of Stert village, for the GWR in 1862. This provided a route from Hungerford via Pewsey to Devizes, where trains continued westward on the 1857 line. In 1900 the GWR built the Stert and Westbury Railway, which diverged from the earlier line near Patney, east of Stert parish, and later formed part of the parish's southern boundary. This line avoided the hill at Devizes to make a direct route to and southwest England; in 1906 it became part of the Reading to Taunton Line. The line through Devizes closed in 1966 and was dismantled, while the 1900 line is still in use. The nearest station was Patney and Chirton, north of Patney village, which was open from 1900 to 1966. A new station for the Devizes area was proposed in 2018, to be sited at Lydeway, south-east of Stert village, where the line is crossed by the A342. In 2023 a feasibility study for Devizes Gateway station, as it came to be called, was being led by National Rail with assistance from Wiltshire Council and Devizes Development Partnership. References External links Stert Parish Stert at genuki.org.uk Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire