East Knoyle 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 ...

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 ...

, in the south-west of England, just west of the

A350 The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus. The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 w ...

and about south of

Warminster Warminster () is an ancient market town with a nearby garrison, and civil parish in south west Wiltshire, England, on the western edge of Salisbury Plain. The parish had a population of about 17,000 in 2011. The 11th-century Minster Church of S ...

and north of Shaftesbury, Dorset. It was the birthplace of the architect

Sir Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

. The parish includes the hamlets of Holloway, Milton, The Green, Underhill and Upton.

History

East Knoyle was part of the ancient Hundred of Downton. Unusually for England, parish registers survive from 1538 and are kept in the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre.East Knoyle, Wiltshire, England
at genuki.org.uk John Marius Wilson's ''

Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes h ...

'' (1870–1872) notes two tythings in East Knoyle: Milton and Upton. East Knoyle's population has risen and fallen in recent centuries, with a period of growth in the 19th century. In 1801 the population was 853, and by 1831 it had reached 1028, but in 1901 it was down again to 814. In 1951, the population was still at 821, but by 1971 it was only 699. The market town of Hindon was established in the north-east of East Knoyle parish in the early 13th century and became a separate civil parish in the later 19th century. In 1885 the southern part of the former parish of

Pertwood Pertwood is an ancient settlement and former parish, near Warminster in the county of Wiltshire in the west of England.Chicklade parish in 1986.

Primitive Methodists The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primiti ...

built a chapel, later called Ebenezer chapel, at The Green in 1843; this closed sometime before 1977. Charles Jupe, a silk manufacturer of

Mere Mere may refer to: Places * Mere, Belgium, a village in East Flanders * Mere, Cheshire, England * Mere, Wiltshire, England People * Mere Broughton (1938–2016), New Zealand Māori language activist and unionist * Mere Smith, American televisi ...

, built a Congregational chapel and schoolroom in the village in 1854, replacing an earlier chapel. By 1987 the church had fallen into disuse. The school next to the Congregational church became a British School, but closed in 1881. A National School was built in 1872–1873 on land near the church provided by Alfred Seymour. The design by George Aitchison Jnr has windows in

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

style. The remaining village school merged with the school at Hindon in 1984. The Warminster–Shaftesbury road ran through East Knoyle village. In the 20th century this became part of the primary

route between the M4 motorway and the south coast, and took a straighter course to the east of the village.

Notable buildings

Parish church

St Mary's Church, East Knoyle - geograph

The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Parish Church of St Mary was begun before the 1066 conquest. Pevsner described its chancel as "Norman in its bones" and wrote that its 17th-century plaster decoration, a "surprise and delight", "ought to be the purpose of a visit from every Wiltshire tourist". The church was extended in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, with a large tower added in the 15th. Plaster work in the chancel depicting biblical scenes was designed in about 1639 by Dean Christopher Wren (rector from 1620, and father of the prolific architect

). Five of the six bells are from the 18th century. The building was further extended in the 19th century, along with

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

in 1845 by Wyatt and

Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name * Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...

, and interior alterations in 1875-6 by

Sir Arthur Blomfield Sir Arthur William Blomfield (6 March 182930 October 1899) was an English architect. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 and vice-president of the RIBA in ...

. The church was declared

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 ...

in 1966. Since 2008, the ecclesiastical parish forms part of the benefice of St Bartholomew, a group of six parishes. St Mary's had a

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the communi ...

at Hindon from the 13th century. Hindon became a separate vicarage in 1869.

Knoyle Place

Knoyle Place served as the

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

until the 1940s. A 14th-century range, rebuilt in the 17th, stands next to a larger five-bay 18th-century range faced with

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

Clouds House

Clouds House Clouds House, also known simply as Clouds, is a Grade II* listed building at East Knoyle in Wiltshire, England. Designed by Arts and Crafts movement, Arts and Crafts architect Philip Webb for Percy Wyndham (1835–1911), Percy Wyndham and his wi ...

, a Grade II* listed

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

north-west of East Knoyle village, was built in 1886–1891 for Percy Wyndham, to designs of Philip Webb. It is one of Webb's grandest designs. It is now occupied by the Action on Addiction charity as a treatment centre for drug and alcohol dependence.

War memorial

The memorial was dedicated in 1920 to those from the village who died in the First World War, and has subsequently been used to commemorate those who died in the Second World War and the Iraq War.

Governance

East Knoyle elects a consultative parish council under Wiltshire Council, which has its offices in Trowbridge. The parish is represented in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

by the member for South West Wiltshire,

Andrew Murrison Andrew William Murrison (born 24 April 1961) is a British doctor, naval officer and politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Wiltshire, previously Westbury, since the 2001 ...

. The village falls in the Nadder and East Knoyle

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 ...

, which stretches east–west from Burcombe Without, crossing to East Knoyle before stretching south to

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 ...

. The total ward population as recorded in the 2011 census was 4,257.

Amenities

East Knoyle has a village hall, between the church and the former school. The hall was created in 1908 by the Seymour family, using a 14th-century

hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples wer ...

for one part of it. The village has a community-owned shop and post office. There is a

pub 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 ...

at The Green, the ''Fox and Hounds''.

Notable people

, architect, was born at East Knoyle on 20 October 1632. *A branch of the

Seymour family Seymour, Semel or St. Maur, is the name of an English family in which several titles of nobility have from time to time been created, and of which the Duke of Somerset is the head. Origins The family was settled in Monmouthshire in the 13th cen ...

held land at East Knoyle, including three Members of Parliament: Henry (died 1807), Henry (died 1849) and

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

(died 1888). Their 17th-century Knoyle House was demolished in 1954. *

Lady Cynthia Asquith Lady Cynthia Mary Evelyn Asquith (née Charteris; 27 September 1887 – 31 March 1960) was an English writer and socialite, known for her ghost stories and diaries.Richard Dalby, ''The Virago Book of Ghost Stories''.Virago, London, , 1987 (p. 23 ...

(1887–1960) was born Mary Evelyn Charteris at Clouds, near the village. *

Sally McLaren Frances Sally McLaren is a British painter, printmaker and etcher who was born in London in 1936. She lives and works in East Knoyle, Wiltshire. Art education McLaren studied at the Ruskin School of Art in Oxford from 1956 to 1959 where she won ...

(born 1936), painter, printmaker and etcher, lives and works in the village. *The author and notable diarist Joan Wyndham (1921–2007) was born in the village.''The Guardian'', 16 April 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
/ref>

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire