Poulshot (pronounced Pole-shot) 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. Its nearest town is

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 ...

, about to the northeast. The parish includes the hamlet of Townsend. The

A361 The A361 is an A class road in southern England, which at is the longest three-digit A road in the UK. History When first designated in 1922, the A361 ran from Taunton (Somerset) to Banbury (Oxfordshire). It was later extended west through B ...

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 ...

-Devizes road forms part of the northern boundary of the parish, while most of the western boundary is the Summerham Brook, a tributary of the Semington Brook.

Religious sites

The

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church of St Peter is southwest of the village green, at Townsend. The building has 13th-century origins and a tower from 1853. In 1962 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 ...

. A

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

was built in 1897, in the centre of the village next to the rectory. From 1929 the building became a church hall; it is no longer in use. A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built in 1886, to designs by C.E. Ponting, north of the Raven Inn. It is now a private home.

Notable people

Distinguished rectors of Poulshot include

Thomas Rundle Thomas Rundle (c.1688–1743) was an English cleric suspected of unorthodox views. He became Anglican bishop of Derry not long after a high-profile controversy had prevented his becoming bishop of Gloucester in 1733. Early life He was born at Milt ...

(c. 1688–1743), who became

bishop of Derry The Bishop of Derry is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the monastic settlement originally founded at Daire Calgach and later known as Daire Colm Cille, Anglicised as Derry. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a ...

; and

Benjamin Blayney Benjamin Blayney (1728 – 20 September 1801) was an English divine and Hebraist, best known for his revision of the King James Version of the Bible. Life Blayney was educated at Oxford, took a master's degree in 1753, and became fellow and vice- ...

(1728-1801), scholar of Hebrew. The historian

Herbert William Fisher Herbert William Fisher (30 July 1826 – 17 January 1903) was a British historian, best known for his book ''Considerations on the Origin of the American War'' (1865). Life He was born at Poulshot, Wiltshire, the son of Rev. William Fisher"The Pr ...

was born at Poulshot in 1826. In 1775 Thomas Boulter, the village miller, was sentenced to 14 years

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

for theft. His son (also named Thomas), tried to run the mill but gave it up and became an infamous

highwayman A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to footp ...

, committing many robberies in an area stretching from the south coast as far north as Cheshire and as far west as Bristol, before being hanged at Winchester on 19 August 1778. It is said that for many years afterwards, fierce guard dogs in the area were generally called "Boulter" after him.

Amenities

Poulshot has 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 ''Raven''. The

Kennet and Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the cent ...

passes through the northwest corner of the parish and the Caen Hill flight of locks is nearby. There is no school in the parish. A National School was built in the village in 1884 and closed in 1974; the building became the village hall.

Historical reputation

John Aubrey John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the ''Brief Lives'', his collection of short biographical pieces. He was a pioneer archaeologist, ...

wrote in his ''Natural History of Wiltshire''Aubrey's ''Natural History of Wiltshire'' (David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, Newton Abbot, 1969), at page 74:

At Poulshot, a village neer the Devises, in the spring time the inhabitants appeare of a primrose complexion; 'tis a wet, dirty place.

References

External links

*
poulshot.org.uk
– Parish website {{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire