Purton Stoke
Encyclopedia
Purton Stoke is a small village in north Wiltshire
, situated within the civil parish
of Purton
. The village is located along a side road off of the Purton to Cricklade
road, approximately one mile north of Purton village. A small country lane gives access to the nearby hamlet of Bentham, to the south.
by the name of 'The Bell', which is a property of the Arkells Brewery. The village post office has closed. Until relatively recently Purton Stoke had its own primary school. It opened in 1894; and at its peak had 100 pupils. However, numbers dropped continually from the 1930s when older pupils were educated in Purton, until there were only around 30 pupils left in the 1970s. The school closed in 1978. The building is now used for the Jubilee Gardens Project and is situated on the Purton to Cricklade
road.1
nature reserve
, Stoke Common Meadows
, can be found in the vicinity. Situated at the end of Stoke Common Lane in Purton Stoke, Stoke Common Meadows
consist of a small wood and grassland
s, with ancient hedgerows and ditch
es Wildlife found here includes mainly wildflowers: Pepper-saxifrage, sweet vernal-grass, heath-spotted orchid, adder’s-tongue fern (Ophioglossum
), bugle
, ox-eye daisy and common knapweed. Some of the fields are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
. Grid reference
: SU 070 904.3
, whose mineral water
s supposedly carry medicinal properties. The water has a high concentration of lime
phosphate
. Locals had used the water for centuries for its health benefits; however, when the wealthy landowner, Dr Samuel Champernowne Sadler, MRCS, contracted an illness in the mid-19th century, he tried the water and became markedly better. After this, he erected a pump and pump house in the 1850s and the water was sold commercially, in the 1920s selling for 8d. This continued until World War II 1, when petrol rationing made the business uneconomical2. Another reason that has been suggested about the decline of the business is that free medical treatment became available from the NHS
, after the Second World War.4
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...
, situated within the 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...
of Purton
Purton
Purton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire. The civil parish includes the village of Purton Stoke and the hamlets of Bentham, Hayes Knoll, Restrop and Widham....
. The village is located along a side road off of the Purton to Cricklade
Cricklade
Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire in England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester.On 25 September 2011 Cricklade was awarded The Royal Horticultural Society's 'Champion of Champions' award in the Britain in Bloom competition.Cricklade is twinned with...
road, approximately one mile north of Purton village. A small country lane gives access to the nearby hamlet of Bentham, to the south.
Amenities
Purton Stoke has a Methodist chapel. The current building opened in 1868, complete with outbuildings for stabling visitors' horses. There was a Quaker Meeting House in the village during the late 17th century and early 18th century. The village also has a public housePublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
by the name of 'The Bell', which is a property of the Arkells Brewery. The village post office has closed. Until relatively recently Purton Stoke had its own primary school. It opened in 1894; and at its peak had 100 pupils. However, numbers dropped continually from the 1930s when older pupils were educated in Purton, until there were only around 30 pupils left in the 1970s. The school closed in 1978. The building is now used for the Jubilee Gardens Project and is situated on the Purton to Cricklade
Cricklade
Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire in England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester.On 25 September 2011 Cricklade was awarded The Royal Horticultural Society's 'Champion of Champions' award in the Britain in Bloom competition.Cricklade is twinned with...
road.1
Stoke Common Meadows
The Wiltshire Wildlife TrustWiltshire Wildlife Trust
The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the county of Wiltshire, England. The organisation is Registered Charity No. 266202.-Sarsen Trail:Sarsen Trail and Neolithic Marathon 2012Run it, Walk it, Bike it, Enjoy it...
nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
, Stoke Common Meadows
Stoke Common Meadows
Stoke Common Meadows is a 10.2 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, notified in 1994.-References:*. Accessed August 14, 2006-External links:*...
, can be found in the vicinity. Situated at the end of Stoke Common Lane in Purton Stoke, Stoke Common Meadows
Stoke Common Meadows
Stoke Common Meadows is a 10.2 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, notified in 1994.-References:*. Accessed August 14, 2006-External links:*...
consist of a small wood and grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
s, with ancient hedgerows and ditch
Ditch
A ditch is usually defined as a small to moderate depression created to channel water.In Anglo-Saxon, the word dïc already existed and was pronounced 'deek' in northern England and 'deetch' in the south. The origins of the word lie in digging a trench and forming the upcast soil into a bank...
es Wildlife found here includes mainly wildflowers: Pepper-saxifrage, sweet vernal-grass, heath-spotted orchid, adder’s-tongue fern (Ophioglossum
Ophioglossum
Ophioglossum is a genus of about 25-30 species of Ophioglossales in the family Ophioglossaceae, with a cosmopolitan but primarily tropical and subtropical distribution. The name Ophioglossum comes from the Greek, and means "snake-tongue".Adders-tongues are so-called because the spore-bearing stalk...
), bugle
Bugle (plant)
Ajuga , also known as Bugleweed, Ground pine or Carpet bugle, is a genus of about 40–50 species of annual and perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae, with most species native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, but also two species in southeastern Australia...
, ox-eye daisy and common knapweed. Some of the fields are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
. Grid reference
Grid reference
Grid references define locations on maps using Cartesian coordinates. Grid lines on maps define the coordinate system, and are numbered to provide a unique reference to features....
: SU 070 904.3
'Purton Spa' or the 'Salt Hole'
To the west of the village there is a springSpring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
, whose mineral water
Mineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
s supposedly carry medicinal properties. The water has a high concentration of lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
. Locals had used the water for centuries for its health benefits; however, when the wealthy landowner, Dr Samuel Champernowne Sadler, MRCS, contracted an illness in the mid-19th century, he tried the water and became markedly better. After this, he erected a pump and pump house in the 1850s and the water was sold commercially, in the 1920s selling for 8d. This continued until World War II 1, when petrol rationing made the business uneconomical2. Another reason that has been suggested about the decline of the business is that free medical treatment became available from the NHS
National Health Service (England)
The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...
, after the Second World War.4
