Monday 14 November 1988

Before The Warminster Bypass By Andrew Houghton

BEFORE THE WARMINSTER BYPASS BY ANDREW HOUGHTON
.
This is the fourth book from the Warminster History Society, and the second in their planned series focusing attention on individual aspects of the past. Today, motorists and passengers take the modern road system for granted, but before the turn of the century travel by vehicle, let alone on foot, was a difficult and sometimes perilous matter.
.
Andrew Houghton, who is the Head of the Sixth Form at Kingdown School, Warminster, successfully tells the story of roads in theWarminster area from the time when Wiltshire had no properly constructed routes, continuing through the Roman period, to Mediaeval times and beyond to the inception, the working of, and the end of the Turnpike system.
.
For the most part, Andrew Houghton concentrates on the Warminster Turnpike Trust, which was in operation for 143 years, ending on 30th June 1870. In summing up the status and importance of the Warminster Turnpike Trust, he comments "It deserves to be better known as one of the oldest, not only in Wiltshire but in England. It is a rare example of a 'radiating' Trust; most other Trusts were through routes connecting major towns. The Warminster Trust was also remarkable in the range of its powers. All these features reflect the origin and purpose of the Trust: it was formed by prominent local people, whose primary intention was to serve what they saw as the interests of the Warminster community, rather than to benefit travellers from elsewhere."
.
The author's style of presentation leans towards academia rather than popular prose. It is interesting and factual, but the subject matter, by definition, provides a book essentially for historians and interested parties, as opposed to mass general public appeal. However, the accompanying maps and photographs, numbering 100 in total, go some considerable way to enhancing the text. The book's saving grace is the inclusion of a gazetteer, listing the location of surviving monuments of the Warminster Turnpike, namely milesposts, milestones and tollhouses. This not only gives the work "a useful life", but will also, the publishers hope, prompt readers into venturing out, with book and map in hand, to find these roadside relics for themselves.
.
Danny Howell.