Little Somerford 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 ...

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

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

and northeast of Chippenham. The northern boundary of the parish follows approximately the B4040 Malmesbury– Swindon road. The

Bristol Avon The River Avon is a river in the south west of England. To distinguish it from a number of other rivers of the same name, it is often called the Bristol Avon. The name 'Avon' is a cognate of the Welsh word , meaning 'river'. The Avon ...

forms part of the boundary to the west and south, and its tributary the

Brinkworth Brook The Brinkworth Brook is a tributary of the Bristol Avon. It rises near Broad Hinton in Wiltshire in the West Country of England, and flows in a north and then westerly direction, joining the Avon at Great Somerford. Course The Brinkworth Bro ...

forms part of the southeastern boundary.

History

Eight estates were recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book at ''Sumreford'', with altogether 80 households. The 'Little' prefix began to be used in the 16th century to distinguish the parish from neighbouring Great Somerford. A school for 100 pupils was built in 1868 to replace an earlier schoolroom, and was extended in 1894. Children of all ages attended until 1954, when those aged 11 and over transferred to the secondary schools at Malmesbury. The school closed in 1982 when a new school was opened in Great Somerford to serve both villages. The

South Wales Main Line The South Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell De Cymru), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. ...

railway from London to Bristol and South Wales passes close to the village. Little Somerford had a station from the opening of the line in 1903, and in 1933 the junction with the Malmesbury Branch Line was moved here (at the opening of the branch in 1877 it was connected to the Great Western Main Line at

Dauntsey Dauntsey is a small village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. It gives its name to the Dauntsey Vale in which it lies and takes its name from Saxon for Dantes- eig, or Dante's island. It is set on slightly higher ground in ...

, to the south). Passenger service on the branch ceased in 1951 and the branch was closed in 1962. Little Somerford station was closed in 1963.

Church

The first record of a church at Little Somerford is in 1251. The church was rebuilt c. 1300 although the nave may survive from the earlier building. The tower and porch were added in the 15th century;

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

was carried out in 1860. The timber chancel screen was begun in the 14th century. A boarded tympanum from the 15th century is described by Historic England as "exceptional", although the lower part is missing: it is painted with two angels and the Commandments. The tower arch carries a large royal coat of arms dated 1602, moved here in 1983 from the tympanum to reveal the painting. The pulpit is dated 1626, and the pews in the nave are box pews from the same century, now cut down to make benches. The three bells in the tower were recast in the 18th century. The tower screen of 1928 is by

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Got ...

. The church was designated as Grade I listed in 1959. From 1952 and again from 1967, the benefice was held in plurality with Great Somerford. Later in 1967 the benefice was united with Great Somerford and Seagry, and the benefice of Corston with Rodbourne was added in 1986. Today St John's is one of six churches in the Woodbridge Group.

Local government

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.

References

External links

*
Little Somerford Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire