MARKETS AND FAIRS
The existence of a market in Wilton probably dates
from the Anglo-Saxon period, for conditions of local
trade, as shewn above, were exceptionally favourable. (fn. 1) The right to hold markets weekly on
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday was granted to the
borough at least as early as the reign of Henry III,
for Edward I spoke of a charter of his ancestors to
this effect. (fn. 2) In 1288–9 the lord of the borough
claimed the market rights of the Wednesday market
only, (fn. 3) but on his death in 1300 it appears that he
was entitled to the tolls of all three markets. (fn. 4) The
profits then consisted of toll, and stallage, tangabulum, flesgabulum, and stocgabulum, with special
tolls on corn and salt. The income derived from
these in four undated years at the end of the 13th
century varied between £1 9s. 10d. and £2 11s. (fn. 5)
In 1293–4 it came to £1 9s. (fn. 6)
A conflict over market rights between Wilton and
New Salisbury had begun at least by 1240 when it
was alleged that markets were held in Salisbury
every day of the week, instead of only on Tuesdays
as allowed by the bishop's charter. (fn. 7) Both sides
resorted to violent and illegal means, for while, in
1274, the men of Salisbury complained that for the
past five years the bailiffs and other men of Wilton
had been waylaying merchants going to Salisbury
and forcing them to trade in the Wilton market, the
Wilton men, on the other hand, complained that the
men of Salisbury had taken the initiative in the
struggle by extending their one market day to many
days of the week, to the detriment of Wilton, Old
Salisbury, and other neighbouring market towns. (fn. 8)
When in 1300 the borough reverted to the Crown
and was granted to the Princess Mary, (fn. 9) the market
tolls were of particular interest to the king; in 1305,
therefore, the king recapitulated the charter rights
of Wilton, drew attention to the attraction of
merchants from the Wilton markets to those of
Salisbury, and ordered the sheriff to make public
proclamation in Wilton, Salisbury, and other
market towns forbidding merchants under pain of
forfeiture to sell merchandise in Salisbury on Wilton
market days. Clearly this prohibition was disregarded, for the bailiffs of Wilton gave information
that 10 butchers, 18 fishmongers, 7 cloth merchants,
5 merchants dealing in wax and other merchandise,
6 skinners, 5 sellers of hides, 4 men dealing in oxen
and other animals, 6 ironmongers, and 31 grain
dealers, all of whom they named, and all of whom
were of the liberty of the Bishop of Salisbury, had
marketed their goods in Salisbury on the prohibited
days. (fn. 10) The dispute continued throughout 1306 and
1307, (fn. 11) and Edward II, doubtless acting on behalf
of Gaveston, then lord of the borough, made another
proclamation to the same effect at the beginning of
his reign. At Easter 1309 many of the merchants
were attached to answer the king on charge of contempt, and of depriving the king of the tolls and
customs of Wilton market; damages for the high
sum of £10,000 were claimed. On this occasion the
Salisbury men claimed that they had only held
markets on Tuesdays, but they also recalled that
they enjoyed the same liberties as the citizens of
Winchester, and therefore had the right to put up
stalls and display goods in shops and windows. But
the king maintained his claim that Wilton had been
unjustly impoverished. (fn. 12) Such royal protection,
however, was without avail, for the growth of
Salisbury inevitably attracted the merchants away
from Wilton whether the markets were held on the
same day or not; the number and variety of these
merchants, who acted in contempt of the king and
went to the Salisbury market, indicate not only the
decline of Wilton, but also how important the Wilton
markets must have been before the competition of
Salisbury was felt. (fn. 13)
The decay of Wilton markets continued so that
by the 15th century the stalls in the market place
had fallen into total decay, (fn. 14) and it is unlikely that
the full right of three weekly markets was exercised;
indeed it may have lapsed altogether for the time
being, for in 1496 Henry VII made a fresh grant
of a market, this time only for Wednesday of each
week. (fn. 15) In 1825 the Friday market had been long
disused, and the Wednesday one was 'little better
than nominal'. (fn. 16) By 1888 markets were no longer
held in Wilton. (fn. 17)
The rights of the earliest of the Wilton fairs
belonged to the Abbess of Wilton although the lord
of the borough had certain rights in them. In 1300
the lord's share of toll was only assessed at 6d. a
year. (fn. 18) The date of the original grant of the fair is
not known, but it was certainly in existence in 1212,
for it was prolonged that year by eight days. (fn. 19) In
1288–9 the abbess claimed the fair as her own, and
it was said to last from 14 until 21 September; (fn. 20) in
1300, however, it was stated that the fair lasted from
the ninth hour of St. Matthew's Eve until the ninth
hour of St. Matthew's Day (21 Sept.) only. (fn. 21) The
abbess held her own court of piepowder. (fn. 22) At the
end of the 13th century the lord of the manor was
receiving amounts ranging from 7d. to 12d. from the
abbess's fair. (fn. 23)
In 1414 Henry V granted the mayor and burgesses
a fair of their own to be held yearly on 21 and 22
July, (fn. 24) but the period of time proved too short to
attract the people of the neighbourhood, and in 1415
the first charter was revoked and a second charter
extended the period of the fair from 19 to 22 July. (fn. 25)
The mayor and burgesses held their own court of
piepowder, and received all the profits of their fair.
In 1433 Henry VI granted the right of holding two
sheep fairs in May and September respectively. (fn. 26)
In 1496 a charter of Henry VII granted two different
annual times for fairs, one on St. George's and the
three following days (23–26 April), and the other on
St. Giles's, and the three following days (1–3
September). (fn. 27) From the number and variety of
these 15th-century grants it appears that the first
attempts to establish a successful fair in Wilton had
failed.
The serious decline in the prosperity of Wilton,
which became very marked again in the 17th century, above all in the clothing trade, caused the
mayor and burgesses to petition for a further grant
of a fair with piepowder court and sole right of
profits; as a result of the good offices of Sir John
Birkenhead, M.P. for Wilton, (fn. 28) two yearly fair days
on 25 July and 2 November were granted by
Charles II in 1666. (fn. 29) In 1693 the fairs of St. George
and St. Giles, and the yearly market in Wilton were
leased for 21 years at a rent of £2 a year and on
payment of a £35 fine; the lease was renewable every
seven years on payment of a £15 fine. (fn. 30)
There is no evidence that any of the earlier fairs
was officially superseded by later grants of different
fair days. The original fair of the abbess held on
St. Matthew's day apparently vanished at the time of
the Dissolution, for it was not granted with the rest
of the abbey possessions to Sir William Herbert.
Eighteenth-century references to Wilton fairs reveal
some considerable confusion; in 1730 the April,
September, and November fairs alone were mentioned, (fn. 31) but in 1731 four fairs, in April, July,
October, and November were attributed to Wilton. (fn. 32)
In 1751 the same four fairs were listed, with the
addition of the September St. Giles's fair, (fn. 33) and in
1791 the fair days were said to fall on 4 May, 12
September, and 13 November; (fn. 34) in the early 19th
century, however, the chief fair days were the cattle
and sheep fair of 5 May, and the big sheep fair of
12 September. (fn. 35) Some of this confusion may have
arisen from the fact that the days on which the sheep
fairs were held were altered. In 1666 the sheep fairs
were held on St. George's Day in April, and St.
Giles's Day in September, and in this year the
mayor and burgesses leased the profits of these fairs
to a Wilton clothier for life at a yearly rent of 40s. (fn. 36)
But the fair accounts of 1756 and 1760, about a
hundred years later, show that by then the sheep
fairs were being held on 4 May and 12 September. (fn. 37)
The evident prosperity of the Wilton sheep fairs in
the 19th century is shown by the fact that in 1833
the tolls of the May and September fairs were rented
for £140, and it was reckoned that some 40,000
sheep passed through the fairs. (fn. 38)
In 1888 the May and September cattle and sheep
fairs were apparently the only fairs held in Wilton. (fn. 39)
By the beginning of the 20th century the number of
sheep penned at the September fair had dropped
from about 100,000 to about 50,000. (fn. 40) In 1960 both
these fairs were still held annually, and in recent
years the number of sheep at the September fair has
increased slightly. (fn. 41) Since 1938 another sheep fair
has been held annually early in October, and
another, formerly held annually early in August at
Britford, has been moved to Wilton. (fn. 42)
In 1775 the sheep fairs were removed to Fugglestone
and in July and August of that year advertisements
of the change were made in the Evening Post and in
Reading, Sherborne, Bath, Oxford and Salisbury
newspapers. (fn. 43) The fair field, situated in Fugglestone (fn. 44) on the north side of the Salisbury-Warminster road, occupied about 12½ acres, but in 1847
the railway cut off about 4¼ acres, and so the ground
was replanned to take in a new field thus increasing
the whole ground to about 16 acres.
