West Wiltshire District Council’s Warminster Town Centre Conservation Area Character Assessment, Informative Document, Consultation Draft/Cabinet Draft, of December 2006, includes the following notes:
ENTRANCES INTO THE TOWN CENTRE
The edges of the historic town were governed, particularly to the north and the east, by the steeply rising slopes of Salisbury Plain, the route of the River Were to the north west and the low-lying flood plains of the River Wylye to the south.
However, in the 20th century the shape of the town as a whole has been changed significantly due to considerable suburban residential development.
Whilst most of the historic centre has been retained within the Conservation Area with limited pockets of redevelopment, the boundaries of the Conservation Area are as clearly defined on the ground as the historic town limits were.
There are a number of visual and physical gateways into the historic centre including:
Portway – the terraces and semi-detached Victorian and Georgian buildings mark the entrance into the town. This gateway is formed by the sudden rise in the density and urban nature of the buildings.
Church Street – St. Denys’ Church marks the edge of the current and historic settlement. Along with the buildings owned by Warminster School, Church Street visually presents a transition from open countryside into the built up settlement.
East Street – part of East Street is essentially commercial and is contained within the Town Centre Conservation Area. Before becoming Boreham Road, as you enter the Boreham Road Conservation Area the overriding character of the street changes, becoming less dense and domestic in character. This shift in character marks the gateway between the historic town centre and the residential suburbs.
West Street – The extent of the Georgian and Victorian settlement is very apparent travelling into Warminster from the east, due to the sudden change in architecture. The style of development is nevertheless urban rather than suburban in character and clearly marks the entrance into the town centre.