Draycot Foliat 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 ...

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, on the back road between

Chiseldon Chiseldon is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It takes its name from the Old English cisel dene, or gravel valley, being noted in the Domesday Book as ''Chiseldene''. The village lies on the edge of the ...

to the north and Ogbourne St. George to the south. The nearest major town is

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 ...

which is about north. A notable feature is the small

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

with its model helicopter instruction centre. There is one

smallholding A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

, called Draycot Farm, and a larger farm, Sheppard's Farm, which comprises some 750 acres (300 hectares). Attached to Sheppard's farm is a small set of industrial buildings, most notably the Intellectual Property Law offices of Berry Davies LLP. In addition there are between ten and twenty other houses. The Og, a tributary of the

River Kennet The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which � ...

(itself a tributary of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

), flows for about half of the year down the centre of the hamlet, forcing the road into a sharp

hairpin bend A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal hai ...

History

In 1086 it was recorded that Draycot had enough land for six ploughs, and at the time, there were two ploughs and a serf on five hides held in the

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

while there were three ploughs, four

villeins A villein, otherwise known as ''cottar'' or '' crofter'', is a serf tied to the land in the feudal system. Villeins had more rights and social status than those in slavery, but were under a number of legal restrictions which differentiated them ...

and seven

bordar Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develope ...

s on the remaining hides. There were in total of pasture and eighteen of meadow at the time of the Domesday Survey. By 1842 there were of arable land, of meadow and of woodland within the parish, split among the three farms, Draycot, Sheppard's and King's. In 1849, King's farm was offered for sale and was bought by Draycot farm, giving the situation found today. In 1894 the ancient parish of Draycot Foliat was added to 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 Chiseldon. It is possible that Draycot Foliat lent its name to the town of Dracut, incorporated in 1701 in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

The name

Since the earliest mentions of the settlement the name has been spelt in many ways including combinations of ''Draycot'', ''Draycote'', ''Draycott'', ''Dreycot'', and ''Dreycott'' with ''Foliat'', ''Folliatt'', ''Foliatt'' and ''Folyat'' and occasionally just ''Crawecot'' or just ''Draycote''. The preferred spelling currently is ''Draycot Foliat'' and that name appears on a local signpost, however many maps and similar resources give the spelling of ''Draycott Foliat'', considered incorrect by the inhabitants. The Foliat suffix is from the Foliot family, who held the manor in the late 13th century.

The church

Draycot Foliat had a small church, and the nearby village of Chiseldon was considered within the Draycot parish; however, the situation was reversed in 1571 when

Edmund Gheast Edmund Gheast (also known as Guest, Geste or Gest; 1514–1577) was a 16th-century cleric of the Church of England. Life Guest was born at Northallerton, Yorkshire, the son of Thomas Geste. He was educated at York Grammar School and Eton College ...

became the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of Sarum (

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 ...

) and ordered the church be demolished. It was ordered, because neither Draycot nor neighbouring Chiseldon were wealthy enough to sustain their own

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

s, that the two parishes be merged. Because the Chiseldon parish was larger, it was proposed that the Draycot parish be subsumed by it, and because Chiseldon's church was in a state of disrepair, the Bishop ordered that Draycot's church be demolished and the raw materials used to repair Chiseldon. Tradition has it that the extension to Holy Cross church Chiseldon known as Draycot aisle was constructed from these raw materials. The resulting parish was expected to pay the sum of five Shillings and twelve pence to the

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

every

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

. This order was signed, not only by Edmund Gheast, but also by both Edmond Chandoyes and Thomas Chaderton, the patrons of Chiseldon and Draycot and Christopher Dewe, the vicar of Chiseldon. In some weathers, the outline of the church can still be made out and it appears to have been about seventy-five feet long and twenty wide. Today, Draycott Foliat is part of the parish of

with Draycot Foliat, part of the

Ridgeway Benefice The Ridgeway Benefice is a group of parishes in Wiltshire, England, to the north of Marlborough. The parishes are: Holy Cross Chiseldon with Draycot Foliat; Ogbourne St Andrew, which also serves the hamlets of Ogbourne Maizey and Rockley; and ...

in the

Marlborough Deanery Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

Chiseldon Camp

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

there was a military camp at Draycot, and a long siding was built from the

Midland and South Western Junction Railway The Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) was an independent railway built to form a north–south link between the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway in England, allowing the Midland and other companies' tr ...

Chiseldon railway station Chiseldon railway station was on the Midland and South Western Junction Railway in Wiltshire. History The station opened on 27 July 1881 on the Swindon Town to Marlborough section of the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway. In 1883, a ...

to serve it. In 1930, a small railway station, Chiseldon Camp Halt was built on the main line about a mile south of Chiseldon station and about half a mile from the camp. The line and both railway stations closed in 1961. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

an American army base was built on the other side of the road from Draycot. When the war ended, the Americans returned home but left a series of roads behind them. There are a few houses on these roads, built after the site was auctioned off in 1980. These houses can be considered as part of Draycot Foliat as they are within the original boundaries of the parish.

References

External links

Google Maps

Ridgeway Benefice website
{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Former civil parishes in Wiltshire