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We did enjoy the time.

One thing I did get from the pub owner (who may have been misinformed) was that Bishops Cannings had once been surrounded by several large estates.  None, of course, were owned by my wife's ancestors, who must have been landless tenant farmers.

And landless tenant farmers, of course, were most skilled at the grunt work that farming requires.  So, who better to carve farms out of the forested countryside of colonial Pennsylvania?

I also discovered that the English civil war battlefield of Roundway Down is virtually across the road from Bishops Cannings.  Naturally, I wondered -- and still wonder -- whether and how the Pyles, Slopers, Nashes and Witherses were affected by all the ruckus.  One of the few signs on the battlefield showed the defeated Parliamentary forces streaming away in the direction of Bishops Cannings.

(And, just as an aside, it also struck me that Brits would be amazed to see the granite forests that U.S. Civil War battlefields have become.  Their battlefields are almost wholly unmarked.  For anyone who has seen Gettysburg, the "neglect" of places such as Roundway Down seems...well, very strange.)

Thanks again, Ruskie.  You've made some good suggestions.  I appreciate them and will try them.

We know the family tree, which has been researched by better genealogists than me.  I'm not intending or expecting to learn anything new "genealogically" on this trip.

What I want to do is see things.  Things that may no longer exist.  Things whose existence I am unaware of.  Things that we'll breeze right past if I don't learn of their existence and location in advance.

Perhaps what I really need is a good customized walking tour from a local historian familiar with the Commonwealth period.

I'm looking for anyone familiar with central Wiltshire who might also be familiar with these families.

My wife's ancestor emigrated from Wiltshire to Pennsylvania with the Penn fleet in 1682.  We're planning a visit to Wiltshire and would like to do some genealogical sightseeing - if we can find anything to see.   

The primary family was PYLE, with connections to the Withers, Sloper, Nash and Smith families.  The immigrant, Robert Pyle (1660-1730) was from Bishops Cannings.  His parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc., were from places such as Bourton, Urchfont and Stanton St. Bernard.  Those living during the Commonwealth seem to have joined the Quakers, as did Robert Pyle.

A condensed family tree follows.

Robert Pyle, son of Nicholas Pyle (1624-1691) and Edith Musprat (1635-1676).
Nicholas Pyle, son of John Pyle (1594-1652) and Mary Withers (ca. 1604-1666).
Edith Musprat, daughter of Thomas Musprat (b. ca. 1600) and Edith Byffen (b. ca. 1600)
John Pyle, son of John Pyle (1564-1652) and Elizabeth
Mary Withers, daughter of Thomas Withers (1545-1624) and Joan Nash (d. ca. 1630)
Thomas Withers, son of William Withers (b. 1520)) and Isabel Smith (b. 1532)
Joan Nash, daughter of William Nash and Margery Sloper
Isabel Smith, daughter of William Smith of Bourton and Laura