Bishops Cannings
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bishops Cannings 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 authorit ...
in the
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 ...
in Wiltshire, England, north-east 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 ...
. The parish includes the village of Coate (not to be confused with
Coate, Swindon The Borough of Swindon is a local government authority in South West England, centred on the urban area and town of Swindon and forming part of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Wiltshire. History In 1974 the Thamesdown ...
) and the hamlets of Bourton, Horton and Little Horton.


Geography

Etchilhampton Water, a minor tributary of the Salisbury Avon, rises from streams in the parish and flows south past Etchilhampton to
Patney __NOTOC__ Patney is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, in the Vale of Pewsey about south-east of Devizes. The infant Salisbury Avon forms part of the southern boundary of the parish. Religious sites The nearest Anglican c ...
. The northern part of the parish lies on the
Marlborough Downs The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The name ''North Wessex Downs'' is not a traditional one, the area covered being better k ...
, including Morgan's Hill and part of Roundway Hill. Bishops Cannings village is about south of the
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 ...
which links Devizes with
Avebury Avebury () is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in ...
and Swindon.


History

Prehistoric remains include a
long barrow Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material repre ...
called Kitchen Barrow on a slope in the north-east of the parish, and a square earthwork enclosure of uncertain date on Morgan's Hill in the north-west. A section of the Wansdyke crosses the parish, west from Tan Hill to Morgan's Hill. The manor of Cannings was recorded in the 1086
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 held by the
Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...
; there was a substantial population of 127 households, with six mills. Horton is first attested in 1158. The place-name is a common one in England and derives from
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
''horu'' 'dirt' and ''tūn'' 'settlement, farm, estate', presumably meaning 'farm on muddy soil'. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Bourton manor was an estate of the
Ernle Ernle was the surname of an English gentry or landed family descended from the lords of the manor of Earnley in Sussex who derived their surname from the name of the place where their estates lay. Origins Onomastic Onomasticians say that t ...
family. The manor included the hamlet of Easton but today the name survives only at Easton Farm and Easton Down. In the 1660s the lease of the manor of Cannings was bought by Paul Methuen (d. 1667) of
Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, s ...
, reputedly the richest cloth merchant in England. His son
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...
(c.1650–1706) was MP for
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 simultaneously Lord Chancellor of Ireland and ambassador to Portugal. John's son
Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
(c.1672–1757) deputised for his father at Lisbon, sat for Devizes and
Brackley Brackley is a market town and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, bordering Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from Oxford and from Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the inter ...
(Northamptonshire), became a government minister and held offices in the royal household; he sold the estate in 1720. The Wansdyke medieval earthwork crosses the north of parish. The Kennet and Avon Canal (opened in 1810) was built through the parish, passing between Bishops Cannings and Horton. On the 27 May 1941, a
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
De Havilland Dragon Rapide The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its rel ...
(R5929) was operating a training flight out of RAF Yatesbury. The aircraft stalled at low altitude and crashed near the village, killing all seven on board.


Boundaries

Bishops Cannings was anciently part of the
hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...
of Potterne and Cannings. The parish is now the third largest in Wiltshire, but was formerly larger, having lost a large area to the nearby town of Devizes in 1835 and to the new parish of
Roundway Roundway is a hamlet and former civil parish adjacent to Devizes in the English county of Wiltshire. The hamlet lies about northeast of Devizes town centre. In April 2017, Roundway civil parish was abolished and became a ward of Devizes paris ...
in 1894. Bishops Cannings parish had previously encircled Devizes to the north, east and south, and reached as far into the town as the Crammer, a large pond on the edge of the town centre. This may explain how Bishops Cannings comes to lay claim to being the place of origin of the legend of the
Moonrakers Moonrakers is the colloquial name for people from Wiltshire, a county in the West Country of England. Legend This name refers to a folk story set in the time when smuggling was a significant industry in rural England, with Wiltshire lying on t ...
. Next to the pond is the 15th-century church of St James, which was a chapelry of Bishops Cannings. Further expansion of the borough of Devizes in 1934 brought
Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placename ...
and the whole of St James's chapelry (sometimes called Southbroom, and including Southbroom House) into the town, while the Nursteed tithing became part of Roundway. In 2017 Roundway became a ward of Devizes. A north-eastern part of the Devizes built-up area known as Northfields, between the canal and Horton Road and including retailers Lidl and B&Q and the former
Le Marchant Barracks Le Marchant Barracks is a former military installation in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. The site is within the town's built-up area but within Bishops Cannings parish, on London Road about north-east of the centre of the town. History The barrac ...
, remains within Bishops Cannings parish.


Local government

Bishops Cannings is a civil parish with an elected 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 almost all significant local government functions.


