Semington 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 ...

in Wiltshire, England. The village is about south of

Melksham Melksham () is a town on the River Avon in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Trowbridge and south of Chippenham. At the 2011 census, the Melksham built-up area had a population of 19,357, making it Wiltshire's fifth-largest settlement af ...

and about northeast of

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 ...

. The parish includes the hamlets of Little Marsh and Littleton.election-maps.co.uk
Semington Civil Parish boundary on Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 colour raster layer. Retrieved 23 October 2006. The village has two

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

on the Kennet and Avon Canal, known as the

Semington Locks The Semington Locks () are situated at Semington, Wiltshire on the Kennet and Avon Canal, England. They have a combined rise/fall of 16 feet 1 inch (4.9 m). The two locks at Semington are known as Buckley's (No.15) and Barrett's ...

, and nearby is the start of the disused

Wilts and Berks Canal The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a b ...

Geography

The Semington Brook, a westward-flowing tributary of the Avon, forms the east and north boundaries of the parish. Sometime after 1818, the central part of the northern boundary was realigned to follow the Kennet and Avon Canal. Semington village developed along the main road from Melksham to Westbury which became the A350 primary route. In 2004 a bypass was opened, taking the A350 east of the village. Little Marsh (or Littlemarsh) is a hamlet south of Semington, along the old course of the A350. Littleton is no longer populated, and the only area currently designated as belonging to Littleton is the

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

at the A350 and

A361 road 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 ...

crossing.

Governance

The civil parish elects a parish council. It is in the area of

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 ...

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

, which is responsible for all significant local government functions. The village is the most populous area of 'Summerham and Seend'

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

. This ward starts in the northwest at Semington, stretches south to Steeple Ashton then northeast to Seend. The total ward population at the 2011 census was 4,264.

History

Anciently, Semington and Littleton were each tithings of Steeple Ashton parish (Semington village being about north of Steeple Ashton village). In the late 19th century the civil parish of Semington was formed from the two tithings, and in 1894 the ancient parish of Whaddon was added to it. Whaddon was transferred to

Hilperton Hilperton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is separated by a few fields (the Hilperton Gap) from the northeastern edge of the town of Trowbridge and is approximately from Trowbridge town centre. South of Hilper ...

in the late 20th century. The population of the parish was in the range 400 to 500 for many years, from the 1841 census to that of 1931. Numbers then gradually increased to reach 930 in 2011.

Canals

The Kennet and Avon Canal crosses marshy ground on an embankment on the northern edge of the village. The two

Semington locks The Semington Locks () are situated at Semington, Wiltshire on the Kennet and Avon Canal, England. They have a combined rise/fall of 16 feet 1 inch (4.9 m). The two locks at Semington are known as Buckley's (No.15) and Barrett's ...

were built between 1794 and 1802 under the supervision of the engineer John Rennie. They have a combined rise/fall of 16 ft 1 in (4.9 m). The two locks at Semington are known as Buckley's (numbered 15) and Barrett's (16). Next to the locks is the point at which the

Wilts & Berks Canal The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Abingdon. ...

left the Kennet and Avon. The Wilts & Berks is disused but the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust is restoring it. East of the locks, the canal travels across the 2004 Semington Aqueduct, built to allow the A350 to bypass Semington village. Another aqueduct carries the canal over Semington Brook. The canal, towpath and adjacent hedges are good for wildlife and in August 2007 water voles were seen.

Former railway

The Devizes Branch Line was built north of the village in 1857. A small station ( Semington Halt) was opened in 1906 where the railway crossed both the A350 and the Wilts & Berks canal; the station and the line were closed in 1966.

Former workhouse

Just west of the village is the former St George's Hospital, built in 1836–38 as a

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

for the Melksham poor law union to designs of H. E. Kendall. The nine-bay north front in classical style has two storeys and a three-bay pediment; behind this, further ranges of one, two and three storeys surround four courtyards. The front is limestone ashlar and the rear ranges are dressed limestone.

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

writes: "It is typical of the coming of the Victorian age how the classical and Grecian motifs get clumsy and extremely heavy". In 1988, when the building was recorded as Grade II listed, it was in use as a hospital for the mentally handicapped. Today it is largely in residential use, while a charity providing advice to disabled people occupies the ground floor of one building.

World War II

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Semington was on

GHQ Line The GHQ Line (General Headquarters Line) was a defence line built in the United Kingdom during World War II to contain an expected German invasion. The British Army had abandoned most of its equipment in France after the Dunkirk evacuation. It ...

which followed the path of the canal. Semington was designated as a ''centre of resistance'': extensive anti-tank ditches were constructed to the east, south, and west of the village, these were overlooked by a number of pillboxes. The defences were constructed as a part of British anti-invasion preparations.

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 St George is a Grade II

listed building 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 ...

. It dates from the 15th century and was largely rebuilt in 1860. Anciently a

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the communi ...

of Steeple Ashton, Semington was made an independent parish in 2000, and today the parish is part of the Canalside Benefice alongside parishes in Hilperton and Whaddon.

Amenities

Within the village there are over 500 houses, a primary school, a village hall, public tennis courts and a park for children. Semington 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 Somerset Arms, an 18th-century building.

National Cycle Route 4 Between these, the route runs through Reading, Bath, Bristol, Newport, Swansea and St David's. Within Wales, sections of the route follow branches of the Celtic Trail cycle route. Route The total length of the path is 443.6 miles and takes ...

follows the canal towpath, and at the road bridge just north of Semington village, route 403 branches north to

and beyond.

Economy

About 1 km north of the village, in

Melksham Without Melksham Without is a civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. It surrounds, but does not include, the town of Melksham and is the largest rural parish in Wiltshire, with a population of 7,230 (as of 2011) and an area of . In 1894 the ...

parish, is Hampton Park West business park which has the corporate headquarters of companies such as

G-Plan G Plan is a British furniture brand. It began as a pioneering range of furniture in the United Kingdom produced by E Gomme Ltd of High Wycombe. The success of G Plan led to E Gomme becoming one of the UK's largest furniture manufacturers, with pr ...

Avon Rubber plc Avon Protection plc is a British company that specialises in the engineering and manufacturing of respiratory protection equipment for military, law enforcement and fire personnel. Its corporate headquarters are south of Melksham in Wiltshire ...

and a

Wiltshire Police Wiltshire Police, formerly known as Wiltshire Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Wiltshire (including the Borough of Swindon) in South West England. The force serves 722,000 people over an area ...

operations centre. Littlemarsh

Notable residents

* Isaac Gulliver (1745–1822), smuggler * Thomas Helliker (1784–1803), trade union martyr, hanged for his alleged role in burning Littleton mill

Sources

* *

References

External links

Semington Parish Council website

Village website

National cycle route 4
{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire