Hankerton 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 ...

, England, northeast of

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the up ...

. The parish includes the hamlets of Cloatley, Cloatley End and Bullock's Horn. Streams which form the Braydon Brook, which becomes the

Swill Brook Swill Brook is the name of a number of streams in England, the most notable of which is the Swill Brook in Wiltshire. This stream flows for some 10 km or 6 miles in a generally easterly direction from its sources near the village of Crudwel ...

further downstream, flow east and north in the parish. Some of these streams form parts of the northern parish boundary.

Cloatley Manor Farm Meadows Cloatley Manor Farm Meadows () is a 12.1 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, notified in 1997. The site is managed as a nature reserve by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is a conservation cha ...

, a biological

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 ...

, is within the parish.

History

In 1377 Hankerton had 61 poll-tax payers and Cloatley 33, with a further 20 at Moredon, which was probably a hamlet within the parish. The population of the parish peaked in the 1830s or 1840s, with 417 recorded at the 1841 census, then declined to 252 in 1901 and has since remained near that level. Until the

Dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

, Hankerton and Cloatley were probably part of the

Crudwell Crudwell is a village and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England. The nearest towns are Malmesbury, about to the south-west, and Cirencester, Gloucestershire to the north-east. Also to the north-east is Cotswold Airport. Kemble village, abou ...

estate which belonged to

Malmesbury Abbey Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, is a religious house dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul. It was one of the few English houses with a continuous history from the 7th century through to the dissolution ...

. In 1553 Hankerton manor was bought by

James Stumpe Sir James Stumpe (by 1519 – 29 April 1563), of Malmesbury and Bromham, Wiltshire, was an English clothier and Member of Parliament. He was the eldest son of wealthy clothier and MP, William Stumpe. He was knighted 1549 or later and succeeded h ...

of Malmesbury and Bromham, who also owned Charlton manor. Hankerton and Charlton descended into the

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

family and the Earls of Suffolk, who continued to hold land in Hankerton in the 20th century. Cloatley manor was held separately, being bought in 1706 by Giles Earle of Eastcourt, Crudwell; his grandson divided the manor c. 1806. Cloatley Manor Farmhouse has a 15th-century core and a wing of c. 1600, with additions in the 19th century. Until the early 17th century it was the seat of the Earle family, who moved to Eastcourt, Crudwell. The house and certain associated buildings are

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 ...

. The ''National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland'' (1868) said of Hankerton: A small National School was built c. 1850-2 and was attended by 40-50 children in 1858. Owing to falling numbers, the school closed in 1922 but reopened in 1930; it was finally closed in 1966.

Religious sites

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 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, ...

is dedicated to the Holy Cross. The oldest parts of the building are the north arcade (late 12th century) and the north aisle (late 13th). The tower is from the 15th century; the chancel fell into disrepair, was demolished in the 16th century, and was not rebuilt until 1903 or 1904. The building was designated as

in 1959. At first a chapel of

church, Hankerton gained a vicar by 1222, and a graveyard in 1445. The

parish registers A parish register in an ecclesiastical parish is a handwritten volume, normally kept in the parish church in which certain details of religious ceremonies marking major events such as baptisms (together with the dates and names of the parents), ma ...

survive back to 1699. The tower has four bells, the oldest from c. 1399 and the others from the 16th and 17th centuries. The benefices of Hankerton and Charlton with Brokenborough were united in 1954; today the church is part of the Braydon Brook grouping. A

Strict Baptist Reformed Baptists (sometimes known as Particular Baptists or Calvinistic Baptists) are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology (salvation). The first Calvinist Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith ...

chapel was built in 1837 on the lane east of the church, now known as Chapel Lane; it closed in 1971 and the building became a private house.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire