Stratford Tony, also spelt Stratford Toney, formerly known as Stratford St Anthony and Toney Stratford, is a small 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 southern

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. It lies on the

River Ebble The River Ebble is one of the five rivers of the English city of Salisbury. Rising at Alvediston to the west of the city, it joins the River Avon at Bodenham, near Nunton. Description The Ebble rises at Alvediston, to the west of Salisbur ...

and is about southwest 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 ...

.Stratford Tony
at genuki.org.uk

Geography

The parish is narrow in the east–west direction. To the south it extends onto high chalk

downland Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...

, which is crossed by the

A354 The A354 is a primary route in England which runs from Salisbury in Wiltshire to Easton on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, a total distance of . From Salisbury the road crosses Cranborne Chase. At Woodyates the road follows the route of Ack ...

Salisbury-Weymouth road. In the north the parish boundary is the Shaftesbury Drove; now a byway, this was formerly used to drive cattle and other livestock from

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...

to markets at Salisbury and beyond.

Salisbury Racecourse Salisbury Racecourse is a flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring thoroughbred horse racing, southwest of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Fifteen race meetings a year are held there between early May and mid-October. History Racing at t ...

is just over the boundary, and some of its facilities are in the parish. Stratford Toney Down, south of the village, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its botanically rich chalk grassland.

History

After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

, the

Chalke Valley The River Chalke is a small river within the English county of Wiltshire. It is the most significant tributary of the River Ebble. The river rises at Mead End near Bowerchalke and flows 1.2 miles north through the Chalke Valley to join the Ebb ...

was divided into eight manors which were granted to new Norman lords. The Domesday survey in 1086 recorded an estate at Stradford with 28 households and two mills, held by Earl Aubrey of Coucy. ''The National Gazetteer'' (1868) said of the parish: The area of the parish was reduced in 1885 when land was transferred to Britford,

Coombe Bissett Coombe Bissett is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire in the River Ebble valley, southwest of Salisbury on the A354 road that goes south towards Blandford Forum. The parish includes the village of Homington, to the ...

, and Homington parishes. Stratford Tony House, west of the church, has a 17th-century core behind a five-bay front of c.1730. Nearby is a timber-framed barn from the late 18th century. Towards the north end of the village, the manor house carries a date of 1833; it was built for

George Purefoy-Jervoise George Purefoy-Jervoise (10 April 1770 – 1 December 1847) was an English politician. He was the eldest son of Rev. George Hudleston Jervoise Purefoy Jervoise of Britford, Wiltshire. He was educated at Westminster School in 1781–1786 and Co ...

(1770–1847), landowner and member of parliament. The population of the parish peaked at around 165 in the 1860s and has declined since then.

Parish church

The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of St Mary and St Lawrence is designated a Grade I

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 ...

and is in the care of the

Churches Conservation Trust The Churches Conservation Trust is a registered charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk in England. The charity cares for over 350 churches of architectural, cultural and historic significance, which have been transferred in ...

. There is a

canonical sundial A tide dial, also known as a Mass or scratch dial, is a sundial marked with the canonical hours rather than or in addition to the standard hours of daylight. Such sundials were particularly common between the 7th and 14th centuries in Europe, at w ...

on the south wall. Its

parish register A parish register in an ecclesiastical parish is a handwritten volume, normally kept in the parish church in which certain details of religious ceremonies marking major events such as baptisms (together with the dates and names of the parents), ma ...

s survive in the

Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre The Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, serves as a focal point for heritage services relating to Wiltshire and Swindon. The centre opened in 2007 and is funded by Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Counc ...

for christenings, 1605–1985, marriages, 1562–1983, and burials, 1562–1988.

Local government

The civil parish does not elect a parish council. Instead the first tier of local government is a

parish meeting A parish meeting, in England, is a meeting to which all the electors in a civil parish are entitled to attend. In some cases, where a parish or group of parishes has fewer than 200 electors, the parish meeting can take on the role of a parish cou ...

, which all electors are entitled to attend. The parish 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 ...

, a

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 most significant local government functions.

Notable residents

John Bampton (1690–1751) was rector from 1718 until his death. He left money to establish the

Bampton Lectures The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780. They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have typically been biennial ...

at Oxford University, which continue to be given every second year. The Impressionist painter

Wilfrid de Glehn Wilfrid Gabriel de Glehn (sometimes 'Wilfried') (1870 – 11 May 1951) was an Impressionist British painter, elected to the Royal Academy in 1932. Biography De Glehn's father was Alexander de Glenn of Sydenham, London, himself the son ...

(1870–1951) and his wife Jane Emmet (1873–1961, also a painter) lived at Stratford Tony

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

from 1942.

References

{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire