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 authorit ...
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, southeast of
Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...
and northwest of
Upavon
Upavon is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portion of the River Avon which runs from north to south through the village. It is on the north edge of Salisbury Plain ...
Andover
Andover may refer to:
Places Australia
*Andover, Tasmania
Canada
* Andover Parish, New Brunswick
* Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
* Andover, Hampshire, England
** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station
United States
* Andove ...
Vale of Pewsey
The Vale of Pewsey or Pewsey Vale is an area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the village of Pewsey.
Geography
The vale is an extent of lower lying ground separating the chalk downs of Salisbu ...
.
The parish extends southeast onto Salisbury Plain and into the
military training area
A military training area, training area (Australia, Ireland, UK) or training centre (Canada) is land set aside specifically to enable military forces to train and exercise for combat. Training areas are usually out of bounds to the general public, ...
.
History
There is a prehistoric or medieval linear earthwork on Rushall Down, one of several archaeological remains on the Plain.
Rushall appears in
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
, as a large settlement of 105 households, with a church, at ''Rusteselue''. Before 1086 it was held by Gytha, the widow of Earl Godwin, or by Harold, her son, but by the time of the survey, it had been given to the Abbey of St. Wandrille. There seems to have been a church present at that time. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the manor was held by the de Aunay family and subsequently changed hands several times. By 1404 it was in the hands of Lord Hungerford, and his family remained in possession until it was sold in 1548 or 1549. By 1749 it had been sold to
Edward Poore
Edward Poore ( 1704 – 1780) was the member of the Parliament of Great Britain for Salisbury for the parliament of 1747 to 1754, and for Downton for 13 December 1756 to 1761.emparking the surrounding land.
Amenities
Rushall Church of England
Voluntary Aided
A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...
Primary School serves the surrounding villages, including Upavon and the British Army garrison at
Trenchard Lines
Royal Air Force Upavon or RAF Upavon is a former RAF station in Wiltshire, England. It was a grass airfield, military flight training school, and administrative headquarters of the Royal Air Force. The station opened in 1912 and closed in 1993, ...
.
The modern village hall is shared with the neighbouring village of Charlton.
The Anglican Church of St Matthew is Grade II* listed. Parts of a 14th-century building survive; the tower dates from the late 15th or early 16th century. In 1812 much of the church was rebuilt in brick, and in 1905 restoration was carried out by C.E. Ponting. The benefice was combined with Upavon in 1924, but the parishes remained separate; today the parish is part of the Vale of Pewsey team ministry, which covers
Pewsey
Pewsey is a large village and civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and is served by Pewsey railway station on the Re ...
and many rural parishes.
Governance
The civil parish elects a parish council. All significant local government services are provided by
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 ...
, with its headquarters in
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) southeas ...
, and the parish is represented there by Paul Oatway, who succeeded Brigadier Robert Hall in 2013. In the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
the parish is part of the
Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...