Area 3,485 km² | Region South West Founded Ancient | |
Colleges and Universities Wiltshire College Points of interest Destinations | ||
Wiltshire ( or ) is a county in South West England with an area of 3,485 km2 (1,346 square miles). It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. Until 1930 the county town was Wilton but Wiltshire Council is now based at Trowbridge.
Contents
- Map of Wiltshire
- Days out in wiltshire
- Things to do in england stonehenge wiltshire
- History
- Economy
- Wiltshire Farm Foods
- Wiltshire farm foods first tv ad
- References
Map of Wiltshire
Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys. Salisbury Plain is famous as the location of the Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles and other ancient landmarks and as a training area for the British Army. The city of Salisbury is notable for its mediaeval cathedral. Important country houses open to the public include Longleat, near Warminster, and the National Trusts Stourhead, near Mere.
Days out in wiltshire
Things to do in england stonehenge wiltshire
History
Wiltshire is notable for its pre-Roman archaeology. The Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age people that occupied southern Britain built settlements on the hills and downland that cover Wiltshire. Stonehenge and Avebury are perhaps the most famous Neolithic sites in the UK.
In the 6th and 7th centuries Wiltshire was at the western edge of Saxon Britain, as Cranborne Chase and the Somerset Levels prevented the advance to the west. The Battle of Bedwyn was fought in 675 between Escuin, a West Saxon nobleman who had seized the throne of Queen Saxburga, and King Wulfhere of Mercia. In 878 the Danes invaded the county. Following the Norman Conquest, large areas of the country came into the possession of the crown and the church.
At the time of the Domesday Survey the industry of Wiltshire was largely agricultural; 390 mills are mentioned, and vineyards at Tollard and Lacock. In the succeeding centuries sheep-farming was vigorously pursued, and the Cistercian monasteries of Kingswood and Stanley exported wool to the Florentine and Flemish markets in the 13th and 14th centuries.
In the 17th century English Civil War Wiltshire was largely Parliamentarian. The Battle of Roundway Down, a decisive Royalist victory, was fought near Devizes.
In 1794 it was decided at a meeting at the Bear Inn in Devizes to raise a body of ten independent troops of Yeomanry for the county of Wiltshire, which formed the basis for what would become the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, who served with distinction both at home and abroad, during the Boer War, World War I and World War II. The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry currently lives on as A (RWY) Squadron of the Royal Yeomanry, based in Swindon, and B (RWY) Squadron of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry, based in Salisbury.
Around 1800 the Kennet and Avon Canal was built through Wiltshire providing a route for transporting cargoes from Bristol to London until the development of the Great Western Railway.
Information on the 261 civil parishes of Wiltshire is available on the Wiltshire Community History website, run by the Libraries and Heritage services of Wiltshire County Council. This site includes maps, demographic data, historic and modern pictures and short histories.
Economy
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added (GVA) of Wiltshire at current basic prices with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
Wiltshire Farm Foods
Wiltshire Farm Foods is a frozen meals delivery company that specialises in delivering frozen ready meals to customers homes throughout the United Kingdom. The majority of the business is operated on a local or regional basis by some sixty franchisees. Uniformed drivers in liveried refrigerated vehicles deliver pre-ordered meals to private clients, who typically are aged over 70. The drivers offer a freezer packing service to frail customers who find it difficult to perform tasks such as bending. They have a series of television adverts that promote their meals, using the slogan "delicious meals to your door".
Wiltshire farm foods first tv ad
Established in 1992 the company is owned by Apetito and currently supplies services to over 200,000 customers.
Meals are offered from a number of menus, which include low fat and special diet options: dairy-free, gluten-free, diabetic, Asian halal, kosher etc. Full nutritional information is provided and information is accessible in hard copy, audio form and at their website.
Some franchises can arrange demonstrations for clubs, sheltered housing associations, hospitals, etc.
Wiltshire Farm Foods won the Queen’s Award for Innovation in 2005. Their head office is in Trowbridge, Wiltshire.
At the 2009 Franchise Marketing Awards Wiltshire Farm Foods was awarded the Best Online Marketing Award collaborating with both Coast Digital and EWA Bespoke Communications.
According to the Apetito website:
- Apetito operate a private frozen meal delivery service — Wiltshire Farm Foods. The company, originally named "The Waldens Wiltshire Foods Limited" and based in Trowbridge, was purchased by Apetito in 1995. Wiltshire Farm Foods specialise in delivering frozen ready meals to private customers throughout the United Kingdom.
- The company offers over 200 different ready to reheat frozen meals, including vegetarian, gluten-free and diabetic. The service is intended mainly for elderly or disabled people, but can be used by anybody who would prefer to have meals delivered direct to their home.
- Wiltshire Farm Foods Official Website
- Wiltshire Farm Foods franchise information