23rd September
Entry Fee - Includes goody bag and medal Unaffiliated Runner £18 Affiliated Runner £16 St Aldhelms Mead SN16 9AT Start Location (11:00am) Malmesbury High Street SN16 9AA Finish Location Malmesbury High Street SN16 9AA
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St Aldhelm’s Mead was given to the Abbey by Queen Matilda, William the Conqueror’s wife, for use by a fair on St. Aldhelm’s feast day, 25th May. In 1933 it was presented to the Borough by the Luce family. In 1951 the children’s play ground was opened as the Second World War Memorial. As you near the road you pass Cucking Stool Mead, so called as it was where women were punished by being ducked in the river. This was later called Rack Meadow due to cloths from the Mill drying there.
St. John’s Bridge takes its name from the Hospital of St. John the Baptist which used to be on the opposite side of the road. Only a 12th Century archway remains as it was closed by Henry VIII. Across the river is Avon Silk Mill built in 1793, the first factory in Wiltshire. Large amounts of cloth were produced here but it was of poor quality and various owners went out of business. In 1852 it changed to making ribbons out of silk imported from China. This was also a precarious business but survived until 1941.
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Up the High Street you pass Malmesbury’s main shopping area. There are several excellent places to eat, starting with the Rose & Crown, the Smoking Dog, the King’s Arms and Summer Cafe. Just beyond the South Gate, marked by brass plaques in the pavement, there is C. H. White and Son (a family run bicycle store), Sport & Leisure (clothing), Geddes Carpets, H. J. Knee (the town’s department store), E & S (hardware), many other specialist & charity stores as well as branches of national chains like W. H. Smith, Boots the Chemist and Lloyds Pharmacy.
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The Market Cross, built around 1490, stands at the top of the High Street. More commercial premises surround it including Miles Morgan Travel, the Whole Hog pub, Abbey News and Leonard Walker’s butchers.
Turning the corner of Gloucester Street by the mirror donated by the Countess of Suffolk a century ago, the spire which is the last remnant of St. Paul’s Church serves as bell-tower to the Abbey Church of St. Mary and St. Aldhelm. This, the third church here, consecrated in 1180, was built by a band of Norman craftsmen who afterwards moved north constructing other churches. Two major calamities have reduced it to a fraction of its original size. First the wood and lead spire collapsed demolishing the eastern half (and thus providing much crafted stone which was reused throughout the town) and then the western tower fell. That was left as a ruin for 350 years until part of it was rebuilt at the beginning of the 20th Century.
Just beyond the Abbey is the Old Bell Hotel. Originally this was the site of a fortification guarding the only way into the town on level ground and not involving a river crossing. An Abbey guesthouse was built here for the most important guests. Later becoming a hotel, said to be England’s oldest. At the end of Abbey Row lies the Triangle (earlier known as Sheep Fair) with the First World War Memorial recording the names of 75 men from the town who sacrificed their lives.On the right just beyond the junction with West Street is the 10th Century St Helen’s Chapel, now forming the end of terrace set back from the road. Although much altered from its original single cell it was rediscovered in the 1970s when render was removed to reveal a mass dial on one of the large stone quoins.
Foxley Road which leads out into the countryside was part of the Kingway, a road connecting royal estates of Wessex. After passing a wood on the left the road descends gently towards Cowage. In the fields on the right before the farm, archaeologists have discovered a high status Saxon settlement, probably a royal residence. In the middle of the farm lies Bremilham Chapel (built in the late 19th Century), Britain’s smallest church. A church has probably been here since Norman times.
In the small village of Foxley just beyond the small 12th Century Parish Church, not dedicated to any Saint, the route takes a left turn.The hamlet of Norton contains the Vine Tree public house which is well worth stopping at (although perhaps not today) for its excellent food. During the 1930s the Beaufort Polo Team started by members of the hunt played in the ‘Big Field’ here. At the ford or ‘Splash’ turn right. After 1200 metres the road turns to the right onto part of the Fosse Way, the Roman road linking Exeter with Lincoln.
Easton Grey House on the hillside above the River Avon was built in the last years of the 18th Century. Later it became one of the principal country retreats for the Souls, a group of the social elite including Asquith who spent 12 summers here including the time of his premiership. The Prince of Wales rented the house for 3 hunting seasons during the 1920s.
The name Shipton Moyne records the importance of sheep framing coupled with the Moyne family who were owners of the manor from the 13th Century. The Cat & Custard Pot pub is worth visiting for its good value extensive menu. Just over a kilometre from the village the route turns north onto the Fosse Way. Brokenborough is believed to mean ‘Broken Hill’ referring to the hill on which it sits. The village was given to Malmesbury Abbey in 956. Malmesbury’s claim to be the first Capital of England is based upon the belief King Athelstan had a palace here. The Horse Guards pub is a popular local hostelry.The straight road from Brokenborough drops down to the River Ingleburn (or Tetbury Avon) valley. Before crossing Back Bridge a cottage away from the road on the left marks the site of the Isolation Hospital closed in 1933.
After reaching the Bristol or Sherston Road you have reached the town boundary. At the mini-roundabout Malmesbury Secondary School is on your left with their sports ground on the right. As you enter the built-up area before the junction with Dark Lane the modern housing of Bremilham Terrace above the road marks the site of the Workhouse. Built in 1838 this housed the paupers from 24 parishes. Up to 230 inmates could be accommodated in deliberately unattractive conditions. Husbands and wives were separated and hard work such as stone breaking had to be undertaken. 300 metres further on you rejoin the original outward route at the junction with Foxley Road.
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