Summary
In the rolling chalk hills of the North Wessex Downs, Marlborough is a picture-perfect town situated along the historic route from London to Bath.
Marlborough’s High Street, running along this ancient road, is broader than most in the country and features centuries-old listed buildings, intriguing shops, and numerous options for dining, enjoying a beverage, or having a cup of tea.
To the west of Marlborough lies the once-sacred landscape of prehistoric monuments at Avebury, the West Kennet Avenue, and the West Kennet Long Barrow, all part of the same UNESCO World Heritage Site as Stonehenge.
The town’s name may be familiar due to the prestigious independent school that counts numerous literary and cultural figures, Members of Parliament, and Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middleton, among its alumni.
1. Marlborough High Street
The majority of Marlborough’s history is encapsulated along the beautiful and notably wide High Street, which is anchored by a Victorian town hall.
This high street is recognized as the second widest in the UK, showcasing several listed buildings that date back to a town fire in the 17th century, characterized by tile cladding.
In addition to the 17th-century Merchant’s House, which will be discussed below, the stunning Chantry Priest’s House at No. 99 hails from the late 1400s.
On the north side, many shops and inns feature elegant porches supported by columns, such as the Castle & Ball at No. 118, established around 1745. The High Street is an excellent locale for shopping, offering a range of stores and eateries expected of a UK town center, alongside unique finds in individual boutiques, gift shops, and tea rooms.
The south side features several small alleys leading down towards the River Kennet.
2. The Merchant’s House
The Great Fire of 1653 devastated Marlborough, and from the ashes arose this residence for the silk merchant Thomas Bayly in the subsequent decades.
Situated on the north side of the High Street, this edifice is remarkably preserved, retaining much of its 17th-century fabric, including oak paneling, wall paintings, and an impressive oak staircase.
While Bayly was middle-class, his wealth is reflected in the high standard of decoration throughout the house.
The collections provide insight into 17th-century domestic life while also encompassing Marlborough’s 18th and 19th-century history, featuring silverware, clocks, clothing, and agricultural tools.
At the rear is a quaint Baroque garden as it would have existed in the 1600s, alongside an upscale shop, and a charming Christmas Present Room in the festive season that offers handcrafted gifts and decorations.
3. St Peter’s Church
Marlborough’s former parish church was declared redundant in the 1970s and now serves as an atmospheric venue for a café and craft shop that offers a variety of handmade gift items, including toys, cards, bags, art, and clothing.
St Peter’s is located on the site of a Saxon church, with the Norman structure rebuilt in 1460 in the Perpendicular Gothic style.
Historians may find it noteworthy that Cardinal Wolsey was ordained at this specific church in March 1498. The building is rich with history, featuring wall monuments ranging from the 1600s to the 1800s, and visitors can embark on a tour that includes a climb up the 139 steps to the tower.
This tour encompasses the priest’s room, ringing chamber (highlighting a small exhibition about the church), the clock room, belfry with a bell from 1741, and the tower roof, which presents a picturesque view of the High Street.
4. Savernake Forest
The only privately owned forest in Britain, Savernake Forest is owned by the Marquess of Ailesbury, yet it remains largely accessible to the public, closing only one day each year.
Spanning 4,500 acres of hilly downland, it primarily comprises oak and beech trees, featuring numerous veteran trees and landscaping from the 18th century.
The renowned Capability Brown designed eight radial drives, one being the Grand Avenue, a straight 3.9-mile path lined with beeches, officially recognized as the longest avenue in the UK.
Many of the grand oaks and beeches have been pollarded, allowing their timber to be harvested over several centuries.
One notable specimen is the impressive Big Belly Oak, located near the A346, while nearby the Duke’s Vaunt Oak, adjacent to where the Grand Avenue intersects with Three Oak Hill Drive, dates back over 1,000 years.
Near Tottenham House, the King of Limbs is also approximately the same age, notably inspiring the name of a 2011 Radiohead album, which was partly recorded at the house.
5. Avebury
As part of the same UNESCO World Heritage Site as the more renowned Stonehenge, Avebury presents a remarkable Neolithic henge monument comprising three stone circles, the largest of which is the most extensive megalithic stone circle globally.
Construction occurred over approximately 600 years during the third millennium BC. While the precise meaning of this expansive structure remains ambiguous, it is believed to have served as a site for rituals and ceremonies.
The henge, consisting of an earthwork bank and ditch, encloses the entire area, with the largest circle measuring over 330 meters in diameter, and smaller northern (98 meters) and southern circles (108 meters) contained within it.
The southern circle is bisected by the village of Avebury, which emerged during medieval times.
Avebury’s current form owes much to Scottish archaeologist Alexander Keiller, who acquired and restored the site in the 1930s.
6. Avebury Manor & Garden
This National Trust manor house, constructed in the 16th century, offers intriguing, though more recent, historical insights.
In the early 2010s, nine of the manor’s rooms were refurbished in five distinct period styles: Tudor, Queen Anne, Georgian, Victorian, and 20th century.
The Tudor Dining Room, for example, features rush mat flooring and handcrafted oak furniture, reminiscent of when widow Debora Dunch married Sir James Mervyn, the High Sheriff of Wiltshire, in the 1590s.
A unique aspect of Avebury Manor is that visitors are encouraged to make themselves at home, laying on beds, sitting on furniture, and even utilizing the table in the Billiard Room.
One of the few restrictions is the exquisite Chinoiserie wallpaper in the Georgian Dining Room.
The formal garden is structured as a series of “rooms,” including a kitchen garden, orchard, topiary garden, and a church garden equipped with picnic blankets and steamer chairs available for use on sunny days.
7. Silbury Hill
Located within the same UNESCO World Heritage Site as Avebury and Stonehenge, Silbury Hill is the tallest prehistoric man-made mound in Europe.
