Wilton is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. Lying about 3 miles (5 km) west of the city of Salisbury, and until 1889 the county town of Wiltshire, it has a rich heritage dating back to the Anglo-Saxons.
Carpets have been manufactured at Wilton since the 18th century. The town is home to Wilton House, country seat of the Earls of Pembroke, and has a large Romanesque Revival parish church. The rivers Wylye and Nadder meet at Wilton.
The history of Wilton dates back to the Anglo-Saxons in the 8th century, and by the late 9th century it was the capital of Wiltunscire, a shire of the Kingdom of Wessex. It remained the administrative centre of Wiltshire until the 11th century. Wilton was of significant importance to the church, with the founding of Wilton Abbey in 771 amongst other establishments. In 871 Alfred the Great fought and lost an important battle here against the Danish armies, leaving him in retreat for several years.[2]
Despite further attacks, Wilton remained a prosperous town, as recorded in the 11th-century Domesday Book.[3] The building of Salisbury Cathedral nearby, however, caused Wilton's decline, as the new site of Salisbury, with a new bridge over the River Avon, provided a convenient bypass around Wilton on the trade routes.[4]
The Old Courtyard, Wilton Shopping Village: part of the former Wilton carpet factory site now used as a shopping outlet
By the 17th century, weaving had become a busy trade, and the carpet industry began in 1741 when two French weavers were brought in by Henry Herbert, 9th Earl of Pembroke to teach the local people new skills. Carpet weaving prospered until 1815, when peace following the Napoleonic Wars introduced European competition. Machinery to produce Axminster carpets was installed in 1835.[8] The Wilton Royal Carpet Factory was founded at the turn of the century, with the help of the then Lord Pembroke, to rescue the previous carpet factory that had fallen into financial difficulty. The factory continued to operate until 1995, when it closed temporarily after a takeover before re-opening under another name.[2] Today the site is used as a shopping outlet.
Public transport access to Wilton is now provided by several bus routes operated by Go South Coast under the Salisbury Reds brand,[10] which ply between Salisbury and several places west of Wilton. A dedicated Park & Ride service operates from the car park between Kingsway and The Avenue, towards Salisbury city centre.
The boundaries of the modern civil parish originate with the Borough of Wilton, defined in 1885.[15] The parish includes the villages of Bulbridge and Ditchampton. In 1894 Wilton absorbed the western part of the neighbouring parish of Fugglestone St Peter, the rest going into a new parish of Bemerton.[16]
The church's unusually large size for the community it serves reflects the wealth of its original benefactors. Many of the materials used in its construction were imported from continental Europe, including marble columns from Italy and 12th and 13th century stained glass from France.
