Amesbury

On John Speed's map of Wiltshire (1611), the town's name is spelt both Amesbury (for the hundred) and Ambersbury (for the town itself). After the dissolution, Amesbury became a secular estate and was given to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford by the Crown; the Seymour family held the estate until 1675. A new mansion which took the name Amesbury Abbey was completed in 1661, designed for William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset (d. 1660) by John Webb in neo-classical style. The estate remained in the Queensberry family until 1824. It is believed that at some point in the early 19th century, William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensberry planted the Nile Clumps to commemorate Admiral Nelson, and had…

Although Stonehenge falls within the parish of Amesbury, the town does not directly benefit from the monument's fame. However, Amesbury has appeared in the public eye on its own merits in the past. In 2002, the discovery of the richest Bronze Age burial site yet found in Britain was made at Amesbury. The remains of two men of apparently aristocratic rank were accompanied by over 100 objects including arrowheads, copper knives and the earliest worked gold in the country. The occupant of the more richly furnished grave has become known as the "Amesbury Archer". The town is linked to the Arthurian legend as it is popularly believed that Guinevere retired to the original convent at Amesbury…