Great Chalfield
Encyclopedia
Great Chalfield, also sometimes called by its Latin
name of Chalfield Magna, formerly East Chalfield and anciently Much Chaldefield, is a small village
and former civil parish
in Wiltshire
, England
, now part of Atworth
. Its nearest towns are Melksham
, about 3 miles (4.8 km) away to the north east, and Bradford-on-Avon, at about the same distance to the south west.
It contains a notable manor house
, Great Chalfield Manor
.
of Chalfield had belonged to Wallef in the time of King Edward
and possessed half a mill worth eighteen pence. This suggests that the two Chalfields (Great and Little, or East and West) shared a water-mill
which stood on the stream which lies between them. A corn mill
was operating at Great Chalfield in 1645 while it was occupied by a Parliamentary
garrison
.
The 15th-century manor house
, Great Chalfield Manor
, is a Grade I listed building now owned by the National Trust
, having been given to it in 1943, with nine acres of land and an endowment fund, by Major R. F. Fuller, the lord of the manor
.
In 1676, Great Chalfield had only eighteen residents. In 1831 the population was 83. The civil parish was abolished in 1884 and its area incorporated into the new parish of Atworth
.
A detailed parish history was published by the Wiltshire Victoria County History
in its volume 7 (1953).
parish church
, adjacent to the manor house, is dedicated to All Saints
and has a chancel
, a nave
, a vestry
, a south chapel
, a bell-cote crowned by a short octagonal spire
, and a porch on its west side. Of the original 14th-century church only part of its nave survives, a new chancel having been built about 1480, when the porch and south chapel were added. The present vestry was added to the east of the chapel in 1775. There are traces of wall paintings and of panels depicting the life of St Katherine, which were described in 1760 before being whitewashed over. The vestry screen
may date from the late 15th century, and an oak
pulpit
is late 17th century. The organ case is richly decorated and looks medieval but is modern.
The parish register
s survive for the following dates: Christenings
1545–1991, Marriage
s 1608–1993, Burial
s 1581–1985.
(c. 1405–1488) built much of the small village of Great Chalfield, including the manor, where he lived, and amassed a large landed estate
.
In 1809, the antiquary Richard Warner
was appointed rector
of the parish. He may never have resided, but in 1830 The Edinburgh literary journal noted "Some of our readers may perhaps ask Who is the Rev. Richard Warner? We can only answer, that he is the Rector of Great Chalfield, Wilts".
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
name of Chalfield Magna, formerly East Chalfield and anciently Much Chaldefield, is a small village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and former 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...
, now part of Atworth
Atworth
Atworth is a village and a Civil Parish in Wiltshire, England. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,280. The village is about three miles northwest of Melksham and nine miles east from Bath.-Film industry:...
. Its nearest towns are Melksham
Melksham
Melksham is a medium-sized English town, lying on the River Avon. It lies in the county of Wiltshire.It is situated southeast of the city of Bath, south of Chippenham, west of Devizes and north of Warminster on the A350 national route. The 2001 UK census cited Melksham as having 20,000...
, about 3 miles (4.8 km) away to the north east, and Bradford-on-Avon, at about the same distance to the south west.
It contains a notable 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...
, Great Chalfield Manor
Great Chalfield Manor
Great Chalfield Manor is an English country house at Great Chalfield, near Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire.The house is a moated manor house built around 1465–1480 for Thomas Tropenell, a modest member of the landed gentry who made a fortune as a clothier...
.
History
At the time of the Domesday survey (1086) it was found that the manorManorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Chalfield had belonged to Wallef in the time of King Edward
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
and possessed half a mill worth eighteen pence. This suggests that the two Chalfields (Great and Little, or East and West) shared a water-mill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
which stood on the stream which lies between them. A corn mill
Mill (grinding)
A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...
was operating at Great Chalfield in 1645 while it was occupied by a Parliamentary
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
.
The 15th-century 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...
, Great Chalfield Manor
Great Chalfield Manor
Great Chalfield Manor is an English country house at Great Chalfield, near Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire.The house is a moated manor house built around 1465–1480 for Thomas Tropenell, a modest member of the landed gentry who made a fortune as a clothier...
, is a Grade I listed building now owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, having been given to it in 1943, with nine acres of land and an endowment fund, by Major R. F. Fuller, the lord of the manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
.
In 1676, Great Chalfield had only eighteen residents. In 1831 the population was 83. The civil parish was abolished in 1884 and its area incorporated into the new parish of Atworth
Atworth
Atworth is a village and a Civil Parish in Wiltshire, England. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,280. The village is about three miles northwest of Melksham and nine miles east from Bath.-Film industry:...
.
A detailed parish history was published by the Wiltshire Victoria County History
Wiltshire Victoria County History
The Wiltshire Victoria County History is an encyclopaedic history of the county of Wiltshire in England. It forms part of the overall Victoria County History of England founded in 1899 in honour of Queen Victoria...
in its volume 7 (1953).
Church
The small Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, adjacent to the manor house, is dedicated to 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...
and has a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, a nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
, a vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
, a south chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, a bell-cote crowned by a short octagonal spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
, and a porch on its west side. Of the original 14th-century church only part of its nave survives, a new chancel having been built about 1480, when the porch and south chapel were added. The present vestry was added to the east of the chapel in 1775. There are traces of wall paintings and of panels depicting the life of St Katherine, which were described in 1760 before being whitewashed over. The vestry screen
Rood screen
The rood screen is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or wrought iron...
may date from the late 15th century, and an oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
is late 17th century. The organ case is richly decorated and looks medieval but is modern.
The parish register
Parish register
A parish register is a handwritten volume, normally kept in a parish church or deposited within a county record office or alternative archive repository, in which details of baptisms, marriages and burials are recorded.-History:...
s survive for the following dates: Christenings
Infant baptism
Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. In theological discussions, the practice is sometimes referred to as paedobaptism or pedobaptism from the Greek pais meaning "child." The practice is sometimes contrasted with what is called "believer's baptism", or...
1545–1991, Marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
s 1608–1993, Burial
Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
s 1581–1985.
Notable people
In the 15th century Thomas TropenellThomas Tropenell
Thomas Tropenell, sometimes Tropenelle and Tropnell , was an English lawyer and landowner in Wiltshire in the west of England.He acquired large estates, built Great Chalfield Manor, and compiled the Tropenell Cartulary....
(c. 1405–1488) built much of the small village of Great Chalfield, including the manor, where he lived, and amassed a large landed estate
Landed gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
.
In 1809, the antiquary Richard Warner
Richard Warner (antiquary)
Rev. Richard Warner was an English clergyman and writer of a considerable number of topographical books based on his walks and his interest in antiquarianism.-Biography:...
was appointed rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the parish. He may never have resided, but in 1830 The Edinburgh literary journal noted "Some of our readers may perhaps ask Who is the Rev. Richard Warner? We can only answer, that he is the Rector of Great Chalfield, Wilts".