Edington 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 ...

in Wiltshire, England, about east-northeast of Westbury. The village lies under the north slope 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 the parish extends south onto the Plain. Its Grade I listed parish church was built for Edington Priory in the 14th century. Tinhead is the former name of the eastern half of present-day Edington, towards Coulston along the B3098 Westbury to

Market Lavington Market Lavington is a civil parish and large village with a population of about 2,200 on the northern edge of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, south of the market town of Devizes. The village lies on the B3098 Westbury–Urchfont road w ...

road. Tinhead is labelled on the

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map of 1945 but not on the 1958 map. Today the combined settlement is Edington and the name survives only in Tinhead Hill and Tinhead Lane.

Geography

Tinhead Hill, in the south of the parish at , rises to . The southernmost part of the parish is within the Salisbury Plain military training area. A stream which rises at Luccombe Bottom and flows north-east divides the parish from Bratton, then flows north-west across the parish.

Bratton Downs Bratton Downs () is a 395.8 hectare biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, England, near the villages of Bratton and Edington, and about east of the town of Westbury. It was notified in 1971. The design ...

, a biological and geological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

, includes the hillside above the village. Three miles away is the

Westbury White Horse Westbury or Bratton White Horse is a hill figure on the escarpment of Salisbury Plain, approximately east of Westbury in Wiltshire, England. Located on the edge of Bratton Downs and lying just below an Iron Age hill fort, it is the oldest ...

, a chalk figure on the side of Westbury Hill first recorded in the 18th century, which is visible from Westbury and much of western Wiltshire, although not from Edington.

History

Evidence of prehistoric activity includes a

long barrow Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material repres ...

at Tinhead Hill. The ancient parish had three

tithings A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or s ...

: Edington, Tinhead, and Baynton and Coulston. The parish was part of the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

of Whorwellsdown, and is believed to hold a place in English history, for it was probably here that

King Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf, King of Wessex, Æthelwulf and his ...

won a decisive battle in 878 against the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

at the

Battle of Edington At the Battle of Edington, an army of the kingdom of Wessex under Alfred the Great defeated the Great Heathen Army led by the Dane Guthrum on a date between 6 and 12 May 878, resulting in the Treaty of Wedmore later the same year. Primary s ...

(formerly known as the Battle of Ethandun). In the year 957 the

Witenagemot The Witan () was the king's council in Anglo-Saxon England from before the seventh century until the 11th century. It was composed of the leading magnates, both ecclesiastic and secular, and meetings of the council were sometimes called the Wit ...

, or King's Council, met at Edington. The Domesday Book of 1086 records a large settlement of 67 households, held by

Romsey Abbey Romsey Abbey is the name currently given to a parish church of the Church of England in Romsey, a market town in Hampshire, England. Until the Dissolution of the Monasteries it was the church of a Benedictine nunnery. The surviving Norman-era c ...

and later known as Edington Romsey. After the establishment of

Edington Priory Edington Priory in Wiltshire, England, was founded by William Edington, the bishop of Winchester, in 1351 in his home village of Edington, about east of the town of Westbury. The priory church was consecrated in 1361 and continues in use as the ...

in the mid-14th century, its manor later known as Edington Rector was created piecemeal through small purchases and gifts; the priory was also granted a manor at Tinhead. Thomas Seymour, brother of

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

and thus uncle of the future

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

, acquired Romsey's lands in 1539. Edington Priory was surrendered in the same year, and in 1541 its property at Edington and Tinhead was also granted to Seymour. After his execution in 1549 the former assets of both monastic houses were granted to

William Paulet, 1st Earl of Wiltshire William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester (c. 1483/1485 – 10 March 1572), styled Lord St John between 1539 and 1550 and Earl of Wiltshire between 1550 and 1551, was an English Lord High Treasurer, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, and statesma ...

(later Marquess of Winchester). The manors remained in the Paulet family until they were sold in 1768. In 1784 they were conveyed to Joshua Smith of Erlestoke Park, and they continued in the same ownership as Erlestoke, beginning with

George Watson-Taylor George Watson-Taylor (1771 – 6 Jun 1841), of Saul's River, Jamaica, was the fourth son of George Watson. From 1810 he was the husband of Anna Susana Taylor, the daughter of Jamaican planter Sir John Taylor, 1st Baronet, and heiress of her brothe ...

MP after Smith's death in 1819. The estate was broken up and sold over several years after the death of Simon Watson-Taylor in 1902. Another manor, which became known as Baynton, originated in the 13th century as part of Romsey Abbey's holdings. The

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...

traces its many owners, culminating in 1842 with the Watson-Taylors. After the manor house – near the present Upper Baynton Farm – was destroyed by fire in 1796, William Long bought a house at Coulston and renamed it

Baynton House Baynton House is a Grade II listed 17th-century country house at Coulston, Wiltshire, England, about northeast of the town of Westbury. History The house was begun by Francis Godolphin in about 1658; it was said to be worth £200. It was inhe ...

. The Stert & Westbury Railway was built across the parish by the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

Company, opening in 1900. A station named Edington and Bratton was half a mile (800 metres) north of Edington. The track continues in use as part of the

Reading to Taunton Line Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling) ...

but the station closed to passengers in 1952 and to goods in 1963; the station yard is a small industrial estate.

