used to fill the inner two ditches, which shows the process was deliberate. A similar phase can be seen in the archaeological record at Christchurch, Dorset, another burh of the Hidage. Observations at other burhs suggest this phase of destruction was implemented over the whole of Wessex as a concerted policy, again, by inference, on the part of the king. The destruction may be linked to the accession of King Cnut in the early 11th century, to prevent the burhs being seized and used against him by his rivals. The fourth phase is marked by reuse of the original Anglo-Saxon defences by inserting a timber palisade along the line of the original wall. This probably marks a renewal of the defences of the town during the civil war of 1144 under King Stephen. There is little archaeological evidence of the community protected by these defences in the Saxon period, although there are signs that streets were laid out in a regular fashion behind the main north–south High Street. A gate in the northern line of the defences led to a causeway over the flood plain of the Thames and a bridge over the river, which was probably of a defensive nature. Other settlements Widhill, south-east of Cricklade beyond the River Ray, had two small estates at the time of Domesday Book and was later a tithing of St Sampson's parish, Cricklade. In 1934 the boundary of Cricklade parish was redrawn along the river, transferring the Widhill area into Blunsdon St Andrew parish (since 2017, St Andrews parish). Later history On John Speed's 1611 map of Wiltshire, the town's name is recorded as Crekelade. Cricklade Museum houses several publications recounting further historical details of the town and its people. The Jubilee Clock, on a cast-iron pillar, stands at a road junction on the High Street. It was erected in 1897 to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Governance The civil parish elects a town council. It is in the area of Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which performs most of the major local-government functions. Outlying hamlets in Cricklade parish are Calcutt, Chelworth Lower Green, Chelworth Upper Green, Hailstone Hill and Horsey Down. There is an electoral ward with the name of Cricklade and Latton, which combines Cricklade parish with its neighbours to the north east: Latton and Marston Maisey. The ward population recorded in the 2011 census was 4,982. The parish is in