Donhead St Andrew is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the River Nadder. It lies east of the Dorset market town of Shaftesbury. The parish includes the hamlets of West End, Milkwell and (on the A30) Brook Waters. Ferne House, on the site of a former manor house, is within the parish.

History

Donhead St Andrew and its neighbour

Donhead St Mary Donhead St Mary is a village and civil parish in southwest Wiltshire, England, on the county border with Dorset. The village lies about east of the Dorset town of Shaftesbury and stands on high ground above the River Nadder, which rises in the ...

were once part of a single Donhead estate. By c. 1200 Donhead St Andrew had a church, and the 'St Andrew' suffix was in use in 1240. The Wardour estate occupies the northeast of the parish.

Wardour Castle Wardour Castle is a ruined 14th-century castle at Wardour, on the boundaries of the civil parishes of Tisbury and Donhead St Andrew in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Salisbury. The castle was built in the 1390s, came into th ...

, built in the 1390s and now known as Old Wardour Castle, straddles the boundary with Tisbury parish. South of the castle stands Old Wardour House, built for the

Arundells Arundells is a Grade II* listed house at 59 Cathedral Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Located on the West Walk of the Close, next to the 'Wardrobe' (Rifles Museum), it was the home of Edward Heath, the former Prime Minister of the United ...

in the 17th century after the partial destruction of the castle in the Civil War. New Wardour Castle, a large country house begun in 1769, is nearby in Tisbury parish. The ridgeway which enters the parish from the east at White Sheet Hill (not to be confused with

Whitesheet Hill White Sheet Hill, also known as Whitesheet Hill, is a hill in the English county of Wiltshire. As one of the most westerly areas of downland in Britain the area is noted for its chalky farmland which contains a rich variety of rare and protected ...

north of Mere) became part of the Salisbury-Exeter road, following the route of the present A30 towards Shaftesbury. By 1788 the present lower-level route was in use instead of the ridgeway. A school was built near the church in 1835 and became a National School, then was rebuilt on the same site in 1880, to provide places for 100 children. The school closed in 1970. Population of the parish peaked around the time of the 1841 census when 900 were recorded, then fell steadily until stabilising at around half that number in the mid-20th century.

Church

The

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Church of St Andrew has 12th-century origins and was extended and remodelled in the 14th, 15th and 17th. Victorian restoration included the rebuilding of the chancel and tower. The tower has four bells, the oldest from the 15th century. The poet William Lisle Bowles was a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at the church until 1792. A wall tablet is a memorial to Captain John Cooke, a naval officer killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Notable rectors include Charles Clarke in the 20th century. The church was designated as

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 ...

in 1966. In 1980 the benefice was united with Donhead St Mary and Charlton; today the parish is part of the Benefice of St Bartholomew. Opposite the church stands Donhead House, a former rectory built in the early 18th century and enlarged in the early 20th for Sir James Pender, businessman and Member of Parliament.

Local government

Donhead St Andrew has an elected parish council. It is in the area of Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which performs most significant local government functions.

Notable people

Julian Bream Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public per ...

(1933–2020), classical guitarist, lived in the parish from 2009 until his death. * Kenneth Cooper (1905–1981), British Army officer, lived at West End House

References

External links

The Donheads

Village Design Statement, c. 2004, reviewed 2013
at wiltshire.gov.uk {{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire