West Wiltshire | Rural District, Wiltshire, UK | Britannica (original) (raw)

West Wiltshire, former district, administrative and historic county of Wiltshire, southern England, in the west-central part of the county, some 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Bristol. West Wiltshire consists of chalk uplands at elevations of more than 600 feet (185 metres). The eastern edge of the Salisbury Plain in the south and the lower-lying valley of the River Avon in the north are differentiated by a steep, well-defined chalk escarpment that extends through the area. The oolitic limestone of the Cotswold Hills that border the area on the northwest has long provided building stone that is much in evidence throughout West Wiltshire. Agricultural and light industrial towns (“parishes”) in the Vale of Avon include Trowbridge, Melksham, and Bradford-on-Avon. The town of Westbury is located at the edge of the escarpment, and Warminster, in the uplands, is adjacent to an army camp.

Most of the aforementioned towns were already prosperous in the Middle Ages as cloth-making or woolen-trading centres. Bradford-on-Avon was of particular importance; its unadorned Church of St. Laurence, dating from the 8th to the 11th century, is one of the most complete Anglo-Saxon churches in England. It was neglected in a jumble of other buildings until its true identity and value were recognized in 1856.

Cereals are grown in the area, and cattle, sheep, and pigs are raised. The manufacture of carpets, cloth, gloves, and rubber products is important. Above the Vale of Avon at Westbury there is a figure, of unknown origin, of a giant horse carved in the white chalk escarpment.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by Jeff Wallenfeldt.