Place:Pewsey, Wiltshire, England

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source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Pewsey is a large village, often considered a small town, at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire about west of London. It is well connected to London, the West Country and Wales being close to the M4 motorway and the A303 via the A345 which crosses the village. Also, the village is served by Pewsey railway station on the Reading to Taunton line. For this reason Pewsey is popular as a location with commuters.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Archaeological excavations on Pewsey Hill show evidence of a settlement in the 6th century. In the Tudor era the Manor of Pewsey belonged to the Duchess of Somerset. Several of the village's houses were built in this era: the timber framed cruck house at Ball Corner, Bridge Cottage on the Avon and the Court House by the Church.

In 1764 the founder of the Methodist movement John Wesley (1703–1791) preached at Pewsey's Church of England parish church. The rector at that time, Joseph Townsend, was responsible for building of the first bridge over the River Avon.

The Kennet and Avon Canal reached Pewsey in 1810. Of more significant lasting effect for the village was the arrival of the Great Western Railway in 1862 which allowed fast travel to London and to the West of Pewsey.

In 1898 Pewsey Carnival was first held, a tradition that flourishes today, a fortnight of events, including The Feaste, culminating in an Illuminated Procession in mid to late September.

A prominent statue of King Alfred the Great, the former Anglo Saxon King of Wessex and a local landowner, stands in the middle of the village.

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