Chippenham Without is a civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 in 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...

, England

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...

, created as a separate entity from the parish of Chippenham

Chippenham

Chippenham may be:* Chippenham, Wiltshire* Chippenham * Chippenham, Cambridgeshire-See also:* Virginia State Route 150, also known as Chippenham Parkway, USA* Cippenham, Berkshire, UK...

 by the Local Government Act 1894

Local Government Act 1894

The Local Government Act 1894 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level under the Local Government Act 1888...

 and largely consists of the farmland from the west of Chippenham

Chippenham

Chippenham may be:* Chippenham, Wiltshire* Chippenham * Chippenham, Cambridgeshire-See also:* Virginia State Route 150, also known as Chippenham Parkway, USA* Cippenham, Berkshire, UK...

 to Biddestone

Biddestone

Biddestone is a small, rural and rather picturesque Cotswold village in north west Wiltshire, England, with a population of 457 in 2001. It is situated near Castle Combe, Corsham, Giddeahall and Chippenham....

. Of note within it are the ancient settlements of Allington and Sheldon, the latter with its manor house

Manor house

A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...

.

History

There is evidence of occupation of the area over a 5000 year period, the most recent historical remains being medieval.

Allington

There is evidence of monastic presence here; land in the locality was given by King Stephen

Stephen of England

Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...

 to the nunnery of Martingny in the Rhone valley and in the reign of Edward I this land was transferred to the priory of Monkton Farleigh

Monkton Farleigh

Monkton Farleigh is a small village in west Wiltshire, England, 3 miles from Bradford-on-Avon, and 5 miles from the city of Bath...

. There was a grange farm here until the dissolution

Dissolution of the Monasteries

The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...

 of the priory in 1537.

Sheldon
The evidence is of a deserted medieval village, the principal remains of which are Sheldon Manor

Sheldon Manor

Sheldon Manor near Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, is Wiltshire's oldest inhabited manor house and dates back to Saxon times. Its structure is mostly 17th century and it is a Grade I listed building.- History :...

, which dates to the 14th century.