The Upper Kennet Valley to the West of Marlborough is very much a part of what is recognised as being ‘Marlborough’. Not quite geographically, it’s four or so miles to the West of the town but it’s the home of numerous major ancient archaeological attractions such Silbury Hill and West Kennett Long Barrow, and not to mention Avebury. It’s also, as it’s name implies, the route of the River Kennet, from it’s source(s) in the Winterbournes, via it’s recognised source – Swallowhead Springs adjacent to Silbury Hill, and also as the source of much of the water that flows into the town and can cause a flood risk.
Whilst the latter (negative) can be managed, the rest is very much part of what makes ‘Marlborough’ a place of attraction to those from all over the world. Tourists flock to the Upper Kennett Valley area for its history, but where do they arrive? Marlborough.
And at the western end of the Kennet Valley lies the beautiful village of East Kennett (yes, with two ‘t’s), and just in time for Christmas a new book (completed as a ‘Covid project’ but started years before) about the village has been launched by East Kennett (then) resident and author, Lindsay Williams.
Lindsay’s book sets out East Kennett and its history over the past thousand or so years. As example it notes that the (small) village features not just one manor house, but three. East Kennett isn’t just ‘another little village’.
Lindsay notes that: “There are many academic resources concentrated on the Kenet Valley in Wiltshire. This is particularly true around the immediate area in which the village of East Kennett sits. Its ancient history continues to be a focus of fascination for many. Yet East Kennett itself jas slipped under the radar as an inconsequential settlement in a larger dynamic landscape. Throughout this book you will discover that over time the village has experienced the footsteps of people since the Upper Paleolithic 18,000 years ago. With sites of Roman hoards, an Anglo-Saxon settlement, conflict with Vikings and Henry VIII’s Musters, read on to discover the links with Australian gold mining, Dragons and Bombs! All alongside three Manor Houses and a small population rocked by war, this is a rural enclave whose surprising tenacity has ensured life in this little village of less than 30 houses has quietly made its own fascinating history! Explore the story of a small community that has continually faced the daily pressures of life, with its successes and tragedies, from earliest times to the present day.”
A small village, maybe, but with long routes back into history, thousands of years back and as archaeologists have discovered (pottery likely from European regions for example), this area – Silbury, Long Barrow and Avebury – not to mention the Ridgeway (the ancient equivalent of a modern motorway), East Kennett has seen, experienced and been an integral part of it all. Lindsay’s book looks at the village, or the recent thousand years of its history anyway.
Copies (priced at £25.00 can be sourced directly from Lindsay – ekennettbook@gmail.com – (add p&p if sourced directly) and also from The White Horse Bookshop in Marlborough’s High Street.
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