Marlborough is a market town in Wiltshire, situated on the A4, the old London to Bath Road. It is famous for its High Street, one of the widest in Europe and is lined with buildings full of character from different centuries, but mainly Georgian. It retains much of its original rustic charm. It has a twice weekly market and an annual international Jazz Festival held in July, which attracts many visitors. In 1653, a great fire broke out and destroyed over 250 buildings. Most of the older half-timbered houses are in the small back lanes off the High Street. In the High Street, is The Merchant’s House, a timber and brick house, rebuilt between 1653 and 1700 for Thomas Bayly, a prosperous silk merchant. It is open to the public.
At each end of the High Street, stand churches. St. Peter’s Church was made redundant in 1974 and is now a community centre. At the other end of the High Street, is St. Mary’s Church. On the north face of its tower, can be seen the marks of the fierce fighting which took place during the English Civil War.
Marlborough College, the famous public school, stands on the site of the old castle and was founded in 1843.
William Golding, the Nobel Prize Winner and author of, ‘Lord of the Flies’, grew up in a house on The Green.
Where in England is Marlborough, Wiltshire
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