400 years after the birth of John Aubrey in Easton Piercy, near Kington St Michael, our summer exhibition will celebrate the life and work of this extraordinary person.

Throughout his life, Aubrey was on a quest for knowledge. Growing up in Wiltshire during a time of rapid change, he developed a global vision shaped by the people, places and landscapes around him. From prehistoric monuments to contemporary ballads sung in the streets, there was little that escaped his notice.

Aubrey’s insatiable thirst for knowledge left an amazing legacy. When he saw historically important things being destroyed, he recorded them before it was too late. He also gathered the life stories of the important and not so important people of his time.

The exhibition will feature significant loans from across the country, bringing original manuscripts, paintings and books back to Wiltshire for the first time since Aubrey’s death in 1697, and forms part of the Chippenham – Our History project.