AGRICULTURE
Wilton and the suburban townships all lay along
the rivers, surrounded by their meadows and
common marshes; away from the flooding area lay
the open arable fields; finally, the sheep downs rose
up from the valleys. The surrounding parishes
generally included all that was needed for their
subsistence and prosperity in arable, meadow, and
sheep pasture, while at the centre the old market
town traded the produce of the countryside and to
some extent absorbed labour from the suburbs to
serve its own industries. There was thus a close
economic connexion between the two.
It is not known whether the borough ever
possessed common fields as distinct from those of
the suburban manors: by the late 13th century,
when evidence first becomes available, it appears
that the burgesses owned strips in the common
fields of Bulbridge, Fugglestone, and other suburban manors, but there was no mention of the
common fields of the borough itself. Thus the
Isembard family, who were the chief corn mill
owners of Wilton, (fn. 45) had portions of the open fields
of Fugglestone and strips attached to their mill at
South Newton; while John Goldrun, burgess and
goldsmith, and John and Adam Walerand, burgesses, all owned land in the common fields of
Fugglestone. (fn. 46)
The rich meadow lands were of immense importance both within the borough and in the suburban
manors. There was much meadow land on the
outskirts of the borough itself, some of it owned
from time immemorial by the Guild Merchant.
Most of the land called 'Between Bridges', off East
(now North) Street, was meadow land until recent
years, and there the guild owned Hulotesham
meadow near Berkshire Bridge, while in the neighbourhood of the old Ystreet the guild owned an
ancient meadow called Busmersford, and also
Gallowmead beyond Minster Street near the old
Walbourne bridge. (fn. 47)
The two suburban manors within the parish in
the 16th century, Bulbridge and Washern, contained
open fields known as Bulbridge and Washern, or
Ugford, fields; they were subdivided under the
three field system into East, Middle, and West
fields. (fn. 48) The manor of Ditchampton, of which part
only lay in Wilton parish, contained in 1567 an open
field divided into a North, South, and Middle
field. (fn. 49) There were two great periods of inclosure:
the first when much of the abbey property which
had passed to Sir William Herbert was inclosed
within Wilton Park in the mid-16th century, and
the second when the private Inclosure Act of 1825
was passed, although its award was delayed until
1860. Much of the manor of Washern was inclosed
within the Park or converted into the Hare Warren
in the first period, but inclosure within Bulbridge
manor was only partial and was not complete until
the 19th century inclosure award. (fn. 50)
In 1567 large portions of the Washern fields were
in demesne, representing no doubt the former abbey
holdings: (fn. 51) in the East field, the earl held 180 a. in
demesne, and in the West field 140 a. His holdings
in the Bulbridge open field were, on the other hand,
small, amounting to not more than 22 a. scattered
throughout that part of the field called Akerman's
land, and formerly possessed by the abbey. A survey
made in 1631–2 showed, however, a considerable
increase in the number of small individual inclosures
both inside and outside the boundaries of the Park.
Great Netheways, consisting of about 9 a. of arable
and pasture, had been inclosed; Netherhampton
Croft, consisting of some 13½ a. within the Park, was
also inclosed; several inclosures had been made in
the West field of Bulbridge, one of about 12½ a.
called Earthpitt Croft, another of about 8 a. called
Hall's Croft, and another of about 6 a. Whitebread
Acre, of about 4 a., Symes Croft, about 3½ a., and
Phillips Croft of 11 a., had also all been inclosed.
An area of 13 a. had been inclosed in Washern field,
and another plot of unspecified size in the East field
of Bulbridge and Washern.
Those holdings which still remained scattered and
dispersed in the Park and in the open fields were
finally exchanged for compact blocks of land in 1860.
In exchange for freehold estates within the borough
Lord Pembroke received allotments consisting of
208 a. of the old inclosed Deer Park, some 439 a.
south of Burcombe Lane, and more land adjoining
the north-east of the Deer Park. In exchange for
8 a. of arable freehold scattered in Bulbridge
common field the hospital of St. Giles received an
allotment south of Burcombe Lane. The glebe lands
were also consolidated. (fn. 52)
The same system of scattered holdings prevailed
in the common meadows, and meadow rights were
appendant to the arable holdings. Much of the
meadow land at the Bulbridge end of South Street
in Bulbridge and Washern was owned by the abbey,
whence it passed to Sir William Herbert. Between
the angle made by the Nadder and the south side of
South Street was a holding known as the 'Waleland'
adjoining Lovell's Mead in Washern Street. On the
north side of South Street the rack-mead and millham of Isembard's mill extended to the Nadder.
Three meadows adjoined the site of the abbey,
'Childern Abbe', 'Hanghammede' and 'Marketmede', (fn. 53) where most probably the abbess held her
fair. In Little Marsh the abbey held Sexton's Mead
and another meadow was held between Walbourne
bridge and Quidhampton Marsh. The abbey also
had much meadow land in Washern Marsh and
South Ugford. (fn. 54) The 16th-century manor of Ditchampton contained some 300 a. of meadow land, (fn. 55) but
the names of the meadows were not specified in the
surviving surveys.
The survey of 1567 recorded the acreage and
value of the meadow land in demesne in Washern,
Bulbridge, and South Ugford. Broadmead contained 19 a. and there the earl had exclusive rights
from 25 March to 1 August, after which date it was
open to those who had common rights in Washern
Marsh. In Pikedmead, consisting of 2 a., the earl had
exclusive rights throughout the year. Dewes Mead,
comprising 6 a., Washingmead, Culverhay, Tennepence Acre, Huntham, East Netheways and Wodmyllmead were all inclosed within the Park, but
Tuttesham remained outside the Park. Washingmead adjoined the vicarage of Bulbridge, which had
also been inclosed within the Park. The lord of the
manor's dovehouse, stables, and grange were
situated in Culverhay; Tennepence Acre lay by the
Nadder and contained 4 a.; Huntham contained
10 a.; East Netheways, nearby, contained 13 a.; and
Wodmyllmead, lying to the south of the Nadder,
contained 20 a. (fn. 56)
By the 17th century some further inclosure of
meadow land had taken place, and many of the
meadows of the demesne lands of Bulbridge,
Washern, and South Ugford had been leased out:
10 a. of Broadmead, the whole of the Pikedmead,
9 a. of Rodman's Mead, 3 a. of the Great Mead of
Bulbridge, and the 6 a. of Dewes Mead were all
leased to tenants by indenture. In Bulbridge the
10-acre Fulford's Mead, where the Prior of St. John's
had the share of 1a., the Inmead, and 2½ a. meadow
lately inclosed out of Ugford Mead, were leased to
other tenants; there were a number of inclosed
meadow crofts within the Park; and the 1631–2
survey mentioned four crofts next to Netherhampton
Walk, the Huntham, Picked Corner, John Smythe's
Mead and Mr. Phillip's Mead. (fn. 57)
The common lands of Wilton and the suburban
townships lay in the great marshes, which stretched
on either side of the borough between the rivers, and
to the north and south of them. The Great Marsh
of the abbey, also known as Pig Marsh, was eventually inclosed in Wilton Park. (fn. 58) The Little Marsh
was situated in the area now known as the Island,
while Great Marsh extended between the Nadder
and Wylye to join Quidhampton Marsh at its eastern
end; Washern Marsh lay in South Ugford, (fn. 59) Bulbridge. Marsh lay south of the Nadder, and Burdens
Ball Marsh lay north of the Wylye in Fugglestone.
Great Marsh and Little Marsh were by no means
entirely uncultivated and both contained tenements
and inclosed meadows.
In c. 1547 common rights were also held in the
sheep downs and pastures. The manor of Ditchampton contained 2,000 a. of pasture land and 300 a. of
heath. (fn. 60) These lands were leased to tenants and
served the needs of a community at once agricultural
and pastoral. In 1331, for example, Robert of
Woodford of Wilton, who owned 7 messuages and
19 a. of land in Fugglestone and Wilton, had
pasturage for 25 sheep, (fn. 61) and he is representative of
a large group of men who were engaged in this kind
of mixed farming. The more abundant evidence of
the 16th century shows the continuance of this
practice; for example, property in Wilton and
Fugglestone sold by William Dutton in 1547
included 20 a. of pasture and 10 a. of uncultivated
heath, with rights of common pasture for 180 sheep
in Fugglestone and Wilton. (fn. 62) When the manor of
Washern passed to Sir William Herbert one of the
free tenants claimed, according to a custumal of
1315, rights of pasture for 51 sheep after the lord's
beasts had been moved from the common of South
Ugford, and another tenant had similar pasture
rights for 3 draught animals in the common pasture
of Ugford. The lord held some 20 a. in demesne in
Washern Marsh; these lay fallow each year and the
lord's cows and cattle occupied them between 25
March and 1 August, but after that date two free
tenants had rights of pasture for 11 cows and 2
draught animals, and the Rector of St. Mary's had
pasture rights for 4 cows. In Broadmead next to the
marsh the tenants had similar pasture rights. The
lord also held in demesne 'les Firzes', consisting of
160 a., and a down of 50 a. supporting 120 sheep;
in all he had rights for 400 sheep on the downs
outside the Park. The tenants of this manor had
rights of common for cattle and sheep in the 20-acre
Eastmarsh from 14 September; and in the Westmarsh, which was about the same size, from
Pentecost to Candlemas, and in a sheep down lying
at Cowper's Cross next to Harnham Down. (fn. 63)
The 17th-century survey of the manors of Bulbridge and Washern recorded that most of the sheep
downs and sheep pastures of Bulbridge, Washern,
and South Ugford had been leased to the Twogood
family of Bulbridge. Thus in less than a century
sheep-breeding had passed out of the hands of the
21 customary tenants, 20 of whom in 1567 had rights
for 37 sheep and one for 51 sheep, to a single family.
Part of Bulbridge and Washern Marsh had been
inclosed, and 10 a. of its pasture had been leased to
James Abbot, one of the earl's tenants. The common
rights of Bulbridge Marsh were substantially untouched, and the tenant of Hall's farm in Ugford
had rights of common for his cattle there. (fn. 64)
Before the 16th-and 17th-century surveys no
evidence is available to permit an accurate estimate
of the respective numbers of free tenants and villeins.
Numerous deeds dating from the late 13th and early
14th centuries show, however, that there were many
free tenants having the right to sell and exchange
their property or bestow it in free alms. The families
of Sireman, Cray, Seliman, and Smith all of Fugglestone St. Peter, and the families of Nosuch and Falk
of Quidhampton were constantly selling and exchanging property in this way in the latter part of
the 13th century. (fn. 65) In 1567 there were 3 free tenants
in Washern and South Ugford and 21 customary
tenants; while in 1631–2 there were 22 tenants by
indenture in Bulbridge, Washern, and South
Ugford, but only 5 tenants by copy. There were also
14 tenants by indenture within Wilton Park, but
most of them held only a house and garden plot.
