- Written by Eileen Dew, a former employee, with the help of Sally Hendry from Westbury Heritage Society & Westbury Museum, "The Pinnigers" tells the story of the Westbury law firm, Pinniger Finch & Co. and the role it has played in the history of the town. Pinniger Finch is the oldest firm in Westbury and has been an important part of the town for over 200 years. "It has come a long way from those early days of Henry Pinniger working by gas light marking his documents by quills and ink and dealing with everything from gamekeepers' licences to poor relief, courts and councils" said Bill White, senior partner at the firm today. Still a thriving, well-respected legal practice, this book gives a fascinating look into this historic firm and a glimpse into life in Westbury in the 19th century.
- There is nowhere else quite like Stonehenge. The fact that no one really knows why it was built and what it was used for makes it the ultimate puzzle. The fascination with it has lasted for centuries and still continues to grow.
- The complete guide to Avebury. Avebury is not Britain’s best known stone circle, but being 14 times the size of Stonehenge and predating it by around 500 years, it is undoubtedly the greatest. “A precise and informative guide to Avebury and its monuments.”
- Rebecca Smith was the last woman in Britain to be hanged for infanticide of her own baby. But this unassuming woman, who attended chapel and prayed night and morning, had poisoned not just one but eight of her babies. Her crime shocked and puzzled Victorian Britain. So why did she do it? Local historian and journalist, Sally Hendry, delves into the nineteenth century to unpick Rebecca's story, looking at everything from domestic violence through to the unspeakable agonies of death by arsenic poisoning. Victim or villain? Read this fascinating book and you decide.
The white horses are a feature of the Wiltshire countryside which is ideally suited to hill figures with its steep chalk slopes. This interesting book by the Mid Wilts Ramblers gives both longer and shorter circular walks based on the eight white horses of Wiltshire in a variety of beautiful countryside.
Each walk starts and ends at a convenient parking place and has simple maps and detailed directions. There are other things of interest to see too - flowers, butterflies, birds and ancient monuments.Written by local author, Rosie Evitt, Tom’s Seaside Holiday is a story to commemorate the pandemic - and the human resolve in rising above it. Tom is a lad aged 8½ who is on holiday at the seaside staying with his favourite auntie. He spends his afternoons on the beach poking around rock pools, swimming and having fun - but wait and see what happens when his exciting Big Adventure starts and he finds more than you could ever imagine! You will just have to read the book to know more! The cover was designed by a local primary school student.
A Wiltshire Boyhood in the 1920s and ‘30s.
Bob Savory was born in Westbury in 1913 and in this humorous and honest book, he recollects his early years until the start of his young working life from the age of 14. Colourful local characters are remembered, as well as local events such as the carnivals, the annual Sunday School outing to Weymouth in a charabanc and the excitement of the travelling fair, when chips in a paper cone cost a penny. This book will appeal to anyone who knows and loves the Wiltshire area but also to those readers who enjoy being transported into a bygone age when life seemed simple and full of expectation.In this illustrated history of Westbury Cement Works, Simon Knight takes us on a fascinating journey from when the site was first constructed in the early 1960s right through to its closure and the dormant chimney falling to the ground nearly 60 years later. An array of original and archive photography offers an insight into a once-busy working community that meant so much to so many.
Part of the No. 1 best selling Ideal History Series of books, Liz Argent traces the fascinating history of Westbury through photographs old and new. This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Westbury has changed and developed over the last century.
Local historian, Sally Hendry, gives you the true story of what it was like to live and work in Westbury’s feared institution. Sally’s fascinating book takes you behind the doors from the origins of Westbury’s workhouse to interesting and sometime humorous accounts of who lived there, what they ate, sex and scandal right through to changes for the better.
