The old tradition (sometimes combined with ‘Beating the Bounds’) of walking around the parish was upheld again this Rogation Sunday. After a hymn and prayer in The Croft, the group set out, led by Keith and Astrid Laurence, to enjoy a walk, but not much sunshine, and learn about some of the history of Wootton Bassett.
Rogation Sunday Walk
The walk took us along Rope Yard to the entrance to Orchard Park. Having taken in
the view to the South-
Beyond Beamans Lane there used to be a large area of allotments, but in the 1960s these were taken for housing.
Proceeding along Glebe Road, marking the ‘Glebe Lands’, the produce from which provided financial support for the church, the route crossed Station Road into Tanners Close which dates from 1945.
From the top of Downs View we could see more houses which cover land which used to belong to farms such as Brynards and Noremarsh, and beyond them Wood Shaw, Harris Croft and Chaddington Farms.
Tinkers Lane and The Rosary brought us to the Recreation Ground, a valuable green space in the town.
Rylands (or Ryelands) Way and Longleaze are road names in this part of the town which make further references to our farming heritage.
Crossing the High Street, Lime Kiln and Sprats Barn Crescent give further clues to the former uses of these areas of the town.
From Springfield Crescent, we could see the field containing a spring which gave this road its name.
The footpath behind The Lawns and Springfield House took us past another area previously used for allotments. There also used to be piggeries here!
Rather unusually, Victory Row was named after an electoral victory, not a military one.
Turning right into Wood Street and passing the United Reformed Church brought us to The Barton (an old name for a farmyard).
Proceeding along The Barton to Church Street, a pause was made to take in the lovely views of the surrounding countryside.
On returning to The Croft, our intrepid walkers enjoyed a ploughman’s lunch!