Golden Gates

1792

Before the Golden Gates - In 1792 Archibald Robertson describes his departure from Bowood…using what is now the road from the Bowood Hotel to the Golden Gates. In 1792 - instead of Golden Gates there would have been a small lodge house, some gates and the Shelburne Arms. The Golden Gates were built 50 years later.

1838

Before the Golden Gates - The original Lansdowne Arms (formally the Shelburne Arms) stood right on the junction of Church Road and the Devizes Road - just to the front of the site of the Golden Gates. In 1841 the Golden Gates were built as a primary entrance to Bowood Park and the new Lansdowne Arms was built on it's current site opposite the gates in 1843. With this knowledge picture the scene in 1838 when 3,000 people gathered in front of the original Lansdowne Arms to witness the Great Wiltshire pudding.

If you want to try Wiltshire Pudding yourself then follow these easy steps: 12 oz (340g) Self Raising flour, 6 oz (170g) lard, 3 oz (85g) white sugar, milk and water or water to mix, pinch salt, fruit as available, suitably prepared, about 3 or 4 handfuls. Rub fat into flour, sugar and salt. Stir in green gooseberries or rhubarb in 1 inch lengths or apples peeled, cored and sliced with a 4 or 5 cloves. Mix with sufficient liquid to make fairly stiff mixture. Steam in well-greased basin.

Sir Charles Barry - Architect

In 1841, the Great Western Railway reached out from London Paddington to Chippenham, offering a fast and reliable route to the capital. Lord Lansdowne, commissioned Sir Charles Barry, architect of the Houses of Parliament, to build a new lodge on the western perimeter of the park at the point closest to Chippenham station. The result was the Golden Gates which have stood sentinel over the many changes to Derry Hill and Studley. The Golden Gates are built on the site of the original Lansdowne Arms (formally the Shelburne Arms) before the pub was rebuilt on its current site.