Devizes is situated almost in the geographical centre of Wiltshire, and its first castle was built in 1080, reputedly on the boundary of three local estates - those of Potterne to the south, Rowde to the northwest and Bishop's Cannings to the northeast. The name Devizes is thus derived from the latin ad divisas, meaning 'at the boundaries'.
Devizes Market Place is reputedly one of the largest in the West of England, and certainly used to be before shops were built on permanent traders' stalls, thus dividing and shrinking what we now call the market place.
The market place has a wealth of interst in it, remarkable for such a small area. From the Town Hall at the south end to the Wadworth's Brewery at the north, the architecture and sheer history in between is incredible.
While in the Market Place, be sure to visit the Shambles (indoor market), the Corn Exchange, the fountain (the first place in Devizes to have mains water), the Market Cross, and why not stop for a drink in one of the many pubs in the place? Towards the Town Hall, on the side of the C&G building is a plaque commerating the location of the first commercial telephone in Britain!
Especially interesting is the Market Cross (visible as the monumnet in the picture below), which depicts the story of Ruth Pierce. Accused of not having paid for her corn (in the corn exchange), she declared that God himself should strke her down dead if she were lying. Legend records her falling dead at that moment, and the unpaid fee rolling out of her closed hand.
This is a webcam/virtual cache. To log it, you must:
- Visit Devizes Market Place
- Stand at/next to the market cross (the webcam has unfortunately disappeared forever)
- Try to get a photo of yourself.
- You must also retrieve the relevant date (a year) from the story on the Market Cross regarding Ruth Pierce and email to the cache owner. If you don't have a camera, the date alone will do.
Easy!
Devizes Market Place, on a gloomy day in December
Happy Hunting!