The inclosure within Wilton Park and the practice
of letting out big areas of land to large-scale farmers
resulted in a reduction in the number of family
farmers. This process was more or less complete by
the early 19th century. In 1831 there were only two
farmers occupying their own land and they both
employed labourers. There were no owner-occupiers
who farmed their land by themselves. In contrast,
there were 113 adult male agricultural labourers. (fn. 66)
MILLS
The existence of a mill in the suburb of Bulbridge
in the 10th century may be inferred from the bounds
of a Saxon land grant, dated c. 956, (fn. 67) in which the
boundary at the Nadder went as far as the mill weir
somewhere near Bull Bridge. The Domesday survey
made no mention of any mills within the borough,
but the returns were not given in detail. There was,
however, a mill in Ugford worth 5s. (fn. 68)
In the 13th century the chief mill-owners of the
district were the Isembard family. They owned
three mills in 'Patchford', one of which became the
subject of a dispute in 1249 between Joan, wife of
the late John Isembard, who claimed it as part of
her dower, and William, son of Ralph Isembard; (fn. 69)
at the same time William Fabyan quitclaimed to
Robert, son of John Isembard, 1 messuage and 3
mills in Wilton. (fn. 70) Some fifty years later, in 1305,
Clarice, widow of Robert Isembard, assured the
reversion of a messuage, mill and virgate of land,
which was her dower, to Richard of Chisledon, (fn. 71)
but in 1316 Joan Isembard of Wilton quitclaimed
to Ambrose of Newton 2 messuages, 3 mills and
25 a. of land in Wilton and South Newton, of which
one mill still formed the dower of Clarice. (fn. 72) The
site of one of the Isembard mills was in Mill Lane,
off South Street, and was known right up to the
16th century as Isembard's mill. (fn. 73)
The Harvey family were also mill-owners in the
13th century and they possessed the Bulbridge mill
amongst others; it seems likely that this mill occupied
the same site as that mentioned above in the Saxon
land charter. In 1248–9 Agnes, wife of Sabar of
Bulbridge ('Burebrigg'), claimed from Ralph Harvey
as her dower ⅓ of 2 mills with some land, all lying
within the borough. (fn. 74) In 1270–1 William of Bishopstrow, clerk, quitclaimed to Ralph Harvey and his
wife Juliet his right in half the mill of 'Chaldewell'
in Ugford, to be held by Ralph and his wife in
perpetuity. (fn. 75) In 1287 Ralph Harvey, descendant of
the former Ralph, and his wife Maud quitclaimed
to John Goldrun, burgess, and his wife Joan their
mill of Bulbridge. (fn. 76) Late-13th-century records
mention yet another mill in the suburb of Ditchampton, which at the end of the reign of Henry III
was in the possession of a certain John of Bideford. (fn. 77)
It has been seen that one of the three mills existing
within the borough at the end of the 13th century
was situated in Mill Lane in the neighbourhood of
South Street; the other two may have been the Crow
Mill, in Crow Lane, and Plane Mill, off Minster
Street, which still existed in the 16th century. (fn. 78)
Apart from the mills already mentioned in the
suburbs of Bulbridge, Ugford, and Ditchampton
there was one in Washern. The abbey had its own
mill, known as Monastery Mill; it is clearly discernible on the Washern side of the Nadder in the sketch
of Wilton made for the Pembroke survey, c. 1568, (fn. 79)
but by then it was known as 'Herbert's Mill'. In
1382–3 the Abbess of Wilton acquired from Henry
Haversham two mills in Wilton, one described as a
water mill and the other as a fulling mill, together
with 12 a. of land in Washern; she enfeoffed three
chaplains with these mills but retained the profits
herself. (fn. 80) The water mill was that situated in Mill
Lane which retained the name of Isembard's mill;
at the Dissolution it passed to Sir Thomas Hall and
later to his heir Osmund Hall who farmed it at £4
a year, (fn. 81) and henceforth it was usually called 'Hall's
Mill'; tenants of Washern, Fugglestone, Netherhampton and Quidhampton owed suit to this mill.
In the 17th century the mill was leased by Humphrey
Ditton and his sons, (fn. 82) but there is no evidence of its
survival into the 18th century, by which time it had
probably become derelict, and left only its name to
the lane in which it had stood.
The fulling mill on the Nadder was also known
as the 'wodemyll' and it was situated in Washern.
Before the Dissolution it was farmed out by the
abbey to Richard Crede, a clothier of Bulbridge, and
in 1517–18 Richard's son Henry was tenant. After
the Dissolution it passed with the other possessions
of the abbey to Sir William Herbert, but Henry
Crede continued for some time as tenant. In 1538–9
the tenant was Margaret, widow of William Clement,
described as a rich clothier. In 1545 it was wantonly
destroyed by Christopher Willoughby, a leading
burgess and notorious troublemaker, (fn. 83) and the site
of the mill is only suggested by the adjoining
Wodmyllmead, inclosed with the rest of Washern
within Wilton Park. (fn. 84)