Secret Wiltshire

Explore fascinating stories from Wiltshire.

Radio Wiltshire,35 episodes

Episodes

ListGrid

40 years since closure of Swindon railway works
BBC Radio Wiltshire's Ian Longdon delves into the archives.
07 Apr 2026,3 mins
Britain’s grandest village shop…in Wiltshire?
BBC Radio Wiltshire’s Ben Prater explores the Old Manor House in Maiden Bradley.
04 Feb 2026,7 mins
60 years of the ‘Warminster Thing’
Sophie Parker finds out about the strange sights that gripped a Wiltshire town.
13 Jan 2026,32 mins
Devizes auctioneers famed for Titanic artefacts!!!
Uncovering how a landlocked auction house became famous for Titanic memorabilia.
28 Nov 2025,14 mins
Living on the edge in Ludgershall
Ben Prater visits the town to find out what life is like living on the border.
06 Oct 2025,7 mins
What does it take to drive a GWR steam train?
BBC Radio Wiltshire’s Ben Prater meets Elaine Arthurs from STEAM Museum.
23 May 2025,9 mins
Behind closed doors tour of Stourhead
BBC Radio Wiltshire’s Ben Prater looks around one of the county’s grandest properties.
13 mins
The dinosaurs roaming Swindon
BBC Radio Wiltshire’s Ben Prater learns about the Swindon Stegosaur.
17 Feb 2025,4 mins
The history of the Swindon Railway Works
Former worker and historian Jack Hayward talks about the town’s heritage.
05 Feb 2025,5 mins
The Wiltshire road that ‘history has forgotten’
David Mitchell tells BBC Radio Wiltshire’s Ben Prater about the North Wessex Way.
23 Jan 2025,5 mins
Is there a mass grave of soldiers on Roundway Down?
Norman Beale’s theory could show a 17th Century war grave.
10 Jan 2025,3 mins
Amesbury “Where History Begins”
BBC Radio Wiltshire’s Ben Prater meets Mark Verbinnen at Amesbury History Centre.
06 Dec 2024,7 mins
Wilton Windmill
David Jackson hosts tour for BBC Radio Wiltshire’s Kayleigh Barker.
12 Nov 2024,3 mins
The tiger that took the life of a Malmesbury woman
BBC Radio Wiltshire’s Ben Prater finds out about the tale of Hannah Twynnoy.
22 Oct 2024,6 mins
Who was William Fox Talbot?
Ben Prater meets Reverend James Clark-Maxwell, a descendant of Fox Talbot.
01 Oct 2024,4 mins
Lacock’s 200-year-old school
Ben Prater visits Lacock Primary School, celebrating its 200th birthday.
01 Oct 2024,5 mins
The real-life Band of Brothers in Aldbourne
Sophie Parker tells the story of Easy Company’s stay in a Wiltshire village.
01 Oct 2024,15 mins
Diana Dors
Roger and Richard remember the day her statue arrived in Swindon.
01 Oct 2024,4 mins
Old Sarum
Karen Gardner meets Simon Ball from English Heritage to learn about its history.
01 Oct 2024,6 mins
Europe's only tennis ball factory is in Wiltshire
Ben Prater finds out how they’re made at the factory in Box near Corsham.
20 Sep 2024,6 mins
Henry Fawcett’s back!
Salisbury historian Frogg Moody tells Ben Prater about Henry Fawcett.
12 Sep 2024,5 mins
Who was Sidney Herbert?
Ben Prater visits the statue of Lord Herbert of Lea in Salisbury.
12 Sep 2024,4 mins
Corsham Court
Karen Gardner visits a “jewel in our crown” in Wiltshire.
12 Sep 2024,3 mins
200 years of Ushers
Former employees reminisce about working for the Trowbridge brewery.
12 Sep 2024,3 mins
Malmesbury monk and dark secret
Historian Tony McAleavy researches John of Tintern, killer, arsonist, rioter and monk.
10 Sep 2024,9 mins
Amesbury’s prehistoric cow
Nick Jewers finds out about the animal which used to roam the county.
10 Sep 2024,2 mins
The gliders which went to war
Nick Jewers tells the story of the Glider Pilot Regiment.
10 Sep 2024,3 mins
The “Malmesbury massacre”
Author Tony McAleavy tells the story of how King Henry II brought bloodshed to the Abbey.
10 Sep 2024,4 mins
Who’s Thomas Sotheron-Estcourt?
Local historian Steven Clements explains why he has a statue in Devizes.
10 Sep 2024,4 mins
Chippenham’s ghost signs
Ben Prater explores the town with Mel Barnett from Chippenham Museum.
10 Sep 2024,5 mins