No. 23 'Pickwick End'
This is a classic Georgian gentleman’s town house in the country. It is indicative of mid-18th century style, wealth and taste. Even so, the fine ashlar work of the front and roadside walls does not extend to the other two rubble stone main walls. It was surrounded by quite spacious garden and grounds on all but the roadside.
In 1878 the grounds to the east were found to be ‘full of human skulls and other [skeletal] remains’. These were thought to be from a Quaker burial ground known to have been on far east side of the property (beside what is now the turning for Woodlands).
To the north and west, stands an early 18th century former barn built of rubble stone with stone tiled roof and coped gables. It has a projecting 2-storey south-west wing rendered with flush quoins. A fine bolection moulded doorcase with moulded cornice and a 12-pane window was installed by Robin Eden in 1964.
Running west from a south-west angle is a rubble stone coped garden wall with 2 ashlar gate piers, moulded caps and raised gate stops. There is also an open fronted stone tiled pyramid-roofed summerhouse.
Discover the creator of the fabulous walled gardens
Read the Wiltshire Buildings Record to find out more about the Quakers in Pickwick
Find out about Pickwick End as a fabulous location to hire for special events
With thanks to ‘A History of Pickwick and its buildings’ [unpublished] by John Maloney