Amesbury

42º50N 70º56W, pop (2000e) 16 500. Town in Essex Co, Massachusetts, USA; first settled, 1642; incorporated, 1668; became famous in the 19th-c for the manufacture of Amesbury carriages; birthplace of Josiah Bartlett; Mary Baker Eddy lived here (1868–70); high-tech industries, furniture, metals, plastic fabricators; Amesbury carriage museum, Bartlett Museum (1870), Mary Baker Eddy House.

Marked on 17th century maps as "Ambersbury", it has been suggested that it was so named after Ambrosius Aurelianus, leader of the Romano-British resistance against the Saxon invasions in the 5th century. Amesbury is also associated with the Arthurian legend: the convent to which Guinevere retired was said to have been the one at Amesbury.

In 2002, the discovery of the richest Bronze Age burial site yet found in Britain was made at Amesbury. The occupant of the more richly furnished grave has become known as the "Amesbury Archer".

More recently, the burial site of the Amesbury Archer has lent itself to the founding of a junior school and over 500 new homes. This estate will be known as the Amesbury Archer, and this theme is continued to the Solstice Park development, in which many shops are named after Amesbury's historical ancestor.

Geography

Amesbury is located at 51°10′00″N, 01°47′00″W (51.1667, -1.7833)1.