These audio-visual clips are the culmination of the Sounds of the South West project which we wrote about in our blog in May 2025. These videos were created by the young people who took part and show their responses to the audio recordings and themes that formed part of the creative sessions held at the History Centre.

The cyanotypes recording touches upon several components of the project that had deeply inspired the SoSW participants; the work of Henry Fox Talbot, the 3071 oral history recordings, and the work of Mark Somerville. We hear the voice of Mark Somerville in these recordings as the subject of an oral history interview the SoSW participants had organised themselves. In this clip, Mark discusses his process of producing cyanotypes and the many variables that can enhance the art of them. The sound is layered over many interesting pieces of art; these are the prints that were produced by the participants, inspired by their Wiltshire surroundings and the many themes encountered in the 3071 recordings.

In this recording, a Sounds of the South West participant explores the legendary folk tale of the Wiltshire Black Dog. We are taken on an eerie journey through the firsthand account of Kathleen Wiltshire and her frightening encounter with this monstrous spectre. Kathleen was interviewed as a part of a larger Wiltshire life project in the 1980s, and this recording is one of many in the 3071 collection that was digitised in this project. To compliment Kathleen’s hair-raising recollection, the narrator expands upon the legend with extracts and illustrations from various folk books in the Wiltshire Local Studies collection. In the final moments of the video, we see a cyanotype of the Wiltshire Black Dog- these were created by the SoSW participants themselves after being inspired by the audio recordings and the work of Wiltshire’s own Henry Fox Talbot.

Produced by participants of the Sounds of the South West project, this video explores the history of the Sally in the Woods folklore and its unfortunate beginnings. We are taken through the origins of ‘Sally’ (who’s real name is suspected to have been Sarah Gibson, baptised in Monkton Farleigh), how the legend came to be, and the prevalence of her ghostly spectre both during and after her life. The participants explore the many sightings of this frightening spectre and pose the questions; who was Sally and was she really a witch in life?

This video begins with our participants interviewing the Wiltshire based photographer, Mark Somerville. Inspired by the historical oral history interviews of the project, participants devised and researched questions to ask the photographer. We are treated to a number of his Wiltshire landscapes as the background of this interview, whilst Mark explains his process and drive behind creating these magnificent and localised photographs, his move to Wiltshire 25 years ago, and his many inspirations.

In this video, produced by the Sounds of the South West participants, we are shown the origins of crop circles in Wiltshire, using accounts of John Aubrey, items from Local Studies and more modern accounts of these exciting and unusual occurrences, the participants narrate the colourful history of Wiltshire crop circles. Our opinions on the validity of crop circles are challenged through the retelling of, what appears to be genuine sightings and appearances, as well as the those who created their own circles in an elaborate (and tourism enticing) hoax. What we are certain of though, is that crop circles are an epochal part of not just Wiltshire’s landscape, but its social history.

Our final video encapsulates the proud heritage of Wiltshire ‘Moonrakers’. A recurring theme in the 3071 recordings, the trilling song of Wiltshire Moonrakers, softly sung by an interviewee bleeds into a short history of the Moonrakers. Similar to the cyanotype video, the participants organised an oral history interview with local historian, John Chandler. The connection runs deeper as it was John himself who conducted Kathleen Wiltshire’s interview all those years ago. In his interview organised by the SoSW participants, John explores the legend of the Wiltshire Moonrakers and the sources he used to support his research. While John speaks, the participants research is displayed for us to perceive and sit with.

Wiltshire’s Modern Moonrakers on Tour

Visit one of Wiltshire’s libraries to see this wonderful exhibition showcasing the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre’s Sound of the South West group’s journey from newly digitised 1980s oral history recordings to new ways to view our county’s people and landscape, and the stories they can evoke and ignite in us today.

Royal Wootton Bassett – Monday 30 Jun – Saturday 5 July, 2025
Swindon Central Library – Monday 7 July – Saturday 12 July, 2025
Pewsey Library – Monday 14 July – Saturday 19 July, 2025
Melksham Library – Monday 21 July – Saturday 26 July, 2025
Trowbridge Library – Monday 28 July – Saturday 2 August, 2025
Devizes Library – Monday 4 August – Saturday 9 August, 2025