ruine and parte of the front of the towres of the gate of the kepe and the chapell in it were caried full unprofitably, onto the buyldynge of Master Baintons place at Bromeham full four miles of,” and after Cromwell had “slighted” it, the remnants, goodly enough even then, were used as a free quarry by anyone desiring to build.  The mound and ditch that surrounded the outer walls and a few fragments of the masonry of a dungeon is all that can be seen to-day, but the mound is crowned by a modern and rather imposing castellated building.

[4] An ancient countryman may occasionally be met with who will direct the pedestrian to “the ’Vize.”

The Castle church was St. John’s, though of course the fortress had its own chapel within the walls.  Originally a Norman building, St. John’s was much altered during the fifteenth century, when the present nave was erected and the Tudor chapels of the chancel were added.  The tower is one of the finest and most dignified that we have in the older style.  The ceiling of the south chapel, added to the church by Lord St. Amand, is a beautiful example of the woodwork of the early Tudor period, as is that of the present vestry and one-time chapel on the north side.  An extension of the nave took place in 1865, when the old west front was much altered.

[Illustration:  ST. JOHN’S, DEVIZES.]

St. Mary’s, the town church, has a Norman chancel and Perpendicular nave and tower.  On the beautiful old roof of the nave is a record of the actual date and the builder’s name:—­

  ORATE PRO AIA WILLI SMYTH QUI ISTA ECCLIAM FIERI FECIT,
  QUI OBIIT PRIMO DIE MENSIS JUNII ANNO DNE MILLO CCCCXXXVI.

A fine statue of the Virgin will be noticed in the eastern gable of the nave.  The Transitional south porch has a not unpleasing upper story dating from 1612.

The streets between the two churches have some good old houses in them, and the first traversed is called the “Brittox,” said to be derived from “Bretesque,” the name for the outer defences of the castle.  The broad market place is one of the most spacious in the kingdom, and a very interesting sight on market days.  Here one may see the shepherd of Salisbury Plain, or rather, of the Marlborough Downs, in typical costume—­long weather-stained cloak and round black felt, almost brimless, hat, described by Lady Tennant as having a bunch of flowers stuck in the brim, but this the writer had never the fortune to see until the summer of 1921 when the shepherd was also wearing his own old cavalry breeches and puttees!  In the centre of the throng rises the mock Gothic pinnacled market cross, presented to Devizes in 1814 by Henry Addington, afterwards Viscount Sidmouth, who succeeded Pitt as Premier.  There is a remarkable inscription upon one side of the pedestal which, for the benefit of those unable personally to peruse it, a portion is here appended:—­