#monthly articles

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Lord's Walk

[Written by Kathi Baker, volunteer at Amesbury History Centre. Originally Published: 1st July 2025]

Lord’s Walk is a wide grassy avenue, sitting above and following the line of the River Avon, and goes gently downhill from Ratfyn Road to Countess Road, with views of the river visible through the trees. The area also encompasses a gravel footpath to the right of the Ratfyn entrance which leads through a wooded area and down two flights of steps, crossing a wooden bridge to reach the riverbank, where the walk continues to a pedestrian entrance with parking on Countess Road.

The precincts of the former priory in Amesbury were laid out as a park in the early 17th century, and in 1720 it was bought by Henry Boyle, Lord Carleton (d 1725). New gates to the east were erected between 1720 and 1725, beyond which a new entrance avenue, originally Lord Carleton's Walk but later named Lord's Walk, was planted to provide private access from the London road. It was originally planted with limes, but has been planted with hazel, beech and other deciduous trees and conifers on either side since the late 20th century.

There were two gatehouses to the parkland. The first was Diana’s House built in 1600 of flint, with stone quoins and dressings. The National Heritage listing states it is ‘two storeys, triangular block with octagonal stair tower attached to south’ but the 2018 owner states that the stair tower is hexagonal and the original two story part of the house is pentagonal. The inscription over the ground floor door reads 'Diana, her hous 1600.' Diana is alleged to have been a mistress of Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford (who gained the lands in 1541), but according to local history Diana was a niece of Seymour, not a mistress, as another building of Seymour's on another site had the inscription ‘His Hous’ (the stone with the name on was never found).

The second gatehouse was Kent House, built in 1607 of flint with stone dressings. It was altered and extended circa 1733, and later served as the farmhouse for Park Farm. It was extended again circa 1960, and is now a private house.

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Doctor Neighbour Returns to Amesbury

[Written by Kate Harrod, volunteer at Amesbury History Centre. Originally Published: 1st June 2025]

In 1939 Dr Philip Neighbour and his wife Sybil arrived in Amesbury where he established himself as a local family GP. He remained in practice at 1 Countess Road until the 1970’s, witnessing and working through the introduction of the NHS in 1947.

In 1982, after his death, his house was sold. The new owner opened the door of the stables to find a “mothballed 1960s GPs surgery”. They contacted Salisbury Museum who were delighted to take possession and they moved the entire contents of the surgery to the museum and reconstructed it within one of the galleries, including effigies of Dr Neighbour and a patient. As part of the setting up of the exhibition a call was put out to gather memories from the local population regarding the doctor, a number of which are reproduced on information boards on show.

In 2024 Salisbury Museum offered “Dr Neighbour’s Surgery” to the Amesbury History Centre and a new chapter was born.

The exhibition, which opened on May 1st, 2025, includes many of the items that were previously shown. Alongside the items are information boards covering both details of Dr Neighbour, his eclectic life, and the changes to health care with the introduction of the NHS. A poster showing nothing changes regarding NHS pressures is an eye opener.

Among the items on show is a bust of Dr Neighbour himself, thought to have been payment in kind from one of his patients. There is a pipe, tobacco and a set of fishing hooks representing the “country gentleman” that he was. Dr Neighbour and his wife Sybil are buried in Amesbury Cemetery.

You can visit Amesbury History Centre, Monday to Saturday 9.30-3.30 (closed Wednesday) and Sunday 9.30-13.00. Admission is free, there is a delightful café (with home-made cakes) and limited free parking.

This exhibition opens with thanks to Amesbury Printing, Avon Security, Spire Glass and Salisbury Museum.

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VE Day in Amesbury

[Written by Re Laughlin, volunteer at Amesbury History Centre. Originally Published: 1st May 2025]

8th May marks Victory in Europe (V.E) Day across British calendars. It recognises the unconditional surrender of German forces in Europe, signed on 7th May 1945. This news was broadcast to the British people over radio and newspapers, with the BBC even interrupting its programming with a news flash, declaring the next day a national holiday. While it was far from the end of the war or its impact on the British people, V.E. Day marked a chance to breathe, to mourn those they had lost, and to look to the future with hope.

