What to See in Devizes - Top Sights and Attractions

Museum in Devizes, England. The Wiltshire Museum, formerly known as Wiltshire Heritage Museum and Devizes Museum, is a museum, archive and library and art gallery in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The museum was established and is run by the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, a registered charity founded in 1853. After the purchase of an old grammar school the museum was opened in 1873. Subsequently, it expanded into two Georgian houses on either side and still occupies this location today.

The museum maintains a collection covering the archaeology, art, history and natural history of Wiltshire. This collection covers periods of history from as far back as the Palaeolithic and also includes 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 Stonehenge World Heritage Site. 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. They are on display in the Gold from the Time of Stonehenge exhibition, opened in 2013.

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.

In 2010 the Museum ran a community bus service, the "Henge Hopper", linking Avebury with Amesbury and Stonehenge.

The museum held a major exhibition of works by Eric Ravilious titled Eric Ravilious Downland Man from September 2021 till January 2022. It featured loans from a number of institutions including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum, the Imperial War Museum and the Towner Gallery as well as works from private collections.^[3]

Museum in Devizes, England. The Kennet and Avon Canal Museum is a museum in Devizes, Wiltshire, covering the history of the Kennet and Avon Canal.

The museum is located in an old 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.^[4]