WARMINSTER, a market-town and parish in the
hundred of WARMINSTER, county of WILTS, 21 miles
(W. N. W.) from Salisbury, and 97 (W. S. W.) from Lon-.
don, containing 5612 inhabitants. Antiquaries are at
variance respecting the etymology of its name: according
to Camden, this was the Verlucio of the Romans,
and he considers the first syllable to be a corruption
of that of its ancient appellation: others deduce it,
from the wears near which the town stood, and from a
minster, or monastery, stated to have been once situated
in its vicinity; which conjecture receives confirmation
from the supposed site being still called "The
Nunnery," and a walk upon the neighbouring hillj
"Nuns' Path." At the Conquest it was denominated
Guermistre, and, according to the Norman survey, was
then possessed of many privileges; at a later period it
became celebrated for its corn market, which, in the
time of Henry VIII., appears to have been of considerable
note. The town is situated on the river Willey,
near the south-western extremity of Salisbury Plain, and
consists principally of one street, nearly a mile long>
well paved by the commissioners of the roads, and of
clean appearance} it is considered one of the most healthy
towns in England, and has been remarked for the longevity
of its inhabitants. The malt trade was formerly
carried on hereto a greater extent than in any other town
in the West of England, and it is still a respectable
branch of trade; the manufacture of broad cloths and
kerseymeres was also much more extensive than it is
at present: the silk business has been recently introduced,
and affords employment to many females and
children. The market, which is on Saturday, is very
considerable for the sale of corn: the whole is previously
warehoused in the town, and a sack from every load is
pitched in the market-place: the average quantity sold
each market day is from two to three thousand quarters,
and the annual value, in 1828, exceeded £160,000.
The want of a canal navigation is, however, beginning
to affect this trade; and Devizes, which possesses
this advantage, promises, within a few years, to rival
it successfully. Fairs are held on April 22nd, August
10th, and October 26th; the last is pre-eminently
called "The Great Fair," for sheep, cattle, and cheese.
A high constable, deputy constables, and tythingmen,
are chosen annually at the manorial court of the Marquis
of Bath. The county sessions of the peace for
the summer quarter are holden here annually in July.
A court of requests, for the recovery of debts not exceeding
£5, is held every fortnight, on Tuesday, at
Warminster and Westbury alternately, the jurisdiction
of which extends over the hundreds of Warminster,
Westbury, and Heytesbury: petty sessions are held
monthly by the neighbouring magistrates. The town
hall has been lately pulled down, and the Marquis of
Bath has erected, at his own expense, a noble building
in the centre of the market-place, in the same elegant
style of architecture as his lordship's own mansion at
Longleat, comprising every accommodation for holding
the sessions, and a handsome suite of apartments for
assemblies, public meetings, &c.
The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and
diocese of Salisbury, rated in the king's books at
£18. 0. 2., and in the patronage of the Bishop of Salisbury.
The parochial church, dedicated to St. Denis,
is situated on the Bath road, near the north-western extremity
of the town, and is a spacious and handsome
structure, of various styles of architecture, with a
tower rising from the centre, originally built about the
time of Edward III., but the body and aisles were rebuilt,
on the old foundation, in 1724. A proprietary
chapel, founded in the reign of Edward I., and dedicated
to St. Lawrence, stands near the market-place;
it was endowed by two maiden sisters, named Hewett,
and is vested in feoffees; the original tower remains,
but the body of the chapel was rebuilt in 1725, and has
lately been repaired and beautified. A new church,
called Christ Church, has also been recently built by
voluntary subscriptions, aided by a grant from the parliamentary
commissioners; it occ\ipies an elevated site,
and forms an interesting object in the view of the townr
many other improvements have also been made. There
are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Wesleyan
Methodists, and Unitarians. A free grammar
school was built and endowed by the first Viscount Weymouth:
the appointment of the master belongs to the
Marquis of Bath; he receives a salary of £30 per annum,
for which twenty boys are instructed. A National
school for boys and girls, and a Lancasterian school
for girls,'are supported by voluntary contributions. A
variety of Roman coins, both of silver and brass,  has
been, found here. In the vicinity are many British
tumuli, and several remains of Roman encampments,
particularly Battlesbury, a strong earthwork with
double sides, where spear-heads and other weapons
have been occasionally ploughed up. Near this intrenchment,
on the edge of the river Willey, a beautiful
tesselated pavement, and the foundations of a Roman
villa, with its hypocaust, sudatory, &c., were discovered,
in 1786: among other portraits was a figure of Diana,
with a hare; the former was too much injured to be
removed; the latter is carefully preserved at Longleat
House. On the west side of the town is Clay hill, a steep
and conical eminence surmounted by a tumulus; it is
nearly nine hundred feet above low water mark at
Bristol, and was formerly used as a beacon. The environs
are rich in fossil remains, many of which have
been deposited in the British Museum. In the year
1816, a toad and a newt, both living, were found imbedded
in a thick stratum of rock, which had not the
smallest crack, or orifice; an account of this discovery
was published in the thirty-eighth volume of the Medical
and Physical Journal, for 1817. Dr. Huntingford,
Bishop of Hereford; and Dr. Samuel Squire, Bishop of
St. David's, an able and learned writer, were natives of
this town.