About the town » Poulshot, Wiltshire, England, Great Britain

Poulshot is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. Its nearest town is Devizes, about 4 miles (6.4 km) away to the north east.The Church of England parish church is called St Peter's and dates from the 13th century. At one period in the 19th century the rector was the Rev Henry Arnold Olivier, grandfather of the actor Laurence Olivier.The historian Herbert William Fisher was born at Poulshot.In 1775 Thomas Boulter, the village miller, was sentenced to 14 years transportation for theft. His son (also named Thomas), tried to run the mill but gave it up and became an infamous highwayman committing many robberies in an area stretching from the south coast as far north as Cheshire and as far west as Bristol before being hanged at Winchester on 19th August 1778. It is said that for many years afterwards, fierce guard dogs in the area were generally called "Boulter" after him.