South Newton is a village and
civil parish about north-west of
Salisbury in
Wiltshire, England. Topologically it lies between chalk downs to the north-east, and downland with Grovely Wood to the southwest. The village straddles the
A36 road
The A36 is a trunk road and primary route in southwest England that links the port city of Southampton to the city of Bath. At Bath, the A36 connects with the A4 to Bristol, thus providing a road link between the major ports of Southampton a ...
and is on the left bank of the
River Wylye, which defines much of the western boundary of the parish; the eastern boundary follows the
A360 Salisbury-
Devizes road.
The parish includes the village of Stoford (not to be confused with
Stoford, Somerset) and the hamlets of Little Wishford and Chilhampton.
History
There is scant evidence of significant prehistoric habitation in South Newton.
There has been a settlement in the village since
Saxon times and South Newton is largely a 10th-century estate which stretched from the River Wylye to the ridge of the hills to the north-east. The village originated at about the same time as its three neighbours Stoford, Chilhampton and Little Wishford, each village having a strip of land down to the river and up onto the downland of the drainage area.
In 1086 the
Domesday
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 manusc ...
survey recorded 42 households at ''Newenton'' or ''Newentone''.
The ancient parish had a detached part at North Ugford, on the other side of the Wylye and bounded to the south by the
Nadder. This area (now farmland, and the hamlet of Ugford on the A30) was by 1884 divided between
Burcombe
Burcombe is a village in the civil parish of Burcombe Without, in Wiltshire, England. The village is about west of Salisbury city centre and lies each side of an unclassified road. Burcombe is an unspoiled village with many of the houses' garde ...
and
Wilton parishes.
Various other portions have been ceded to other parishes during the last 150 years.
About south of the church is an ancient
watermill on the banks of the River Wylye.
In 1837 the
workhouse for the Wilton
poor law union was built in the far south of the parish, next to what is now the A36 in the area called Burden's Ball (now in Wilton parish). The three-storey building in red brick accommodated 280, in a cruciform plan similar to workhouses designed by
Sampson Kempthorne.
The
railway between Salisbury and Westbury, completed in 1856, runs on the opposite side of the Wylye.
Wishford station at
Great Wishford was about northwest of South Newton. The station was closed in 1955 but the railway remains open as part of the
Wessex Main Line
The Wessex Main Line is the railway line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. Diverging from this route is the Heart of Wessex Line from Westbury to Weymouth. The Wessex Main Line intersects the Reading to Taunton Line at and th ...
.
Parish church
The
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...
of
Saint Andrew
Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...
is at the east end of the village and is constructed largely of
rubblestone with
ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
dressing, and some flint and stonework chequering. In 1861–2 the church underwent radical reconstruction to designs by
T.H. Wyatt
Thomas Henry Wyatt (9 May 1807 – 5 August 1880) was an Anglo-Irish architect. He had a prolific and distinguished career, being elected President of the Royal Institute of British Architects 1870–73 and being awarded its Royal Gold Medal for A ...
but the chancel retains some 13th-century features.
The three-stage west tower was rebuilt in the 14th century. In 1553 it had four bells, two of which are survive as the current tenor and second bell. They were cast by the Salisbury foundry, one in about 1400 and the other in about 1499.
The present tenor bell was cast by John Wallis of Salisbury
in 1610.
[ The bells that complete the current ]ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
of six were cast by John Warner of Cripplegate[ in London: one in 1862 and the treble and second bell in 1887, the year of ]Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee
The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated on 20 and 21 June 1887 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. It was celebrated with a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey, and a banquet to which ...
.[
In 1992 the parish became part of the Wylye and Till Valley benefice,] which is today a group of eight village parishes.
Local economy
The village has a small light industrial estate containing about 10 businesses. Nearby is a large building and maintenance company. The village also has a large neuro-physiological rehabilitation nursing home. These companies provide significant local employment.
Social amenities
The village has a public house, The Bell Inn. South Newton has a cricket club and a junior football club.
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Villages in Wiltshire
Civil parishes in Wiltshire