Chandler's Yard

The White Horse Bookshop is a delightful independent bookshop founded over 75 years ago. The shop has a fantastic history section and runs art workshops and literature talks. Inside, there is a wooden beam carved with the date 1550 showing that some parts of Marlborough escaped the devastating 1653 fire. Alongside the shop is an alleyway called Chandler’s Yard, named after Thomas Chandler who ran a saddlery business from what is now the bookshop. The yard also escaped the Great Fire so it still looks much as it did when the Royalist army ransacked the town in December 1642. There are many alleyways along the High Street that were used by the Royalists as they attacked the town in 1642. A blue plaque close to the Castle and Ball Hotel marks the Battle of Marlborough. Although Chandler's Yard is residential, others lead to a host of independent shops, including Hughenden Yard further along on the same side of the High Street. Look out also for Ironmonger Lane.