Nobody pays closer attention to their local environment than young children. I genuinely looked forward to the twice-weekly viewing of my favourite building, when Mum would push me and my sister from the green, over the town bridge and up the hill to town. And it was back there at the bridge that you beheld it, 30 yards upstream, its windowless sides of perforated brickwork spanning the river atop a stone archway.
I assumed that every town had one such building. But they didn't. Not a single other place. I only came to know of its uniqueness some years later, on a trip to the local museum. I also learnt its name and purpose. In the 19th century, explained Mrs Rodway, Trowbridge was a giant of the woollen industry, and it…
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The Simple Things (Digital) - 1 Issue, August 2022