Lower Chicksgrove 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 ...

on the north bank of the

River Nadder The River Nadder is a tributary of the River Avon, flowing in south Wiltshire, England. Course The river flows north from Ludwell to West End where it is joined by the Ferne Brook, close to the Lower Coombe and Ferne Brook Meadows site of spec ...

in the south of the county of

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, within the

Vale of Wardour The Vale of Wardour encompasses the valley of the River Nadder in the county of Wiltshire, England. Geography Topography The Vale of Wardour lies east of the town of Shaftesbury and is a relatively small but varied landscape. Named after the ...

. It is about east of Tisbury and west of

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 ...

. The settlement is recorded in the 12th century as ''Chicksgrove'' and a nearby settlement as ''Stoford''; Chicksgrove was first recorded as Lower Chicksgrove and Stoford as Upper Chicksgrove in the later 19th century. Most of the settlement at Lower Chicksgrove in the later 18th century was along a north–south lane, west of the crossing of the Tisbury-

Fovant Fovant is a village and civil parish in southwest Wiltshire, England, lying about west of Salisbury on the A30 Salisbury-Shaftesbury road, on the south side of the Nadder valley. History The name is derived from the Old English ''Fobbefunt ...

and Chilmark-

Ebbesbourne Wake Ebbesbourne Wake is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, some south-west of Salisbury, near the head of the valley of the small River Ebble. The parish includes the hamlets of Fifield Bavant and West End. History Records from Saxo ...

roads, where the farmsteads belonging to Tisbury manor stood. Chicksgrove Manor, which is the largest of these to survive, is said to have been occupied by the Davies family from the 16th to 18th centuries, and was the birthplace of the lawyer, poet, and political writer

Sir John Davies Sir John Davies (16 April 1569 (baptised)8 December 1626) was an English poet, lawyer, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1621. He became Attorney General for Ireland and formulated many of the legal ...

(1569-1626) who became

Attorney General of Ireland The Attorney General of Ireland ( ga, An tArd-Aighne) is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does pa ...

. The

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 ...

manor house, in rubble stone under a thatched roof, has 14th-century origins. For local government purposes, Lower Chicksgrove is part of 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 Sutton Mandeville, having been transferred from Tisbury parish in 1986.

Chicksgrove Quarry Chicksgrove Quarry () is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Upper Chicksgrove in Wiltshire, England notified in 1971. Chilmark stone, a form of limestone, is quarried at the site. Chicksgrove Quarry Ltd also operates C ...

, a quarry south of the river extracting

Chilmark stone Chicksgrove Quarry () is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Upper Chicksgrove in Wiltshire, England notified in 1971. Chilmark stone, a form of limestone, is quarried at the site. Chicksgrove Quarry Ltd also operates C ...

, was part of Chicksgrove manor but is now in Tisbury parish. The 2009 film '' Morris: A Life with Bells On'' was partly filmed at the Compasses Inn which is south of the river, on the road to Sutton Mandeville in a hamlet marked on some maps as Chicksgrove.

References

External links

Images of England page about Chicksgrove ManorCompasses Inn website
Hamlets in Wiltshire {{Wiltshire-geo-stub