Wick, Devizes

Coordinates: 51°20′36″N 1°59′57″W / 51.343247°N 01.999111°W / 51.343247; -01.999111

Wick is a suburb of Devizes in English county of Wiltshire.

Until around 1800 Wick was a village independent from Devizes, until Devizes eventually expanded up to Wick and was it was made a suburb of Devizes. It is located in the south of Devizes, and lies west off the A360, which passes from Devizes to Salisbury.

History

There was a Roman settlement at Wick apparently from the 2nd to the 4th century around the area once occupied by Pans Lane halt. There are also faint indications of another settlement on the green, and a cemetery on the site of Southbroom junior school.

Wick is first mentioned in 1249 and is called 'the Weke' in 1542. In 1736–7 the settlement consisted of Upper Wick and Wick. In 1759 the Upper Wick no longer existed. In 1773 Wick was renamed Devizes Wick, the prefix being doubtless added to distinguish it from Potterne Wick and Wick in Rowde. In 1795–6 the hamlet contained between 30 and 33 assessable houses.
Wick was later known for it dairy industry, non of which exists today.

Devizes

Coordinates: 51°21′11″N 1°59′38″W / 51.353°N 1.994°W / 51.353; -1.994

Devizes /dᵻˈvaɪzᵻz/ is a market town and civil parish in the heart of Wiltshire, England. The town is about 10.5 miles (16.9 km) southeast of Chippenham and 11 miles (18 km) east of the county town of Trowbridge.

Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops and has an open market place where a market is held once a week. It has nearly five hundred listed buildings, some notable churches, a Town Hall and a green at the heart of the town. Its development has grown around the 11th century Norman castle.

History

Devizes Castle was built by Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury in 1080, but the town is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. Because the castle was on the boundaries of the manors of Rowde, Bishops Cannings and Potterne it became known as the castrum ad divisas ("the castle at the boundaries"), hence the name Devizes. On John Speed's map of Wiltshire (1611), the town's name is recorded as The Devyses. The first castle on the site was of the motte and bailey form and was probably made of wood and earth, but this burnt down in 1113. A new castle was built in stone by Roger of Salisbury, Osmund's successor. Devizes received its first charter in 1141 permitting regular markets. The castle changed hands several times during the civil war between Stephen of Blois and Matilda in the 12th century. The castle held important prisoners, including Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror in 1106. Robert was kept in Devizes for twenty years, before being moved to Cardiff Castle.

Devizes County House of Corrections

The Devizes County House of Corrections or Devizes Prison was a correctional facility in Devizes, Wiltshire.

The Old Bridewell

Devizes Castle was used as a prison for petty criminals in the Wiltshire area until it was destroyed in the 15th century.

Wiltshire Justices decided to build a formal house of corrections, The Old Bridewell (51°21′00″N 1°59′31″W / 51.349889°N 1.9920659°W / 51.349889; -1.9920659) was finished in 1579 and remained the only bridewell in Wiltshire until 1631. It was damaged by fire in 1619 and again 1630.

Between 1770 and 1806 various improvements were made to the bridewell after an inmate Thomas Platt died of cold and hunger in custody. By 1806 the prison had 12 cells, 6 yards, an infirmary and a chapel.

In 1817 the New Bridewell was opened and the Old Bridewell was left almost defunct, occasionally being used to detain pre-trial suspects, until it was officially closed in 1836.

The building was then used by Wiltshire Constabulary from 1839 as a police station until 1855 when they moved to the Town Hall. After then the building was used as residences for Superintendents and Constables, until 1871.

Devizes (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 51°21′07″N 1°59′42″W / 51.352°N 1.995°W / 51.352; -1.995

Devizes /dᵻvaɪzᵻz/ is a constituency in Wiltshire, England, which is represented in the House of Commons of the U.K. Parliament and includes four towns and many villages in the middle and east of the county. The area's representative has been a Conservative since 1924.

History

Until 1885 Devizes was a parliamentary borough, electing two Members of Parliament (MPs) by the bloc vote system until the 1868 election, when the Reform Act 1867 reduced its representation to one MP, elected by the first-past-the-post system of election. The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 abolished the parliamentary borough, and created a new county constituency of the same name, covering a wider area and electing one member. It has returned a Conservative MP at every election since 1924.

Its most notable MP was Henry Addington, who held the seat during his term as Prime Minister, as well as when he was Speaker of the House of Commons.