The unique landscape at Avebury (England) and its world-famous standing stones have been named as the people's choice as their favourite part of the county’s heritage. North Meadow, Cricklade, in second, and Westbury White Horse, in third.
     People were asked to vote to decide which of 12 short–listed candidates would be crowned as the winner of the Window on Wiltshire’s Heritage poll. The poll was launched in 2002 when work started on the Window on Wiltshire’s Heritage website, a major project to put the county’s history and culture on the internet. The nominations were whittled down to 12 finalists, with the last phase of voting taking place in the weeks leading up to the website’s official launch on Friday, September 17 at Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum’s lecture hall.
     The 12 candidates were Avebury, Brunel’s Box Tunnel, Figsbury Ring, the Kennet and Avon Canal, Malmesbury Abbey, North Meadow at Cricklade, Old Wardour Castle, Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge, Stourhead, Swindon railway village and works, and Westbury White Horse.
     Kate Turnbull, Window on Wiltshire’s Heritage project officer, said: "Avebury is a worthy winner, but I hope that this project will raise the profile of all the nominees and of Wiltshire’s heritage in general."
     The WOW website, www.wowheritage.org.uk, allows users to find out about Wiltshire’s heritage by going to the ’Discover’ pages and searching by theme or keyword. The WOW site is run by Wiltshire County Council and has been funded through a £425,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

Source: Windows on Wiltshire's Heritage press release (17 September 2004)