The North Wessex Way was the main route from Oxford to Bristol for three thousand years until it became The Forgotten Road
About The North Wessex Way - an Ancient Road
The Ogilby Map
In 1675, John Ogilby published a book called Britannia with maps of the 100 most important strategic routes in the country. This was the first time the country had ever been mapped with accurate distances and was the origin of the statute mile. The route from Oxford to Bristol was map no. 79 and follows the route:
- Oxford
- Faringdon, Highworth
- Blunsdon, Purton
- Malmesbury, Luckington
- Acton Turville, Bristol
- Bristol
The Forgotten Road
Today, the route consists mainly of A roads and B roads. But the 22 mile long section between Blunsdon and Luckington, in the middle of the route, has been forgotten. Bypassed at some point in time, the route is now made up of non-descript and narrow country lanes with nothing to show the immense history that took place along its path over the centuries
The North Wessex Way today
Passing through the ancient Royal Hunting Forest of Braydon, you can spot the clues that tell you this single track country lane was once one of the oldest and most important heritage routes through North Wiltshire.
The verges show how wide the route once was as it traverses the ridge in the direction of Malmesbury. Travellers as far back as the Iron Age would have walked and ridden this track.
The History of the North Wessex Way
The Iron Age
Buried treasure - Roman
A road used by Romans
The North Wessex Way has Iron Age hill forts and settlements dotted all along its length. These include Badbury Clump at Faringdon, Blunsdon hill fort, Ringsbury Camp at Purton, Malmesbury itself was a hill fort and the hill fort at Hinton.
These settlements would have been used for nearly a thousand years before the Romans arrived, making the North Wessex Way one of the oldest routes in the country.
A road used by Romans
Buried treasure - Roman
A road used by Romans
Evidence suggests that the North Wessex Way was a road used in the Roman period. Villas have been found at Highworth and Purton, together with the high-status Roman burial site discovered in Purton. The recently discovered Roman Kiln at Minety would have used the road to supply roof tiles to Bath, via the junction with the Fosse way to the West of Malmesbury.
Buried treasure - Roman
Buried treasure - Roman
Buried treasure - Roman
A hoard of Roman coins was found in 2012 in Milbourne not far from the North Wessex Way. There were 1266 coins in total, dating between 286AD – 317AD.
The coin hoard and the earthenware pot in which they were found can be seen at the Athelstan Museum in Malmesbury.
The Kingdom of Wessex
King Alfred's 'Herepath'
Buried treasure - Roman
The North Wessex Way marked the boundary of the Northern edge of the Kingdom of Wessex and its border with Mercia.
Malmesbury played an important role during the early Mediaeval period, with King Athelstan being buried at the Abbey.
In the earlier part of the period, there was a major settlement and church at Cowage Farm in Foxley, with North Wessex Way running through it.
King Alfred's 'Herepath'
King Alfred's 'Herepath'
King Alfred's 'Herepath'
In about 900AD, King Alfred build a number of Burhs (fortified towns) to protect Wessex against Viking attacks.
The North Wessex Way would have been the Herepath (Army Path) that connected the Burhs of Oxford, Cricklade and Malmesbury. The outline of the Burh in Cricklade can still be seen today.
The Anarchy
King Alfred's 'Herepath'
King Alfred's 'Herepath'
When Henry 1 died in 1135, the throne was disputed by his daughter Empress Matilda and his nephew, who got himself crowned as King Stephen. The civil war that followed lasted 20 years and became known as 'The Anarchy'. Malmesbury was besieged twice and suffered a massacre in the Abbey in 1153 when Henry of Normandy (later Henry II) attacked the town.
Buried treasure - Henry II
Buried treasure - Henry II
Buried treasure - Henry II
A metal detectorist found a hoard of Henry II period coins adjacent to the North Wessex Way as it passes through the Braydon Forest.
There were a number of Tealby Pennies, silver coins dating from 1158 - 1180 and a couple of Gold Dinars (pictured) from the Spanish Kingdom of Murcia dated 1162 & 1164
The Gough Map
Buried treasure - Henry II
Buried treasure - Henry II
The Gough Map is the earliest known map of the UK, dating from around 1380.
There are very few routes marked on the map, but one of them is the route from Oxford to Bristol via Faringdon and Malmesbury.
The North Wessex Way was clearly in use at that time.
Malmesbury Abbey
Buried treasure - Henry II
Malmesbury Abbey
Malmesbury Abbey was an important centre of religious power and learning from when it was founded in 670AD by St. Aldhelm until it was dissolved in 1539.
It had strong connections with Oxford where the Abbotts of Malmesbury founded Gloucester College, now known as Worcester College.
King Henry VIII
English Civil War
Malmesbury Abbey
Henry VIII visited Malmesbury in the early 1540s after he'd been hunting in Braydon Forest. He dined with William Stumpe in what is now the Tower House in Malmesbury. Maybe he travelled down from Hampton Court on the river to Oxford and then rode the North Wessex Way.
English Civil War
English Civil War
English Civil War
The North Wessex Way was the land corridor for the Royalist forces to get access the sea port at Bristol from their base in Oxford. Malmesbury was fought over and changed hands 6 times during the Civil War. On August 1st 1643, King Charles I travelled from Oxford to Bristol, staying the night in Malmesbury.
John Wesley
English Civil War
English Civil War
On June 3rd 1740, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, set out from Malmesbury along the North Wessex Way to travel to Oxford. It took him 8 hours on horseback, a distance of 42 miles, and he clearly did a lot of 'conversing' along the way. He was known as the Lord's Horseman.
Purton's two bypasses
Purton Church - an echo of Malmesbury Abbey?
Purton Church - an echo of Malmesbury Abbey?
Purton has had two bypasses at various points in the long history of the village, and yet today, they have been forgotten. The original bypass was marked on John Ogilby's 1675 map, and the second bypass has some mystery stonework visible along its length. Who built it and when is yet to be discovered!
Purton Church - an echo of Malmesbury Abbey?
Purton Church - an echo of Malmesbury Abbey?
Purton Church - an echo of Malmesbury Abbey?
Purton has a long association with Malmesbury Abbey going right back to when the Abbey was founded in the 7th Century.
Did Malmesbury Abbey provide the inspiration for the Abbott and monks as they redesigned Purton Church in the 13th and 14th Century?
Cricklade's dodgy MP
Purton Church - an echo of Malmesbury Abbey?
Cricklade's dodgy MP
William Rawlinson Earle was one of two MP's for Cricklade in 1755, responsible diverting the route of the new turnpike road away from Purton and taking it via Cricklade instead.
This eventually led to the North Wessex Way falling into disuse
The Route of the North Wessex Way
The Forgotten Section - Blunsdon to Luckington
- From Blunsdon, follow the road towards Purton
- After passing through Purton, head down Paven Hill and head out through the Braydon Forest to Garsdon and Milbourne.
- On reaching Malmesbury, follow the road through the town and out on the Foxley Road
- Go through Foxley and eventually cross a ford into Luckington.
Walk, Cycle or Drive?
This entire section of the North Wessex Way is on tarmac roads, so can easily be followed in a car (with the exception of the ford at Luckington)
For walking or cycling, the section from Purton to Luckington is on quiet country lanes with not much traffic.
Why was it Forgotten?
The 1755 Faringdon to Acton Turville Turnpike Trust Act
In 1755, there was an Act of Parliament passed that created the Faringdon to Acton Turnville Turnpike. However, rather than following the old road to Purton, the Turnpike diverted at Blunsdon and went north up the old Roman Road to Cricklade before heading out past Minety to Malmesbury.
At the time, Cricklade had two Members of Parliament and was a 'Rotten Borough'. The MPs, William Rawlinson Earle and Thomas Gore, clearly wanted the Turnpike to come through Cricklade and were listed on the Act as Trustees, benefitting financially from the profits of the Trust.
Once the Turnpike was established, the traffic through Purton slowly dwindled and eventually the old route through the Braydon Forest was forgotten.
The red line represents the route of the North Wessex Way through Purton. The Turnpike road, in blue, diverted at Blunsdon up the old Roman road to Cricklade, and then went directly to Malmesbury via Minety on what is now the B4040.
To the West of Malmesbury, the Turnpike road went North of the River Avon via Easton Grey and Sherston, bypassing the old Southern route through Foxley. The MP for Wootton Bassett, Thomas Estcourt Creswell, also appears as a Trustee on the Act. He lived at Pinkney Manor, just outside Sherston and would have benefitted from having a good road passing his estate.