AFTER the sustained assault on my computer (see columns passim), my Russian hacker, Izabella, has now got a little tired and hungry. So much so that her hacking of choice this week has been my takeaway apps. There seems a flaw in her plan, given that she’d need to reveal her address to deliver the food, but if any Deliveroo rider has been tasked to cycle with a pizza from Salisbury to Sochi, I can only apologise.

In nicer news, this weekend sees the welcome return of Wilton History Festival (wiltonhistoryfestival.org.uk). Wilton is the latest in the area’s growing collection of history festivals: while the programming of Chalke Valley offers sweep and national significance, the likes of Wilton and Frogg Moody’s Salisbury History Festival provide something more bespoke and embedded in the local community.

Last week, I caught up with Bex Lyons, Wilton’s festival director, to chat about the festival. Bex, a medievalist at Bristol University by trade, moved to Wilton just under four years ago and, fascinated by the history she found in her new home, decided to set the festival up. The first festival took place in 2017, and with it returning again this year, is hoping to build into a biennial event.

The September setting is to tie in with the feast day of St Edith, Wilton’s own patron saint. Edith was the daughter of Edgar the Peaceful, who was king of England between 959 and 975 (A peaceful ruler! Suggestions for your Boris epithet on a postcard please). Edith herself was sent to Wilton Abbey, then a sort of finishing school for girls, where she got a reputation for both extreme kindness and a fondness for glamorous clothes. God sees what is in my soul, she is reported to have responded when criticised over her dress sense.

Edith is far from the only historical story that Wilton has to offer. There is the town’s role in the Swing Riots – an 1830 uprising of agricultural workers, which resulted in hundreds of deaths across the county and a thousand more deported to Australia. Bex described the continual trail of Australian tourists visiting the town, returning to find out about their ancestors.

Then there is the story of the Witch Trees in Grovely Wood. An outbreak of smallpox in 1732 that killed 132 people was blamed on four Danish sisters, The Handsels, who were accused of witchcraft. Bludgeoned to death in Grovely Wood, the story goes that four gnarled beech trees grew up from their unmarked graves.

With a packed programme of free events, Wilton History Festival is a great way to discover more about this little town with a big history.

Wilton History Festival runs from 15-22 September.