Towns & Villages of Wiltshire - Wiltshire Guide Towns & Villages of Wiltshire by wiltshireweb · August 20, 2014 Castle Combe Wiltshire TOWNS AND VILLAGES – a brief history Alderbury The village on the eastern side of the ‘long ford’ has a saxon name and is on the site of an occupied Roman settlement. Numerous prehistoric flints and tools have been found there. Alderbury’s inn the Green Dragon, is generally agreed to be the Blue Dragon in Dickens’ Martin Chuzzlewit. Dickens stayed there while collecting material for the book.It is the nearest village to the forest of Clarendon, located two miles downstream from Alderbury, on the same side of the river and splendidly situated on a plateau overlooking the broad valley is Trafalgar House. Built in 1814 in gratitude for Nelson`s victory and was given to his brother, the first Earl Nelson. Go to top Amesbury Amesbury is a small Wiltshire town. It lies on a meander of the River Avon, eight miles north of Salisbury, at a point where the main road from London to Exeter bridges the river.

The chalk downlands of Salisbury Plain surround the town, pocked with the remains of earlier civilizations. Until the present century Amesbury depended largely on agriculture, but now its population of some 6000 inhabitants looks mostly to the neighbouring defence establishments or to Salisbury for employment. The nucleus of the town and its medieval abbey church remain, although the ‘ great thoroughfare’ which once formed the High street has been channelled into a modern by-pass. The abbey mansion, the abbey was founded in 979, is now a nursing home, the 18th century houses of the town centre are interspersed with modern shops, and housing estates have encroached onto the common fields. Amesbury may not impress the casual visitor, or even the resident, with a sense of history in the way that Salisbury (an altogether younger place) does, but there is plenty in Amesbury’s past that deserves to be remembered.

Avebury (click here for more information) This tiny village is the centre of a wonderful concentration of prehistoric sites, including; Avebury complex, – Massive circular bank and ditch surrounding settings of stone circles within the village, linked by avenues of standing stones leading towards West Kennet and the Sanctuary, West Kennet Long Barrow – A stone chambered collective tomb within massive earthern mound 330 ft long. Silbury hill – The huge earthern mound 130 feet high covering 5.5 acres at its base. Go to top Biddestone Everyone’s idea of an English Village cluttered around a little village green with duck pond and stone cross and a splendid old barn in the background. The church has a good Norman doorway, and Sheldon manor nearby has a thirteenth century porch attached to a house of Stuart period construction. Go to top Box A hill-top village above a deep combe. It is best known for its long railway tunnel, the work of Brunel, and for its extensive stone quarries. It used to have tallow and brewing industries.

A villa of the roman period, with tesselated pavement has been found here, while another was discovered at Atworth, nearby as recently as 1938. Go to top Bradenstoke Located on a hill on the southern side of the Braydon river and to the north of Lyneham airfield, it was an important place in medieval times. – The site of the Augustinian priory of Clack founded in 1142. Some of its ruins are still to be seen in the farmstead known as Bradenstoke Abbey, but its great barn and guest house were taken down and carted away to St Donat’s Castle in South Wales by William Randolph Hearst. The rest of the village is filled with timber framed buildings with jettied upper stories, tudor style windows and roofs of thatch. Bradford On Avon (click here for more information) Tucked into the western corner of Wiltshire the little town of Bradford on Avon straddles the river of the southern edge of the Cotswold Hills only 8 miles from Bath.

The ‘broad ford’ across the River Avon was replaced in medieval times by a sturdy stone bridge, complete with chapel for the use of the pilgrims. The view from the bridge encompasses the hill above the town where the old weavers’ cottages are situated, and along the river bank 19th century cloth mills, all built of local stone. Go to top Calne Currently the town centre is going through transition, following the demolition of the Harris Factory. A new supermarket is under construction and the intention is that the town centre will be landscaped. Historically, Doctor Joseph Priestley discovered Oxygen while living in Calne from 1772-1779. There is a memorial to him by the Doctors pond, not far from St Mary’s Church. Walter Goodall George (1858-1943) was born near Calne Town Hall, and held the World Record for the mile from 1886-1915. A memorial to this was unveiled by Sydney Wooderson, the next British runner to achieve the fastest time (in 1935) on the centenary in 1986. Calne also has St Mary’s Girls Public school.

A centre for teaching excellence which ranks very highly in the national schools league tables. Calne is one of the very few towns where you can stand in the centre, look up and see hills around you, towards the White Horse. Castle Combe (click here for more information) One of England’s most beautiful villages in the wooded Cotswold valley of ‘By Brook’. Streets lined with mellowed limestone cottages, meet at the village market centre. Other features include a triple arched bridge, church with 15th century tower, the Dower House and the White Hart Inn. The origins of Castle Combe lie with Castle Hill where there was a Roman Fort, later after the Danes and the Norman conquest little remains. The lovely cottages and local history combine to make Castle Combe a photographer’s paradise. Go to top Chippenham Alfred the Great is said to have bequeathed Chippenham to his daughter Elfrida and it is mentioned in the Doomsday book as one of the manors held by St. Edward.

Granted its charter in 1554 Chippenham used to be home to a saxon market place between the forests, Chippenham, Melksham and Braden and was the favourite hunting grounds of the Wessex Kings. It has a mix of historic housing including timber-framed houses of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as well as Georgian stately homes. The town was the stop off point for coaches travelling from London to Bath. Clarendon The ancient forest of Clarendon which once stretched to the eastern outskirts of Salisbury. The infant city of Salisbury owed much of its prosperity to the Palace of Clarendon, a favourite retreat of the Kings of England from the time of William the Conqueror to the War of the Roses. The palace occupied a hill-top site on the eastern scarp of that hidden valley and commanded a distant view of the cathedral. It probably began its career as a hunting lodge in saxon times, and later as a country home for the Plantagenets. An archaeological trench during excavations of 1930 revealed traces of a building with a different alignment below the Norman walls.

Other finds included the kiln used for making tiles, among which were some depicting Richard the Lionheart on horseback fighting Saladin. Other tiles are of dragons, griffins, ramparts and all show the fleur-de-lys. Successive monarchs after William I added to and improved it until in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries it was one of the largest and most magnificent residential buildings in England, second only to the great palace of Westminster. The Palace passed into obscurity after Henry the Eighth It was here that some of the earliest laws relating to the church and state were drawn up. Henry the Second and Archbishop Becket met here and agreed on sixteen points regulating the conduct of clergy. Go to top Clearbury Camp A conspicuous hill (altitude 468 feet) due south of Salisbury crowned by a towering clump of beeches and encircled by a formidable earth rampart. It was generally used as a barometer, if it was shrouded in mists then rain was imminent. Go to top Colerne Close to the Gloustershire border, and the Fosse Way. A Roman villa once stood here, and now the village has a superb church tower crowning a largely twelfth century building.

In present times most of the parish has been taken over by a R.A.F. station. Go to top Corsham Corsham has been home to several armed forces, especially during the second world war. Prior to that it was a typical West Wiltshire weaving town, tastefully built of Bath stone. Of which several quarries were worked in the parish from early times. In 1801 it was the eighth most popular town in the county jealously preserving a number of ancient rights, which included the right to hold a court leet and have its own coroner. The parishioners were exempt from jury service and the vicar was empowered to hold his own consistory court. In and around Corsham is a group of several distinguished country mansions. Hartham Park, Monks Park, Puckeredge House, seventeenth-centucentuaryry Pickwick Manor, Jaggards and Easton Manor House (Circa 15th century).

The finest and most imposing of those in the district is Corsham court Cricklade (click here for more information) Cricklade is midway between Cirencester and Swindon, just off the A419 and is the northernmost town in Wiltshire. The site was occupied by the Romans who diverted Ermin Street along a causeway to cross the floodplain of the upper river Thames. Go to top Dauntsey – West Lavington Dauntsey named after Alderman William Dauntsey. The village is made up of several earlier settlements, Swallet Gate, Sodom, Smithcot, and Idover Desmesne. Present buildings are Victorian but Henry Danvers (first Earl of Danby) established them initially, his tomb dominates the family chapel in St James’ Church, (adjacent to Dauntsey House) The interior of the church is a museum of the families that owned Dauntsey estate. Dauntseys, Stradling, Danvers, Mordaunt, Miles and finally Meux. The present Dauntsey’s School is to the North of the old estate and its buildings date from 1895.

Go to top Devizes Though it almost lies in the centre of Wiltshire, Devizes did not come into existance until after the Norman Conquest, making it rather unique among the other Wiltshire market towns. Also evident in Devizes was the Castle originally constructed in 1080 by Bishop Osmund. Rebuilt in stone in 1120 (after a fire) by Bishop Roger. The castle changed hands twice during the civil war but originally Empress Matilda (daughter of Henry I ) held the castle until her death in 1167 where it passed to her son Henry II. The castle was later dismantled after the battle of Roundway Down. The present castle was built in the 19th century as a private residence and is not open to the public. Devizes is home to over 500 listed buildings.In 1810 the Kennet and Avon opened, with its 29 locks that raise the water 230 feet (70 metres) and trade increased with the transport of tobacco and Bath stone. Go to top Kington St Michael Kington St Michael is situated approximately 3 miles north of Chippenham.

In the thirteenth century church is a fine heraldic tombstone in memory of Isaac Lyte, a schoolmaster for 48 years. He was famed for leaving the fine almesbury houses in the main street to the old folk of his birthplace.John Aubrey was Isaac Lyte’s grandson and was born at a house called Easton Pierce in 1626. Aubrey became Wiltshire’s first great naturalist and antiquarian He was the first to investigate Avebury. Even though Aubrey didn’t gain fame at the time his manuscripts were later published by John Britton (a local scholar born 150 years after Aubrey) and both Aubrey and Britton are commemorated by a stained glass window in the church. Lacock (click here for more information) Lacock abbey was founded by Lady Ela the Countess of Salisbury in the reign of King Henry III. Her husband was William Longespee, an illegitimate son of King Henry II and was one of the Barons who led the revolt against King John. His participation in the revolt explains how Lacock came to possess one of the three original copies of the Magna Carta.

Another famous resident of Lacock was William Fox Talbot in 1835. He was one of the pioneers of photography, and discovered how to make prints from negatives. Visitors to Lacock are shown the Oriel window from which he took his first successful photograph. The Village has many architectural designs from the early timber framework to the georgian pediment. The tithe barn, 14th century doorways and several old weavers cottages make it a delight to explore. Lacock was given to the National Trust in 1944 by Matilda Talbot. Go to top Longford (Castle) It is not a village but a great estate and the home of the Earls of Radnor, its nucleus is a splendid mansion which looks like a castle. Longford castle stands on the site of a medieval manor-house acquired by a country gentleman, Sir Thomas Gorges, in the time of Elizabeth I. It stands by one of the loveliest reaches of tranquil river, its eastern walls washed by the water, and long lawns and formal gardens forming an impressive vista along the bank.In 1584 Sir Thomas married Helena widow of the marquis of Northampton and a lady in waiting to the Queen.

Prompted by her he set about updating the manor house the plan is unusual, with that of a triangular base and a tower at each corner. However in the middle of the work the money ran out. Fortunately one of Sir Thomas’s posts was that of governor of Hurst Castle on the Hampshire coast and during the Spanish armada one of the Spanish ships was driven aground there. Lady Gorges asked the Queen if she could have the wreck, and the request was granted, What the Queen did not know was that the ship was one of the Spanish treasure ships laden with silver. Go to top Malmesbury There was a monastery established here in 640. Today the abbey dominates the town. The early settlement was on a hill, more of an island really, formed by the Bristol Avon and one of its tributaries. Note the late fifteenth century market cross at the end of the High Street, it stands 40 feet (12 metres) high and comprises of a lantern with figures and arches supporting under a tre-foil headed canopy. Go to top Marlborough One of the coach stops between the old London to Bath route, Marlborough has had a varied history since its Roman occupation.

There was a mint there during Norman times and the Kings hunted in the Savernake forest nearby. Marlborough was devastated by fire in 1653, 1679, and 1690. After these fires thatched roofs were banned in the town by an act of parliament. Marlborough College (founded 1843) stands on the site of the old castle. `Maerl’s Barrow’ is in the grounds and is the legendary burial place of Merlin. Go to top Melksham Melksham began life as a forest village, it does actually owe its name to the dairying which soon developed in the rich pastures of the neighbourhood. Like other towns of West Wiltshire it prospered as a wool town in medieval times. Melksham at one time aspired to a spa. Two promising mineral springs were discovered here in 1816, and all the necessary amenities, including a pump room, hot and cold baths, a handsome promenade and even crescents like Bath were quickly provided, but unfortunately the idea never caught on.

Go to top North Bradley The charming village of North Bradley looks across the fields towards the Westbury downs and the White Horse. It has a 14th and 15th century church in which is the tomb of Lady Emma Stafford. Mother of an Archbishop of Canterbury, her tomb, complete with 72 oak panels and carved moulded beams for a roof, is set in a panelled and recessed window with her portrait cut into the stone above. Go to top Pewsey In the verdant Vale of Pewsey between Salisbury plain and Marlborough downs. A white horse cut into the chalk of Pewsey hill overlooks the town. The small town grew up around an island settlement, once encircled by the river and its name is derived form Pevisigge, ‘little island’. Standing at the junction of the three main streets is the statue of King Alfred who has resided there since 1913. Placed there to commemorate the coronation of George V in 1911. Wilton Windmill, the last complete working windmill in Wiltshire is found just 7 miles to the east.

Salisbury (click here for more information) The only City in Wiltshire, it is in fact smaller than the industrial town of Swindon. The present City was founded due to several contributing factors, namely bad weather, a shortage of water and disputes with the military Authorities. This forced the old site of Old Sarum to be abandoned and a new cathedral established in the city. There are many old buildings in the city and one must take time to get to see them all. Go to top Swindon Swindon the largest town in the county. However until the 1840’s it was just a hilltop community which ran a market for cattle, sheep and horses. Its prosperity grew when the railway works came to the plains below in 1842. The two distinctive sections of Swindon joined together in 1900. Current Swindon features many distinctive murals and sculpture which may be seen on several art trails. Go to top Tisbury This is a small town with full of interesting old stone buildings and a few exceptional ones.

Of those there are the seventeenth century almshouses known as Vicar’s cottages with an upper storey of red brick added in 1887, also in Tisbury is the largest medieval tithe barn in England. Go to top Trowbridge Trowbridge began life as a settlement on a ridge of stoney subsoil by the little river Biss. Its growth to urban status started with the building of a castle by the ‘De Bohuns’ early in the twelfth century. The town was well developed when the wool trade took off, and shared in the general wealth associated with weaving mills. when the wool trade died out industry was replaced by a factory making steam engines, some breweries and a bed making factory. Trowbridge’s chief distinction is that it houses Wiltshire’s county offices. For all practical purposes it is the county town and has been so since 1893. To visitors this may seem a little strange what with Salisbury being the Cathedral town, Swindon being the largest, and Devizes being the more central.

The reason for this is due to communications, throughout the county communicating was always a problem because of the Salisbury plain, all the main railway lines ran east to west in the south of the county hence Trowbridge was the more accessible from places as it could be reached by rail. Go to top Warminster Warminster is located 400 feet (120 metres) above sea level. It’s local surroundings are well known for several alleged sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects especially Cley hill to the west. Warminster used to be a great corn market in the days before motor vehicles. The carters usually ended up bringing back coal which was brought to Warminster from Radstock. Sadly Warminster is no longer considered a market town but it serves as a shopping centre for the surrounding villages and military establishments, as well as people stuck on the A36. The name Warminster remains a mystery. It should mean ‘The minister or monastery church by the river Ware or Were’ but there is no trace of a church and residents even argue about there being a river of that name. Go to top Westbury Close to the Somerset border, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. Westbury currently famed for the closeby White Horse .

It is also home to several other features. It has a number of georgian buildings and an unusual faceless clock that was built by a local blacksmith in 1604. Go to top Whaddon Whaddon founded by Saxons emerging from Alderbury when the saxons were extending their territory around the Clarendon forest. The inn at Whaddon the Three Crowns is said to owe its name to the fact that King Edward III hunting in the forest with the Kings of France and Scotland, had lunch there. Go to top Whitsbury Whitsbury whose old Romano-British name was Hall Cynvelly, is a place of ancient origins. It had a Roman villa and in the sixth century and a bard by the name of Taliesin was said to have lived in a cell nearby. Go to top Wilton This historic town was once the capital of Saxon Wessex. Today it is famous for the manufacture of carpets, which dates back to the 17th century. Wilton Royal Carpets can be toured by visitors. Wilton house, home of the Earl of Pembroke, is one of England’s great stately homes, containing paintings by Rembrant and Van Dyck.

The church at Wilton was built in 1844 to a Italian Romanesque style. Wiltshire Map - West Country, England - Mapcarta Salisbury is a cathedral city in the English county of Wiltshire, in the heart of the West Country . Loading… Stonehenge is a well-known Neolithic and Bronze Age stone monument located in a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England . Loading… Avebury is a village in Wiltshire, famous for its neolithic stone circle, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Loading… Bradford on Avon is a small country town in England Built in the same fine oolite limestone as Bath, the town was already a settlement in the Iron Age, and people have been living there ever since. Loading… Trowbridge is the county town of Wiltshire in the West Country of England . Modern-day Trowbridge is a rather uninspiring mid-sized English town, but one with a surprisingly rich history. Loading… Melksham is a small town in Wiltshire. It is not most people's idea of a tourist destination. Loading… Malmesbury is a charming little town in the Southern Cotswolds .

