Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities and ...

with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

to the southwest,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

to the west,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

to the southeast,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

to the north,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

to the northeast and

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

to the east. The

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

was originally Wilton, after which the county is named, but

Wiltshire Council Wiltshire Council is a council for the unitary authority of Wiltshire (excluding the separate unitary authority of Swindon) in South West England, created in 2009. It is the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council (1889–2009) and the ...

is now based in the county town of

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England, on the River Biss in the west of the county. It is near the border with Somerset and lies southeast of Bath, 31 miles (49 km) southwest of Swindon and 20 miles (32 km) southe ...

. Within the county's boundary are two

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

areas, Wiltshire and Swindon, governed respectively by Wiltshire Council and

Swindon Borough Council Swindon Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Swindon in Wiltshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. As such, it is administratively separate fro ...

. Wiltshire is characterised by its high

downland Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...

and wide valleys.

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

is noted for being the location of the

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...

and

Avebury Avebury () is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in t ...

stone circle A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The be ...

s (which together are a UNESCO Cultural and World Heritage site) and other ancient landmarks, and as a training area for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. The city of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

is notable for its medieval cathedral.

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

is the county’s largest town and commercial centre, with a population of 230,000. Large

country houses An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

open to the public include

Longleat Longleat is an English stately home and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster and Westbury in Wiltshire, ...

(where there is also a

safari park A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. A safari park ...

) and the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

Stourhead Stourhead () is a 1,072-hectare (2,650-acre) estate at the source of the River Stour in the southwest of the English county of Wiltshire, extending into Somerset. The estate is about northwest of the town of Mere and includes a Grade I listed ...

Toponymy

The county, in the 9th century written as ''Wiltunscir'', later ''Wiltonshire'', is named after the former county town of Wilton.

History

Wiltshire is notable for its pre-

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. The

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

people that occupied southern Britain built settlements on the hills and downland that cover Wiltshire.

and

are perhaps the most famous Neolithic sites in the UK. In the 6th and 7th centuries Wiltshire was at the western edge of

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Britain, as

Cranborne Chase Cranborne Chase () is an area of central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. It is part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The area is dominated by, ...

and the

Somerset Levels The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, England, running south from the Mendip Hills, Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Somerset Levels have an area of about and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to ...

prevented the advance to the west. The Battle of

Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough. The Kennet and Avon Canal and the Reading to Taunton ...

was fought in 675 between Escuin, a West Saxon nobleman who had seized the throne of Queen Saxburga, and

King Wulfhere Wulfhere or Wulfar (died 675) was King of Mercia from 658 until 675 AD. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of North ...

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...

. In 878 the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

invaded the county. Following the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

in 1066, large areas of the country came into the possession of the crown and the church. At the time of the

Domesday Survey Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

, the industry of Wiltshire was largely agricultural; 390

mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name *Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Unit ...

are mentioned, and

vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

at Tollard and Lacock. In the succeeding centuries sheep-farming was vigorously pursued, and the Cistercian monastery of

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

exported wool to the Florentine and

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

markets in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the 17th century

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

Wiltshire was largely Parliamentarian. The

Battle of Roundway Down The Battle of Roundway Down was fought on 13 July 1643 near Devizes, in Wiltshire during the First English Civil War. Despite being outnumbered and exhausted after riding overnight from Oxford, a Royalist cavalry force under Lord Wilmot won a c ...

, a Royalist victory, was fought near

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century ...

. In 1794 it was decided at a meeting at the Bear Inn in Devizes to raise a body of ten independent troops of

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army, British Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve, descended from volunteer British Cavalry, cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of ...

for the county of Wiltshire, which formed the basis for what would become the

Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) was a Yeomanry regiment of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom established in 1794. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of the Territorial ...

, who served with distinction both at home and abroad, during the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry currently lives on as Y (RWY) Squadron, based in Swindon, and B (RWY) Squadron, based in Salisbury, of the

Royal Wessex Yeomanry The Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWxY) is a Reserve armoured regiment of the British Army Reserve consisting of five squadrons. Formerly part of 43 (Wessex) Brigade, the regiment joined 3rd (UK) Division in July 2014, to provide armoured (main battle ...

. Around 1800 the

Kennet and Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the cent ...

was built through Wiltshire, providing a route for transporting cargoes from

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

to London until the development of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

. Information on the 261 civil parishes of Wiltshire is available on Wiltshire Council's Wiltshire Community History website which has maps, demographic data, historic and modern pictures and short histories. The local nickname for Wiltshire natives is "

Moonrakers Moonrakers is the colloquial name for people from Wiltshire, a county in the West Country of England. Legend This name refers to a folk story set in the time when smuggling was a significant industry in rural England, with Wiltshire lying on th ...

". This originated from a story of

smuggler Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

s who managed to foil the local

Excise file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

men by hiding their alcohol, possibly French

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

in barrels or kegs, in a village pond. When confronted by the excise men they raked the surface to conceal the submerged

contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...

with ripples, and claimed that they were trying to rake in a large round cheese visible in the pond, really a reflection of the full moon. The officials took them for simple yokels or mad and left them alone, allowing them to continue with their illegal activities. Many villages claim the tale for their own village pond, but the story is most commonly linked with The Crammer in

Geology, landscape and ecology

Two-thirds of Wiltshire, a mostly

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

county, lies on

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...

, a kind of soft, white, porous limestone that is resistant to erosion, giving it a high

chalk downland Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...

landscape. This chalk is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the

Chalk Group The Chalk Group (often just called the Chalk) is the lithostratigraphic unit (a certain number of rock strata) which contains the Upper Cretaceous limestone succession in southern and eastern England. The same or similar rock sequences occur acr ...

and stretching from the

Dorset Downs The Dorset Downs are an area of chalk downland in the centre of the county Dorset in south west England. The downs are the most western part of a larger chalk formation which also includes (from west to east) Cranborne Chase, Salisbury Plain, Ham ...

in the west to

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

in the east. The largest area of chalk in Wiltshire is

, which is used mainly for arable agriculture and by the

as training ranges. The highest point in the county is the Tan Hill–

Milk Hill Milk Hill, located near Alton Priors east of Devizes, is the highest point in the county of Wiltshire, southwest England, at some above sea level (the adjacent Tan Hill rises to 294 m). It is the location of the Alton Barnes white horse ...

ridge in the

Pewsey Vale Pewsey Vale vineyard was founded in Eden Valley, South Australia during 1847 by Englishman, Joseph Gilbert. It is currently part of S.Smith and son. It was the first vineyard established in what is now the Eden Valley wine region

, just to the north of Salisbury Plain, at above sea level. The chalk uplands run northeast into

West Berkshire West Berkshire is a local government district in Berkshire, England, administered from Newbury by West Berkshire Council. History The district of Newbury was formed on 1 April 1974, as a merger of the borough of Newbury, Bradfield Rural Distric ...

in the

Marlborough Downs The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The name ''North Wessex Downs'' is not a traditional one, the area covered being better kno ...

ridge, and southwest into Dorset as

. Cranborne Chase, which straddles the border, has, like Salisbury Plain, yielded much Stone Age and Bronze Age

. The Marlborough Downs are part of the

North Wessex Downs AONB The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The name ''North Wessex Downs'' is not a traditional one, the area covered being better kno ...

(Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), a conservation area. In the northwest of the county, on the border with

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming part ...

and

Bath and North East Somerset Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) is a unitary authority district in England. Bath and North East Somerset Council was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the county of Avon. It is part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. Th ...

, the underlying rock is the resistant

oolite Oolite or oölite (''egg stone'') is a sedimentary rock formed from ooids, spherical grains composed of concentric layers. The name derives from the Ancient Greek word for egg (ᾠόν). Strictly, oolites consist of ooids of diameter 0.25–2 ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

of the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...

