One of the great things about travelling apart from meeting new people and observing other cultures, is re-visiting the places where you grew up. While Paula’s brother, Wal was in England he went to visit their old family home in Hilperton, Wiltshire, where Paula was born.
Paula is the youngest of 5 children so by the time she came along her mother had this baby birthing process off pat so she decided to have Paula at home. This was quite common in the past. Many women had their baby’s at home. She has 3 brothers and a sister, all of whom live in Australia. The family came to Australia when Paula was a baby.
Although Hilperton is an ancient parish that is part of the West Wiltshire district ward of Avonside in the county of Wiltshire, very little is known about the it. About all I could find was that in the 19th century the main sources of income were the home based cloth weaving enterprises.
It appears that Hilperton came into existence during the bronze age and there is evidence of Roman-British farming and some industrial use but other than that I drew a blank.
There is the mid 18th century limestone village lock-up known as the ‘Blind House. Village lock ups were places where drunks could be detained. and they would be released the next day when they sobered up. It was also used to hold those who were waiting to be brought before a magistrate. This is a fine example of a lock-up in Hilperton.
In 2012, Hilperton won the ‘Best Kept Village’ award.
If you are going on holiday to Hilperton or to nearby Trowbridge why not consider hiring a narrowboat at the Hilperton marina, and taking a cruise along the Avon Valley and down to Bath. Take the cruise at a leisurely pace and enjoy the scenery. Boats are available for parties of 2 up to 12 people.
Some of the places you can cruise to are:
- The world heritage city of Bath and visit the historic Roman Baths
- The medieval town of Bradford on Avon which is only an hour from Hilperton
- The Dundas and Avoncliff Aqueducts which take the canal over the River Avon
- The pumping station and the American museum at Claverton
- The spectacular Pulteney Weir and Bridge
Featured Photo of Hilperton Wharf and Bridge by Dr Neil Clifton
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