Loading… Devizes is in Wiltshire in England . For detailed information about Public Transport from the Devizes town website. Loading… Latitude of center: 51° 20' (51.3333°) north Longitude of center: 1° 55' (1.9167°) west Average elevation: 160 meters (525 feet) Melksham, Wiltshire | Cotswold Towns and Villages Reviews/Comments Melksham is a medium-sized English town lying on the River Avon. It lies in the county of Wiltshire. It is situated 19 km 12 miles south-east of the city of Bath 11 km 7 miles south of Chippenham 8 miles 13 km west of Devizes and 14 miles 21 km north of Warminster on the A350 national route. The 2001 UK census cited Melksham as having 20 000 inhabitants including sizeable environs such as Bowerhill and Berryfield.

As such it is Wiltshire s fifth-largest town by population after Swindon Salisbury Chippenham and Trowbridge. Bradford on Avon - Visit Wiltshire Bradford on Avon Email About One of the most compelling features about Bradford on Avon is its unique position on the edge of the Cotswolds facing the River Avon. The ancient bridge in the centre of the town remains its natural focus and the bridge still retains two of its original 13th-century arches. The historical view from the main bridge incorporates the hill above the town which is dotted with the old weavers' cottages and the river bank flanked with the 19th-century former cloth mills. Visiting Bradford on Avon means the visitor gets the best of everything, shopping, accommodation; restaurants and inns; river; canal and most of all an amazing history that can be found at every turn.

Must sees and dos: Tithe Barn, Pancake Race across the Town Bridge (February), Barton Manor, Lions Annual Fun Day, Victory Field (May) The Peto Garden, Kennet & Avon Canal Boat Trips, K & A Cottage by Lock Preservations Trust Gardens Open Day (July), Bradford on Avon Museum, the Town Lock-up, Westwood Manor, Wiltshire Music Centre, Secret Gardens on the last Sunday of May and June, Heritage Open Days (September): Walking Festival (September); Arts Festival ending lantern procession and summer party in Westbury Gardens and Lantern (September), Farmers' Markets the last Sunday of every month in Lambs Yard and each Thursday in Westbury Gardens/Library car park. Facilities GENUKI: Wiltshire Wiltshire Report problems or contribute information 1 Introduction 2 Message details 3 Upload file 4 Submitted Help and advice for Wiltshire If you have found a problem on this page then please report it on the following form. We will then do our best to fix it. If you are wanting advice then the best place to ask is on the area's specific email lists .

All the information that we have is in the web pages, so please do not ask us to supply something that is not there. We are not able to offer a research service. If you wish to report a problem, or contribute information, then do use the following form to tell us about it. Leave this field blank We are in the process of upgrading the site to implement a content management system. Wiltshire Voting Registers "This county is situated in the province of Canterbury, in the diocese of Salisbury, and contains 29 hundreds, one city, 15 boroughs, and 10 other market-towns. On the north and west side of it lies Gloucestershire; its western boundary is Somersetshire; Dorsetshire confines its southern extremity; and Hampshire and Berkshire inclose it on the east. Its extreme length is 54 miles, and breadth 34, and its area measures about 878,000 acres. The air of Wiltshire like that of other counties, is various, according to the different parts of it, but on the whole it is agreeable and salubrious.

On the downs and higher parts, it is sharp and clear; in the vallies mild, even in winter. Over the extensive wilds, called Salisbury plain, roam immense flocks of sheep, who with their shepherds, are the sole tenants, if the bustard, the wheatear, and a few other solitary birds be excepted, which avoid the haunts of men. The summer stock of sheep on these plains and downs, is computed to be 500,000. The rivers of this county are the Lower Avon; the Thames or Isis; the Cole; the Kennet; the Bourne; the Upper Avon; the Willey; and the Nadder." [Extract from Pigot & Co's London & Provincal New Commercial Directory, 1822-3] Archives and Libraries The record office (now named Wiltshire and Swindon Archives) and Wiltshire Local Studies Library moved from Trowbridge to the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre at Chippenham, opened on 31st October 2007. It includes Archaeology, Conservation, Museum services and the Wiltshire Buildings Record.

Some of our text may still mention the record office and library at Trowbridge; we will update these in due course. The address is Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, Cocklebury Road, Chippenham, Wiltshire SN15 3QN. For map, phone, email, opening times see their menu for "Visiting the History Centre" . Below is a list of the major, and some less well known, repositories. Wiltshire and Swindon Archives . The archives web site has been greatly expanded and now includes the information from their printed leaflets which was previously on-line within GENUKI. Research Guides include Family History, House History , a list of family and estate archives, Diocesan Archives on clergy and buildings, also a Newsletter.​ Wiltshire County Council Library Service has a searchable Wiltshire Library Catalogue . Wiltshire Studies has information on the local studies library in the new History Centre, and information on other local studies material in Wiltshire.

Wiltshire Libraries and Heritage also provides online Wiltshire Community History with information on 261 communities, covering the whole of the Wiltshire County Council administered area of the county; having been compiled by Wiltshire Libraries & Heritage. Every community page already has certain basic information, such as local administrative bodies, population from 1801, newspapers for the area, lists of maps, registration district, and links to other sites of interest. Between 2002 and 2007 they will be adding much more detailed information for each community. This will include a map, an historical thumbnail sketch, information on churches and schools, a booklist and the texts of some books and articles, information about listed buildings, local authors and literary associations and access to old photographs. The Swindon Collection also has a free online history gallery of the Swindon Borough. For more details please see our GENUKI page for the Swindon Collection . Wiltshire Heritage Library and Museum , of the Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Society, at 41 Long Street, DEVIZES, SN10 1NS.

Bibliography Wiltshire Record Society publishes a volume each year with the text of a set of documents, an introduction and an index. 56 Volumes have been published. It also has an annual meeting. For details contact the Honorary Secretary, Wiltshire Record Society, c/o Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, Cocklebury Road, Chippenham, Wiltshire SN15 3QN. Many of the volumes are available second-hand from Ambra Books . Victoria County History of Wiltshire . This site includes an A-Z index of volumes which lists all the topics covered in the general volumes of the Wiltshire V.C.H. as well as all the parish articles published so far. Chris Phillips on his Medieval Genealogy site provides a list of the contents of Wiltshire volumes of the Victoria County History, and also an index to places listed in the volumes for all counties. Extracted from the VCH, with additional illustrations, there is a "History of Amesbury, Bulford and Durrington" published by Wiltshire County Council and Wiltshire Family History Society.

Chandler - John - Marlborough and Eastern Wiltshire, Sept 2001, 288 pages, is the first part (of seven) of his planned county history, which will go under the series title: Wiltshire: a History of its Landscape and People. "It offers succinct but informative and well-researched histories of 34 Wiltshire parishes, from Aldbourne in the north to Tidworth in the south and Avebury in the west, including Marlborough, Ramsbury and Ludgershall". There are specially commissioned illustrations by Michael Charlton, as well as facsimiles of historic maps. Published by Hobnob Press , PO Box 1838, East Knoyle, Salisbury SP3 6FA, who also publish other local books. The County Local Studies Library has copies of transcriptions by Wiltshire Family History Society . FFHS Online also has this Wiltshire Memorial Inscription Index. Census Church History Mandy and Duncan Ball have photos of churches in North Wiltshire. Their website now has over 28,000 photographs of 185 (mainly) Wiltshire churches.

They said "We were given permission to go inside some of the churches and have taken photos of all the memorials; at a few churches we also took photos of graves. There are some churches listed which only have one or two pictures, although others have well over a hundred. A few churches have allowed us to copy the church history leaflet (found inside the church)." The Clergy Database already includes details of clergy and schoolmasters in Salisbury Diocese 1660-1740, and more is being added. The Church of England website A Church Near You gives boundary maps and contacts for modern parishes. Search by place name or Postcode, click on resultant map to show which parish a point is in. Clergy of the Church of England Database "makes available and searchable the principal records of clerical careers from over 50 archives in England and Wales with the aim of providing coverage of as many clerical lives as possible from the Reformation to the mid-nineteenth century". Search Clergy Database by person, location, bishop, etc. For an example see person ID 22718, Paul Latham, vicar of Warminster 1660-1687.

Or browse by location - choose Salisbury Diocese - then parish - for example Warminster is location 1925 and gives vicars, curates, etc from 1550 to 1835. Civil Registration Civil Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths in England and Wales began on July 1st 1837. Copies of certificates may be obtained from either the General Register Office (GRO), or from a Superintendent's Registrar's Office of the District at which the event was first registered. If the District no longer exists, this would be the Office to which its registers have been moved. Obtaining a certificate from a Superintendent Registrar's Office. The original records of events, completed by the Registrar of the time, have always been retained by the District Registrar. In Wiltshire, these records were held in several different locations within the county, and in the past an application would be made to the Superintendent Registrar at one of these locations to search the local indexes he or she holds to the registers, and produce a certificated copy from the original record of the event.

However in recent years all registers have been moved to the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre in Chippenham, and applications should now be made to that office. The details required for such a request are name and surname, the event type (ie birth, marriage or death), and the year the event took place, and a search will be made of 5 years either side of that year, if an entry for that year isn't found. Please consult the Wiltshire BMD service for more details. This also provides details of a collaborative venture between the Registration Service, Family History Societies, and independent volunteers to index all births, marriages and deaths in Wiltshire from 1837 to the present, to provide an online searchable index. The cost of a certificate obtained this way is £9.00. Details of all districts to handle Wiltshire registrations prior to centralisation may be found in Brett Langston's list of Wiltshire Registration Districts (1837-1974) .

Obtaining a certifcate from the GRO Certificates from the GRO are issued from copies of the original records; however there is considerable advantage in being able to search indexes to the whole country in one place, so many people prefer to do this, rather than risk a protracted search locally. The first step is to obtain a GRO reference to the event. You can then order certificates online via the Certificate Ordering Service of the General Register Office website. From 6th April 2010, the cost of a certificate obtained this way is £9.25. You can obtain a GRO reference in several ways:- Searching microfilm or fiche at a Library or LDS Family History Centre. FreeBMD is an ongoing project to make the General Register Office (GRO) Indexes freely available online. More volunteers are needed and details of how you can help are available on-site. findmypast.co.uk (formerly 1837online) - images of the complete BMD indexes from the GRO online. Fee payable The images are also available on Ancestry.co.uk for which a subscription provides access to a wide range of other records.

Obtaining a certificate for a recent event The cost of a certificates issued at the time of registration of a current birth, death or marriage is £3.50 for each copy. After registration (for instance, the following day) the cost is £7.00, providing the register is still current (within 28 days of the last entry in the register) After a registration book is complete, 28 days later, the register is deposited with the Superintendent Registrar of the district. Until recently, this was one of the district offices referred to above, but there is now just one district for the whole of Wiltshire, and the Office to apply to is the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre in Chippenham. From that point onwards, certificates will cost the same as any 'old' certificate obtained locally - £9.00. Description and Travel This is Wiltshire is a website with current information about news, travel and services. Wiltshire-web is similar with an outline map and descriptions of places on the map. The Badger's Heritage website features many pen and ink drawings of Wiltshire churches, schools, pubs, hotels, bridges, locks, mills, cottages & villages.

All The Cotswolds includes photographs and brief descriptions of places in North Wiltshire - for example Malmesbury and Cricklade, extending just down to Lacock. Southern Life had descriptions and histories and photos of villages and churches, obtained from a variety of sources. At May 2006 their website is being reorganised. Engravings by email from Heatons of Tisbury : this shop has many views and maps of places in Wiltshire as images on its website; larger copies can be sent by email, some maps and prints are for sale. West Country Photographs from Mike Matthews includes Bremhill Parish Church, The Courts and Forde Abbey, Stourhead, Malmesbury and Lacock Abbeys.

Nadder Valley Focus from the Nadder Valley Team Ministry has information about villages and Anglican churches in the area, including (in groups from west to east) Chicklade, Hindon, Fonthill Gifford, Tisbury, Ansty, Fonthill Bishop, Chilmark, Teffont Evias, Teffont Magna, Swallowcliffe, Dinton, Sutton Mandeville, Directories Pigot's Wiltshire Directory of 1830 is made available on-line with a surname index and search across all directories by Sue O'Neill . These indexes are taken from the facsimile edition produced by the Society of Genealogists in 1992 and distributed on microfiche. As these are indexes they only include the Name, Place and Page for reference. Further information must be obtained from the original documents or microfiche facsimile. Direct Resources have surname indexes to 19th Century trade directories on-line; see their list of counties and directories. Note there are text and spreadsheet formats available.

Their 1848 Post Office Directory for Wiltshire text file is split into 1848 Directory for Bradford, Calne, Chippenham, Devizes, Malmesbury, Marlborough, Melksham and 1848 Directory for Salisbury, Swindon, Trowbridge, and Warminster. Note that the list of surnames is alphabetical within each town. Rod Neep's Archive CD Books published on CD a number of directories. The UK activities of Archive CD Books have been closed, so the CDs cannot be ordered, but they are available in some libraries. The Wiltshire ones include: The Universal Directory of Great Britain 1791; Pigots 1822 Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Directory, covers main towns only (Bradford, Calne, Chippenham, Devizes, Marlborough, Salisbury, Trowbridge, Warminster, Westbury); 1830 Pigot's Directory of Wiltshire; 1831 Pigot's Topography and Gazetteer of England (Vol.

1) with historical and statistical description, includes Wiltshire; 1842-4 Pigot's Directory of Wiltshire; 1865 Dorset and Wiltshire directory from Harrod and Co; 1877 Return of Owners of Land ; 1903, 1920, 1927, 1939 and 1895 Wiltshire Kelly's Directory; 1849 Kelly's Dorset and Wiltshire. Emigration and Immigration The Wiltshire Emigration Database of Robin Holley is made up of people and families that emigrated, transported or bounded from the county of Wiltshire over the years. There are now 10,000 entries on the database. The information is free to anybody who contacts him and he is also interested in receiving any other information about persons that emigrated from Wiltshire. (We have no web or email link for this item at present) Ship "Marion" 1851 Stranding in South Australia . In 1851 the ill-fated emigrant ship "Marion" took some hundreds of Wiltshire people to South Australia.

The ship was grounded when entering local waters. Amazingly, no lives were lost during the sinking. History The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment (Salisbury) Museum is in a historic house called The Wardrobe, in the Cathedral Close at Salisbury. The website has on-line transcriptions of regimental World War 1 war diaries. Twelve of the 15 battalions that were in the Royal Berkshire Regiment and Wiltshire Regiment are now available for searching, by date or free text. Over 12,000 records have been input by volunteers. The other 3, and the first of the WW2 diaries should be included by May 2002. In addition it offers over 2000 catalogued images of items in the museum's collection, including 1200 photographs. These relate to both regiments. Salisbury Plain was the main area for the training of soldiers in the 1914-18 war. Some training had started in 1871, and a major area was purchased by the government for training in 1897. During the Great War soldiers made up a third of the population of Wiltshire.

A recent book with accounts, plentiful illustrations and a bibliography is "Wiltshire and the Great War" by T S Crawford, ISBN 9781847973559, a revised edition was published in May 2012 by Crowood Press. It refers in particular to two books by N D G James, "Plain Soldiering" (Hobnob, 1987) and "Gunners at Larkhill" (Gresham 1983). Terry Crawford has also written another new book "The Canadian Army on Salisbury Plain", from Halsgrove Publishing, ISBN 97808570415555, published in June 2012. Manors Some Notes on Medieval English Genealogy includes Wiltshire material, for example showing Manors of the Abbey of Bec: 1246-1247 , (Internet Medieval Sourcebook, Fordham University) as including Ogbourne, the source being English translations, from F.W.

Maitland, ed., Select Pleas in Manorial and Other Seignorial Courts: Volume 1 -- Reigns of Henry III and Edward I (1889). Maps Old Maps provides free access to first edition historical maps of Great Britain dated between 1846 and 1899. This site allows you to view historical maps simply by entering a place name, an address (which can be just a Postcode) or a grid reference. There is sometimes heavy demand on this web-site; try again later if you don't get a map. Ordnance Survey Get a Map shows grid references as you move a pointer over the map. Probate Records The Wiltshire Wills Project at the record office aims to re-index, digitise and microfilm the wills. The catalogue of wills (which also covers Berkshire, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, and Hampshire) is now available on-line . In addition to the comprehensive database of over 300,000 probate records, there are digital images of about 25% of the records.

Nick Hidden has provided abstracts, and an index of names of all persons mentioned in about 1000 Probate Documents from Hungerford and Wantage in Berkshire covering the period 1500-1858, include many relating to parts of Wiltshire. Wiltshire Wills Indexes and Transcripts was provided by David Church, from transcripts by himself and other contributors. Most of those indexed were from areas between Trowbridge and Westbury, and around Salisbury. At Dec 2009 the website formerly on Geocities is not available. A Wills Beneficiaries Index 1800-1858 has been given by Pat Wilson to the Society of Genealogists . Wiltshire Council - Wiltshire Community History Get Community Information Condensed View - Comprehensive View Chippenham This page is one of 261 pages covering every community in Wiltshire, and is provided by Wiltshire Council Libraries and Heritage. A project to provide a fuller picture of each community is in progress, working on the larger communities first.

When these 261, which are modern civil parishes, are completed we will begin work on a further 180 villages and hamlets to provide comprehensive coverage of Wiltshire communities large and small. From Andrews’ and Dury’s Map of Wiltshire, 1773: Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre, Chippenham From Andrews’ and Dury’s Map of Wiltshire, 1810: Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre, Chippenham This is a corrected and updated edition of the 1773 map that includes the recently built canals. Map of the Civil Parish of Chippenham: 1890s Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre From the Ordnance Survey 1890s revision of the one inch to one mile map. The modern civil parish boundary has been superimposed. Thumbnail History: The fast growing town of Chippenham was first established in a loop of the River Avon in which the town centre still remains. From Saxon times the area was a royal forest and a king's country house, or hunting lodge, was maintained here.

Other buildings were quickly attracted to this favoured site and a community was established. The town lies in the broad valley of the Bristol Avon in the low-lying claylands of north-west Wiltshire. This was an area of small family farms with a concentration on dairy farming and cheese making. The land within the loop of the river is Oxford clay while more recent development to the north has taken place on cornbrash. It lies 13 miles north-east of Bath, 33 miles north-west of Salisbury, 10 miles north-west of Devizes, 10 miles south of Malmesbury, 7 miles north of Melksham and is 94 miles from London. To the east and south-east the land rises to Bowden Hill, Derry Hill and Bremhill, while to the west are the fringes of the Cotswolds at Colerne, Yatton Keynell and Castle Combe. A major early road ran from London, through Hungerford, Marlborough and Chippenham to Bristol. This was part of a highly developed national road system by the mid-fourteenth century and would have been of particular importance in the cloth trade.

So important was this road to commercial interests in Bristol that various burghers gave money for its repair where it ran over marshy ground outside Chippenham and was raised on a Causeway. An early act of altruism provided the town with another causeway from Wick Hill, through East Tytherington, across the River Avon at Kellaways and through Langley Burrell into Chippenham. This was provided in 1474 by Maud Heath who gave land and property in Chippenham to provide income for the building of a raised path so that people going to market could remain dry shod. Maud Heath's Causeway remains to this day and her statue overlooks it. By the 17th century the road from London to Bristol divided at Chippenham and ran through Bradford on its way to Bath and Wells. In the 18th century a series of turnpike roads radiated out from Chippenham towards Hullavington, Malmesbury, Sutton Benger, Lacock and Melksham as well as the well-established roads to London, Bristol and Bath. There is some documentation of the early history.

The Villa Regea (king's country house) of the Saxon kings is first mentioned in 853, and in 878 the Danes attacked the Saxons here. The Anglo Saxon Chronicles say, 'The force stole in midwinter, after Twelfthnight, to Chippenham. They rode over Wessex and occupied it, and drove many of the people over the sea; the other, greater part they overcame'. It is believed that King Alfred escaped from Chippenham and made his way to Athelney in Somerset while the Danes fortified the site at Chippenham. Later that year Alfred had his great victory over the Danes at Ethandune (Edington) and pursued the remnant to Chippenham where he besieged them for 14 days before a treaty was made and they withdrew from Wessex. Chippenham was a Saxon administrative centre by the 10th century and probably had a minster church by the 9th century as King Alfred's daughter was married here. It had strategic significance for both Saxon kings and Viking invaders and, although comparatively low lying, was a good defensive site being surrounded on three sides by the river.

There could have been a mint in the town by the late 10th century as some coins of Ethelred II (978-1016) have the name Cepen on them. It is also possible that the site was a defensive burgh or walled town but no evidence has yet been found for this. A theory has also been advanced that the bridge was fortified, as otherwise it would be the weak link in the northern defences. Documentary evidence of a church is first recorded in 1042 and by the time of the Domesday Book there was a substantial population. Much of the forest land has been cleared and there are 113 holders of arable land although there are still 6 square miles of woodland on the manor, which would have been home to many pigs as there are 23 swineherds recorded. Meadowland came to 100 acres and there was the large number of 12 mills, although this was in the extensive Royal holding, not just the town. It has been estimated that the population in 1086 would have been between 600 and 800 for this area.

In the reign of King John (1199-1216) Chippenham was granted a market (on Wednesdays) and a fair on St Andrew's Day. The bounds of the royal forests of Chippenham and Melksham were declared in 1228. The forest now lay to the west and south of the town. The forests were disforested and enclosed in the early 17th century. Two early land-owning families were the Gascelyns of Sheldon and the Husees of Rowdon. The Gascelyn family obtained two fairs for the town and their arms (a golden field surmounted by 10 blue billets (small oblong figures) and a red label (a strip with 5 hanging points) are on the dexter (right) shield. The Husee (Hussey) arms were a silver field surmounted by three black books and these are on the shield on the sinister (left) side. As Chippenham was originally a royal manor local government was exercised by a bailiff or steward but his jurisdiction began to be challenged by other landowners and tenants.

It was felt that for the peace of the town the true powers of this officer should be defined and a petition was presented to Queen Mary at the beginning of her reign. She granted a charter, dated 2nd May 1554 and a grant of 217 acres of land to the borough. This was a confirmation of borough status granted by Saxon, Norman and Plantagenet kings and these earlier charters account for the fact that the first mention of a Chippenham member of parliament is for 1295, although the earliest surviving document granting the right to send 2 burgess to Parliament is the 1554 charter. Chippenham developed around its market place and burgage plots fronting the main streets. In fact, two authorities believe that the place-name derives from the Saxon 'cipan', to sell and the Anglo Saxon Chronicles spell the name Cippanhamme in 878. Other authorities believe that the double p might indicate a personal name, Cippa. 'hamme' would seem to refer to the land enclosed by the loop of the river instead of 'ham' meaning dwelling or property.

