Priory Vale
Encyclopedia
Priory Vale is a community within the Swindon
(England) ‘Northern Development Area’. It is made up of the villages Redhouse, Oakhurst and Haydon End. Although not strictly part of Priory Vale, the nearby village of Taw Hill completes this latest instalment in Swindon's northern expansion which began with Abbey Meads and continued at St Andrew's Ridge. The area was developed during the early 21st Century.
The Northern Development Area is served by Thamesdown Drive, or the 'Northern Orbital Road' which runs through the centre of Priory Vale, linking Purton Road in West Swindon, itself an urban expansion area from the 1970s and 1980s to the new Blunsdon Bypass and towards Cirencester.
On completion, Priory Vale is expected to comprise just over 6000 new homes spread over 640 acres (2.6 km²) of land. The homes themselves take up 390 acres (1.6 km²), interspersed with 82 acres (331,842.5 m²) of open space.
There are currently five schools in Priory Vale spread over 45 acres (182,108.7 m²): Red Oaks Primary School, Brimble Hill Primary School, Uplands Secondary School and Isambard Community School all within the Priory Vale Learning Campus in Redhouse, and Orchid Vale Primary School in Haydon End. Swindon Council has recently announced plans to build an additional primary school in the Oakhurst area of Priory Vale.
The Northern Development Area is home to what was reputed to be the largest supermarket store in the United Kingdom with 97000 square feet (9,011.6 m²) of retail space. As well as the superstore, the Orbital Shopping Park plays host to a number of big name stores, a drive-through restaurant, a petrol station and the superbly equipped and stocked North Swindon Library.
and Blunsdon St Andrew. The bulk of the expansion area lies within Haydon Wick
Parish which covers the areas occupied by the developments at Haydon Wick, Haydonleigh, Greenmeadow Abbeymeads, Haydon End, parts of Redhouse, Taw Hill and large parts of Oakhurst. Other parts of Oakhurst and Redhouse reside within Blunsdon St Andrew parish. People living within these parished areas have separate Parish Councils each an elected local government body with in the case of Haydon Wick
in excess of 13,100 electors.
, although not within the area of the Northern Development Area. This is a village dating back to the Iron Age, where the earliest ancestors fortified and built a settlement. Blunsdon is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Bluntesdone', at which time the settlement had a population of only two or three adult males. In 1281, there was also a reference to 'Bluntesdon Seynt Andreu'. Additionally in recent years, archaeologists discovered a Roman travellers' resting place on the site of the present-day Cold Harbour pub a mile or so away from the 'northern expansion', and the A419 main road through Blunsdon also follows the course of a Roman road known as Ermine Street that linked the historic towns of Cirencester
and Silchester.
The recent Roman find at Groundwell Ridge Abbey Meads within the 'Northern Expansion' is believed to be a religious and ceremonial site.
Blunsdon Abbey was a prominent landmark in the area and inspired the title of the Abbey Meads development. The name 'Priory Vale' follows this monastic theme. Local tradition claims Blunsdon Abbey was originally an outpost of Godstow Nunnery near Oxford. Apparently, the land was granted to the Brydges family during the reign of Henry VIII.
In 1860, a wealthy sportsman, Clayton de Windt, purchased the estate and built a new house in the "latest Neo-Gothic style" to designs by E.Mantell of London. The builder was Thomas Barrett of Swindon, who created an imposing residence with forty bedrooms, grand interiors, entrance hall, billiards room and lavish furnishings. Clayton de Windt was killed in a riding accident in 1863, and sadly, in April 1904, fire destroyed the house and its contents.
Today, the development occupies farmland and fields dating back to the 18th century. The villages Redhouse and Haydon End are named after these historical fields, while the village title of Oakhurst was taken from the name of the home at Haydon End Farm. Indeed, for many years, the Haydon area of Priory Vale was home to farm owners and ancient meadowlands.
Prior to 1928 the parish
of Haydon Wick
was part of the parish
of Rodbourne Cheney.
The Asda supermarket opened for business on November 26.
2002: Chris and Tracy Barnes with their daughters Natalie and Jessica, went down in history as the very first residents of Priory Vale. The couple took up residence in a three-storey built by Bloor Homes in their Saunders Brook development.
May 2002: The May bank holiday saw the installation of what was reputed to be Swindon’s 'showiest' bridge. Specifically designed for all pedestrian, cycle, disabled and equestrian use, this steel stayed structure spans 62 metres across the Northern Orbital Road. The bridge was transported from Tyneside complete and ready to position, minimising any disruption to traffic on Thamesdown Drive. The bridge later featured in an advert for the Honda Civic
which is built in the town.
November 2002: The Priory Vale Visitor Centre opened to the public on Tuesday 26 November 2002. The timber-framed building was designed by Nigel Clark Architects and built by EW Beard.
2005: Construction of the Learning Campus commences. The project involves designing, building operating five schools: Red Oaks, Brimble Hill, Uplands and Isambard Community School within the Learning Campus, and Orchid Vale in Haydon End.
September 2006: Red Oaks Primary School and Orchid Vale Primary School open. The first day at Red Oaks saw King George XI (aka Roger Day) leading the children through a story that culminated in planting a magic silver acorn. Children's TV personality Dave Benson Phillips joined the King and pupils for the ceremony. Meanwhile at Orchid Vale in Haydon End, children received a warm welcome from headteacher Debbie Kalynka. "We're building a community spirit at Orchid Vale and there is a spirit of working together," she said.
March 2007: In March 2007, the Priory Vale Visitor Centre closed its doors. Situated on Thamesdown Drive, the Visitor Centre was created to inform prospective buyers of available properties and direct people to developments throughout Priory Vale. With Priory Vale now an established location, Priory Vale's individual developers take on the responsibility to market their own properties.
September 2007: In September 2007, it is proposed that a new community centre will be completed to cater for Oakhurst and Redhouse residents, as they have no nearby community centre. The nearest amenities are a 15 minute walk or a mile drive to the near shopping complex.
acquired Abbey Farm from the Hitchin family. Shortly afterwards an option on the Francis family land became available and the arduous process of obtaining planning permission began in earnest. After years of intense negotiation, and precisely ten years later, planning permission for 10,000 new homes was granted in 1992.
Work commenced in 1993 and the former Francis land, just off Lady Lane was the first area to be developed. From a slow start, 81 houses were built and sold in 1994, building up to a massive 800 houses in 1997, quite an impressive increase within the space of four years. At the peak, the project had twelve of the UK’s leading housebuilders building, it’s hardly surprising that it took only seven years to build over 2,700 houses in the development known as Abbey Meads.
Some smaller developments followed before the final phase of the northern expansion project of Priory Vale. The planning cost of Priory Vale was substantially increased over the years and the cost of developing such a scheme was beyond the capability of one housing developer. As a result, the North Swindon Development Company (NSDC) was formed acting as an enabler in respect of all the works. The NSDC is owned and run jointly by George Wimpey
, Westbury plc, Bloor Homes, Bryant Homes
, Crest Nicholson and Walmart.
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...
(England) ‘Northern Development Area’. It is made up of the villages Redhouse, Oakhurst and Haydon End. Although not strictly part of Priory Vale, the nearby village of Taw Hill completes this latest instalment in Swindon's northern expansion which began with Abbey Meads and continued at St Andrew's Ridge. The area was developed during the early 21st Century.
The Northern Development Area is served by Thamesdown Drive, or the 'Northern Orbital Road' which runs through the centre of Priory Vale, linking Purton Road in West Swindon, itself an urban expansion area from the 1970s and 1980s to the new Blunsdon Bypass and towards Cirencester.
On completion, Priory Vale is expected to comprise just over 6000 new homes spread over 640 acres (2.6 km²) of land. The homes themselves take up 390 acres (1.6 km²), interspersed with 82 acres (331,842.5 m²) of open space.
There are currently five schools in Priory Vale spread over 45 acres (182,108.7 m²): Red Oaks Primary School, Brimble Hill Primary School, Uplands Secondary School and Isambard Community School all within the Priory Vale Learning Campus in Redhouse, and Orchid Vale Primary School in Haydon End. Swindon Council has recently announced plans to build an additional primary school in the Oakhurst area of Priory Vale.
