IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Charles Morrison Close, DEVIZES, SN10 5ES

The railway started its working life in 1857 when the railway first envisaged by the short-lived Wiltshire, Somerset and Weymouth Railway as far back as 1845 finally opened (by 1854 when construction started, the WS&WR had been absorbed into the Great Western Railway). At that time the line from Holt Junction, to the west on the still-extant main line from Chippenham and points east to Trowbridge and points west, to Devizes terminated in the town. However, five years on, in 1862, the line was extended to Patney and Chirton on the, again still open, main line between Newbury and Westbury so that the former branch line provided a through route. Topography necessitated the construction of a tunnel under Devizes Castle. The railway had its ups and downs and was particularly busy in the second world war. Some troops from the retreat of Dunkirk passed through Devizes Station as did many enemy prisoners of war. Following the end of hostilities the line went into decline as road traffic grew and the last passenger train left Devizes on 16 April 1966. This section of trackbed seems to be in private hands although there is a public footpath carried by a bridge over the line which provided the viewpoint. The information above was found in 'Wiltshire Railway Stations' by Mike Oakley published by the Dovecote Press in 2004 ISBN 1 904349 33 1.

The former trackbed of the Devizes Branch railway is seen from the footbridge that carries a public footpath. Devizes was first reached by a branch line from Holt junction on the Wessex main line in 1857. The line became a through line in 1862 when the GWR Reading to Hungerford line was extended to Devizes via Pewsey. It returned to being in branch line in 1900 when the Stert to Westbury link was built. The line and all of its stations closed in 1966. Some historic railway photographs are at: http://devizesheritage.co.uk/DevizesRailway.html

The line here opened in 1862 and closed to all traffic in 1966. Devizes station was the far side of Devizes Tunnel which passed under Devizes Castle to the rear of the photographer. By the early 1960s passenger services were infrequent, so they were unlikely have been well patronised and closure was inevitable.

The line through Devizes closed in 1966.

The weathering over the centuries has diminished its original fearsome features but the gargoyle is still doing its job.

This little fellow bears an uncanny resemblance to a character from 'The Simpsons'. Search online for them if you don't have a telly.

Another little stone ghost from the distant past adorns the south elevation of the 12th century church.

The wings on the gargoyle suggest that this one has a diabolical parentage.

Mass dials or scratch dials are a sort of mediaeval sundial and were placed on the south elevation of churches to give some idea of when the next church service was to be held. I've seen a few of them http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=21176637 but this is the first I've encountered still with its indicator in place. This image was obtained at 13.18 BST.