It is also possible that there was a small Saxon suburb to the north of the river. The medieval town remained in the loop of the river around the church and market place with further developments in this area and a small area on the northern bank of the river immediately across the bridge. The earliest surviving building is to be found in the Market Place where the Rose and Crown is of timber frame and cruck construction and dates from the 14th century. From the 15th century is the rebuilding of the church of St Andrew, the Yelde Hall and four buildings in St Mary Street, including St Mary House, two with former open halls and, one, a merchant's house including a warehouse or workshop. The medieval town would have about twice the size of the Saxon settlement although the lands of the manor were considerably reduced by the formation of subsidiary manors within it. The manor of Sheldon, in the west, was formed in early Norman times while Rowdon was a separate manor by the 12th century and Lowden was also separated in the 12th century.

During the medieval period encroachments were made upon the large open market place, as was common in most towns, with temporary stalls becoming permanent shops and buildings. The town remained a significant market town and weaving, as a cottage industry was well established while the earliest recorded fulling mill was at nearby Stanley on the River Marden. The market would have been an important feature of the town for the local rural area and at times there has been a separate pig market and cheese market - both important products for north western Wiltshire. The Butter Cross was removed in 1889 and re-erected in the grounds of the Manor House Hotel at Castle Combe; it has now been restored to Chippenham and stands in the newly pedestrianised old market place. Like several other Wiltshire towns Chippenham tended to stagnate between the 16th and 18th centuries and there was little expansion of the town. Three large private estates were created at the time.

Hardenhuish to the north-west was a separate manor from Saxon times and was not incorporated into the borough until 1952; The Ivy to the west and so called as these lands once provided funding for Ivy Church Priory in Alderbury; and Monkton Park to the east of the river. The cloth industry continued as a cottage industry but Chippenham was not one of the leading Wiltshire towns for the industry and the largest clothiers were in the towns of western Wiltshire to the south. The expansion of Chippenham began at the end of the 18th century. In 1800 the Wilts and Berks Canal reached Chippenham and a wharf was built after a dispute when the Chippenham branch originally ended short of the town in 1798. The canal was officially opened on 10th Sept 1810 giving the town access to the markets of Bristol and London. This led to an expansion of the cloth industry as coal could be brought in for the new steam factories that were being built.

In 1841 the GWR line from London to Bristol through Chippenham was completed and in 1848 the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway connected the town with Trowbridge and Westbury. Both the building of the railway and the access it provided to raw materials and markets brought a new range of industries to Chippenham. Only 2 factories of any size were built in the town, Bridge Factory sometime after 1796 and Waterford Mill. In 1811 four other smaller factories, three with dye houses are also mentioned. Chippenham was at a disadvantage to towns further south as the extra distance that coal, for the steam engines, had to be transported by canal added 10% to the cost. Cloth production was overtaken by engineering and other industries and although the industry survived in the town until 1930 it never dominated the economy as was the case in Bradford on Avon and Trowbridge. Two other mills were used for the production of silk and these were next to the Neeld Hall and in Wood Lane. The arrival of the railway brought engineering to the town.

Rowland Brotherhood made railway wagons, locomotives and bridges and maintained track for several railway companies. The company became internationally well known. A factory was built in 1894 by Evan O'Donnell to make signalling apparatus, which, in 1903 was acquired by Saxby and Farmer, who moved into the town from Kilburn. In 1920 they merged with other companies to form the Westinghouse Brake and Saxby Signal Co. Workers from Worcester moved to Chippenham in 1920 while the London works transferred in 1932 and the office staff from London in 1973. For several decades the company was the largest employer in the town and still manufactures there although there have been recent changes of ownership and name. Other industries included the Anglo Swiss Milk Company, later Nestlés, who had a condensed milk factory in the town from 1873 to 1966, Hathaway's churn factory and Slade's Brewing and Malting.

There was a gun and cartridge factory in one of the old silk mills from the 1880's to c1920, a brick and tile works from the mid 19th century to the early 20th century and the Royal Wiltshire Bacon Co Ltd occupied one of the former Brotherhood foundries. In the latter part of the 20th century the town has expanded greatly. Land at Cocklebury Farm was used for housing in the late 1950s while Monkton Park was developed as a housing estate in the 1960s. The market gradually moved from the town centre to a new site at Cocklebury, opening on 6th May 1951 and by April 1954 the whole market was on this site. Development continued to the north and south east towards Pewsham. The building of the western bypass brought about the development of land between the bypass and Hungerdown Lane and Hardenhuish Lane for Cepen Park South and Cepen Park North in the 1990s. Now the only substantial part of the civil parish of Chippenham that is not built up is the southern portion.

Various well known local families have been connected with the town. The Hungerfords were a very wealthy medieval family with interests in many counties. In Chippenham they bought Sheldon and Lowden in 1424 and Rowden in 1434; these remained with the family until 1684. They founded a chantry at the church of St. Andrew and provided the town with a member of parliament. The Goldneys of Bristol became clothiers in Chippenham in the 16th century and remained prominent in local affairs for 300 years. The Awdry family have provided the town with bailiffs, mayors, aldermen, and members of parliament for nearly 300 years. Joseph Neeld of Grittleton built Chippenham Town Hall in 1833/4 and owned property in the town. Chippenham is also part of the other 'Kilvert Country' as Francis Kilvert's father, Robert, was vicar of Hardenhuish from 1832 to 1855 when he moved to nearby Langley Burrell.

From 1872, when he left Clyro, Francis was curate to his father at Langley Burrell until 1876 when he took up the living of St. Harmon. Council

Question: In which county are the towns of Malmesbury, Melksham and Chippenham?
Answer: Wiltshire