Easton Royal is a village 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 authority ...

of Easton in

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, about east of

Pewsey Pewsey is a large village and civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and is served by Pewsey railway station on the Re ...

and south of

Marlborough 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 ...

. The village was the location of Easton Priory from 1234 to 1536. The village mistakenly gained the Royal suffix in 1838 and the name Easton Royal has been in general use since the 1850s. The parish is on the northeastern edge of

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

, and near the eastern end of the

Vale of Pewsey The Vale of Pewsey or Pewsey Vale is an area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the village of Pewsey. Geography The vale is an extent of lower lying ground separating the chalk downs of Salisbury ...

History

Easton Hill, in the south of the parish, carries prehistoric sites including a

bowl barrow A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ker ...

and a

disc barrow A disc barrow is a type of tumulus or round barrow, a variety of fancy barrow identified in English Heritage's Monument Class Descriptions. A disc barrow comprises a circular or oval-shaped flat platform, defined by a continuous earthen bank and ...

. The village stands on or near the likely route of the

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

between Mildenhall and Old Sarum. From the 13th century the village was on the Marlborough-Salisbury road, until the 17th century when the road took a more eastward course through Burbage. Easton Priory, begun in 1234, was built next to the road in order to aid travellers. By 1833 the village had a small National School, which was replaced by a new building in 1874. A large hall was added to the school in 2005. In 1836 the vicar of Great Bedwyn mistakenly described Easton's

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

as royal; in the 1850s the village began to be called Easton Royal, and this name came into common usage. The name of the parish remains Easton. The population of the parish peaked in the mid 19th century, with 532 recorded at the 1841 census. By 1881 the population had declined to 323, and there was a further slow decline until the number stabilised around 250 by the middle of the 20th century.

Religious sites

Early churches

Although Easton was not recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, one of the two churches of the king's large estate at Wootton may have stood here. By the late 12th century the church may have belonged to the abbey at La Trinité-du-Mont, Upper Normandy; part of the patronage was later given to

Bradenstoke Priory Bradenstoke Priory was a medieval priory of Augustinian canons regular in the village of Bradenstoke, Wiltshire, England. Its site, in the north of the county about west of Lyneham, is on a ridge above the south side of Dauntsey Vale. In th ...

. A dispute followed, and was resolved by the bishop of Salisbury in a decision ratified in 1246 which granted the church to the priory that had been founded at Easton c. 1234. The church was enlarged with a north chapel in 1322 and by 1323 was dedicated to St Mary. In 1369 the church was demolished and material taken to enlarge the priory church, which became the parish church.

Holy Trinity

In 1536 St Mary's church was reported to be in poor condition, and in 1591 Sir Edward Seymour replaced it with a new

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

. By 1763 this church was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The nave, font and porch survive from 1591; 19th-century restoration included work by T.H. Wyatt in 1852–3, when a south vestry was added with a tower above, and the body of the church was extended westward by one bay. 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 1988. The benefice was united with

Milton Lilbourne Milton Lilbourne is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England, in the Vale of Pewsey between Pewsey and Burbage. It is largely a mixed residential area centred on the Manor. The nearest town is Marlborough, to the north. ...

in 1929, and in 1991 with Pewsey and Wootton Rivers. Today the parish is part of the Vale of Pewsey team of churches.

Local government

The civil parish of Easton elects a parish council. The parish is in the area of

Wiltshire Council Wiltshire Council is a council for the unitary authority of Wiltshire (excluding the separate unitary authority of Swindon) in South West England, created in 2009. It is the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council (1889–2009) and the ...

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

, which is responsible for all significant

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

functions.

Amenities

The primary school continues on the same site, now called Easton Royal Academy. There is a village hall at Easton Royal. 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 ...

, the ''Bruce Arms'', is in the west of the parish, close to the boundary with Milton Lilbourne.

Notable residents and benefactors

* Several Esturmys, hereditary wardens of Savernake forest since the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

, funded and were buried at Easton church; their monuments were later (c. 1590) moved to

Great Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough. The Kennet and Avon Canal and the Reading to Taunton ...

when the original church fell into disrepair. Named, amongst others, on a stone plaque erected in the church in 1950. * "Major" Sir John Wildman was captured here in 1655. * Duchess of Somerset, 1672, perhaps

Lady Frances Devereux Frances Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (''née'' Devereux; 30 September 1599 – 24 April 1674) was an English noblewoman who lived during the reigns of Elizabeth I, James I, Charles I and Charles II. Her father was Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of E ...

, the wife of

William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, (158824 October 1660) was an English nobleman and Royalist commander in the English Civil War. Origins Seymour was the son of Edward Seymour, Lord Beauchamp (who predeceased his own father) by his wif ...

and mother of

Henry Seymour, Lord Beauchamp Henry Seymour, Lord Beauchamp (c. 1626 – 14 March 1654) was an English nobleman, third son of William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset.''The Complete Peerage'', vol. 12, 1953, "Somerset", p. 74. He had two elder brothers, but they both died unmarr ...

and

John Seymour, 4th Duke of Somerset John Seymour, 4th Duke of Somerset and 3rd Marquess of Hertford (before 164629 April 1675) was an English peer and MP. He was the only surviving son of William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset, and Lady Frances Devereux. In 1656, he married Sara ...

. * Edward Seymour of Easton, c. 1735 later

Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset (December 1694 or early 1695 – December 1757) was an English peer and landowner. Family The son of Sir Edward Seymour, 5th Baronet, of Berry Pomeroy, a descendant of Lord Protector Somerset by his f ...

. * Dr David Herbert Llewellyn, surgeon of the ''

CSS Alabama CSS ''Alabama'' was a screw sloop-of-war built in 1862 for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead on the River Mersey opposite Liverpool, England by John Laird Sons and Company. ''Alabama'' served as a successful commerce raider, attackin ...

'', was the son of the vicar and is commemorated in the church. He lost his life when the ''Alabama'' was sunk by ''USS Kearsarge'' in 1864. *Sir

Henry Howarth Bashford Sir Henry Howarth Bashford (13 January 1880 – 15 August 1961) was a distinguished English physician, becoming Honorary Physician to King George VI. He was also an author, most notably of satirical novels. Early life Bashford was born in Ke ...

(1880-1961) – historian of the village, who bequeathed land that is now the village recreation ground; commemorated by the village's first

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

at his former residence, the White House. *

Nigel Stock (actor) Nigel Stock (21 September 1919 - 23 June 1986) was a British actor who played character roles in many films and television dramas. He was perhaps best known for his stint as Dr Watson in TV adaptations of the Sherlock Holmes stories, for his su ...

References

External links

Easton Royal
at Wiltshire Community History
Village website
{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire