At the Nursteed Centre, Devizes
Please scroll down for information about the Nursteed Centre, and also note that the Society's Resource Centre (ie for its office, libary, research etc) is on the Bath Road, at the other side of Devizes from the Nursteed Centre.
The Devizes Branch's regular meetings are on the third Tuesday of each month (except December) at 7.30pm. At some meetings we meet as usual and the presenter will 'arrive' on Zoom. See below for contact details, details of topics, venues and any changes. Everyone is welcome, and there is no charge. Tea/coffee available and time to chat or ask questions. Please keep an eye on this page for any changes.
Future meetings
Tuesday 18 August - our Branch's summer outing, this year to a guided tour at 2pm of the much-updated Trowbridge Museum. The Museum is in The Shires Shopping Centre, on the 2nd floor of Home Mills. Use the car park next to Asda, accessed from Bythesea Road, then use the Shopping Centre entrance close to Asda, head straight to Boswell’s Cafe, take the left fork and you will find us on your left. More details: Branch Chairman David Weaver on 01380 723191 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tuesday 15 September - "The story of Wagons to Cars in North Wiltshire" - Mike Stone. Every market town in North Wiltshire had its own wagon works supplying to both the agriculture industry and urban markets. The founding of the British motor industry in 1896 when there were only 20 cars in the whole of the country was an early warning sign that things were to change. This presentation will look at the winners and losers in North Wiltshire as the car industry took off.
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Recent meetings
July - “A fresh look at the Battle of Roundway 1643”- our local member Dr Norman Beale gave an informative and entertaining talk about the battle on the hill above Devizes. He set the scene with personalities, politics and geography of the Civil War before homing in on the battle itself. Some historians’ views differ, so (with the aid of Wallace & Gromit’s armchair!) he gave us the results of his own research and in particular the location of the "Bloody Ditch" where fleeing Parliamentarian forces plunged to their deaths. Norman closed by observing that this important battle deserved a memorial marker or plaque as found for other Civil War actions.
June - Helen Parker-Drabble uncovers hidden stories using her counselling training to explore how our ancestors’ experiences might have shaped them. That description, received in advance, gave little hint of one of the most moving stories heard by our Branch. Helen’s father caught Bovine TB as a toddler and – like hundreds of thousand more - spent much of his childhood in isolation hospitals. We heard about the physically and psychologically harsh regimes of those days. The impacts on him were life-long, although an uplifting family story entwined. Helen encouraged us to look afresh at ancestors found separated from family and for possible underlying causes and results. There is much more about this and associated topics on Helen’s website
May - "Care of Photographs". Beverley Walker gave us wide-ranging of advice about looking after photographs, including those old ones, maybe long-forgotten in a cupboard. She talked about displaying them in albums - acid-free of course - and making use of modern applications and AI to restore or enhanced the images. She stressed the familar, and often ignored, reminders to label or annotate with dates, places and names in order to help family members in the future, and maybe ourselves in case memories began to fade.
April - "The life and death of a Country Policeman" - Judy Rouse. This was a welcome return by Judy, one of WFHS’s familiar speakers. Her story related to one of her ancestors, Sergeant Enos Molden, who was the first policeman to be murdered on duty in Wiltshire. Judy spent time telling about Enos’s life, his training, equipment, responsibilities and popularity. As we felt that we were getting to know him, the story turned to his death when bravely trying to apprehend John Gurd who was already known to be armed and violent.
March - "Lloyd George Domesday 1910-1915 and National Farm Survey 1941 - 1943". The longish title to this talk by Gill Blanchard reflected the complexities of these major two surveys. She shared the background to their production during war years and what they could reveal – which is lots! We are particularly fortunate as the Domesday Survey (nick-named after its sole predecessor) data and its splendidly detailed maps for Wiltshire were among the first to appear on TheGenealogist. The 300,000 farm records in the second Survey are being digitised by TNA. Until they are online, much is already available if you know where to look – see TNA’s guide.
February - "Read all about it - using newspapers to bring your ancestors to life" by Claire Dimond-Mills. Claire, a genealogist and local guide, discussed many ways to reveal the lives of our ancestors. Birth anouncements were always welcome, but marriage and death notices could sometimes reveal other details not found elsewhere such careers, major successes and maybe little-known relatives. Reports of inquests and court cases were often very detailed, and advertisements for businesses and for sales were worth looking out for. Claire left us thinking about modern papers and "What would our descendants conclude about us?"
The Nursteed Centre - our usual meeting place for the Devizes Branch of WFHS
Meetings: Nursteed Centre, Nursteed Road, Devizes SN10 3AH, (Click for map) third Tuesday of each month, 7.30pm
Access: 800 yards along A342 towards Andover: signed on the right by the pedestrian crossing.
Contact: Branch Chairman David Weaver on 01380 723191 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
