What is the origin of the nickname, Potterne Lambs, for the villagers of Potterne?
This name seems to have come about from the propensity of the English to confer nicknames that were the opposite of the truth; an early case of our liking of irony. Probably the best known example of this is among the followers of Robin Hood, where Little John was the largest man. In the past the villagers of Potterne seemed to have excelled in three things, working, drinking and fighting, and they also had a restless and volatile nature. This resulted in many of them being brought before the Justices on numerous occasions. There were many feuds and fights, both within the village and with people in neighbouring villages and the town of Devizes. On the positive side the village supplied many recruits to the army and the navy because of this liking for work and fighting. As to drinking, at the end of the 19th century there were still six public houses in the village and these were well supported by a population of less than 1,200 and men frequently went home drunk, when they could find
