Maud Heath Monument at Kellaways, Langley Burrell

Maud Heath, who owned land and houses both in Langley Burrell and in Chippenham, was concerned that the people of Bremhill, Foxham, Tytherton and the Langley area had a difficult passage through marshy and flooded land to Chippenham Market. On 12th June 1474 she made a deed of gift of land and houses worth £8 in rents per year to a trust to build a causeway from Wick in Bremhill to Chippenham. This 4.5 mile causeway of cobblestones passed over land at Kellaways that was a swamp during the winter months.

Following a meeting in 1811 the Maud Heath trustees carried the causeway over the lowlands by the river at Kellaways by the means of 64 brick arches. They raised the money for this by auctioning the leases on two cottages for a period of 14 years. They raised over £800 from this, a surprising amount until you discover that the occupiers of the cottages were each allowed a vote in Parliamentary elections for Chippenham. In c.1825 they were each let for £40 a year. The money from the auction was used for the bridge and extensions to the causeway.s.