Cholderton, or more properly West Cholderton, 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 the Bourne Valley of

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 is about east of the town of

Amesbury Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settle ...

. It is on the A338, about south of the

A303 The A303 is a trunk road in southern England, running between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon via Stonehenge. Connecting the M3 and the A30, it is part of one of the main routes from London to Devon and Cornwall. It is a pri ...

trunk road and northeast of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

. East Cholderton is part of Amport parish, over the county border in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. Local attractions include Cholderton Charlie's Farm, a

Rare Breeds Survival Trust The Rare Breeds Survival Trust is a conservation charity whose purpose is to secure the continued existence and viability of the native farm animal genetic resources (FAnGR) of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1973 by Joe Henson to pres ...

approved farm park.

Notable people

Henry Charles Stephens Henry Charles "Inky" Stephens (2 February 1841 – July 1918) was an English businessman and Conservative PartyLloyd's Weekly Newspaper, Sunday, 3 July 1887 "Election Intelligence" politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1887 to 1900 as t ...

, a businessman from

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

in north London and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, owned an estate in Cholderton and in 1904 by

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

set up the

Cholderton and District Water Company The Cholderton and District Water Company is a private water supplier, serving an area on the border of Hampshire and Wiltshire in the south of England. Until 1 May 2018 it was by far the smallest licensed water company in England and Wales, but s ...

which serves a small area of Hampshire and Wiltshire. His descendants still live in the village.

Notable buildings

Cholderton House (built 1690) and the Manor House (circa 1710) are

Grade II* 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 ...

. It was built "probably for Jonathan Hill, merchant, of Salisbury, altered C18 and extended in C19" according to the listing. The current structure is a 21st-century building that replaced the 17th-century house extensively damaged in a 2012 fire. In 2021, the building was described as having a "restored, late-17th-century William-and-Mary façade" by ''Country Life'' magazine and the property featured many equestrian facilities. The Manor House is described in its listing as "Farm house, now house. c1710 ... with service extension to left added 1732, and wing on right, set back and extending to rear, built c1931". By 2019, a news item about the house stated that it had been extensively restored, and the property included a swimming "pool, and a paddock, as well as stables, and a tennis court". The report stated that the current building includes a 20th-century addition, presumably from 1931.

Parish Church of St Nicholas

In the 1840s two churches stood on this site, side by side. The smaller being the old Saxon church deemed in need of replacement by the then Rector, Reverend

Thomas Mozley Thomas Mozley (1806June 17, 1893), was an English clergyman and writer associated with the Oxford Movement. Early life Mozley was born at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, the son of a bookseller and publisher. His brother, James Bowling Mozley, wou ...

and his wife Harriet, the sister of Cardinal Newman. Mozley laid the foundation stone for the larger building in 1841 and the new church was completed in 1850. Mozley directed the project, the architect was

Thomas Henry Wyatt Thomas Henry Wyatt (9 May 1807 – 5 August 1880) was an Anglo-Irish architect. He had a prolific and distinguished career, being elected President of the Royal Institute of British Architects 1870–73 and being awarded its Royal Gold Medal for A ...

and the builder, John Crook of West Dean. The new church cost over £6000, of which Mozley contributed over £5000. In contrast, the demolition of the old church cost £11. In 1958 the church was designated as Grade II* listed. The parish is now part of the Bourne Valley grouping. Thomas Mozley was a supporter of the High Church

Tractarian movement The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

and in 1841 succeeded Newman as editor of its periodical, the ''

British Critic The ''British Critic: A New Review'' was a quarterly publication, established in 1793 as a conservative and high-church review journal riding the tide of British reaction against the French Revolution. The headquarters was in London. The journa ...

''. Other notable rectors include William Noyes (from 1601), James Fraser (1847-1860; later

Bishop of Manchester The Bishop of Manchester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester in the Province of York.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing (). The current bishop is David Walker w ...

) and Frank McGowan (to 1951; became

Archdeacon of Sarum The Archdeacon of Sarum is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Salisbury, England. He or she is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the five Rural Dean, area deaneries of the Sarum archdeaconry, which ...

Attractions

Rare breeds farm Cholderton Charlie's is visited by thousands each year. On site there is indoor and outdoor play equipment, a vineyard, a gift-shop, a zip-line and café. Some of their rare breed animals include ponies, geese, Highland cows, donkeys, alpacas and goats.

References

External links

*
Cholderton Charlie's FarmCholderton Farm Shop & CafeThe Crown Inn, CholdertonThe Cholderton Estate
{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire