Brinkworth is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
in northern
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, England. The village lies between
Royal Wootton Bassett
Royal Wootton Bassett , formerly Wootton Bassett, is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 11,043 in 2001, increasing to 11,385 in 2011. Situated in the north of the county, it lies to the west of the major ...
and
Malmesbury
Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...
, about north of the
M4 motorway
The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...
and west of
Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
.
The west end of Brinkworth village is Causeway End. The
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
of Brinkworth includes the hamlets of
Braydon Side, Callow Hill, The Common, and the
tithing
A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or s ...
of Grittenham, a rural community to the south of the village of Brinkworth.
Much of Brinkworth village is a
linear settlement
A linear settlement is a (normally small to medium-sized) settlement or group of buildings that is formed in a long line. Many of these settlements are formed along a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Others form due to physical re ...
along the east-west B4042, extending for some . The village is sometimes described as the longest in England although others such as
Meopham, Kent make the same claim.
History
Brinkworth Manor was given to
Malmesbury Abbey
Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, is a religious house dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul. It was one of the few English houses with a continuous history from the 7th century through to the dissolution ...
by the nobleman Leofsige, sometime before the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
survey. The abbey held the land until the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, at which time it was granted to William Stumpe. It then passed into the family of the Earl of Berkshire and Suffolk, until it was sold privately between 1858 and 1960. It is likely that the other estate of Brinkworth mentioned in the Domesday, that held by Tochi, survived through the ensuing centuries as separate, smaller estates within the northern section of the parish (probably including Clitchbury Farm, Waldron's Farm and Whitehouse Farm). Grittenham is mentioned separately in the survey and was held at the time by Malmesbury Abbey. Following the dissolution it was granted to John Aycliffe, from whom it descended to the Lords Holland, who sold it privately at the end of the nineteenth century.
Geography
The village stands on a ridge overlooking the
Dauntsey Vale to the south. Two tributaries of the
Bristol Avon
The River Avon is a river in the south west of England. To distinguish it from a number of other rivers of the same name, it is often called the Bristol Avon. The name 'Avon' is a cognate of the Welsh word , meaning 'river'.
The Avon ...
flow east–west across the parish: the
Woodbridge Brook passes to the north of the village, while the
Brinkworth Brook
The Brinkworth Brook is a tributary of the Bristol Avon. It rises near Broad Hinton in Wiltshire in the West Country of England, and flows in a north and then westerly direction, joining the Avon at Great Somerford.
Course
The Brinkworth Bro ...
passes to the south and then forms the southwestern boundary of the parish. Towards the eastern boundary of the parish the Brinkworth Brook is joined by a small brook which drains the
Royal Wootton Basset area.
Religious sites
Parish church
![St Michael's and All Angels church, Brinkworth - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/St_Michael%27s_and_All_Angels_church%2C_Brinkworth_-_geograph.org.uk_-_410491.jpg)
The
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
of St Michael and All Angels is a
Grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
building. A church was recorded in 1151 and was linked with
Malmesbury Abbey
Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, is a religious house dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul. It was one of the few English houses with a continuous history from the 7th century through to the dissolution ...
until 1539.
The present church dates from the 14th and 15th centuries, and was
restored
''Restored'' is the fourth
studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings.
Track listing
Standard release
Enhanced edition
Deluxe gold edition
Standard ...
by
C. E. Ponting in 1902–3. St Michael's is one of six churches in the Woodbridge Group.
Notable rectors include
Tobias Crisp
Tobias Crisp D.D. (1600–1643) was an English clergyman and reputed antinomian. In the end he proved a divisive figure for English Calvinists, with a serious controversy arising from the republication of his works in the 1690s.
Life
In 1600, Tob ...
, incumbent from 1627 to 1642.
Other churches
A
Primitive Methodist chapel was built in 1828 in the Barnes Green area of Brinkworth, next to the main road through the village;
Richard Jukes
Rev. Richard Jukes (1804–1867) was a popular Primitive Methodist minister and hymn writer. This article provides a brief biography, and a summary of his work as a popular minister and hymn writer during the first half-century of Primitive Metho ...
was the first minister. This was replaced by a larger building in 1860.
