Ditteridge is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in 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 authorit ...

Box A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...

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. It is about northwest of Box village and west of the town of

Corsham Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south-eastern edge of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 national route, southwest of Swindon, southeast of Bristol, northeast of Bath and southwest of ...

. Formerly a larger settlement, it has an early

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

church and had its own civil parish for a time in the 19th century.

History

The Fosse Way Roman road passes west of Ditteridge. Domesday Book in 1086 recorded a small settlement at ''Digeric'' with six households and a half share in a mill. Consisting today of a farm and a handful of houses, the ancient parish of Ditteridge (which included the hamlet of Alcombe) had a larger population, peaking at 119 at the 1851 census. As well as land around the hamlet (mostly to its north), the parish had three detached parts, all within the current Box parish. The civil parish, created in 1837, was combined with Box in 1884. Cheney Court (or Cheyney Court) is a large 17th-century

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

of two and a half storeys. In the late 19th century the author

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

spent some of his childhood there while his parents lived in Hong Kong, the house being owned by his grandmother and four of his aunts. The Grade II* listed building was used by a language school – part of the Marcus Evans Group – as recently as 2020 but was absent from the company's website in January 2022. At Middlehill, half a mile to the south, a spa was built in 1783 but failed after a few years. Spa House is from that period, and nearby Middlehill House is an 1830s recasing of a mid-18th century building. From circa 1849 a school was associated with the church; after it closed in the 1880s, children attended the school at Box.

Location

Ditteridge is about east of the Three Shire Stones, which mark the point where the counties of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, and

meet.

Parish church

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 Christopher is described by Orbach as "small and characterful". There is evidence of a Saxon church on the site. The rubble stone nave of the present church dates from c.1100, as evidenced by the south doorway which has carving of unusually high quality. The imposts have a winged dragon and a horse, and masked men's heads; the arch has lyre-shaped leaf motifs and the blank tympanum has a shallow niche, perhaps for a statue. East of the porch is a small Norman arch-headed light. The chancel was added in the 13th century and has a

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman Ca ...

from the same period. The south porch was built in the 14th century, and changes were made to the windows in the 15th. Restoration in 1859–60 by

E. W. Godwin Edward William Godwin (26 May 1833, Bristol – 6 October 1886, London) was a progressive English architect-designer, who began his career working in the strongly polychromatic " Ruskinian Gothic" style of mid-Victorian Britain, inspired by ...

included new roofs, ashlar lining to the north and east walls of the chancel, and an outer arched surround to the doorway. Some stained glass was designed by Godwin and the massive stone pulpit with incised decoration, described by Historic England as "high Victorian", is also his. A north vestry was added in the 20th century. The stone bowl of the font is Norman although its shaft and base are probably later medieval. The small

bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

above the junction of nave and chancel has a single bell dated c.1599. There are seven Grade II listed monuments in the churchyard. At some point the benefice was united with Box and Hazelbury, although the parishes remain distinct. Today the parish is part of the Lidbrook Group, which also covers St John's church at

Colerne Colerne is a village and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England. The village is about west of the town of Corsham and northeast of the city of Bath. It has an elevated and exposed position, above sea level, and overlooks the Box valley to ...

References

External links

Ditteridge at GENUKI
* {{Commons category-inline Box, Wiltshire Hamlets in Wiltshire Former civil parishes in Wiltshire