Pewsey
Pewsey is a large village in
Wiltshire with a population of over 3,000 people located approximately 80 miles west of
London. It is well connected for London being close to the M4 motorway and on the main London to Penzance railway line. For this reason Pewsey is popular as a location with commuters. It also has a growing music secne with bands such as Doubtless Sound leading the charge of new music leaving form the area.
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
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 arrived in 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.
The Pewsey
white horse is located on a steep slope of Pewsey Hill about a mile south of the village and can be viewed from several places in the surrounding area.
Pewsey is home to
Shelley Rudman who won the silver medal in the
skeleton bob at the
2006 Winter Olympics in
Turin.
Former
Channel 4 Political Editor
Elinor Goodman lives in Pewsey.
