The Salisbury Meeting (an excursion) of the Wiltshire Archæological and Natural History Society in 1876 took place on Thursday 24 August, led by by Edward T Stevens, F.S.A. , Hon . Secretary to the Meeting , Hon . Director of the Salisbury and South Wilts Museum , and Hon . Curator and Trustee of the Blackmore Museum.
Stevens was a partner in a Salisbury drapers business. He was also an antiquarian and a writer on archaeology, including ‘Flint Chips, a guide to pre-historic archaeology, as illustrated by the collection in the Blackmore Museum, Salisbury’, published in 1870.
In addition, he was Corresponding Member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and Foreign Member of the Anthropological Institute of New York!
If we were not already impressed with his energy, the schedule for the WANHS excursion that day should convince us.
DETAILS OF THE ROUTE
8.45 Assemble at the Council Chamber
9.00 Leave Salisbury ( punctually )
9.30 Visit Old Sarum , under the guidance of C. Roach Smith , Esq . , F.S.A.
10.15 Leave Old Sarum
11.15 Visit Great Durnford Church and Ogbury Camp
Cross the Avon in boats.
12 NOON Visit Lake House , by the invitation of the Rev. E. Duke , F.G.S. , and inspect his Collection of Antiquities , chiefly obtained from tumuli on Lake Down
12.45 Leave Lake House. Thence by way of Wilsford and West Amesbury
1.30 Visit Amesbury Church
2.00 Visit a Temporary Museum arranged for this Meeting by Mr. Edwards and Mr. Kemm
2.30 Visit ‘ Vespasian’s Camp , ” by permission of Sir Edmund Antrobus , Bart . , M. P. , F.S.A.
PICNIC at ” Vespasian’s Camp , ” ( under a Marquee )
3.30 Leave ” Vespasian’s Camp ”
3.45 Visit Stonehenge
4.30 Leave Stonehenge
Return over Salisbury Plain , and by way of the Avenue to Wilton
5.30 Visit Bemerton Church
5.45 Visit George Herbert’s Church
6.00 Visit Bemerton Rectory , by invitation of the Rev. W. P. Pigott
6.30 Arrive at Salisbury
And at some point, Stevens produced a booklet of over 250 pages which were “jottings” on everything the party had seen that day. More on this later.
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