Lockeridge
Encyclopedia
Lockeridge is a village in Wiltshire
, England
. It lies at the edge of the West Woods in the Kennet Valley, 2.9 miles (4.7 km) west of Marlborough, 3.1 miles (5 km) east of Avebury
and 10.5 miles (16.9 km) south of Swindon
.
Lockeridge and its surroundings have provided evidence of Stone
and Bronze Age
activity in the area. Field enclosures close to the village indicate Roman
occupation, whilst the village itself appears in the Domesday Book
of 1086.
Lockeridge today forms an agricultural and commuter community with no local industry. The community is served by a village pub, the Who'd a Thought It, but has no other services.
settlement and a Bronze Age
burial site was discovered behind the school in the 19th century. Field enclosures on White Hill (a ridge above the village) provide evidence of Roman occupation probably linked to the nearby fortress town of Cunetio. One possible derivation of the name is from the Old English composite word loc(a)-hrycg meaning "a ridge marked by enclosure(s)".
At the time of the Domesday Book
of 1086, Lockeridge was owned by Durand of Gloucester and is described as follows: Durand himself holds LOCKERIDGE. Almær held it TRE, and it paid geld for 2 hides. There is land for 1 plough. Of this 1 hide is in demesne. There is 1 villan and 2 bordars with 1 slave, and 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) of meadow, and 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) of pasture and 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) of woodland. It was worth 40s ; now 30s. These two late anglo-Saxon estates are held to be linked to the cluster of houses at Lockeridge dean at the southern end of the village, and the Eighteenth Century Lockeridge House at the northern end. Lockeridge House is adjacent to Piper's Lane, remnant of a Roman Road.
Building took place between the two Saxon settlements in 12th Century on the order of the Knights Templar who acquired one of the estates between 1141 and 1143. In 1155-6 it acquired land in Rockley to build a Preceptory. Lockeridge is therefore something rare in Britain, namely a planned Templar village. The collapse of the nearby settlement of Shaws as a result of the Plague may have triggered growth as Lockeridge was situated at an intersection of a major east-west route (now the A4) and a crossing of the Pewsey Downs. The Templar link explains the absence (rare in Wiltshire villages) of a Church.
Lockeridge expanded from a hamlet to a village in the 1870s when Sir Henry Meux sited his estate office (Gypsy Furlong) and the estate yard (Yardacre) in the village. Houses, a school and a pub were built at the same time.
In consequence of this history there are three main architectural styles in the village.
. It also falls within the area of the Wiltshire Council
unitary authority
, which is responsible for all significant local government
functions.
Note that both the ONS website and the Explorer map (see 'Sources' below) refer to a separate civil parish for West Overton, including Lockeridge but not Fyfield. However the KDC website clearly refers to a joint parish and quotes both population and council membership.
.
Position:
Nearby towns and cities: Marlborough, Swindon
, Devizes
, Pewsey
Nearby villages: Fyfield
, West Overton
, East Kennett
, West Kennett
Lockeridge Dene at the south end of the village is a National Trust site and is a conservation area. Sarsen stones are scattered over the area and this is one of the sites from which the stones at Avebury
were mined.
The village is adjacent to the nearby West Woods. In the Spring these are carpeted with Blue Bells and provide a major tourist attraction with the woods being opened to vehicles on two weekends.
Walks from the village lead through the West Woods onto the Pewsey Downs and the Wansdyke
. An early medieval
earth work that ran from near Andover to the Bristol Channel that became the border between the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex
The Kennet Valley Church of England Primary School was consolidated from two locations in July 2011. A one site school for 4 to 11 year olds was created by extending the existing Victorian school building originally designed by Charles Ponting
who designed several other buildings in the village. The school has produced several famous pupils, notably author Lauren Child
and flortist Thomas Clode . For secondary education most children go on to St Johns College, Marlborough.
, East Kennett
and Fyfield
. It also hosts an annual New Years Day football and Rugby match between the west and east of the Kennet Valley for the Baliszewski Cup (named after the founder of the tradition, Edward Baliszewski, who died in 2008). Played by all ages, to ad hoc rules including two simultaneous football matches played with two balls on the same pitch; men may only play with one ball, women and children with either.
