Market Place is a

town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

in the centre of

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-cent ...

in Wiltshire, England. In a northwards direction it merges into Northgate Street heading towards the

Wadworth Brewery Wadworth is a brewery company founded in 1875 in Devizes, Wiltshire, England, best known for their 6X beer brand. History Wadworth & Co. was founded in 1875 when Henry Wadworth purchased the Northgate Brewery in Devizes. It was not long before ...

, while southwards St John's Street connects it to the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

. It was sited close to the historic

Devizes Castle Devizes Castle was a medieval fortification in the town of Devizes, Wiltshire, England, on a site now occupied by a Victorian-era castle. It is a Grade I listed building. The original castle (not currently visible) was overbuilt by the current s ...

, but it was not until the demolition of its outer fortifications that it could fully develop. During the eighteenth century the area developed many

coaching inns The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the History of rail transport, development of the railway, providing a resting point (layover) for people and horses. The i ...

as it was located on one of the main routes between the capital London and the fashionable

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

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 ...

. From 1857 to 1966 it was served by

Devizes railway station Devizes railway station was the railway station serving Devizes in Wiltshire, England between 1857 and 1966. The station was on the Devizes branch line, between Pans Lane Halt and Bromham and Rowde railway station, Bromham & Rowde. Early plans ...

in nearby Station Road. Buildings facing on to it today include The Shambles

market hall A market hall is a covered space or a building where food and other articles are sold from stalls by independent vendors. A market hall is a type of indoor market and can be found in many European countries. The most common variation of a mar ...

, the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

Corn Exchange and several banks. While some of the old coaching inns have been converted to other uses, the square still prominently features the Bear Hotel, Pelican Inn and

Black Swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large Anatidae, waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent ...

. The Market Place also contains the

Market Cross A market cross, or in Scots, a mercat cross, is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. History Market crosses ...

built in 1814 to a design by

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

and the Estcourt Fountain, erected in 1879.Pevsner & Cherry p.210

References

Bibliography

* Buxton, David. ''Around Devizes in Old Photographs''. Sutton, 1990. * Pevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget . ''Wiltshire''. Yale University Press, 2002. Devizes Buildings and structures in Wiltshire Squares in England {{England-road-stub