Category: Guides, Articles and Notes

Extract from The Changing Face Of Warminster by Wilfred Middlebrook, published in 1971:

It must surely be a fact that more printers’ ink has been squandered on futile discussions concerning the origin of the name of Warminster than on any other place-name in the country.

The only certainties are the varied spellings since the first mention of Worgemynster in the Anglo-Saxon Charter around A.D. 900. In Domesday the Normans changed it to Guerminstre, then through the Plantagenet period, by an easy transition of Guer into Wer (as Guilou into Wily) we find ever-varying forms of the name ranging from Werminster in 1115, and Warmestre in 1496, to our present-day Warminster.

Many writers, including the historians Hoare and Wansey, have quickly disposed of the matter by presuming that a minster or monastery once stood on the banks of a river or stream called the Were. Daniell declares that “if any brook bears the name of Were, it seems to that which is now called the Biss, which rises in Upton Scudamore and runs through Trowbridge.”

Failing the “Minster on the Were” theory, there have been some fantastic flights of fancy in an effort to solve the puzzle. Working on the names Guerminstre and Worgemynster, one writer finally translated the result into “the place of waters where the blue sky-god was worshipped in a green place, and at which a Dragon protected the Spirit of a Chief in his Grave.”

More down to earth, Daniell suggests that Worgemyn or Guermin is the name of an ancient Wiltshire Chief, so that Warminster means “the headquarters of Worgemyn.”

From The Warminster Official Guide And Souvenir 1928 (penned by Victor Strode Manley):

As a residential district Warminster has been favoured ever since prehistoric times.

Today, replete with all the desiderata of a modern town in a rural setting it has progressed without despoiling its infinite diversity of beautiful scenery. During the period when the town was a busy hive of industry with its cloth-making and malting, many fine houses were built enclosed in charming gardens, and it is these residences which give such a pleasant and dignified aspect to the town. One by one they are passing out of the hands of the old families, being eagerly sought by newcomers.

With ever increasing means of communication, Warminster has been re-discovered of late years, temporary visitors, fascinated by the district, becoming permanent residents. The many new houses springing up everywhere and built to suit individual tastes have detracted not a whit from the general picturesqueness. Both gas and electricity are available. The local estate agents or Town Clerk, would give every assistance to intending residents, and they, with the builders, furnishers, removers and nurserymen, are listed in this Guide. Patrons are advised to consult the advertisers, as they have been carefully selected for recommendation to save disappointment.

The amenities of the town cover the whole sphere of sport and recreation, social, political and religious activity, also musical and dramatic societies which are detailed separately.

Local Authority: Urban District Council, the Urban area, 6,564 acres, being the seventh largest Urban District in the West of England and the 60th largest in the whole of England, which consists of 727 Urban Districts.

Resident Population: 5,410 (census 1921). The floating population is considerable.

From The Warminster Official Guide And Souvenir 1928 (penned by Victor Strode Manley):

Visitors are often surprised that such a number and variety of shops are able to maintain an air of prosperity. But the district is a large one and the entry of London businesses has caused keen competition to the customer’s advantage. Thus the shopping facilities are adequate to satisfy the most exacting. Great strides have been made since Cobbett penned his eulogy: “Warminster is a very nice town,” he wrote, “everything belonging to it is solid and good. I was delighted and greatly surprised to see the meat. Not only the very finest veal and lamb that I have ever seen in my life but so exceedingly beautiful that I could hardly believe my eyes.”

From The Warminster Official Guide And Souvenir 1928 (penned by Victor Strode Manley):

Clubs And Societies, Etc.

Longleat Lodge of Freemasons. – Sec., G. E. Rugg, Heytesbury; and the Thynne Chapter, Capt. A. A. Taylor, S. E.

West Wilts Golf Club. – Sec., Mr. H. Field, N. Bradley, Trowbridge.

Wylye Valley Hunt. – Sec., Capt. L. Reid, Tytherington.

Warminster Club, Weymouth Street. – Literary and social.

The Athenaeum, High Street. – Literary and social.

Every form of sport is represented, as well as parochial and mutual benefit societies, so that there need be no fear of the fiend of ennui. In addition to many private clubs, a long list is published in the local directories.