If you go back 60 years and walk down the High Street, which used to be called just ‘Street’, at the southernmost end you’ll come across Seymour Pond. So named after the Seymour family, who lived in Wolfhall, Burbage (Perhaps the most famous member of the family is (Lady) Jane Seymour (born c.1509), who became the third wife of King Henry VIII in 1536, and died the following year, 12 days after giving birth to Edward, his only son and Heir).
The pond you see would not the smaller one we have now. It would have reached from the hedges at the far end, to the middle of where the High Street now runs. Over time, the pond has been reduced to its current size for various reasons. If you read the article describing the early years of the Parish Council, you will notice the care of Seymour Pond has been a regular, recurring feature.
Seymour Pond clean-
Contractors: Brennan’s of Wiltshire
1994 -
In the background you can see the roundabout, so the photographer was probably standing by the northern bollard
At its current size, Kennet Council relined the pond back in early 1994, with the surrounding area being landscaped to its present design. Since then, however, a considerable amount of silt has accumulated, bringing with it a large amount of weed infestation, which has been choking the life from the pond.
The attempts to clear the pond by hand have proved unsuccessful, as the volunteers were unable to get the silt out. The Parish Council obtained a grant from Kennet Council toward the cost of employing Brennans of Wiltshire Ltd
to clear the pond using appropriate machinery. You can see from the photos the work in progress, along with a shot of a local fisherman rescuing the few small fish that have managed to live in the pond. The fisherman, one of Brennans of Wiltshire’s employees, is almost at the middle of the pond, which at this point should be about 5 feet (just over 1½ metres) deep!
Brennans of Wiltshire Ltd have done an excellent job of clearing the area and removing the silt from the pond. Altogether it is estimated approximately 300 tons of silt have been removed. Taking the advice of Wiltshire Wildlife, this silt was spread out behind the pond. This is to ensure the local invertebrates were able to return to their home. A few reeds were left in place to provide natural comfort for the resident moorhens, who can now be seen clearly as they flap and splash their way across the pond.
A special note of thanks goes to the Pewsey Fire Brigade for refilling the pond promptly, before the clay lining dried out. Taking the opportunity to use this as a training exercise, the Fire Brigade pumped thousands of gallons of water back in.
The bench, donated by Simon Last of Last Landscaping about a year ago, is easily
accessible, and the beauty of the area is still enjoyed by many a traveller, stopping
for a snack on their way through. If you were in the area the few days following
this work, you may have been lucky enough to see some of the frogs leaving the silt
and taking enormous great leaps back to the water. Later this year, in the autumn,
it is hoped the area to the rear of the pond will be re-
The Editor would like to thank John Acheson, John & Mary Powell and Chris Brennan for help in compiling this article. If you have any news or articles to publish, or know of any upcoming events you’d like to see included (FREE!) on your Village Website, please contact me
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1994 -
After removing the silt & muck, Kennet Council relined the pond with clay
1994 -
Bright, fresh and beautiful. Seymour Pond invigorated
~ 2008 ~
Ensuring the fish are safely removed before spring-
This chap should be up to his neck in water at this point!
Clearing the weeds away. Don’t be suspicious about the contents of the sack, although
one things for sure -
It’s estimated approximately 300 tons of silt was removed. As local volunteers were understandably unable to accomplish this by hand, ...
... a grant was obtained by the Parish Council to bring in contractors with machinery suitable for the task, without causing severe damage to the area
Already looking a lot better. If you have a recent photo of the pond & area you would like to share, please send me a copy and I’ll post it here.