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...
. It lies at the edge of the West Woods in the Kennet Valley, 2.9 miles (4.7 km) west of Marlborough, 3.1 miles (5 km) east of Avebury
Avebury
Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles which is located around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, south west England. Unique amongst megalithic monuments, Avebury contains the largest stone circle in Europe, and is one of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain...
and 10.5 miles (16.9 km) south of Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
.
Lockeridge and its surroundings have provided evidence of Stone
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
activity in the area. Field enclosures close to the village indicate 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...
occupation, whilst the village itself appears in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086.
Lockeridge today forms an agricultural and commuter community with no local industry. The community is served by a village pub, the Who'd a Thought It, but has no other services.
History
The area has extensive evidence of NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
settlement and a Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
burial site was discovered behind the school in the 19th century. Field enclosures on White Hill (a ridge above the village) provide evidence of Roman occupation probably linked to the nearby fortress town of Cunetio. One possible derivation of the name is from the Old English composite word loc(a)-hrycg meaning "a ridge marked by enclosure(s)".
At the time of the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086, Lockeridge was owned by Durand of Gloucester and is described as follows: Durand himself holds LOCKERIDGE. Almær held it TRE, and it paid geld for 2 hides. There is land for 1 plough. Of this 1 hide is in demesne. There is 1 villan and 2 bordars with 1 slave, and 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) of meadow, and 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) of pasture and 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) of woodland. It was worth 40s ; now 30s. These two late anglo-Saxon estates are held to be linked to the cluster of houses at Lockeridge dean at the southern end of the village, and the Eighteenth Century Lockeridge House at the northern end. Lockeridge House is adjacent to Piper's Lane, remnant of a Roman Road.
Building took place between the two Saxon settlements in 12th Century on the order of the Knights Templar who acquired one of the estates between 1141 and 1143. In 1155-6 it acquired land in Rockley to build a Preceptory. Lockeridge is therefore something rare in Britain, namely a planned Templar village. The collapse of the nearby settlement of Shaws as a result of the Plague may have triggered growth as Lockeridge was situated at an intersection of a major east-west route (now the A4) and a crossing of the Pewsey Downs. The Templar link explains the absence (rare in Wiltshire villages) of a Church.
Lockeridge expanded from a hamlet to a village in the 1870s when Sir Henry Meux sited his estate office (Gypsy Furlong) and the estate yard (Yardacre) in the village. Houses, a school and a pub were built at the same time.
In consequence of this history there are three main architectural styles in the village.
- Sarson stone (generally painted or left rough-hewn) and thatched with wheat or wheat-reed mix
- Victorian estate architecture built of dressed stones or Wiltshire redbrick with sarsen banding. Many of these are the work of C.E. PontingCharles PontingCharles Edwin Ponting, F.S.A., was a Gothic Revival architect who practised in Marlborough, Wiltshire.-Career:Ponting began his architectural career in 1864 in the office of the architect Samuel Overton. He was agent for Meux brewing family's estate from 1870 until 1888...
, architect to the Meux estate in the 1870s - Solid brick council housing and a range of in-fill in a variety of styles in the main street and on Back Lane and Rhyls Lane originating in the 20th Century
Governance
Lockeridge forms part of the civil parish of Fyfield and West OvertonFyfield and West Overton
Fyfield and West Overton is a civil parish comprising the adjacent villages of Fyfield, Lockeridge and West Overton, in the English county of Wiltshire.-Local government:Fyfield and West Overton is a civil parish with an elected parish council...
. It also falls within the area of the Wiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council is the unitary authority for most of the county of Wiltshire, in the West of England, the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council and to four districts—Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, and West Wiltshire—all of which had been created in 1973 and were...
unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
, which is responsible for all significant local government
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
functions.
Note that both the ONS website and the Explorer map (see 'Sources' below) refer to a separate civil parish for West Overton, including Lockeridge but not Fyfield. However the KDC website clearly refers to a joint parish and quotes both population and council membership.
Geography
Lockeridge lies at 51°24′29"N 1°47′11"W (51.408°, -1.7864°) and 74 miles (119 km) west of LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Position:
Nearby towns and cities: Marlborough, Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, Devizes
Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week...
