Dodgy dealings by the pond…
Mischief-making in the ,Vize
We can’t just call a pond a pond and to us the moon is a truckle of cheese!
Our town is steeped in local folklore – rip-off tales of ne’er do well deals on market day and stories of quick-witted smugglers.
Whilst trying to retrieve their contraband brandy, two such locals were caught ‘raking the moon’ in the Crammer – a pond in the town centre. They told customs officers that they were fishing for a cheese truckle (the moon’s reflection)… the excise men laughed at their stupidity!
So it came about that Wiltshire folk in general and Devizes folk specifically are known as ‘Moonrakers’.
The Crammer
Sit by the Crammer, next to St. James’s church on the Small Green and relax with a picnic while children play in the playground nearby, or hop over the road to the Large Green where there’s plenty of space to for a kick-about.
Discover the Crammer ///mining.goodness.refusals
Footnote: The Moonrakers tale appeared in Francis Grose’s Provincial Glossary and research by Wiltshire Council’s Community History Project shows that the location was The Crammer.
