A SEAT WITH A VIEW - DEVIZES CRAMMER

We had a good service at Church this morning and afterwards Mr. HCB and I went out to look for a Seat With a View.  The sun was shining and it was a lovely day with beautiful blue skies and hardly any wind.  Our journey took us across the Wiltshire Downs through Avebury, past Silbury Hill and on to Devizes, a bustling market town which has great character and where Mr. HCB thought that I might be able to get some good photographs of the Crammer, a small lake or pond on the outskirts of the town, set between St. James Church and The Green.  

This is only a very small part of Devizes and there are many more old and interesting buildings, as well as the Kennet and Avon Canal and also Wadsworth’s Brewery - so perhaps I should find another seat sometime.

The origin of the name of the Crammer is not really known, but Dr Lorna Haycock in her “Guide to Devizes”, says that the name probably comes from the German “kramer”, meaning tradesman. The German merchants used to visit the town and set up their stalls on the small green next to the pond, hence the name.

There are many legends associated with Wiltshire, and those who come from Wiltshire are often referred to by the nickname “Wiltshire Moonrakers”.  I remember being told the story of how the Moonrakers got their name when I was still at school.  The legend goes that in 1791, some Wiltshire smugglers were approached by Excise or Customs Men as they would be known today, having seen the smugglers carrying barrels of contraband brandy, which they had quickly rolled into the Crammer so they wouldn’t get caught.  Once the Excise men had passed them, the smugglers used a long rake to try and retrieve the barrels and when approached again by the Excise men told them they were “raking out that gurt yaller cheese in yonder pond”.  Satisfied that the smugglers were yokels and rather foolish, they left them to it, but of course, the smugglers had the last laugh.

You can see Mr. HCB sitting on a seat looking out over the Crammer - it was quite noisy with lots of ducks, swans and gulls around - and it was quite strange to see several of the swans out on the grass, but as soon as anyone appeared, they were approached to see if they had any food - the one at the bottom was just having a little snooze.  

The brick cottages at the top left of the collage were built in 1874 and have an inscription of “B & M” above one of the doorways, but I cannot find out if there was a builder of that name there at that time.

In the middle top of the collage is Southbroom House, a lovely old house, built of Bath stone in 1773 and which is a Grade II Listed Building and originally owned by the Eyles family (spelt slight differently to our surname).  It was extended in the 19th and 20th century for use as part of a school and early in the Second World War, the buildings  were converted into a reception and dispersal centre for evacuees.  It is now a private residence and renamed Southbroom School House. 

Opposite is St. James’ Church, the clock tower for which can just be seen from where Mr. HCB is sitting, although it is well hidden by the trees.  We did walk over to the front of the church and although we tried the door to get inside, were told by someone chatting outside and who we think may have been the Vicar, that it was now locked and we couldn’t go in.  He wasn’t friendly enough to ask whether it was possible to just look inside, so we walked on!  

As we walked round the Crammer, something we had never done before, we were surprised to see what we think had been quite large houses at one time but which had now been converted into smaller ones.  The view through the headstones of the church at the top right of the collage shows a beautiful tree in all its autumn glory.

In the middle right is a view looking into the sun, so I thought I would take a shot of this - I know we are told not to shoot into the sun, but I rather liked the effect on the water.

At the bottom right is what appears to be quite an old public house, The Bell by the Green, which is a Wadworth’s pub and sells the beer that is brewed just around the corner in Devizes. Mr. HCB assures me that Wadworth’s 6X is a smooth beer - maybe we should have stopped so he could have had one!

I rather liked the various chimney pots on the cottages and houses - and you can see one at the bottom left.  Of course, ancient was mixed with modern, with television aerials and satellite dishes on most of them, but I managed to find one just as it was built.

A whistle-stop tour round one of the larger market towns of Wiltshire on a beautiful Autumn day - after the heavy rain yesterday, we were glad to get out and about.

Martin Luther is reputed to have said this and it made Mr. HCB laugh:

“Whoever drinks beer,
     he is quick to sleep;
whoever sleeps long,
     does not sin;
whoever does not sin,
     enters Heaven!
Thus, let us drink beer!”