, Pewsey
Pewsey
Pewsey is a large village, often considered a small town, at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire about west of London. It is well connected to London, the West Country and Wales being close to the M4 motorway and the A303. Also, the village is served by Pewsey railway station on the...
Nearby villages: Fyfield
Fyfield, Wiltshire
Fyfield is a village in the English county of Wiltshire.-Local government:Fyfield forms part of the civil parish of Fyfield and West Overton, which has an elected parish council...
, West Overton
West Overton
-Local government:West Overton forms part of the civil parish of Fyfield and West Overton, which has an elected parish council. It also falls within the area of Wiltshire Council. Both councils are responsible for different aspects of local government....
, East Kennett
East Kennett
East Kennett is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The United Kingdom Census 2001 recorded a parish population of 105.-Local government:...
, West Kennett
Landmarks
Avebury
Avebury is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles which is located around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, south west England. Unique amongst megalithic monuments, Avebury contains the largest stone circle in Europe, and is one of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain...
were mined.
The village is adjacent to the nearby West Woods. In the Spring these are carpeted with Blue Bells and provide a major tourist attraction with the woods being opened to vehicles on two weekends.
Walks from the village lead through the West Woods onto the Pewsey Downs and the Wansdyke
Wansdyke (earthwork)
Wansdyke is a series of early medieval defensive linear earthworks in the West Country of England, consisting of a ditch and a running embankment from the ditch spoil, with the ditching facing north. It runs at least from Maes Knoll in historic Somerset, a hillfort at the east end of Dundry Hill...
. An early medieval
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
earth work that ran from near Andover to the Bristol Channel that became the border between the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex
Education
Charles Ponting
Charles Edwin Ponting, F.S.A., was a Gothic Revival architect who practised in Marlborough, Wiltshire.-Career:Ponting began his architectural career in 1864 in the office of the architect Samuel Overton. He was agent for Meux brewing family's estate from 1870 until 1888...
who designed several other buildings in the village. The school has produced several famous pupils, notably author Lauren Child
Lauren Child
Lauren Child MBE is an English author and illustrator. She is best known for writing the Charlie and Lola books and Clarice Bean novels....
and flortist Thomas Clode . For secondary education most children go on to St Johns College, Marlborough.
Sports
The Kennet Valley Cricket Club plays in the village comprising residents of Lockeridge along with those of West OvertonWest Overton
-Local government:West Overton forms part of the civil parish of Fyfield and West Overton, which has an elected parish council. It also falls within the area of Wiltshire Council. Both councils are responsible for different aspects of local government....
, East Kennett
East Kennett
East Kennett is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The United Kingdom Census 2001 recorded a parish population of 105.-Local government:...
and Fyfield
Fyfield, Wiltshire
Fyfield is a village in the English county of Wiltshire.-Local government:Fyfield forms part of the civil parish of Fyfield and West Overton, which has an elected parish council...
. It also hosts an annual New Years Day football and Rugby match between the west and east of the Kennet Valley for the Baliszewski Cup (named after the founder of the tradition, Edward Baliszewski, who died in 2008). Played by all ages, to ad hoc rules including two simultaneous football matches played with two balls on the same pitch; men may only play with one ball, women and children with either.
External links
- Wiltshire County Council Website page on West Overton (which includes Lockeridge), retrieved 22:10 Nov 8, 2004 (UTC).
- Kennet District Council Website page on Fyfield and West Overton Parish, retrieved 21:40 Nov 8, 2004 (UTC).
- http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/NeighbourhoodProfile.do?a=7&c=SN8+4EL&g=497576&i=1001x1012&j=316239&m=1&p=1&q=1&r=0&s=1221382675482&enc=1&tab=2&inWales=false, retrieved 10:00 Sept 14, 2008 (UTC).
- Map 'Explorer 157', published by the Ordnance SurveyOrdnance SurveyOrdnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
, ISBN 0-319-21782-5, revised 1997. - Fowler, P & Blackwell I (1998) "The Land of Lettice Sweetapple" pp 88–90
- Design Statement for Fyfield, Lockeridge and West Overton published in 2000, retrieved 21:00 July 26, 2011 (UTC).