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With its wonderful surrounding countryside and good transport
links Warminster is an ideal place to set up home whether as a base
for work, raising a family or settling down to a happy retirement.
Local housing ranges from old cottages and town residences and apartments,
to the modern starter homes and more executive style properties
which are situated either in small developments or housing estates.
Mobile homes are situated at Woodcock Park. In recent years the
town has welcomed the building of several blocks of retirement apartments
in the town centre and several estates of bungalows provide sheltered
accommodation for the elderly. There are also retirement homes in
the town and nearby villages such as Sutton Veny and Longbridge
Deverill; some offering nursing facilities. Day clubs are held at
the Beckford Centre at St Johns Hall in Boreham Road, providing
company, meals, activities and  excursions
for senior citizens. For the young, there are small fenced and gated
areas with play equipment at The Dene, Grovelands Way, Haygrove
Close, The Heathlands, Portway Lane, Pound Street, Princess Gardens,
and Queensway. The Frank Moody Recreation Field, running alongside
Fore Street, also has play equipment and the grass field is much
used for football and other games.
THE LAKE PLEASURE GROUNDS
In the heart of Warminster and only a few steps from the Market
Place is the Lake Pleasure Grounds (known locally as the Park).
The main entrance is from Weymouth Street but access can be gained
by footpaths from all sides including the Ridgeway Slope which was
landscaped in 1977 and won an award from the Council for the Protection
of Rural England. The Lake Pleasure Grounds feature tennis courts,
a refreshment kiosk, and a bandstand where, during the summer months,
visiting brass and silver bands give free concerts on some Sunday
afternoons. Also here is the Warminster Park Community Centre used
by many community groups. The boating lake has two islands giving
a haven to many ducks, swans and herons. There are three play areas;
the King George V Playing Field with slides, swings, roundabouts,
climbing frames and a  paddling
pool; the adventure play ground for the more energetic and the Skate
Park, complete with half-pipes for use by skateboarders, roller-skaters
and BMX bikers. For those who want to take life a bit more easily
there are seats situated alongside the path which circles the lake.
All is enhanced by the flower beds which supply colour at all times
of the year
THE CIVIC TRUST GARDEN
Just inside the main entrance to the Lake Pleasure Grounds is
the Warminster Civic Trust Garden where hardy plants, trickling
water, a pergola and wooden seats offer an oasis for relaxation.
It was opened on 18 May 1996. The garden occupies the site of the
former Warminster Open-Air Swimming Baths and the cost was met by
several kind individuals, businesses, and trusts.
SMALLBROOK MEADOWS
Paths lead out of the eastern end of the Lake Pleasure Grounds
into Smallbrook Meadows, a designated Local Nature Reserve managed
by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. It is also within the  boundary
of a Special Landscape Area (SLA). Situated next to the Were stream,
measuring 13 hectares and divided into six small meadows, the reserve
also features a large pond as well as smaller ones. The diversity
of habitat provides suitable conditions for many birds including
kingfishers, sandpipers and dippers, and mammals such as the water
vole. Avens, marigolds and flags are among the flora and at certain
times the air is alive with orange tip butterflies, damsels and
dragonflies. A small car park is situated on the Henford Marsh road
below Willow Crescent. From here the path into the reserve has a
hard surface and is wheelchair friendly. Beyond the nature reserve,
to the east, there is a grassed recreational area and a tongue of
greenery following the River Wylye down stream to the picturesque
Wylye Valley villages of Boreham and Bishopstrow.
ARN HILL NATURE TRAIL Arn Hill rises to over 650 feet above sea
level and its woodland was donated to the town by the Marquess of
Bath in 1920. The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust have established a nature
trail around Arn Hill which passes a former lime-kiln (now in ruins)
and rises above the old-fashioned sheep walks of Kidnapper’s
Hole. This two-mile circular footpath allows the enjoyment of the
chalkland flora and its fauna. In the summer there are Fritillary
and Small Blue butterflies to be seen as well as Burnet Moths. The
birds include skylarks, meadow pipits, tree-creepers and chiffchaffs.
From the beech wood (which also features yews, holly and wayfaring
trees) the path joins the open plain area around the golf course
where views look north and east over the vast expanse of Salisbury
Plain, south east to the isolation of the Great Ridge Woods, south
towards neighbouring Dorset and west into the wetlands of Somerset.
A wooden seat on the part of the Down overlooking New Farm and the
Norridge Wood area is a good vantage point for seeing the distant
landmarks of Alfred’s Tower near Stourhead and the Mendip
television transmitter near Wells. Access to Arn Hill can be gained
from paths off the Westbury Road or from Elm Hill where there is
some car parking.
FIREWORKS On the Saturday evening closest to 5th November (Guy Fawkes
Night) adults and children gather at Gales Field between Elm Hill
and Imber Road, to see a bonfire and enjoy a spectacular firework
display organised by the local garrison. In the surrounding villages
also, displays are held which attract many local people.
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
During December the main streets of Warminster are illuminated
with colour by the annual Christmas Lights display. It is considered
to be the best of its kind for miles around  surpassing
neighbouring towns and cities. Strings of bulbs and decorations
above East Street, Market Place, High Street, George Street and
Silver Street are complemented by hundreds of illuminated Christmas
trees above nearly every shop front. These are put up (and taken
down) by a dedicated team of volunteers. The cost of trees is met
by shopkeepers and business people. A first for the Christmas Lights
team in 2009 was the staging of a Christmas Market with market traders
lining Market Place, roundabouts, food and mulled wine stalls, Santa’s
Grotto and a stage where local singers, bands and school children
played to the crowd. Santa, helped by the Mayor and local schoolchildren,
switched on the lights at dusk. Santa then spends most of the evenings
in the run-up to Christmas touring local streets in his sleigh,
helped by members of the Warminster Lions Club, handing out sweets
to young children while festive music is played via a loudspeaker
and his helpers go door-to-door collecting for local charities.
WARMINSTER IN BLOOM The main streets of Warminster are a blaze of
colour in the summer months with spectacular displays of hanging
baskets, tubs and boxes. The Warminster in Bloom competition is
judged by local dignitaries and nurserymen and at a special ceremony
held at Dewey House prizes are awarded for the best displays of
premises by shopkeepers, traders and pub landlords, and for the
gardens of local residents. Warminster folk certainly have green
fingers and the Tynings Allotments, on the corner of Bread Street
and Bradley Road give residents, particularly those with no gardens,
the opportunity for vegetable growing and poultry keeping. There
are several horticultural organisations. Warminster Gardening Club,
Warminster Floral Art Club, the Wylye Valley Flower Club, and the
Warminster Fuchsia Society all meet regularly for talks by experts
on all sorts of plants. Their shows and exhibitions, which are open
to the public, are well worth a visit.
VINTAGE VEHICLES On the last Wednesday evening in July the George
Inn at Longbridge Deverill, two miles south of Warminster, is the
venue for Noggin, Nosh and Natter, a long-established, informal
and free occasion when dozens of vintage cars, motorcycles, vans,
lorries, buses and tractors are shown by their owners who drink,
eat and chat while raising money for local charities. It is organised
by the Commercial Transport In Preservation group who come again,
this time to the centre of Warminster on the first Sunday in September,
using the Central Car Park as a stopping place during their annual
Bournemouth to Bath and R.A.F. Colerne road run. Some of the vehicles
have already travelled miles from their owners’ homes, from
as far afield as Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cambridgeshire, Cornwall
and Kent. Hundreds of people line the route to see many fine examples
of yesterday’s transport pass through. Another well-looked
forward-to event is the Vintage Bus Running Day, now held on a Sunday
in October, when yesteryear’s buses and coaches from all over
the country offer free rides from Warminster to neighbouring towns
and villages and back.
WARMINSTER CARNIVAL Warminster has been holding regular carnivals
for over a century. Now an annual highlight in the town’s
calendar, the carnival is held on the last Saturday evening in October,
a date specially chosen to attract some of the big illuminated floats
from the world-famous carnival circuit in the neighbouring county
of Somerset. Most of those taking part, though, are local entries
comprising the carnival royalty, bands, floats, masqueraders and
collectors. Run entirely by a small but very dedicated group of
volunteers who spend all year fund-raising to put the show on the
road, Warminster Carnival brings out a huge crowd of spectators
who line the main streets making it the biggest-attended spectacle
in the life of the town. Solicitations of small change from the
crowd are counted up afterwards and donated to local charities.
The week preceding the carnival features several events promoting
and funding the grand parade. The Fun Fair also visits the town
at this time, occupying the Central Car Park.
FAIRS AND MARKETS There was a market in Warminster when Thomas Mauduit
was lord of the manor in the first half of the 13th Century. His
son William obtained the grant of a fair in 1253 (St Laurence Fair
held on Aug 9-11). Henry Green was granted a second fair in 1477
(St Simon & St Jude fair Oct 22-29) and a third fair was granted
to Thomas Thynne in 1679 (St Denys fair April 10-12). The largest
of the fairs was the October one and many sheep and cattle were
sold as well as quantities of cheese. The weekly corn market was
held on Saturdays and the beast market on Mondays. The corn market
was the second largest in the West of England after Bristol. It
was a “pitched” market, one sack from each load brought
in being off-loaded as a sample, purchases were made between the
hours of 11 and 1 and were paid for immediately after the sale.
Until the Corn Exchange (now demolished) was built in 1855 all dealings
were carried out in the open apart from the small protection offered
by the colonnaded fronts, one of which still exists outside the
Old Bell Hotel. The corn market ceased to trade by 1920 and the
cattle market closed in 1968. Warminster now hosts three different
markets. The Friday Market is held during the morning in the northern
part of the Central Car Park. Also on Friday mornings, inside Warminster
Library, the Country Market (formerly the Women’s Institute
Market) is held. The Farmers’ Market is held outside the Library
on the third Friday every month.
SHOPPING
Warminster still retains its old market-town appeal with many
independent shops owned and run by local people. There are also
several national names giving residents and visitors a greater mix
of shopping opportunities. There are two supermarkets in Warminster
and the Market Place includes four banks all within a stone’s
throw of each other.
The Market Place and the High Street were traditionally the dedicated
retail area in Warminster but over the years the number of shops
has grown, spreading to the other main streets. Many of the shop
premises in Silver Street are now involved with the buying and selling
of antiques. George Street has a mixture of take-away food premises
and independent shops. East Street and Weymouth Street have local
traders too, while Chinn’s Court, off the south side of the
Market takes pride in its specialty and artisan shops. A doll’s
house and miniatures shop is at Copheap Lane while the residential
estates at Boreham Field, Broadway, Portway, and Prestbury are served
by convenience stores.
The need for extra shops in Warminster has necessitated the building
of two precincts. The Three Horse Shoes Walk, built in the early
1970s and improved in 1999, includes the  town’s
main post office. The Corn Market, the most recent development,
features a bronze statue of a girl sat high on a stack of grain
sacks gazing dreamily towards Copheap. This work of art called “Beyond
Harvest” is by the renowned sculptor Colin Lambert.
Castlemoor shopping centre off Fairfield Road has been added in
recent years with national retailers such as Argos and Focus, and
it is anticipated that a new retail centre will be opened within
2-3 years on the old Dents site, also off Fairfield Road.
ACCESS FOR THE DISABLED
Thankfully there are many dropped kerbs in Warminster, helping
wheelchair and scooter-users to get about the town. Most of the
shops have level access or ramps but where these are not available
shopkeepers are more than pleased to assist with access. Warminster
Shopmobility is a loan service of powered electric scooters or manual
wheelchairs to anyone with limited mobility. The service is based
next to the Warminster Information Centre in the Central Car Park
(outside are several parking bays for orange-badge holders) and
is open every Monday and Friday from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.  (Wednesdays
from 9.00 until 1.00) Use of the scooters is demonstrated for those
who are not familiar. Ryde Mobility Products in Chinn’s Court
also hire out scooters and wheelchairs.
PUBLIC HOUSES
Many of the present buildings in the Market Place (now shops and
offices) owe their early existence to the corn market being at one
time inns or hostelries offering food, drink and stabling to farmers
and corn dealers. Back in 1710 the town had 51 inns and had the
unusual sobriquet of being “the most drunken town in Wiltshire”.
Today, there are thirteen public houses in Warminster, each offering
its own individual blend of hospitality.
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