Lea is a village 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, lying approximately east 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 ...

. It 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 Lea and Cleverton which includes the village of Garsdon and the

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 ...

of Cleverton. Garsdon was a separate parish until 1934. The Charlton Stream forms the western boundary of the parish, and joins the River Avon near Cowbridge in the southwest of the parish. The

Woodbridge Brook The Woodbridge Brook is a tributary of the Bristol Avon. It rises near Lydiard Millicent in Wiltshire in the west of England and flows in a generally westerly direction, joining the Avon below Malmesbury. The brook has a mean flow of and the wa ...

flows east–west across the parish to join the Charlton Stream northwest of Lea village. The southern boundary of the parish follows approximately the B4042

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

–Malmesbury road.

History

An early resident of Lea, in 1340, was Ralph of Combe and his name survives in the name applied to the south west corner of the village of Lea, which is Combe Green (Ordnance Survey spelling), sometimes misspelt as Coombe Green. A school was built at Lea in 1873, replacing an earlier one-room school. Children of all ages attended until 1954 when older pupils transferred to Malmesbury School; in 1976 the school buildings were extended. The population of the parish peaked at 494 at the 1871 census, declined to 337 in 1931 and then increased as new housing was built, almost all in Lea village. When Sidney Herbert was created

Baron Herbert of Lea Baron Herbert of Lea, of Lea in the County of Wiltshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, since 1862 a subsidiary title of the earldom of Pembroke. The barony was created in 1861 for the politician Sidney Herbert, the fourth son ...

in 1861, his new title referred to this village.

Garsdon

The Domesday Book of 1068 recorded a settlement of 17 households at ''Gardone'', and land held by

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 ...

. The abbey retained the land 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 ...

when it was granted to Richard Moody, whose descendants included Sir Henry Moody MP (c.1582–1629). In 1631, the manor was bought by Sir Lawrence Washington (d. 1643), a Registrar of Chancery; his son, also Lawrence (1622–1662) was elected for

in 1661. Garsdon church has Washington family graves and a memorial; members of another branch of the family, headed by

Lawrence Washington (1602–1653) Laurence or Lawrence Washington may refer to: *Laurence Washington (MP for Maidstone) (1546–1619), Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidstone *Lawrence Washington (1622–1662), MP for Malmesbury *Lawrence Washington (1565–1616), Mayor of Northam ...

are ancestors of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, first President of the United States. The manor passed by marriage to Sir Robert Shirley, later Earl Ferrers, in 1671; his grandson sold it to Paul Methuen in 1758, and in turn his grandson sold it in 1843 to Thomas Howard, Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire, who also owned the nearby Charlton estate. The Howards sold the manor and farm in the 1930s. The manor house is from the 14th century, with additions in the 17th century and later, and is

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 the late 17th century the main Oxford-Bristol road ran east–west through Garsdon parish, following the ridge in the east of the parish. The boundary between Lea and Garsdon parishes followed roughly the course of the Woodbridge Brook. Population of the parish peaked at 234 in 1831 and then declined, reaching 119 in 1931. Garsdon was added to Lea parish in 1934.

Religious sites

Anglican

An early chapel at Lea had been annexed to Garsdon rectory by the mid 16th century. In the earlier 20th century, Garsdon and Lea and Cleverton were considered a united benefice; in 1987 the rectory of Garsdon with Lea and Cleverton was united with Charlton vicarage. Today the churches at Lea and Garsdon are part of the Woodbridge Group of six rural churches.

The church of St Giles, Lea, has a 15th-century west tower; the rest was rebuilt and enlarged during

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 1878.

There was a church at Garsdon in 1265. The tower of All Saints' church is from the 15th and 16th centuries; the rest was rebuilt and enlarged in 1856.

Others

Calvinistic Methodists Calvinistic Methodists were born out of the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival and survive as a body of Christians now forming the Presbyterian Church of Wales. Calvinistic Methodism became a major denomination in Wales, growing rapidly in the 1 ...

built Zion chapel in Lea village c.1808, which was rebuilt in 1861. It was later used by

Congregationalists Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

and then

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

, who continue to use it in 2018.

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 Jubilee Chapel at Garsdon Heath, northeast of Garsdon village, in 1860. The building remained in use until the late 20th century or early 21st, but by 2012 had become a private house. Primitive Methodists also built a chapel at Cleverton in 1874, replacing an earlier chapel. The building was still in use in 2018.

Facilities

Lea & Garsdon CE Primary School serves Lea, Cleverton, Garsdon and Charlton. The village has a

public house 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 Rose and Crown, and a village hall. Other facilities in the village include a tennis court, a table tennis table, a former telephone box converted to a library and a children's play area. Lea had a cricket team between 2002 and 2009: the "Lea Lackadasicals". They played around ten friendly matches a year, normally on a Sunday afternoon.

References

External links

Lea and Cleverton Parish CouncilLea Village
community website
Lea & Garsdon CE Primary School
{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire