The Well House Collection | Books

Books of Local Interest

The books listed below contain information about the Melksham area, and some areas beyond. They would be of local historic interest. Some of the original copies of these books are part of The Well House Collection and can be viewed at the museum.

Melksham area

MELKSHAM GUIDE		FULL BOOK (retypeset from original) - .pdf download is 781 KB and contains 108 pages. Printed and published by T Ward in 1814
Containing an account of the saline aperient and chalybeate spa; the hot, tepid, and cold baths; the disorders in which the waters have been found efficacious; and the best methods of using them. To which is added a descriptive account of the town, the principal seats, picturesque situations, antiquities, market towns, &c. within the distance of twenty miles.

PARISH CHURCH OF ST MICHAEL		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 1.6 MB and contains 16 pages. Printed by Blugg Printer, Trowbridge c 1925
Historical Guide by B Watkins, PhD. Being principally a re-edited and revised edition of "The Parish Church of Melksham" by the Rev. Canon Wyld. Contains historical information about the church and advertisements of the age.

MELKSHAM AND ST MICHAELS IN WAR AND PEACE		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 2.7 MB and contains 68 pages. Written by Prof. Brian Thomas. Published by The Well House Collection 2014
Some Recollections of 80 Years Ago; Brian Thomas reflects on his life in Melksham as a young boy growing into adulthood, with many fond memories of his school days at St Michaels and his antics about the town.

LISTED TOMBS IN ST MICHAELS CHURCHYARD		LINK - In 1991, an inventory was taken of the Grade II listed structures in the courtyard of St Michaels and All Angels Church in Melksham.
Don and Megan Watt's work comprises an important analysis of the (then) current conditions of these tombs.

MELKSHAM COTTAGE HOSPITAL MEMORIES		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 3.2 MB and contains 28 pages. History of Melksham Hospital contributed by Mrs Roseware and collated by Lillian Holland. Published 1991.
A compilation of memories from the people of Melksham and surrounding district. Incorporating Melksham Hospital from 1868-1991.

THE NEW HOSPITAL AT MELKSHAM		NEWSPAPER SPECIAL - .pdf download is 15.5 MB and contains 8 pages. Special pull-out section printed by Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser. Published 23 July 1938.
A very detailed decription of the new Melksham Hospital on Spa Road and contains a timeline history of previous Melksham hospitals.

BLOOM IN MELKSHAM		BOOKLET - .pdf download is 1.1 MB and contains 20 pages. Published by The Well House Collection 2014
Celebrating Melksham's History of Flowers. Produced as an exhibition piece for the 2014 Melksham in Bloom competition to show that Melksham's history is steeped in the love of its flowers.

SOCIAL AUDIT AVON RUBBER		FULL STUDY - .pdf download is 37.7 MB and contains 96 pages. Published by Social Audit (Spring 1976)
An independent assessment of Avon Rubber Company Ltd.'s activities, as they affect employees, consumers, and the local community. Vol. 2, Nos 3 & 4.

DIARY OF THOMAS WILSHERE		FULL TRANSCRIPT - .pdf download is 2.8 MB and contains 14 pages. Transcribed by J E O Wilshere in 1966
Extracts of a diary written in 1841 by Thomas Wilshere of Near-the Bridge, Melksham.

WILTSHIRE THE WALNUTS BEANACRE		SALES BROCHURE - .pdf download is 2.6 MB and contains 12 pages. For Sale By Auction at the Town Hall on Wednesday, 26th July, 1961. Vendor: Ivan Cochrane Keir

THOMAS HARDY PROPOSES TO MARY WAIGHT		FULL BOOKLET - .pdf download is 6 MB and contains 9 pages. By Constance M Oliver (Mary Waight's grand-daughter). As told to J Stevens Cox in September 1963, with an introduction by Richard Curle.

Covering Wiltshire

NOTES & QUERIES Vol 1		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 40.2 MB and contains 654 pages. Printed in 1896 by G Simpson, Jun, Devizes
A compilation of an illustrated quarterly antiquarian & genealogical magazine printed from 1893 to 1895. A wealth of local information containing articles and parish records that would interest historians and genealogists.

NOTES & QUERIES Vol 2		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 35.1 MB and contains 692 pages. Printed in 1899 by G Simpson, Devizes
A compilation of an illustrated quarterly antiquarian & genealogical magazine printed from 1896 to 1898. A wealth of local information containing articles and parish records that would interest historians and genealogists.

NOTES & QUERIES Vol 3		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 30 MB and contains 678 pages. Printed in 1902 by G Simpson, Devizes
A compilation of an illustrated quarterly antiquarian & genealogical magazine printed from 1899 to 1901. A wealth of local information containing articles and parish records that would interest historians and genealogists.

NOTES & QUERIES Vol 5		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 39.4 MB and contains 658 pages.Printed in 1908 by G Simpson, Devizes
A compilation of an illustrated quarterly antiquarian & genealogical magazine printed from 1905 to 1907. A wealth of local information containing articles and parish records that would interest historians and genealogists.

NOTES & QUERIES Vol 6		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 35.4 MB and contains 682 pages. Printed in 1911 by G Simpson and Co, Devizes
A compilation of an illustrated quarterly antiquarian & genealogical magazine printed from 1908 to 1910. A wealth of local information containing articles and parish records that would interest historians and genealogists.

NOTES & QUERIES Vol 7		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 34.9 MB and contains 684 pages. Printed in 1914 by G Simpson and Co, Devizes
A compilation of an illustrated quarterly antiquarian & genealogical magazine printed from 1911 to 1913. A wealth of local information containing articles and parish records that would interest historians and genealogists.

NOTES & QUERIES Vol 8		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 31.8 MB and contains 628 pages. Printed in 1917 by G Simpson and Co, Devizes
A compilation of an illustrated quarterly antiquarian & genealogical magazine printed from 1914 to 1916. A wealth of local information containing articles and parish records that would interest historians and genealogists.

WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGY		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 14.4 MB and contains 172 pages. The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine, Volume 89.
Contents: Prehistoric Sites and a Romano-British Settlement at Butterfield Down, Amesbury; A Romanao-British Farmstead and Associated Burials at Maddington Farm, Shrewton; West Chisenbury, Settlement and Land-use in a Chalk Downland Landscape; Royal Itineraries and Medieval Routes; Wiltshire Deer Parks, an Introductory Survey; William Lisle Bowles, the Making of the Bard of Bremhill; A Provisional Checklist of Fossil Insects from the Purbeck Group of Wiltshire; The Common Stinging Nettle in Wiltshire; Excavation and Fieldwork in Wiltshire 1994.

WILTSHIRE MOONRAKERS		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 12.9 MB and contains 400 pages. Edition of West Countrie Rhymes by Edward Slow. Printed in 1903.
Slow's version of the county legend "The Wiltshire Moonrakers" that respects the origin of the story, founded upon by William Little's tale as published in the mid 1800s by John Yonge Ackerman. This book contains a series of poems to represent "fair specimens of our good Old County Dialect."

ROUND ABOUT WILTSHIRE		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 19.7 MB and contains 472 pages. Select favourite areas by Arthur Granville Bradley. Printed in 1907.
The author describes areas such as Marlborough, Savernake and Salisbury, and various roads inbetween. Melksham is bypassed.

Other Locations

LONDON MARRIAGES		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 100.8 MB and contains 866 pages. Edited by Joseph Foster.
London Marriage Licenses 1521-1869, from excerpts by the late Colonel Chester, DCI, with memoir and portrait. Published in London by Bernard Quaritch in 1887.

Military History

RANK & BADGES		FULL BOOK - .pdf download is 17.5 MB and contains 32 pages. Illustrated by H Abraham, printed 1942
Rank and badges in the British Navy, Army, RAF and Auxiliaries: A fully coloured guide to the badges worn by members of His Majesty's Forces. Edited by EC Talbot-Booth, Paymr-Lieut-Commandr RNR, Published by George Philip & Son, London.

Miscellaneous

SLAVE TRADE		FULL VERSE - .pdf download is 165.5 KB and contains 16 pages. “A Poem on the Inhumanity of the Slave Trade” by Anne Yearsley in 1788.
English poet and writer, Anne Yearsley was one of the prominent Bristol women who campaigned against the Bristol slave trade. She retired to Melksham after her husband's death; she died in 1806.

Other

RAILWAY OPENS		A PLAY - An article in the Devizes & Wiltshire Gazette from Thursday, 7 September 1848 describes the opening of the Wils, Somerset and
Weymouth Railway in such vivid terms that a play just naturally writes itself. Picture yourself in Melksham Town Hall amongst some of the most prominent historical figures of the day, including Isambard Kingdom Brunel.