Market Cross, Devizes

Market Place is a town square in the centre of Devizes in Wiltshire, England. In a northwards direction it merges into Northgate Street heading towards the Wadworth Brewery, while southwards St John's Street connects it to the Town Hall. It was sited close to the historic Devizes Castle, but it was not until the demolition of its outer fortifications that it could fully develop. During the eighteenth century the area developed many coaching inns as it was located on one of the main routes between the capital London and the fashionable spa town of Bath. From 1857 to 1966 it was served by Devizes railway station in nearby Station Road. Buildings facing on to it today include The Shambles market hall, the Victorian Corn Exchange and several banks. While some of the old coaching inns have been converted to other uses, the square still prominently features the Bear Hotel, Pelican Inn and Black Swan. The Market Place also contains the Market Cross built in 1814 to a design by James Wyatt and the Estcourt Fountain, erected in 1879.

Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between Stephen of England and Empress Matilda, and again during the English Civil War when the Cavaliers lifted the siege at the Battle of Roundway Down. Devizes remained under Royalist control until 1645, when Oliver Cromwell attacked and forced the Royalists to surrender. The castle was destroyed in 1648 on the orders of Parliament, and today little remains of it. From the 16th century Devizes became known for its textiles, and by the early 18th century it held the largest corn market in the West Country, constructing the Corn Exchange in 1857. In the 18th century, brewing, curing of tobacco, and snuff-making were established. The Wadworth Brewery was founded in the town in 1875. Standing at the west edge of the Vale of Pewsey, the town is about 10.5 miles (16.9 km) southeast of Chippenham and 11 miles (18 km) north-east of the county town of Trowbridge. It has nearly five hundred listed buildings, some notable churches, a town hall and a green in the centre.

The Black Swan Hotel is a traditional inn and hotel in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. Overlooking the Market Place on the A360 road, the inn was built in 1737. It is associated with the nearby Wadworth Brewery. The inn is reputedly haunted; a young woman in a long dress is said to wander the corridors and walk through the walls. The building is Grade II* listed.

Kennet was a non-metropolitan local government district in Wiltshire, England, abolished as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government. It was named after the River Kennet. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the municipal boroughs of Devizes and Marlborough, alongside Devizes Rural District, Marlborough and Ramsbury Rural District and Pewsey Rural District. The district council was based at offices in Devizes. It was abolished on 1 April 2009 as part of the structural changes to local government in England, when its functions were taken over by the new Wiltshire Council unitary authority.

Devizes is a constituency in Wiltshire, England, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Danny Kruger, a Conservative.The constituency includes four towns and many villages in the middle and east of the county. The area's representative has been a Conservative since 1924. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be subject to boundary changes which entail the loss of the town of Devizes to the newly created constituency of Melksham and Devizes. As a consequence, it will be renamed East Wiltshire, to be first contested at the next general election.

The Corn Exchange is a commercial building in the Market Place, Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The structure, which was commissioned as a corn exchange and is now used as an events venue, is a Grade II listed building.

The Old Town Hall is a historic building in Wine Street in Devizes, a town in Wiltshire, in England. The structure, which was completed in 1752 and has seen various commercial uses since it was superseded by a new town hall in 1808, is a Grade II* listed building.

Devizes Town Hall is a municipal building in St John's Street in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The structure, which is the meeting place of Devizes Town Council, is a Grade II* listed building.

Greystone House is a Grade II* listed house in High Street, Devizes, Wiltshire, England. It was built between 1740 and 1744 with a front of Bath stone to a brick building with a hipped slate roof.

Brownston House (or Brownstone House) is a Grade I listed building on New Park Street, Devizes, Wiltshire, England, dating from the beginning of the 18th century. It is a Grade I listed building.

The Kennet and Avon Canal Museum is a museum in Devizes, Wiltshire, England, covering the history of the Kennet and Avon Canal. The museum is housed in a former bonded warehouse at Devizes Wharf, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) from the Caen Hill Flight. The building was at one time used to store wine brought up the canal after being imported through Bristol Harbour.The museum is operated by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, which also has its headquarters and a shop within the building.The museum houses memorabilia, papers and photographs relating to the canal, which was constructed between 1794 and 1810. After falling into disuse in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the canal was restored and formally reopened in 1990; the visitor book at the museum was signed by Queen Elizabeth II upon this reopening. The museum also holds models of locks and narrowboats, along with traditionally decorated implements traditionally used on the working boats.

The Wiltshire Museum, formerly known as Wiltshire Heritage Museum and Devizes Museum, is a museum, archive and library and art gallery established in 1874 in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The museum was created and is run by the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, a registered charity founded in 1853. The society bought a former grammar school on Long Street, south of the town's market place, to house the museum. It later expanded into two Georgian houses on either side, and still occupies these premises today.The museum maintains a collection covering the archaeology, art, history and natural history of Wiltshire. The collection covers periods of history from as far back as the Palaeolithic and also has Neolithic, Bronze Age, Roman, Saxon, Mediaeval and more recent historical artefacts. Among the prehistoric collections are items from the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site. Several of the collections have been designated as being a significant part of England's cultural heritage.One of the most important collections at the museum is the finds from Bush Barrow, an early Bronze Age burial mound in the Stonehenge area. The barrow was excavated by William Cunnington in 1808 and produced the richest and most important finds from a Bronze Age grave in the Stonehenge Landscape to date. The finds were acquired by the museum in 1883 and were displayed there until 1922, when they were indefinitely loaned to the British Museum. After a controversial restoration of the largest piece that may not reflect its original finish, the pieces were returned to Devizes in 1985.The natural history collection includes remains of a plesiosaur called Bathyspondylus found at Swindon in 1774. Bathyspondylus swindoniensis was first described in 1982 from the museum's specimens.