Religious sites


Parish church

The Church of England parish church of St Mary the Virgin is Grade I listed. Originating in the 12th or 13th century, with many Early English features surviving, it was altered in the 14th and 15th centuries and restored in the 19th.
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 that it has "uncommon size and nobility", through being part of a bishop's estate.
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 ...
recorded a priest but did not mention a church. The earliest parts of the building are a damaged 12th-century scallop capital in the chancel, and one of the chancel's west lancet windows which is from the late 12th century or early 13th. The three-bay chancel, mostly in rubble stone, is from the mid-13th century. The church has a cruciform plan and is in ashlar apart from the chancel and sacristy. The large central tower carries a spire, and the four-bay nave (which originally had a higher roof) has aisles and a south porch. A lady chapel – since 1563 the Ernle family chapel – is attached to the east of the south transept. The porch has a round-headed 13th-century arch to the inner doorway, while the outer parts are 15th-century. There is an unusual two-storey sacristy at the north-east corner, in stone and flint; the ground floor is 13th-century and the upper floor perhaps 15th. The spire was added in the 15th century and around the same time the crossing and parts of the transepts were rebuilt. The nave had a clerestory from an early date, and this was rebuilt at greater height in the same century. The nave roof carries a date of 1670. Restoration in the 19th century involved little major work. Orbach states that the Gothic stalls in the chancel are from T.H. Wyatt's restoration in 1860, and gives the same year for the richly decorated east window by Wailes. The chapel was rebuilt in 1862–3, with a new east window. Further restoration by the Wiltshire architect C.E. Ponting in 1883–4 included re-roofing of the aisles and transepts, and renewal of the pews in that area, with carving by
Harry Hems Harry Hems (12 June 1842 – 5 January 1916) was an English architectural and ecclesiastical sculptor who was particularly inspired by Gothic architecture and a practitioner of Gothic Revival. He founded and ran a large workshop in Exeter, Devon ...
. Ponting's description of the church, with drawings, was published in the
Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine ''Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine'' is a county journal published by the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society (WANHS), based in Devizes, England. It has been published almost annually since 1854 and is distri ...
in 1887. Notes on the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Bishops Cannings: C. E. Ponting, Wiltshire Archaeology and Natural History Magazine Volume 23, 1887 – via Internet Archive Furnishings include a
carrel desk A carrel desk is a desk, often found in libraries, with partitions at back and sides to provide privacy. Description Carrel desks are especially common in academic libraries. Sometimes the seat is integrated with the carrel desk. They may als ...
(English Heritage) which Pevsner describes as a
penitential A penitential is a book or set of church rules concerning the Christian sacrament of penance, a "new manner of reconciliation with God" that was first developed by Celtic monks in Ireland in the sixth century AD. It consisted of a list of sins ...
seat and a "great oddity"; it is partly 15th-century. The octagonal font is late 15th-century. George Ferebee, vicar, arranged for an early organ to be installed around 1593, and in 1602 provided a peal of eight bells from the foundry of John Wallis. The present organ by
George Pike England George Pike England (ca.1765 – February 1815) was an English organ builder who was among the most prominent in England during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Life He was the son of organ builder George England and Mary Blasdale. He ...
is from 1809. Four of Ferebee's bells remain in the tower, the others being recast or replaced in 1840 or later. A 15th-century chest tomb in the churchyard is Grade II* listed. In 1091, Bishop Osmond gave Cannings church and its considerable income to the new cathedral at Salisbury. The rectory manor, known as Cannings Canonicorum, remained in the ownership of the cathedral's dean and chapter (but generally leased out) until they sold it at the beginning of the 19th century. The parish remained a peculiar until such jurisdictions were abolished in the 19th century. Today the parish comes under the Cannings and Redhorn Team Ministry, alongside seven others.


Others

The church of St James on the edge of Devizes (15th-century tower, rest rebuilt 1831–2) was a chapelry of St Mary's, although it had its own graveyard by 1505. In 1832 a parish (a
perpetual curacy Perpetual curate was a class of resident parish priest or incumbent curate within the United Church of England and Ireland (name of the combined Anglican churches of England and Ireland from 1800 to 1871). The term is found in common use mainly du ...
) was created for it, covering the tithings of Bedborough, Nursteed, Roundway, and Wick. Boundary changes in 1835 brought the church inside the municipal borough. The hamlet of Chittoe, some to the north-west near Bromham, was a detached part of Bishops Cannings parish until a church was built there in 1845. A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was opened at Horton in 1832 and closed in the second half of the 20th century. At Coate, a Brethren chapel was built in 1848 and closed in 1973.


Amenities

Bishops Cannings has a primary school which serves the parish and the eastern side of Devizes. A National School was built in 1830 and transferred to the present site in 1907. The chapel at Coate was used as a school from 1848 until 1876, when a new school was opened nearby; this school closed in 1929. The parish has four
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 ...
s: the Crown Inn at Bishops Cannings, the Bridge Inn near Horton, the New Inn at Coate, and the Hourglass at Devizes Marina on the Kennet and Avon Canal. Part of North Wilts Golf Club, on the downs, is within the parish, near the Morgan's Hill Site of Special Scientific Interest.


Notable people

Around 1613 George Ferebee, vicar of Bishops Cannings, was appointed chaplain to
King James I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...
. William Bayly (1737–1810), the son of a Bishops Cannings farmer, was recognised for his mathematical prowess. He was employed by the Royal Observatory and sailed as an astronomer on two of
Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...
's voyages. After completing his career as head-master of the Royal Academy, Portsmouth, in 1809 he paid for the organ in the parish church of his home village.


References


External links

* {{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire Aviation accidents and incidents locations in England