Wiltshire

Towns & Villages

WILTON

Once the capital of Saxon-controlled Wessex, the town of Wilton lies on the banks of the rivers Wylye and Nadder.

It is one of England’s oldest boroughs.

Wilton House stands on the site of a ninth century abbey founded by Alfred the Great.

Home of the earls of Pembroke, it was revamped in the 17th century by Inigo Jones and was used in the Second World War to help plan the D-Day invasion.

River Nadder - Photo: Neil Gibbs CCL

Wilton House - Photo: Ron Strutt CCL

The poet Edmund Spenser and dramatists Ben Johnson and Christopher Marlowe all visited the house and it was here that Sir Philip Sidney wrote part of his Arcadia in the 16th century.


It features a remarkable Double Cube Room and houses a number of paintings by both Rembrandt and Van Dyck.

The name Wilton is synonymous with the manufacture of a specific kind of carpet, which has been made here since the mid 17th century.





The modern Wilton factory offers guided tours and has an exhibition devoted to local carpet making.





The unusual church of St Mary and St Nicholas was built in 1842 by T. H. Wyatt in an Italian style as the result of a dream.

Church of St. Mary & St. Nicholas -
Photo: Patricia Steel CCL