Duke of Marlborough heir marries his childhood sweetheart

Back Property description The Hollies is a modern substantial family house, bordering The Common on the northern edge of Marlborough, a market town which is consistently voted as one of the finest towns in England. Marlborough provides for both the practical and pleasurable necessities of life with fashionable boutiques and cafes and a superb selection of local food shops including Waitrose.

Quality restaurants, bars and traditional pubs also abound. Commuters are well catered for, with the M4 junction 15 approximately 8 miles distance and national rail services to London Paddington from Great Bedwyn 7 miles Pewsey 6 miles and Swindon 12 miles. The countryside surrounding the town is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural beauty and offers excellent walking and riding facilities. Description The Hollies is a beautifully presented substantial family house, dating back to the s with later flexible additions.

The Merlin is situated in the middle of Marlborough’s famous High Street, reputed to be the widest in England, in one of the most attractive and historic buildings in Marlborough.

Recent radiocarbon dating has found it to date from about BC. Legend has it that the Mound is the burial site of Merlin and that the name of the town comes from Merlin’s Barrow. More plausibly, the town’s name possibly derives from the medieval term for chalky ground “marl”—thus, “town on chalk”. The town’s motto is Ubi nunc sapientis ossa Merlini “Where now are the bones of wise Merlin”. Further evidence of human occupation comes from the discovery in St Margaret’s Mead of the Marlborough Bucket, an Iron Age burial bucket made of fir wood with three iron hoops, a top bar and two handles; it also sports bronze bands decorated with human heads and mythical animals, and is now on display at the Wiltshire Museum in Devizes.

In William the Conqueror assumed control of the Marlborough area and set about building a wooden motte-and-bailey castle , sited on the prehistoric mound. This was completed in around Stone was used to strengthen the castle in around The first written record of Marlborough dates from the Domesday Book in The coins display the name of the town as Maerlebi or Maerleber.