindon, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Town Hall, Calne, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Town Hall, Marlborough, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Trafalgar Park, Salisbury, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Wellington Barn, Calne, Wiltshire
jazz bands at Whatley Manor, Malmesbury, Wiltshire