Wardour is a settlement 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, about west of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

and south of Hindon. Formerly a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

in its own right, it is now 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 authorit ...

of Tisbury.

History

A bronze age hoard known as the Wardour Hoard has been found in the village. The land was an estate of

Wilton Abbey Wilton Abbey was a Benedictine convent in Wiltshire, England, three miles from Salisbury, probably on the site now occupied by Wilton House. It was active from the early tenth century until 1539. History Foundation Wilton Abbey is first reco ...

by the 11th century. The 15th-century Wardour Castle was slighted during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, The stronghold was replaced in 1776 by

New Wardour Castle New Wardour Castle is a Grade I listed English country house at Wardour, near Tisbury in Wiltshire, built for the Arundell family. The house is of Palladian style, designed by the architect James Paine, with additions by Giacomo Quarenghi, w ...

, built between 1769 and 1776. It was long the home of the Lords Arundell of Wardour and later of

Cranborne Chase School Cranborne Chase School was an independent boarding school for girls, originally opened in 1946 at Crichel House in the village of Moor Crichel in Dorset. In 1961, the school moved to New Wardour Castle near Tisbury in Wiltshire, and extensiv ...

. All Saints' Roman Catholic chapel, Wardour, originally belonged to the Arundells' household. It was enlarged in 1788 by the eighth Lord Arundell to the designs of

Giacomo Quarenghi Giacomo Quarenghi (; rus, Джа́комо Кваре́нги, Džákomo Kvaréngi, ˈdʐakəmə kvɐˈrʲenʲɡʲɪ; 20 or 21 September 1744) was an Italian architect who was the foremost and most prolific practitioner of neoclassical architectu ...

and

John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the R ...

. The chapel still has regular services and is also used for musical events. In the 18th century part of the estate was in Tisbury parish and part in

Donhead St Andrew Donhead St Andrew is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the River Nadder. It lies east of the Dorset market town of Shaftesbury. The parish includes the hamlets of West End, Milkwell and (on the A30) Brook Waters. Ferne House ...

. In 1835 Tisbury was divided into three parishes: East Tisbury, West Tisbury and Wardour. In 1927 East Tisbury and Wardour were united as Tisbury civil parish. Wardour Catholic Primary School was built in 1862.

John Marius Wilson John Marius Wilson (c. 1805–1885) was a British writer and an editor, most notable for his gazetteer A gazetteer is a geographical index or directory used in conjunction with a map or atlas.Aurousseau, 61. It typically contains informati ...

's '' Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' (1870-1872) said of Wardour:

Quarrying

The parish was noted for its quarrying, particularly Chilmark Stone, Tisbury Stone and Vale of Wardour Stone. Chicksgrove Quarry was operated near Tisbury in the

Vale of Wardour The Vale of Wardour encompasses the valley of the River Nadder in the county of Wiltshire, England. Geography Topography The Vale of Wardour lies east of the town of Shaftesbury and is a relatively small but varied landscape. Named after the ...

. The Purbeck beds in Wardour have long been abandoned.

Notable people

* The Arundell baronetcy *

Lucy Neville-Rolfe Lucy Jeanne Neville-Rolfe, Baroness Neville-Rolfe (born 2 January 1953) is a British businesswoman and politician serving as Minister of State at the Cabinet Office since September 2022. She is currently Chair of Crown Agents. A member of the ...

(born at Wardour in 1953), senior civil servant, businesswoman and politician * Nicholas Hyde (born at Wardour c.1572), Lord Chief Justice of England * Captain John Chorley (born 1934),

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

pilot, retired to Wardour

References

{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Former civil parishes in Wiltshire