. Part of the Cotswolds AONB is also in Wiltshire, in the county's northwestern corner. Between the areas of chalk and limestone downland are

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

s and

vale A vale is a type of valley. Vale may also refer to: Places Georgia * Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region Norway * Våle, a historic municipality Portugal * Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municipali ...

s. The largest of these vales is the

Avon Vale The River Avon is a river in the south west of England. To distinguish it from a number of other River Avon (disambiguation), rivers of the same name, it is often called the Bristol Avon. The name 'Avon' is a cognate of the Welsh language ...

. The Avon cuts diagonally through the north of the county, flowing through

Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, s ...

and into

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and

. The Vale of Pewsey has been cut through the chalk into

Greensand Greensand or green sand is a sand or sandstone which has a greenish color. This term is specifically applied to shallow marine sediment that contains noticeable quantities of rounded greenish grains. These grains are called ''glauconies'' and c ...

and

Oxford Clay The Oxford Clay (or Oxford Clay Formation) is a Jurassic marine sedimentary rock formation underlying much of southeast England, from as far west as Dorset and as far north as Yorkshire. The Oxford Clay Formation dates to the Jurassic, specifical ...

in the centre of the county. In the south west of the county is the

Vale of Wardour The Vale of Wardour encompasses the valley of the River Nadder in the county of Wiltshire, England. Geography Topography The Vale of Wardour lies east of the town of Shaftesbury and is a relatively small but varied landscape. Named after the ...

. The southeast of the county lies on the sandy soils of the northernmost area of the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

. Chalk is a

porous Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void (i.e. "empty") spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure ...

rock, so the chalk hills have little surface water. The main settlements in the county are therefore situated at wet points. Notably, Salisbury is situated between the chalk of Salisbury Plain and marshy flood plains.

Green belt

The county has a

green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

mainly along its western fringes as a part of the extensive

Avon Green Belt The Avon Green Belt, also known as the Bristol and Bath Green Belt (or Bath and Bristol Green Belt), is a non-statutory green belt environmental and planning policy that regulates urban expansion and development in the countryside surrounding th ...

. It reaches as far as the outskirts of Rudloe/

Corsham Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south-eastern edge of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 national route, southwest of Swindon, southeast of Bristol, northeast of Bath and southwest o ...

and Trowbridge, preventing

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

particularly from the latter in the direction of

, and affording further protection to surrounding villages and towns from Bath in Somerset.

Climate

Along with the rest of

, Wiltshire has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than counties further east. The annual mean temperature is approximately . Although there is a marked maritime influence, this is generally rather less pronounced, than it is for other south-western counties, which have a greater proximity to the sea. The summer months of July and August are the warmest with mean daily maxima of approximately . In winter mean minimum temperatures of or are usual and air frost normally occurs frequently. In the summer the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

high pressure affects southwest England; however,

convective Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convect ...

cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton (Somerset). Most of the rainfall in the southwest is caused by Atlantic depressions or by

convection Convection is single or multiphase fluid flow that occurs spontaneously due to the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoyancy). When the cause of the convec ...

, though a proportion is caused orographically (uplift over hills). A greater proportion of rainfall is in autumn and winter, caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. Even so, any month can be the wettest or driest in a given year but the wettest is much more likely to be in the winter half-year (Oct-Mar) and the driest in the summer half-year (Apr-Sept). In summer, a greater proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms, though it is often the northern half of the county that sees most of the showers with south-westerly winds, in summer, whereas in the south of the county, the proximity of a relatively cold English Channel, often inhibits the development of showers. In autumn and winter, however, the sea is often relatively warm, compared with the air passing over it and can often lead to a higher rainfall in the south of the county e.g. Salisbury recorded over 200mm of rain in Nov 2009 and January 2014. Average rainfall for the county is around , drier parts averaging 700mm (28ins)and the wettest 900mm (around 35ins). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the southwest.

Economy

This is a chart of trend of regional

gross value added In economics, gross value added (GVA) is the measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy. "Gross value added is the value of output minus the value of intermediate consumption; it is a measure of ...

(GVA) of Wiltshire at current basic prices with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. The Wiltshire economy benefits from the "

M4 corridor The M4 corridor is an area in the United Kingdom adjacent to the M4 motorway, which runs from London to South Wales. It is a major high-technology hub. Important cities and towns linked by the M4 include (from east to west) London, Slough, Brackne ...

effect", which attracts business, and the attractiveness of its countryside, towns and villages. The northern part of the county is richer than the southern part, particularly since Swindon is home to national and international corporations such as

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...

Patheon Patheon is a service brand within Thermo Fisher Scientific’s brand portfolio. Contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services offered under the Patheon brand include small molecule API, biologics, viral vectors, cGMP plasmids ...

Catalent Catalent, Inc. (Catalent Pharma Solutions) is a multinational corporation headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey. It is a global provider of delivery technologies, development, drug manufacturing, biologics, gene therapies and consumer health p ...

(formerly known as

Cardinal Health Cardinal Health, Inc. is an American multinational health care services company, and the 14th highest revenue generating company in the United States. Its headquarters are in Dublin, Ohio and Dublin, Ireland (EMEA). The company specializes in th ...

Becton-Dickinson Becton, Dickinson and Company, also known as BD, is an American multinational medical technology company that manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems, and reagents. BD also provides consulting and analytics services in certa ...

WHSmith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and m ...

Early Learning Centre The Early Learning Centre (ELC) is a British retailer that sells toys aimed at younger children. It is part of The Entertainer (through its parent company TEAL Group Holdings). It was a subsidiary of Mothercare until 2019. History The origin ...

and Nationwide, with

Dyson Dyson may refer to: * Dyson (surname), people with the surname Dyson * Dyson (company), a Singaporean multinational home appliances company founded by James Dyson * Dyson (crater), a crater on the Moon * Dyson (operating system), a Unix general-pur ...

located in nearby

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the up ...

. Wiltshire's employment structure is distinctive in having a significantly higher number of people in various forms of

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

(especially

electrical equipment Electric(al) devices are devices that functionally rely on electric energy ( AC or DC) to drive their core parts (electric motors, transformers, lighting, rechargeable batteries, control electronics). They can be contrasted with traditional mech ...

and apparatus, food products, and beverages, furniture, rubber,

pharmaceuticals A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...

, and plastic goods) than the national average. In addition, there is higher-than-average employment in

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

and

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

, due to the military establishments around the county, particularly around

Amesbury Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settle ...

and

. There are sizeable

barracks at

Tidworth Tidworth is a garrison town and civil parish in south-east Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Lying on both sides of the A338 about north of the A303 primary route, the town is approximately west of Andover, south o ...

Bulford Bulford is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, close to Salisbury Plain. The village is close to Durrington and about north of the town of Amesbury. The Bulford Camp army base is separate from the village but within the parish. ...

and

Warminster Warminster () is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of about 17,000 in 2011. The 11th-century Minster Church of S ...

, and the

Royal School of Artillery The Royal School of Artillery (RSA) is the principal training establishment for artillery warfare in the British Army. Established in 1915, it is located at Larkhill, Wiltshire, on the south edge of Salisbury Plain in the United Kingdom. The Schoo ...

is at Larkhill. Further north,

RAF Lyneham Royal Air Force Lyneham otherwise known as RAF Lyneham was a Royal Air Force station located northeast of Chippenham, Wiltshire, and southwest of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The station was the home of all the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transpor ...

was home to the RAF's Hercules C130 fleet until 2011; the

MoD Lyneham Ministry of Defence Lyneham or MOD Lyneham is a Ministry of Defence site in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Chippenham and southwest of Swindon. The site houses the Defence School of Electronic and Mechanical Engineering. Also here is Pr ...

site is now a centre for Army technical training. Wiltshire is also distinctive for the high proportion of its working-age population who are economically active (86.6% in 1999–2000) and its low

unemployment rates This is a list of countries by unemployment rate. Methods of calculation and presentation of unemployment rate vary from country to country. Some countries count insured unemployed only, some count those in receipt of welfare benefit only, some cou ...

. The gross domestic product (GDP) level in Wiltshire did not reach the UK average in 1998, and was only marginally above the rate for South West England.

Education

Wiltshire has thirty county secondary schools, publicly funded, of which the largest is

Warminster Kingdown Kingdown School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form in Warminster, Wiltshire, England for students aged 11 to 18. Since 1 August 2011, the school has been an academy. History Kingdown School was built in 1960 in the east of Warminster a ...

, and eleven independent secondaries, including

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

, St Mary's Calne, Dauntsey's near

, and

Warminster School Warminster School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in Warminster, Wiltshire, England, for students aged three to eighteen. Initially established in 1707, the school took its current form in 1973 with the amalgamation of Lo ...

. The county schools are nearly all comprehensives, with the older pattern of education surviving only in

, which has two

grammar schools A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school, ...

(

South Wilts Grammar School South Wilts Grammar School, formerly South Wilts Grammar School for Girls, is a grammar school in Salisbury, south Wiltshire, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. Established in 1927, the school converted to an academy in 2011. In 2020, the name ...

and

Bishop Wordsworth's School Bishop Wordsworth's School is a Church of England boys' grammar school in Salisbury, Wiltshire for boys aged 11 to 18. The school is regularly amongst the top-performing schools in England, and in 2010 was the school with the best results in the ...

) and three non-selective schools. There are four

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...

colleges, which also provide some higher education: New College (Swindon);

Wiltshire College Wiltshire College & University Centre is a tertiary college of education founded in 2002 by the merger of Chippenham Technical College, Lackham College and Trowbridge College. Consolidation was completed with the merger of Salisbury College, whi ...

(Chippenham, Trowbridge and Salisbury);

Salisbury Sixth Form College Salisbury Sixth Form College (S6C) is a free school sixth form in the city of Salisbury in the English county of Wiltshire. The college was established in 2014 and opened in temporary accommodation. However the college moved into a new purpose-b ...

; and

Swindon College Swindon College is a further education college in Swindon, England. Its campus is at North Star, just north of the town centre. The college offers HNC/Ds and Foundation Degrees, through to B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ...

. Wiltshire is also home to a

University Technical College A university technical college (UTC) is a type of specialist secondary school in England that is led by a sponsor university and has close ties to local business and industry. These university and industry partners support the curriculum developm ...

UTC Swindon UTC Swindon is a University Technical College (UTC) in Swindon, England that opened in September 2014 for students of ages 14–19. The college specialises in engineering and is sponsored by Oxford Brookes University and Johnson Matthey Fuel C ...

, specialising in engineering. A second UTC,

South Wiltshire UTC South Wiltshire UTC was a mixed University Technical College (UTC) in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It opened in 2015 and catered for students aged 14–19 years. The college specialised in science and engineering, and was backed by the Univer ...

, was based in Salisbury but closed in August 2020. Wiltshire is one of the few remaining English counties without a university or university college; the closest university to the county town of Trowbridge is the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

. However,

Bath Spa University Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshire. The instit ...

has a centre at

Corsham Court Corsham Court is an English country house in a park designed by Capability Brown. It is in the town of Corsham, 3 miles (5 km) west of Chippenham, Wiltshire, and is notable for its fine art collection, based on the nucleus of paintin ...

, and

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...

maintains a minor campus in

(almost 50 km from Oxford). Swindon is the UK's second largest centre of population (after

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

) without its own university.

Service Children's Education Service Children's Education (SCE) is an organisation of the United Kingdom government responsible for the education of the children of British Armed Forces families and Ministry of Defence (MoD) personnel serving outside of the United Kingdom. ...

has its headquarters in

Trenchard Lines Royal Air Force Upavon or RAF Upavon is a former RAF station in Wiltshire, England. It was a grass airfield, military flight training school, and administrative headquarters of the Royal Air Force. The station opened in 1912 and closed in 1993, ...

Upavon Upavon is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portion of the River Avon which runs from north to south through the village. It is on the north edge of Salisbury Plain ...

, Wiltshire.

Demographics

The county registered a population of 680,137 in the 2011 Census. Wiltshire (outside Swindon) has a low population density of 1.4 persons per hectare, when compared against 4.1 for England as a whole. Historical population of Wiltshire county:

Politics and administration

Europe

At the 2016 European Union membership referendum, Wiltshire voted in favour of

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

Westminster Parliamentary

At the 2019 general election, all seven Wiltshire constituencies (including the two Swindon constituencies) returned

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MPs. The two Swindon constituencies are seen as marginal,

bellwether A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.bellwether
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Ret ...

constituencies between

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and the Conservatives. Conversely, the Chippenham constituency is traditionally contested between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, with Liberal Democrat

Duncan Hames Duncan John Hames (born 16 June 1977) is a Director of Policy at Transparency International UK and a former Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Chippenham constituency in Wiltshire from 2010 to 2015. Betwee ...

holding the seat until 2015. The Liberal Democrats also finished second in

North Wiltshire North Wiltshire was a local government district in Wiltshire, England, formed on 1 April 1974, by a merger of the municipal boroughs of Calne, Chippenham, and Malmesbury along with Calne and Chippenham Rural District, Cricklade and Wootton Bas ...

and

whereas Labour, in addition to the two Swindon seats, finished second in Wiltshire South West. The 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies' initial proposals recommended wide-ranging changes to Wiltshire's electoral boundaries which would see the

seat extended across the county border into Gloucestershire.

Councils

The ceremonial county of Wiltshire consists of two unitary authority areas, Wiltshire and Swindon, governed respectively by

and

. As a result of elections held in 2021, Wiltshire Council comprises 61

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, 27 Liberal Democrats, seven Independents and three

members. Swindon Borough Council has 34 Conservative councillors and 23 Labour members. Until the 2009 structural changes to local government, Wiltshire (apart from Swindon) was a two-level county, divided into four local government districts –

Kennet Kennet may refer to: Places in the United Kingdom *Kennet, Clackmannanshire, Scotland People *Baron Kennet, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom * D. Mark Kennet (born 1957), American economist *Josh Kennet (born 1987), English-Israel ...

and

West Wiltshire West Wiltshire was a local government district in Wiltshire, England, formed on 1 April 1974, further to the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the former urban districts of Bradford-on-Avon, Melksham, Trowbridge, Warminster and Westbur ...

– which existed alongside

Wiltshire County Council Wiltshire County Council (established in 1889) was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county. As a result of the 2009 restructur ...

, covering the same area and carrying out more strategic tasks, such as education and county roads. However, on 1 April 2009 these five local authorities were merged into a single

called Wiltshire Council. With the abolition of the District of Salisbury, a new

Salisbury City Council Salisbury City Council is a parish-level council for Salisbury, England. It was established in April 2009 and is based in the city's historic Guildhall. Following the May 2021 election, no party has an overall majority. Population The civil p ...

was created at the same time to carry out several citywide functions and to hold the city's charter.

Sport

The county is represented in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

by Swindon Town F.C., Swindon Town, who play at the County Ground, Swindon, County Ground stadium near

town centre. They joined the

on the creation of the Football League Third Division, Third Division in 1920, and have remained in the league ever since. Their most notable achievements include winning the Football League Cup in 1969 and the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1970, two successive promotions in 1986 and 1987 (taking them from the Football League Fourth Division, Fourth Division to the Football League Second Division, Second), promotion to the Premier League as Football League First Division, Division One play-off winners in 1993 (as inaugural members), the Division Two title in 1996, and their promotion to Football League One, League One in 2007 after finishing third in Football League Two, League Two. Chippenham Town F.C., Chippenham Town is the area's highest-ranked non-league football club; they currently play in the National League South after winning the Southern Football League, Southern Premier League in 2016/17, with a league record points tally of 103. After Salisbury City F.C., Salisbury City went into liquidation in 2014, a new club, Salisbury F.C., Salisbury, was formed and plays in the Southern Premier League. Wiltshire County Cricket Club play in the Minor Counties league. Swindon Robins Speedway team, who compete in the top national division, the SGB Premiership, have been at their track at the Blunsdon Abbey Stadium near Swindon since 1949. Swindon Wildcats compete in the English Premier Ice Hockey League, the second tier of British ice hockey, and play their home games at Swindon's Link Centre.

Principal settlements

Wiltshire has twenty-one Town#England and Wales, towns and one City status in the United Kingdom, city:

*Calne *Chippenham *

*Cricklade *

*Highworth (Borough of Swindon) *Larkhill *Ludgershall, Wiltshire, Ludgershall *

*Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough *Melksham *Mere, Wiltshire, Mere *Royal Wootton Bassett *

(city) *

(Borough of Swindon) *Tidworth *

*Westbury, Wiltshire, Westbury * Wilton A list of settlements is at List of places in Wiltshire.

Television

The county is covered by BBC West and ITV West; however, Swindon and Salisbury receive BBC South and ITV Meridian.

Places of interest

Places of interest in Wiltshire include: Areas of countryside in Wiltshire include: *

*Vale of Pewsey UKAL icon

Transport

Road

Roads running through Wiltshire include The Ridgeway, an ancient route, and Roman roads the Fosse Way, Roman road from London to Bath, London to Bath road and Ermin Way. National Cycle Network, National Cycle Route 4 and the Thames Path, a modern long distance footpath, run through the county. Routes through Wiltshire include: *A4 road (Great Britain), A4 road *M4 motorway / M4 Corridor *A303 road, A303 trunk road *A350 road *A417 road

Navigable inland waterways

*River Thames *

Canals subject to restoration

*Thames and Severn Canal *North Wilts Canal *Wilts & Berks Canal

Rail

Three main railway routes, all of which carry passenger traffic, cross Wiltshire. *Great Western Main Line (Swindon railway station, Swindon and Chippenham railway station, Chippenham) *Wessex Main Line (Bradford-on-Avon railway station, Bradford-on-Avon, Melksham railway station, Melksham, Trowbridge railway station, Trowbridge, Westbury railway station, Westbury, Warminster railway station, Warminster, Salisbury railway station, Salisbury; connects to Chippenham) *West of England line (Salisbury and Tisbury railway station, Tisbury) Other routes include: *Reading to Taunton Line *Heart of Wessex Line *Golden Valley Line *South Wales Main Line The major junction stations are Salisbury railway station, Salisbury and Westbury railway station, Westbury, and important junctions are also found at Swindon railway station, Swindon, and Trowbridge railway station, Trowbridge. There is also the Swindon and Cricklade Railway in the Thames Valley. In general, Wiltshire is well served by rail, with 14 stations within its boundaries, although towns not served include Calne, Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough and

. Several destinations on bus routes, including the aforementioned three towns, have integrated through ticketing where one ticket may be bought to cover both the bus and rail journey.

Air

Airfields in Wiltshire include Old Sarum Airfield and Clench Common Airfield.

was an air transport hub for British forces until its closure in 2012. Airports with scheduled services near Wiltshire include Bournemouth Airport, Bristol Airport, Cardiff Airport, Exeter Airport, Gloucestershire Airport, Oxford Airport, Heathrow Airport and Southampton Airport.