With a height of nearly 40 meters and a width of 160 meters, Silbury Hill was completed around 2350 BC. Although it holds significance, its exact purpose remains uncertain, as no evidence of burial has been found on-site.
The mound was constructed over a span of just over 100 years, requiring an extraordinary level of coordination.
It is estimated that four million man-hours were expended on its construction, alongside half a million tons of chalk and soil.
8. Church of St James, Avebury
Integral to Avebury is the parish church, which boasts an Anglo-Saxon nave dating back to around the turn of the 11th century.
Prominently displayed on the nave’s north wall are three round-arched windows from that era.
The Saxon chancel was demolished in the 13th century and reconstructed in the 1870s; however, a remarkable detail endures at its entrance: the 15th-century rood loft.
This loft features painted and gilded panels with trefoil arches that support steep crocketed gables, along with friezes depicting grapes and leaves.
Such ornamentation typically didn’t survive the Reformation, yet the rood loft remained concealed from the 16th century until 1810. Additionally, visitors can admire the oak parish chest and the tub font, which may have Saxon origins but displays 12th-century carvings of a bishop, possibly Christ, trampling two dragons while holding a crosier.
9. West Kennet Avenue
Connecting the stone circles at Avebury with Overton Hill, located 1.5 miles away, is a remarkable corridor of sarsen stones.
Originally comprising 100 stones, the West Kennet Avenue measures 25 meters in width and links Avebury with another Neolithic site known as the Sanctuary. This avenue, dating to around 2200 BC, is slightly younger than both monuments.
The stones are arranged in pairs, and a notable observation is that they exhibit two fundamental shapes: cylindrical and triangular.
It is believed that the cylindrical stones symbolize males while the triangular ones represent females, thus explaining their paired arrangement.
This avenue meanders, tracing a path between settlements and structures that existed here approximately 4,000 years ago.
10. West Kennet Long Barrow
One of the most impressive Neolithic burial sites in the UK is located near Silbury Hill.
The West Kennet Long Barrow, positioned atop a prominent chalk ridge, features stone burial chambers at one end of a 100-meter passage.
This barrow dates back to 3650 BC and was utilized for approximately a millennium.
Inside, the remains of 46 individuals of various ages have been discovered, alongside beads, pottery, and stone tools such as a dagger.
Around 2000 BC, the passage was filled with rubble, and both the entrance and forecourt were sealed with sarsen stones.
As with the broader Neolithic heritage surrounding Avebury, the West Kennet Long Barrow is managed by the National Trust under the stewardship of English Heritage.
11. Crofton Beam Engines
The highest point of the Kennet and Avon Canal lies just southeast of Marlborough.
This section necessitated an independent water source, as the movement of boats into and out of lock 60 caused water to drain.
A spring was located nearby, leading to the completion of the Crofton Pumping Station in 1812. Although it now relies on electric pumps, it retains two impressive steam engines.
The first of these engines, constructed by Boulton & Watt, has been operational since 1812, making it the oldest functioning beam engine globally that can still perform its intended purpose.
The second engine, introduced during modernization in 1846, began as a combined cylinder engine but was adapted into a single-acting Cornish engine for improved efficiency in 1905. The station operates from Tuesday to Sunday between early April and October, and select weekends feature demonstrations of the engines in operation, powered by coal-fired Lancashire boilers during Steaming Dates.
12. Devil’s Den
For those still seeking Neolithic history, an additional monument can be found on Fyfield Hill, close to Marlborough.
Devil’s Den is a dolmen, remnants of a passage grave that would have constituted its entrance.
Thousands of years ago, this site featured a mound approximately 70 meters in length; however, currently, only some fallen stones, a pair of standing stones, and a capstone weighing an estimated 17 tons are visible.
The monument received its name post-Christianity, reflecting a legend wherein pouring water into the cavities of the capstone would result in a demon emerging at night to drink it.
13. West Woods
Situated conveniently for walks just outside Marlborough, West Woods encompasses nearly 1,000 acres of enchanting beech forest, overseen by the Forestry Commission.
During April and May, visitors are drawn to West Woods to witness a magnificent display of bluebells; however, the expansive area ensures that it rarely feels crowded, even during peak times.
At other times, guests can relish complete tranquility, and if approached quietly, they may encounter deer or perhaps a badger, particularly as dusk approaches.
14. Ridgeway National Trail
Overton Hill, the location of the wooden circle at The Sanctuary and a series of barrows, serves as the western trailhead for the Ridgeway National Trail.
This 87-mile pathway includes a portion of the Ridgeway, an ancient route traversing the chalk ridge leading to the Thames at the Goring Gap.
From there, it merges with another historic path, the Icknield Way, culminating at Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chilterns.
Once on the chalk hills, the Ridgeway offers a thrilling walk, traversing ancient hillforts and plunging into serene wooded valleys. However, descending from the ridge and ascending again can require significant effort! For a two-day adventure, one could venture to the Iron Age Uffington White Horse, spend the night in Wantage, and return to Overton Hill the following day.
15. Marlborough Open Studios
The region surrounding Marlborough boasts a vibrant arts and crafts community. If you visit the town on a weekend in July, you will have the opportunity to explore their studios and workshops or peruse pop-up galleries.
This event encompasses Marlborough as well as the neighboring towns of Pewsey, Hungerford, Devizes, Calne, and Wroughton, including the small villages and hamlets in between.
Hence, while experiencing and supporting local sculpture, ceramics, photography, painting, jewelry, textiles, and printmaking, you can also appreciate the inspiring and ancient landscapes of the North Wessex Downs.
An artists’ directory is available on the Open Studios website, including comprehensive opening times.
