Another corner of old England...

Our nearest town is Mere in Wiltshire. It's an ancient place. Judging from the artefacts found in local burial mounds, there was an active farming community here from 2000BC. An old track way along the top of Mere Down, going east/west, probably began as a pathway between camps on the high ground. It later became a road for transporting lead mined in the Mendips and, later still, for driving sheep and cattle to market from the west to fairs at Wilton and Salisbury.

Dominating the town of Mere is Castle Hill (you can just see the Union Jack flying on it above the shops on the right), on which Richard, Earl of Cornwall, son of King John, built a fortified castle in 1253. Over the centuries it fell into disrepair and much of the stone was brought down the hill to use in the building of the houses in Mere.

Charles II broke his journey in Mere, when fleeing in disguise after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. He dined at the George Hotel in the Square (now the George Inn in the middle of the photo).

The 17th century saw the introduction of the stagecoach and with it the demand for overnight accommodation. Mere became a staging post for travellers on the London to Exeter route. It became a turnpike road and still has milestones dated 1750.

Some of you might remember Mere before its bypass was built in 1976. The main road from London to Devon and Cornwall was the small road on the right of the photo. It was one of the biggest traffic bottlenecks in Southern England!