Religious sites

was founded in the 14th century and became a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

of the

Brothers of Penitence A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-famili ...

, or Bonshommes. Its large church, which was restored in 1888–1891 by C. E. Ponting, continues in use as 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 Mary, St Katherine and All Saints. It is a Grade I listed building. The other monastery buildings were destroyed by 1579; part of a fishpond survives. A

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

chapel was built in 1828 and a schoolroom added in 1876; it closed in 2006.

Notable buildings

The Grade I listed house called The Priory, immediately north of the church, may incorporate parts of the monastic buildings. The property passed to the Paulets, Marquesses of Winchester after the Dissolution. Their tenants included

Henry Baynton Henry Baynton (23 September 1892 in Moseley in Warwickshire, England – 2 January 1951 in London) was a British Shakespearean actor and actor-manager of the early 20th century who in a stage career lasting 40 years is credited with playing ...

(from 1573) and Lady Anne Beauchamp (1630 to 1664); an inventory at the death of the latter listed more than 40 rooms. One range of that house remains, the rest having been demolished by a new owner, Joshua Smith of

Erlestoke Erlestoke is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the northern edge of Salisbury Plain. The village lies about east of Westbury and the same distance southwest of Devizes. Erlestoke Prison, the only prison in Wiltshire, is wit ...

, in 1768. Two square projections with battlements are additions of c.1600 for the 4th Marquess. Around 1930, the porch was added and the interior was altered. Also Grade I listed is a small 14th-century building set into the hillside over the Ladywell spring, about 400 metres south-west of the church. A

conduit Conduit may refer to: Engineering systems * Conduit (fluid conveyance), a pipe suitable for carrying either open-channel or pressurized liquids * Electrical conduit, a protective cover, tube or piping system for electric cables * Conduit curre ...

carried water to the monastery. On Inmead, west of the church, are Whites Farm, a thatched late 16th-century timber-framed house; and The Grange, an 18th-century brick house with stone dressings, reputedly at one time occupied by

Lavinia Fenton Lavinia Powlett, Duchess of Bolton (1708 – 24 January 1760), known by her stagename as Lavinia Fenton, was an English actress who was the mistress and later the wife of the 3rd Duke of Bolton. She was probably the daughter of a naval lieutenan ...

(1708–1760), a well-known London actress who was the mistress and then wife of Charles Powlett (or Paulet), 3rd Duke of Bolton. The former George Inn on Tinhead Road was a

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...

from the early 18th century, serving Salisbury–Bath coaches which ran through the village. On the other side of the road, Shore House is a much-altered timber-framed building from the late 16th century. Further down Tinhead Road, Beckett's House has two parallel ranges: the front one incorporates a timber-framed house of c.1600 and the rear range is 17th-century.

Local government

The civil parish elects a parish council. It 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 performs all significant local government functions. The population of the parish was 834 at the census of 1801 and 1,136 in 1841. It had fallen back to 714 in 1931 and in 1951 it was down to 579, partly due to the civil parish having been reduced in area in 1934, when an eastern strip including the hamlet of West Coulston was transferred to Coulston.

Notable people

William Edington William Edington (died 6 or 7 October 1366) was an English bishop and administrator. He served as Bishop of Winchester from 1346 until his death, Keeper of the wardrobe from 1341 to 1344, treasurer from 1344 to 1356, and finally as chancellor fr ...

(d. 1366), from an Edington family, became

Treasurer of England The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in ...

and

bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

, and founded and endowed the monastery at Edington. William Gullick, the man who designed the New South Wales Coat of Arms, was baptised here in 1858.

Amenities

The village is some six miles from the

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England, on the River Biss in the west of the county. It is near the border with Somerset and lies southeast of Bath, 31 miles (49 km) southwest of Swindon and 20 miles (32 km) southe ...

, which, with

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century ...

and Westbury, provides shopping facilities. Edington has a village common and a public house, the ''Three Daggers''. The parish church is the home of the nationally known annual Edington Music Festival. Many children from Edington go to the primary school in the slightly larger neighbouring village of Bratton. Secondary school options include Trowbridge, Lavington, and

Matravers School Matravers School is a mixed foundation secondary school and sixth form located in Westbury in the English county of Wiltshire. As a foundation school, Matravers is administered by Wiltshire Council. Pupils are admitted mainly from Bitham Brook ...

at Westbury. The parish had a National School, built at Tinhead in 1877; it closed in 1956 owing to falling pupil numbers.

Gallery

File: St Mary, St Katherine and All Saints, Edington - geograph.org.uk - 2081711.jpg, St Mary, St Katherine and All Saints Church File: Traffic of the area, Edington - geograph.org.uk - 887546.jpg, Example of Edington's rural setting File: Edington.jpg, The Priory

Sources

*''The Edington cartulary'', ed. Janet H. Stevenson (

Wiltshire Record Society The Wiltshire Record Society is a text publication society in Wiltshire, England, which edits and publishes historic documents concerned with the history of Wiltshire. History In 1937, Ralph Pugh was the chief mover in a proposal to found the rec ...

, Vol. 42, 1987)

References

External links

Edington village website

Edington Music Festival
{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire