Displaying 3 of 32 old photos of Zeals. View all Zeals photos
Zeals, the Bell and Crown Inn and Village c1965
Zeals, Zeals House c1955
Zeals, the School and Church c1955
Historic maps of Zeals and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Zeals maps
Historic map of Zeals
Illustrated Victorian map of Wiltshire
Historic Map of any Zeals postcode
Displaying 2 of 10 books about Zeals and the local area. View all Zeals books
Devizes Town and City Memories
Paperback
rrp £11.99
£3.60
Malmesbury Photographic Memories
Paperback
rrp £10.99
£3.30
Salisbury Pocket Album
Paperback
rrp £4.99
£1.50
4 Zeals photos appear in 1 Frith book titles. You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Zeals
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Add your memory of Zeals
or of a photo of Zeals.
I was evacuated to Zeals during the war from London, to I think, Zeals House. I recall the airfield, and I remember a local pub, which I think had a yew tree outside. My folks and military members would drink and dance outside under the tree. I recall a aircraft crashing at the airfield and burning. I don't know if the pilot escaped. That was my first contact with aeroplanes, and my interest in aviation grew from there. I became a pilot, and am still flying in Africa at the age of 68. Would love to hear some history of Zeals and the airfield, and perhaps correspond with someone who remembers the war years .
Shared on 23 March 2008
The house on the right of the photo was my childhood home. My family lived there until 1991.
Shared on 26 August 2007
Many fond memories of Longleat over the last 46 years: the freedom we all enjoyed as villagers to roam across the estate - the sixth Marquess was always very generous in this respect. The remains of the American hospital were still much in evidence then; dad would drive the car to one of the old stone ramps so that he could work underneath it! We'd walk across the park from Corsley before the reserve was built, and when it was finished and the lions introduced, we all worried that one might escape, but to our knowledge, they never did! Mum worked part time for the catering company J.G. Boyes who originally set up a cafe marquee near the house; this later moved to the new cafe/restaurant building that stands today. Dad also got a p/t job driving a Boyes ice cream van based in the park. Other memories include the pop concerts mounted on the front steps of the house including the Rolling Stones I seem to remember, but sadly the Beatles never played at Longleat - something we hoped for. Various TV shows were broadcast from Longleat including the children's show Tinker and Tucker. I remember seeing Viscount Weymouth, as the current Marquess was then, driving up to the house in his open top sports car and looking very cool. In the Rushpool area of the park where the Giraffe house now stands, llamas actually ran free in the park constrained only by deer fences, cattle grids and gates, and I can honestly claim to be one of very few Wiltshire schoolboys to be regularly chased on my Molton Mini bicycle by furious llamas who would chase bikes and probably cars too! In the seventies, baboons were an early addition to the menagerie and they did escape on many an occasion and run up into the parkland but to my knowledge never caused any harm or damage. The estate and surrounding farmland was very well maintained in those years with gamekeepers, carpenters and various trades employed to keep everything in order. As kids we were welcome to wander - with the exception of pheasant pens there were no boundaries and we appreciated it. Also during the sixties, motorcycle scrambles were held in the parkland and there were hillclimbs up to Heaven's Gate. In the 70s and early 80s the Lombard Rally included Longleat as a stage. From Park Hill a small aeroplane operated giving people an aerial tour of the estate, for £5 I seem to remember - I believe Park Hill had been a small airfield used by the USAF during WW2 for bringing in casualties to the hospital. Finally, I must mention Carpet Walk that linked Heaven's Gate with the car park on the Horningsham road. In those days it really was like walking on a carpet of green. Maybe one day the grass will be allowed to recover and once more it will be known as "Carpet Walk". We also used to walk regularly through Cannimore and Redway Plain, which is where Centre Parcs is now situated. There wasn't a part of the estate we didn't know in those days. These have been just some of my memories, but I hope somebody will contribute with memories from the 50s and 40s including recollections of the Royal School, RAF Crabtree and the USAF Hospital. Longleat has such a fascinating history.
Shared on 20 September 2006
My grandparents lived in the old rectory which was a few hundred yards from the Beckford Arms. I spent many happy holidays there with my cousins. We had wonderful Christmases, lots of snow and in the better weather long bike rides. Idyllic days. Shopping in Tisbury, and going to Wardour Castle, also my grandfather liked to go to Scats.
Shared on 03 August 2008
Displaying a selection of extracts from Frith books about Zeals, inspired by Frith photos.
The importance of Salisbury to the military establishment after the war can be seen in this picture of Fish Row, just behind the Guildhall. A Pickfords lorry is fighting its way along the narrow street, possibly heading for the Military Tailors in the left foreground, or to the Servicemen’s Hostel next door.
The Cathedral viewed from the south has been a favourite subject for artists—including, of course, Constable. This particular view is from the Old Mill at Harnham, and shows the Mill itself, the river and the water meadows as well as the Cathedral. Harnham Mill is a very old building, dating from around 1500. Like the first photograph in this book, the timeless beauty of this scene has remained unchanged for more than half a millennium.
On the Salisbury side of Harnham Bridge, De Vaux Place leads to The Close—the Harnham Gate is at the far end of the wall. Most of the old houses here were built in the 18th and 19th centuries using stone from the remains of the De Vaux College, which was established here by the Bishop to train clergy as early as 1262—probably the first university college in the century.
