At the Nursteed Centre, Devizes
Please note: 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. Some meetings may be 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.
Tuesday 17 September - "Reading old handwriting" with Jenny Pope. As coordinator of WFHS's team that transcribes old documents in the County Archives, Jenny is very well-placed to explain the the wide range of old writing that family historians may encounter.
Tuesday 15 October - "Extraordinary Wiltshire Women" - Ruth Butler. Discover the stories of Wiltshire women who shaped the nation's history - from medieval heiress Ela of Salisbury to a 20th century queen of speed The Hon Mary Bruce.
Tuesday 19 November - "Shipwrecks and Survivors" - Graham Warmington. In 1782 John Warmington was shipwrecked off S Africa and was one of 18 who survived a trek across tremendously difficult terrain, and was one of only four who returned to England.
Tuesday 10 December - Christmas Party (note - on the second Tuesday)
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Recent meeting - August - Our annual out-visit was to the Pewsey Heritage Centre SN9 5AF. Its collections highlight the social, agricultural and industrial aspects of the Vale of Pewsey over the past 150 years or so, and with a catalogue of over 10,000 objects available to search online. The warm welcome from the volunteers and the range of well-presented artifacts made an absorbing and informative visit.
Recent meeting - July - “West Country Myths and Legends” - Tony Painter. With a detailed knowledge of history from writing narratives for the Alan Godfrey series of old maps, Tony’s stories ranged far and wide. The most local to Devizes were the sad demise of Ruth Pierce and the quick thinking of the Moonrakers. Others extended geographically to the Caribbean and the Western Front and historically from the Cerne Abbas Giant to the Box Tunnel, but somehow always linking back in some way with the history or beliefs of West Country people over the centuries.
Recent meeting - June - "I Give and Bequeath" by long-time member Julia Hunt. Many of Julia's ancestors lived in Aldbourne, and she has transcribed almost all the wills left by villagers. Julia set the scene by explaining how and when wills were written, and which authorities held or now hold them. We then heard many examples of information that can be gleaned from wills and from the documents sometimes kept with them in the archives. We heard of loving spouses and parents, of a father despairing about his son's behaviour, of generous bequests, of careful division between family members that revealed favour or disfavour, and so on. It was a remarkable picture of life in the village, the name of which we learned is pronounced more as "Awbun" than "Ald-bourne".
Recent meeting - May - "Searching for Surnames: challenges, pitfalls and the downright ridiculous " - Kirsty Gray. Kirsty reminded us that there can appear to be many variations of the same family surname. She showed examples when there were up to ten variations of the same surname between parish registers and various censuses due to a variety of factors. The working man may have been illiterate and not able to spell, or read, his surname. The transcribing of poor handwriting was another possible area where errors happened. All these problems meant that the family historian had to be inventive in order to follow the family line.
Recent meeting - April - "Writing Your Family History" - Jackie Depelle. This was another successful hybrid meeting, with us in our usual meeting place and Jackie on-screen leading us through a wide range of options for creating enjoyable and understandable records for family and friends to enjoy. She gave us many useful clues for our improving our own record keeping and adding historical context from diverse places – never forgetting to record the original source and not just a web site.
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.