The Northern Development Area is home to what was reputed to be the largest supermarket store in the United Kingdom with 97000 square feet (9,011.6 m²) of retail space. As well as the superstore, the Orbital Shopping Park plays host to a number of big name stores, a drive-through restaurant, a petrol station and the superbly equipped and stocked North Swindon Library.
Location
Although a coterminous part of the urban area of Swindon, Priory Vale falls outside the main township and is divided between two parishes; Haydon WickHaydon Wick
The Parish of Haydon Wick lies to the north of Swindon in Wiltshire, UK and has an estimated population in excess of 16,000, more than 13,950 of which are registered electors.-Government:...
and Blunsdon St Andrew. The bulk of the expansion area lies within Haydon Wick
Haydon Wick
The Parish of Haydon Wick lies to the north of Swindon in Wiltshire, UK and has an estimated population in excess of 16,000, more than 13,950 of which are registered electors.-Government:...
Parish which covers the areas occupied by the developments at Haydon Wick, Haydonleigh, Greenmeadow Abbeymeads, Haydon End, parts of Redhouse, Taw Hill and large parts of Oakhurst. Other parts of Oakhurst and Redhouse reside within Blunsdon St Andrew parish. People living within these parished areas have separate Parish Councils each an elected local government body with in the case of Haydon Wick
Haydon Wick
The Parish of Haydon Wick lies to the north of Swindon in Wiltshire, UK and has an estimated population in excess of 16,000, more than 13,950 of which are registered electors.-Government:...
in excess of 13,100 electors.
The early years
St Andrew parish sits in BlunsdonBlunsdon
Broad Blunsdon is a village in the Borough of Swindon, England, about north of Swindon itself.Together with the nearby villages of Blunsdon St Andrew and adjoining Lower Blunsdon, the settlement is usually known simply as Blunsdon...
, although not within the area of the Northern Development Area. This is a village dating back to the Iron Age, where the earliest ancestors fortified and built a settlement. Blunsdon is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Bluntesdone', at which time the settlement had a population of only two or three adult males. In 1281, there was also a reference to 'Bluntesdon Seynt Andreu'. Additionally in recent years, archaeologists discovered a Roman travellers' resting place on the site of the present-day Cold Harbour pub a mile or so away from the 'northern expansion', and the A419 main road through Blunsdon also follows the course of a Roman road known as Ermine Street that linked the historic towns of Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
and Silchester.
The recent Roman find at Groundwell Ridge Abbey Meads within the 'Northern Expansion' is believed to be a religious and ceremonial site.
Blunsdon Abbey was a prominent landmark in the area and inspired the title of the Abbey Meads development. The name 'Priory Vale' follows this monastic theme. Local tradition claims Blunsdon Abbey was originally an outpost of Godstow Nunnery near Oxford. Apparently, the land was granted to the Brydges family during the reign of Henry VIII.
In 1860, a wealthy sportsman, Clayton de Windt, purchased the estate and built a new house in the "latest Neo-Gothic style" to designs by E.Mantell of London. The builder was Thomas Barrett of Swindon, who created an imposing residence with forty bedrooms, grand interiors, entrance hall, billiards room and lavish furnishings. Clayton de Windt was killed in a riding accident in 1863, and sadly, in April 1904, fire destroyed the house and its contents.
Today, the development occupies farmland and fields dating back to the 18th century. The villages Redhouse and Haydon End are named after these historical fields, while the village title of Oakhurst was taken from the name of the home at Haydon End Farm. Indeed, for many years, the Haydon area of Priory Vale was home to farm owners and ancient meadowlands.
Prior to 1928 the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Haydon Wick
Haydon Wick
The Parish of Haydon Wick lies to the north of Swindon in Wiltshire, UK and has an estimated population in excess of 16,000, more than 13,950 of which are registered electors.-Government:...
was part of the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Rodbourne Cheney.
A timeline of development
November 2001: The Mayor of Swindon, David Cox, officially opened the Northern Orbital Road. The three mile stretch of dual carriageway provided the first stage of an important bypass to the north of Swindon. The new road gave access to the new supermarket and provided the necessary infrastructure to begin work on the planned community of Priory Vale.The Asda supermarket opened for business on November 26.
2002: Chris and Tracy Barnes with their daughters Natalie and Jessica, went down in history as the very first residents of Priory Vale. The couple took up residence in a three-storey built by Bloor Homes in their Saunders Brook development.
May 2002: The May bank holiday saw the installation of what was reputed to be Swindon’s 'showiest' bridge. Specifically designed for all pedestrian, cycle, disabled and equestrian use, this steel stayed structure spans 62 metres across the Northern Orbital Road. The bridge was transported from Tyneside complete and ready to position, minimising any disruption to traffic on Thamesdown Drive. The bridge later featured in an advert for the Honda Civic
Honda Civic
The Honda Civic is a line of subcompact and subsequently compact cars made and manufactured by Honda. The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised Honda's vehicles sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model lineup was expanded...
which is built in the town.
November 2002: The Priory Vale Visitor Centre opened to the public on Tuesday 26 November 2002. The timber-framed building was designed by Nigel Clark Architects and built by EW Beard.
2005: Construction of the Learning Campus commences. The project involves designing, building operating five schools: Red Oaks, Brimble Hill, Uplands and Isambard Community School within the Learning Campus, and Orchid Vale in Haydon End.
September 2006: Red Oaks Primary School and Orchid Vale Primary School open. The first day at Red Oaks saw King George XI (aka Roger Day) leading the children through a story that culminated in planting a magic silver acorn. Children's TV personality Dave Benson Phillips joined the King and pupils for the ceremony. Meanwhile at Orchid Vale in Haydon End, children received a warm welcome from headteacher Debbie Kalynka. "We're building a community spirit at Orchid Vale and there is a spirit of working together," she said.
March 2007: In March 2007, the Priory Vale Visitor Centre closed its doors. Situated on Thamesdown Drive, the Visitor Centre was created to inform prospective buyers of available properties and direct people to developments throughout Priory Vale. With Priory Vale now an established location, Priory Vale's individual developers take on the responsibility to market their own properties.
September 2007: In September 2007, it is proposed that a new community centre will be completed to cater for Oakhurst and Redhouse residents, as they have no nearby community centre. The nearest amenities are a 15 minute walk or a mile drive to the near shopping complex.
The North Swindon Development Company
The first land deal that made Swindon’s northern expansion project possible dates back to 1982 when housing developer Crest NicholsonCrest Nicholson
Crest Nicholson is a British housebuilding company based in Chertsey, Surrey.-History:The Company was founded by Bryan Skinner in 1963 as Crest Homes and floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1968. One of the characteristics that differentiated Crest from most other housebuilders of the time was...
acquired Abbey Farm from the Hitchin family. Shortly afterwards an option on the Francis family land became available and the arduous process of obtaining planning permission began in earnest. After years of intense negotiation, and precisely ten years later, planning permission for 10,000 new homes was granted in 1992.
Work commenced in 1993 and the former Francis land, just off Lady Lane was the first area to be developed. From a slow start, 81 houses were built and sold in 1994, building up to a massive 800 houses in 1997, quite an impressive increase within the space of four years. At the peak, the project had twelve of the UK’s leading housebuilders building, it’s hardly surprising that it took only seven years to build over 2,700 houses in the development known as Abbey Meads.
Some smaller developments followed before the final phase of the northern expansion project of Priory Vale. The planning cost of Priory Vale was substantially increased over the years and the cost of developing such a scheme was beyond the capability of one housing developer. As a result, the North Swindon Development Company (NSDC) was formed acting as an enabler in respect of all the works. The NSDC is owned and run jointly by George Wimpey
George Wimpey
George Wimpey was formed in 1880 and, based in Hammersmith, operated largely as a road surfacing contractor. The business was acquired by Godfrey Mitchell in 1919 and he developed it into the UK’s pre-eminent construction and housebuilding firm. In 2007, Wimpey merged with Taylor Woodrow to create...
, Westbury plc, Bloor Homes, Bryant Homes
Bryant Homes
Bryant Homes was one of the larger UK housebuilders when it was acquired by Taylor Woodrow in 2001; Bryant then became the principal housebuilding operation of the enlarged group. Taylor Woodrow merged with Wimpey in 2007 and during 2010 the Bryant brand was phased out...
, Crest Nicholson and Walmart.