Across Britain many people celebrated the public holiday. Parades and street parties took place up and down the country. Many decorated with colourful bunting and flags purchased rationing-free, bonfires were lit, and commemorative items were hastily produced and sold. London’s St Paul’s Cathedral held ten consecutive services on the day, each one would have been attended by thousands of people. While some of the largest celebrations took place in cities like London, the county of Wiltshire was no different. Towns like Swindon hosted elaborate street parties, pooling together rationing resources to bake cakes and other treats.

While the country celebrated the end of European hostilities, a total end to the conflict wouldn’t come for three more months with Victory over Japan (VJ) Day on the 14th August 1945. Many soldiers wouldn’t return home for a year or more, and the people still had to face rationing and the hardship involved with rebuilding a country.

80 years on, the UK still commemorates VE Day as a chance to mourn and celebrate those who fought in the Second World War. It has been noted by the Royal British Legion that this year may be the last major milestone to commemorate with those who fought. While information on Amesbury’s 1945 celebration is limited, we here at the History Centre hope that the 80th anniversary will be a chance to look back on our past and forward to whatever comes next.

Do you have any memories, stories, or photographs of 1940s Amesbury? Get in touch with us via our Facebook page or email us at [email protected].

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Amesbury Railway Station

[Written by Kathi Baker, volunteer at Amesbury History Centre. Originally Published: 1st April 2025]

Around the 1880s, railway companies wanted to build across Salisbury Plain to link Bristol with Southampton, mainly for transporting goods, but most floundered due to excessive costs. In 1896, The Light Railway Act was passed with the aim of providing basic railways to less populated areas without the need or expense of going before Parliament.  

The Great Western Railway company were quick to see possibilities, but ‘The Avon Valley Route’ from Bemerton to Pewesy with stops at Woodford, Amesbury, Durrington, Netheravon, and Upavon was rejected. The local Midland + South Western Junction Railway company proposed a scheme for a light railway from Ludgershall Station to run to Bulford and Amesbury in 1897, which was rejected, along with their proposal for a line from Ludgershall to Amesbury via Cholderton, with a spur to Bulford.  

London + South Western Railway (LSWR) proposed a light railway from Grateley to Shrewton via Amesbury, serving the new military camps and the agricultural community. The Amesbury + Military Camp Light Railway Order was authorised on 28th September 1898. On 22nd November 1899 LSWR were requested to divert their route between Amesbury and Shrewton, but felt it was impossible, so on 16th November 1901 obtained an abandonment order for the section from Amesbury to Shrewton, the earthworks at Amesbury Station converted into sidings. The route went from Grateley to Newton Tony, over Boscombe Down to Amesbury Station, 4 ¾ miles from the main line junction.  

Military trains began running between Grateley and Amesbury in 1901, with passenger services in June 1902. Amesbury had one military and two public platforms plus four long military sidings built on the abandoned section, ample accommodation for moving troops, horses, and equipment.  

While the main function of the line was military, it did offer local people a service they had yet to experience. However, bus services offered a far quicker route and in May 1946 the Sunday service was discontinued. Passenger services were completely withdrawn from June 1952. Amesbury remained open with two daily goods trains to Bulford and a NAAFI train to Salisbury on Monday, Tuesdays, and when required. Troop trains were provided as and when required. The line finally closed on 4th March 1963, and the track lifted in July 1965. Amesbury Transport took over the station site, remaining there until it was sold and re-developed in 2010 by Tesco.  

[amesburyhistorycentre]

Vespasian's Camp

[Article By Re Laughlin, volunteer at Amesbury History Centre. Originally Published: 1st March 2025]

Vespasian’s Camp is one of Amesbury’s most intriguing, though lesser-known, historic sites. Located on a hill visible from Stonehenge Road, and overlooking the River Avon, this hillfort is thought to date back to the Iron Age, making it over 2,500 years old. Despite its name, the site has no proven connection with the Roman general (and later Emperor) Vespasian, and this is believed to be an invention of early antiquarians discovering the site.  

The site is an example of an Iron Age hillfort, a type of fortified settlement found all across Britain from 700 BCE to 100 CE. Located across 40 acres of land, it features an earthworks rampart and ditch, still visible today, which once defended its inhabitants. Its elevated position in the landscape offered a sweeping view over the surrounding landscape, including the River Avon Valley, making it a natural stronghold.  

But hillforts like Vespasian’s Camp were more than just defensive structures. They were also centres of community, governance, and trade. This site may have been a hub for local tribes, hosting gatherings, managing local resources, and providing protection for its people. Life within an Iron Age hillfort would have been vibrant and communal. Families lived together in roundhouses of timber, wattle-and-dab, and straw. These homes were warm and practical, with a central hearth for cooking and heating.  

Vespasian’s Camp would have been bustling with activity. Women and children prepared food, wove cloth, and ground grain into flour using stone querns. Men worked the land, raised livestock, or crafted tools, weapons, and pottery. Social life was centred on shared tasks, feasting, and storytelling. The entire community played a role in its survival. Despite the hillfort’s defensive nature, life was not always dominated by conflict; trade, craftsmanship and farming were just as necessary to day-to-day living.  

The camp’s proximity to the River Avon provided access to water and fertile land. The camp’s position may have also helped its inhabitants control trade routes and resources in the region. Evidence of farming, hunting, and fishing suggests that the people of Vespasian’s Camp thrived in this rich and varied environment.  

Today, Vespasian’s Camp is located on private land and is not open to the public. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, protected as an archaeologically important site. The earthworks that once made up the hillfort can, however, be spotted from Stonehenge Road.  

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July Articles

Everyone is Beautiful and No One is Horny

Selfies, Surgeries And Self-Loathing: Inside The Facetune Epidemic

Why Women Watch Horror

"Women in horror [....] are allowed to do things that women in other films are not. Women watching horror feel we are allowed the same—if not by society, then by each other, and our own psyches."

Reading Jane Eyre as a Sacred Text

"Faith does not mean that I think the text is perfect. Perfect and sacred are not the same thing. My parents, who are sacred to me, are not perfect."

Charlize Theron Is Not Here To Make Friends

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Things I read in May

Will the Millennial Aesthetic Ever End?

Investigating the undying tyranny of terrazzo.

In the Nineties, No One Cared About Getting a Job

This disdain for the financially sound might be one of the reasons I’m obsessed with nineties movies, in particular Mike Leigh’s ‘Naked’ (19

Who Actually Gets to “Escape” Into Fandom?

All experiences of escapism are not created equally.

What “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” Teaches Us About Fandom Misogynoir

The instinct to defend a character against harm has driven fandoms to great action — but there’s a catch.

Literary Paper Dolls: Franny - The Paris Review

You too can take Franny from one edge of her breakdown to the other by taking off her smart traveling outfit and fitting her with a pale blu

Ten Long Years of Trying to Make Armie Hammer Happen

How many second chances does a handsome white male star get?

Why Were There So Many Serial Killers Between 1970 and 2000 -- and Where Did They Go?

The answer is manyfold — encompassing everything from sociological changes, to biology, to technology, to linguistics

How Margot Robbie Changed Her Hollywood Destiny

Once pigeonholed as “the hottest blonde ever,” the star of Birds of Prey has become one of Hollywood’s most promising producers.

Jennifer Garner’s Good-Girl Image Has Become Her Business

Jennifer Garner hasn’t been a major movie star in years. So why are gossip magazines so invested in her?

Jennifer Lawrence Is A Prisoner Of Her Cool Girl Image

This is the story of how Lawrence became the biggest female movie star in the world — but it’s also the story of how an image can become an

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Articles I read in April:

From Russia with mayo: the story of a Soviet super-salad

Never Do That to a Book - Anne Fadiman

Chicken Kiev: the world’s most contested ready-meal

How Food-Obsessed Millennials Shape the Future of Food - Rachel A. Becker

Don’t Turn Away From the Art of Life