Wilfred Middlebrook, in The Changing Face Of Warminster, first written in 1960, updated in 1971, noted:
When Mary Queen of Scots forbade Bible reading by the commoners, burning over 800 persons at the stake in the process, the people of Crockerton and the neighbourhood used to meet in secret in Southleigh Woods, holding Bible meetings by moonlight in a secluded glen. These ancient woods were again the scene of many clandestine meetings when Charles the Second ordered the ministers to use the Established Book Of Common Prayer, thus giving birth to the non-conformist church in this country. Over 2,000 clergymen were ejected from their livings for refusing to “conform;” fifty of them from Wiltshire, including James Eburne of Kingston Deverill. One of these ejected ministers found refuge along the river Wylye at Bull Mill, and he used to hold secret religious meetings in Southleigh Woods.