All Cannings
Encyclopedia
All Cannings pr Allcannings is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey
in the English
county of Wiltshire
. The parish includes the nearby smaller settlement of Allington.
settlement at the farm of All Cannings Cross
is an important site in study of that period. There is also evidence of settlement from Neolithic and Roman
times.
The toponym
is believed to be a derivation of "Old Canning" and a village probably existed on the current site by the 10th century as the invading Danes
at that time referred to Canning Marsh. There was a church from early in the 13th century and the earliest features in the current Church of England parish church
of All Saints
are late Norman
. By the 14th century the village had a water mill, but this had disappeared by the 18th century.
The Kennet and Avon Canal
was built just north of the village and opened in 1810. The village's population peaked in the middle of the 19th century with the 1841 census
showing 663 inhabitants.
In 1868 the Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton
and his tenant farmer Simon Hiscock decided to each build a pair of semi-detached
workers cottages. They had two plots adjacent of the same size. The tenant built his pair of brick, his Lordship of concrete
- the only major difference is that in the absence of internal shuttering the concrete chimneys are straight rather than bent to combine into a single chimney stack. Both pairs of cottages still stand largely unaltered. One of the concrete houses has had an extension added in June 2006.
It is assumed that this was a trial into the efficacy of using shuttered reinforced concrete as a building method. It seems to have been successful as two more pairs were then built, followed by a more elaborate villa style pair of cottages and finally a large Farmhouse.
This experiment is unknown and unacknowledged outside the area. While these houses may not be the very first concrete houses built, they were built within a couple of years of the first one - the time-line is not clear and are certainly the biggest example of a group of dwellings built then.
by 1808 and a day-school by 1818. 100 pupils were enrolled in the day-school but attendance was much less as many of the children worked in the fields during the week.
By 1833 the village had two day-schools: the parish school with 105 pupils and a private school with 12 pupils. The Rector, had the parish school built that year on land given by the Lord of the Manor, Alexander Baring
. The private school had closed by 1858. The parish school was reorganised in 1961 and moved into a new building in 2000.
Vale of Pewsey
The Vale of Pewsey or Pewsey Vale is an area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the town of Pewsey.-Geography:...
in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. The parish includes the nearby smaller settlement of Allington.
History
The earliest settlement in the area of All Cannings was at Rybury Camp, on the downs above the village. The Iron AgeBritish Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
settlement at the farm of All Cannings Cross
All Cannings Cross
All Cannings Cross is the name of farm and an archaeological site close to All Cannings near Devizes in the English county of Wiltshire.It is famous as being the first site where the emergence of iron age technology in Britain was identified by archaeologists...
is an important site in study of that period. There is also evidence of settlement from Neolithic and Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
times.
The toponym
Toponymy
Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...
is believed to be a derivation of "Old Canning" and a village probably existed on the current site by the 10th century as the invading Danes
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
at that time referred to Canning Marsh. There was a church from early in the 13th century and the earliest features in the current Church of England parish church
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
of All Saints
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...
are late Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
. By the 14th century the village had a water mill, but this had disappeared by the 18th century.
The Kennet and Avon Canal
Kennet and Avon Canal
The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is commonly used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section...
was built just north of the village and opened in 1810. The village's population peaked in the middle of the 19th century with the 1841 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
showing 663 inhabitants.
In 1868 the Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton
Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton
Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton was a British peer Whig and later Tory politician.He was elected at the 1830 general election as a Whig Member of Parliament for the borough of Thetford in Norfolk,...
and his tenant farmer Simon Hiscock decided to each build a pair of semi-detached
Semi-detached
Semi-detached housing consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each house's layout is a mirror image of its twin...
workers cottages. They had two plots adjacent of the same size. The tenant built his pair of brick, his Lordship of concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
- the only major difference is that in the absence of internal shuttering the concrete chimneys are straight rather than bent to combine into a single chimney stack. Both pairs of cottages still stand largely unaltered. One of the concrete houses has had an extension added in June 2006.
It is assumed that this was a trial into the efficacy of using shuttered reinforced concrete as a building method. It seems to have been successful as two more pairs were then built, followed by a more elaborate villa style pair of cottages and finally a large Farmhouse.
This experiment is unknown and unacknowledged outside the area. While these houses may not be the very first concrete houses built, they were built within a couple of years of the first one - the time-line is not clear and are certainly the biggest example of a group of dwellings built then.
Education
All Cannings had a Sunday schoolSunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
by 1808 and a day-school by 1818. 100 pupils were enrolled in the day-school but attendance was much less as many of the children worked in the fields during the week.
By 1833 the village had two day-schools: the parish school with 105 pupils and a private school with 12 pupils. The Rector, had the parish school built that year on land given by the Lord of the Manor, Alexander Baring
Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton
Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton PC was a British politician and financier.-Background:Baring was the second son of Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet, and of Harriet, daughter of William Herring...
. The private school had closed by 1858. The parish school was reorganised in 1961 and moved into a new building in 2000.
External links
- Wiltshire County Council Website page on All Cannings, retrieved 15:30 Oct 5, 2004 (UTC)
- All Cannings Village Website history page, retrieved October 4, 2004
- Office for National Statistics (ONS) - List of English parishes, retrieved October 3, 2004