WARMINSTER

'Warminster' is a town in western Wiltshire, England, by-passed by the A36, and near Frome and Westbury. It has a population of about 20,000 and is part of the West Wiltshire district. The town's name is believed to be derived from the name 'Wylye-Minster' after the Wylye Valley in which the town is located. The name Warminster first occurs in the early 10th century

History

The town was first settled in the Saxon period, though there are the remains of numerous earlier settlements nearby, including the Iron Age hill fort Battlesbury Camp and Cley Hill, the latter a site operated by the National Trust.
In the North-west of the Diocese of Salisbury Warminster is a minster town in Rural Wiltshire. The three Parish Churches in the town are all in the Episcopal Area of Ramsbury served by the Bishop of Ramsbury (Anglican) currently the Rt Rev'd Stephen Conway.
The town's prosperity following the growth of the wool trade in the Late Middle Ages caused the erection of many magnificent structures, including the Minster Church of Saint Denys, in a yew grove sacred from pre-Christian times, and including an organ originally destined for the then under-construction Salisbury Cathedral.
During the Middle Ages the town became famous not only for its wool and cloth trade but also for its great prosperity as a corn market (it was second only to Bristol in the West of England). Many of the buildings which survive in the Market Place owe their origin to the great corn market days when they were used as stores and warehouses, or as inns and hostelries for the buyers and sellers who came from many miles around.
During the Civil War (1642-1645) the town is thought to have changed hands at least four times between the Royalist and Parliamentary supporters. When James II came to the throne in 1685 the local gentry and the Wiltshire Militia supported him against the Duke of Monmouth who was defeated.
During the First World War thousands of soldiers from Australia, New Zealand and Canada were camped in the villages around Warminster.
In the 1960s and early 1970s Cradle Hill became famous as the centre of a flap surrounding UFOs and crop circles with at least one author claiming that as many as 5000 UFOs had been witnessed in the area.

Religious History

Warminster is close to Stonehenge and may have some pre-Christian roots, however the modern town was founded in Anglo-Saxon times. The Town is divided into three Church of England Parishes, and is also served by other traditions and denominations:

The Minster (St Deny's.)

The Minster church dates back to the 1100’s when it was built by the Normans to replace the earlier Saxon minster. Since then it has been modified on several occasions.
It was remodelled in the 14th century and additions were made in the late 15th or early 16th century, but by 1626 the church was reported to be “mightily in decay”. As a result extensive repairs were carried out from 1626 to 1629.
From 1887 to 1889 the Minster was mostly rebuilt in the perpendicular style by Sir Arthur Blomfield. All that remains of the old church are the central tower, south wall of the chancel and the south porch.
The Minster is currently part of the 'Clay Hill' team ministry, but this is currently under review.
In 2007 Revd. Harvey Gibbons was installed as Priest-in-Charge of the Minster.

Christ Church

Christ Church serves a Parish on the the southern side of Warminster. The Church is evangelical in tradition and the 9.30 family service on Sundays is lively, although the Church welcomes people of all traditions, the 11am Sunday Morning Worship service is more reflective in style and spirituality.
The Church was built during the 1850's to serve what was then Warminster Common.
During the late 1960's an attempt was made to modernise the worship in the Church, and a nave Altar was built. This was a very controversial move and led, eventually, to a consistory court.
In 2004 Christ Church under went a redevelopment project that removed the controversial Nave Altar and pews, and created a modern and functional welcome / fellowship area in the lobby of the Church building. The result is a crisp, attractive and very functional Church building, with modern AV system.

St John the Evangelist

St John's was built in a field called Picked Acre alongside Boreham Road.
The eight acres of land was given for a church and churchyard, together with an endowment for its upkeep, by William Temple of Bishopstrow House in 1859.
St John's Church was completed in 1865.
The baptistry at the west end was designed by architect Charles Ponting with London glaziers J Powell and Sons of Whitefriars providing the mosaic tile decoration around 1912.

Warminster Baptist Church

Warminster Baptist Church is a vibrant, growing church of all ages located in North Row. It offers inspiring worship, a warm welcome, loving fellowship, relevant teaching and to empower people to use their gifts to introduce others to Jesus Christ

Warminster United Church

Warminster United Church is an ecumenical fellowship that is within the Methodist and Reformed tradition situated in George Street.

St Georges Roman Catholic Church

St Georges Roman Catholic Church is located in Boreham Road.
The parish is on the northern edge of Salisbury Plain, and reaches out into the Wiltshire countryside serving the people of the town of Warminster and the many villages around; and also serves the Mass Centre of St Mary in Mere at the south part of the parish.

Military

Warminster has strong military connections. It is the home of the Land Warfare Centre — formerly the Army's School of Infantry — and abuts the Salisbury Plain Training area (SPTA), which is large enough to exercise a Battlegroup and which is dotted with Royal Artillery live-firing ranges. The Small Arms School Corps and Headquarters Infantry are also based in the town.

During a training exercise in World War II, the future Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie MC crashed his tank into a house.

Transport

The town is served by Warminster railway station. First Great Western Buses and is on the Main A36 (East-West) and A350 (North-South) Trunk roads.

Twinnings

★ - Flers, France,

This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.

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