Category: About Warminster: Copheap

Local Walk ~ Copheap, Warminster

Saturday 11th March 2023

The Local Walks page on the Warminster Town Council website includes:

Copheap
Copheap, the hill closest to Warminster, just north of the town, was purchased by the Warminster Urban District Council and soon afterwards it was agreed at a public meeting in 1947 that it should become a war memorial for the town. The purchase price was met by public subscription.

Members of the R.A. and Old Comrades associations constructed the Path of Remembrance from Copheap Lane to the base of the hill, with regimental badges being incorporated into the walls at the lower end of the path.

A lych gate at the entrance to Copheap is inscribed:
“As an everlasting tribute of pride and gratitude to the sons of Warminster who gave their lives in the great World Wars this archway was constructed and Copheap preserved for the perpetual use and enjoyment of all.”

Quick Facts:
Steep walk leads to a barrow on the top.
The uphill walk, leading though a Memorial Lych Gate.
The wood is surrounded by chalk grassland owned by the MOD.

Warminster Town Council Full Of Praise For Two Groups Of Volunteers

 Tuesday 15th March 2022

Warminster Town Councillors have recorded their thanks to two groups of volunteers who have worked closely with the Town Council.

Members of the Council’s Town Development Committee wished to highlight the work of those involved in the Warminster Town Centre Survey of Businesses, and the Copheap Volunteers.

The Warminster Town Centre Survey of Businesses is led by Mr. Len Turner and has for each of the past 11 years, produced a detailed update on what businesses are operating in Warminster.

The work involved is considerable as over 200 premises are categorised.  The information obtained provides a unique insight into the number of empty premises and the changing nature of shops in the town.

The Copheap Volunteers, led by Mr. Nigel Linge, maintain the woodland at Copheap. The wood was brought by public subscription in 1947 to serve as a memorial to the Second World War.

Over the past few years, the volunteers have; cleaned the Lych Gate, restored paths, removed rubbish, mended fences, cut back undergrowth and overgrown paths, installed nest boxes, planted trees and more.

Mr. Turner and Mr. Linge were both sent letters of thanks from the Town Council.

The Man Who Died Of Self-Inflicted Stab Wounds At Elm Hill/Copheap, Warminster, Has Been Identified As Daniel Alan Griffiths

Wednesday 1st August 2018:

The body of the man who was found dead in the Elm Hill/Copheap area of Warminster on the afternoon of Saturday 21st July 2018, has been identified as 33 year-old Daniel Alan Griffiths.

A spokesman from Salisbury Coroner’s Court said Mr. Griffiths, who lived in the Warminster area, died of what seems to be self-inflicted stab wounds to the chest. The emergency services attended the scene and the time of death was confirmed by a paramedic as 3.45 p.m.

Wiltshire Police confirmed that a knife was found at the scene, and were keen to stress that crime had been ruled out. A spokeswoman for Wiltshire Police said “The death of Mr. Griffiths is not being treated as suspicious.”

A post mortem has revealed ‘penetrated stab trauma to the left hemi-thorax.’ Further toxicology reports will be undertaken. An inquest, opened at Salisbury Coroner’s Court by Assistant Coroner Ian Singleton on Thursday 26th July, was adjourned to a date to be arranged later.

Dedication Service To Be Held At The Lych Gate, Copheap, Warminster

Tuesday 15th July 2014

Warminster Town Council have acknowledged that the recent sorry state of the Lych Gate at Copheap, Warminster, was due to decay and not vandalism, [as reported on Danny Howell’s website in November 2013 and January 2014]. 

The memorial has now been fully repaired to a high standard by volunteers from Aspire. At last night’s meeting of the Town Council the repair of the Lych Gate and a suggestion for an annual service at the Lych Gate or a dedication service for it were discussed. 

Councillor Paul Batchelor told his fellow councillors that the maintenance had received good publicity. He confirmed that there had been no vandalism over the Christmas 2013 holiday period (as had been reported in the Warminster Journal) and that the missing pillars and fallen roof tiles of the Lych Gate had been caused by rotting wood and general neglect. He said the carpenters from Aspire had now restored the memorial to a high standard. 

Councillor Batchelor suggested that rather than hold an annual service at Copheap as some people had expressed a wish for, it might be more appropriate to hold a dedication for the Lych Gate on 11th November. It was noted that the Warminster Branch of the Royal British Legion holds a remembrance ceremony at St. Lawrence’s Chapel in the High Street, Warminster, on the morning of the 11th day of the 11th month, and maybe this could be followed in the afternoon with a dedication service at the Copheap Lych Gate. Councillor Batchelor proposed this and Councillor Paul Macdonald seconded. Voting was unanimously in favour. The Town Clerk, Heather Abernethie, will liaise with the Warminster Branch of the Royal British Legion.