The
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre
The Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, serves as a focal point for heritage services relating to Wiltshire and Swindon. The centre opened in 2007 and is funded by Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Counc ...
has records up to 1995; by 2009 the building was a private house.
Vine House at Grittenham was used as a
Moravian meeting house in the later 18th century and early 19th.
Also at Grittenham, a small Primitive Methodist chapel was built in 1894; it was closed c. 1975.
Canal and railways
The
Wilts and Berks Canal
The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a b ...
, opened in this area in 1801, completed in 1810 and abandoned in 1914, passed through the far south of the parish on its route to Swindon. Tockenham Reservoir, on both sides of the boundary with
Lyneham parish, supplied the canal with water.
A flight of seven
locks
Lock(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lock ...
lifted the canal over rising ground; restoration of four of these was started in 2005.
The
Great Western Main Line,
Brunel's route from London to Bath and Bristol, was built just to the north of the canal and opened in 1841. In 1903 the more direct route to South Wales was completed with the opening of the
Badminton line, diverging from the older line at Wootton Bassett and passing close to the south of Brinkworth village. Both lines are still in use.
Brinkworth railway station
![Brinkworth Station 1909056 a145ade1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Brinkworth_Station_1909056_a145ade1.jpg)
Brinkworth station, on the southern outskirts of the village near the road to
Dauntsey
Dauntsey is a small village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. It gives its name to the Dauntsey Vale in which it lies and takes its name from Saxon for Dantes- eig, or Dante's island. It is set on slightly higher ground in ...
and Grittenham, was opened at the same time as the Badminton Line in 1903. There were two platforms with buildings of brick and stone, a footbridge, goods yard and cattle pens, and a station master's house next to the road. Traffic (both goods and passengers) was always light and the station closed in 1961. The station was demolished but the house remains as a private residence.
Local government
The civil parish elects a
parish council. It is in the area of
Wiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council is a council for the unitary authority of Wiltshire (excluding the separate unitary authority of Swindon) in South West England, created in 2009. It is the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council (1889–2009) and the ...
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
, which is responsible for all significant local government functions.
An
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
of the same name exists. From Brinkworth the ward stretches west to
Great Somerford and northwest to
Crudwell
Crudwell is a village and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England. The nearest towns are Malmesbury, about to the south-west, and Cirencester, Gloucestershire to the north-east. Also to the north-east is Cotswold Airport. Kemble village, abo ...
. The ward's population at the
2011 census was 4,483.
Notable people
Landscape artist
Thomas Hearne moved to Brinkworth aged five. His biographer, Simon Fenwick, suggests that nearby
Malmesbury Abbey
Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, is a religious house dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul. It was one of the few English houses with a continuous history from the 7th century through to the dissolution ...
proved an inspiration to Hearne's later interest in Gothic architecture.
[Simon Fenwick, 'Hearne, Thomas (1744–1817)', ]Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
, Oxford University Press, 2004 The writer and philosopher
Roger Scruton
Sir Roger Vernon Scruton (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher and writer who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of traditionalist conservative views.
Editor from 1982 t ...
lived at Sunday Hill Farm.
Schools
Brinkworth has a primary school, named Brinkworth Earl Danby's CE VC Primary School after it amalgamated in 1992 with the school at
Dauntsey
Dauntsey is a small village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. It gives its name to the Dauntsey Vale in which it lies and takes its name from Saxon for Dantes- eig, or Dante's island. It is set on slightly higher ground in ...
, to the southwest. The building opened as a
National School in 1868 which became Brinkworth County School in the 20th century; the original building is still in use, with classrooms in an adjacent building which was opened in 1993.
There was also a school attached to Brinkworth Methodist chapel, which was in use in 1859.
A small school, Lady Holland's, opened at Grittenham in 1864. This school closed in 1927 owing to falling pupil numbers.
Amenities
The village has a village hall and a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
, the ''Three Crowns''.
References
Bibliography
*''The Court Records of Brinkworth and Charlton, 1544–1648'', ed. Douglas Crowley (
Wiltshire Record Society Vol. 61, 2009)
External links
Brinkworth Parish CouncilBrinkworth community websiteBrinkworth Earl Danby's CE Primary School
{{authority control
Villages in Wiltshire
Civil parishes in Wiltshire