Westwood, Wiltshire

The earliest records of a substantial quarrying industry at Westwood are in 1649. By the mid-19th century, the quality of Westwood stone had earned a good reputation, and over the next half-century, output increased at a great rate. Westwood stone went to build many houses in Bath, as well as Holy Trinity church in Trowbridge (1838). A narrow-gauge railway was constructed to transport the huge blocks of rough cut stone from the quarry to the cutting-yard at Avoncliff railway station.[6]

Nowadays, all that remains from the centuries of intensive quarrying is the labyrinth of tunnels, eight feet high and twelve feet wide. They have been put to a number of imaginative uses, especially after they were taken over by the Ministry of Supply in 1939. For example, the eastern part of the quarry tunnels had since 1928 been used for growing mushrooms, as the relatively stable ambient temperatures and the high humidity of the underground were found perfectly suitable. From 1941, about six hundred workers manufactured gun-control equipment at an underground factory which had been located in the tunnels to defend against Luftwaffe raids. Additionally, by the end of 1942 the Westwood tunnels had "probably housed the greatest and most valuable collection of cultural and artistic artifacts assembled in one location anywhere in the world", including exhibits from the British Museum, pictures from the National Portrait Gallery, tapestries from the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Elgin Marbles, and the Wright brothers' aeroplane. An air conditioning plant had to be installed to control the humidity underground.

St Mary's Church

A chapelry of Bradford-on-Avon at Westwood was mentioned in 1299.[4] The present church, now dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, was built in ashlar rubble in the 15th century; restoration in 1840 included rebuilding the south side of the chancel.[8] A reused stone over a door in the north wall of the chancel may be from the late 12th or early 13th century.[9] There is 15th-century stained glass in the chancel.[4]

The church was designated as Grade I listed in 1962.[8] Pevsner describes the elaborately decorated 16th-century west tower[4] as "splendid";[10] at its southeast corner is a prominent octagonal stair turret with a domed top.[4]

In 1876, Westwood was constituted as a parish and separated from Bradford.[11] In 1975 a group ministry centred on Holy Trinity at Bradford was formed,[12] which continues today as the benefice of Bradford on Avon Holy Trinity, Westwood and Wingfield.[13]

The stone-quarrying community at Upper Westwood was largely Methodist.[13] A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was opened there in 1862 and closed circa 1960.[4]

A Baptist chapel was opened at Lower Westwood in 1865 and extended with a schoolroom, with capacity for 200 children, in 1885.[4] At first a Sunday school, the room later became the infant school for the village, continuing until 1976 when a new school was built on a different site.[14]