Brinkworth, Wiltshire
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Brinkworth 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in northern
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
, England. The village lies between
Royal Wootton Bassett Royal Wootton Bassett , formerly Wootton Bassett, is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 13,570 at the 2021 Census. In the north of the county, it lies to the west of the town of Swindon and northeast of ...
and
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 ...
, about north of the
M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...
and west of
Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...
. The west end of Brinkworth village is Causeway End. 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of Brinkworth includes the hamlets of Braydon Side, Callow Hill, The Common, and the
tithing A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or ...
of Grittenham, a rural community to the south of the village of Brinkworth. Much of Brinkworth village is a
linear settlement A linear settlement is a (normally small to medium-sized) settlement or group of buildings that is formed in a long line. Many of these settlements are formed along a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Others form due to physical r ...
along the east-west B4042, extending for some . The village is described as the longest in England although others such as
Meopham Meopham is a large linear village and civil parish in the Gravesham, Borough of Gravesham in north-west Kent, England, lying to the south of Gravesend. The parish covers , and comprises two villages and two smaller settlements; it had a popula ...
, Kent make the same claim.


History

Brinkworth Manor was given to
Malmesbury Abbey Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, is a former Benedictine abbey dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul. It was one of the few English religious houses with a continuous history from the 7th century throug ...
by the nobleman Leofsige, sometime before the
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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
survey of 1086. The abbey held the land until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, at which time it was granted to William Stumpe. It then passed into the family of the Earl of Berkshire and Suffolk, until it was sold privately between 1858 and 1960. It is likely that the other estate of Brinkworth mentioned in Domesday, that held by Tochi, survived through the ensuing centuries as separate, smaller estates within the northern section of the parish (probably including Clitchbury Farm, Waldron's Farm and Whitehouse Farm). Grittenham is mentioned separately in the survey and was held at the time by Malmesbury Abbey. Following the dissolution it was granted to John Aycliffe, from whom it descended to the Lords Holland, who sold it privately at the end of the nineteenth century.


Geography

The village stands on a ridge overlooking the
Dauntsey Vale The Dauntsey Vale is a geographical feature in the north of the English county of Wiltshire. It is characterised by a wide, flat, clay floodplain of the upper reaches of the Bristol Avon river, which divides the Cotswolds to the west from the ch ...
to the south. Two tributaries of the
Bristol Avon The River Avon ( ) is a river in the southwest 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 loaned from an ancestor of the Welsh word , meaning 'rive ...
flow east–west across the parish: the
Woodbridge Brook The Woodbridge Brook is a tributary of the Bristol Avon. It rises near Lydiard Millicent in Wiltshire in the west of England and flows in a generally westerly direction, joining the Avon below Malmesbury. The brook has a mean flow of and the wa ...
passes to the north of the village, while 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 Br ...
passes to the south and then forms the southwestern boundary of the parish. Towards the eastern boundary of the parish the Brinkworth Brook is joined by a small brook which drains the Royal Wootton Basset area.


Religious sites


Parish church

The
parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...
of St Michael and All Angels is a
Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
building. A church was recorded in 1151 and was linked with
Malmesbury Abbey Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, is a former Benedictine abbey dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul. It was one of the few English religious houses with a continuous history from the 7th century throug ...
until 1539. The present church dates from the 14th and 15th centuries, and was
restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard Aus ...
by C. E. Ponting in 1902–3. St Michael's is one of six churches in the Woodbridge Group. Notable rectors include Tobias Crisp, incumbent from 1627 to 1642.


Other churches

A
Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Christian denomination within the holiness movement. Originating in early 19th-century England as a revivalist movement within Methodism, it was heavily influenced by American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–18 ...
chapel was built in 1828 in the Barnes Green area of Brinkworth, next to the main road through the village;
Richard Jukes Rev. Richard Jukes (1804–1867) was a popular Primitive Methodism, Primitive Methodist minister and hymn writer. This article provides a brief biography, and a summary of his work as a popular minister and hymn writer during the first half-centur ...
was the first minister. This was replaced by a larger building in 1860. The
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorse ...
has records up to 1995; by 2009 the building was a private house. Vine House at Grittenham was used as a Moravian meeting house in the later 18th century and early 19th. Also at Grittenham, a small Primitive Methodist chapel was built in 1894; it was closed c. 1975.


Canal and railways

The
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 ...
, opened in this area in 1801, completed in 1810 and abandoned in 1914, passed through the far south of the parish on its route to Swindon. Tockenham Reservoir, on both sides of the boundary with Lyneham parish, supplied the canal with water. A flight of seven locks lifted the canal over rising ground; restoration of four of these was started in 2005. The
Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs between London Paddington and . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. The GWML is presently a part of t ...
,
Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...
's route from London to Bath and Bristol, was built just to the north of the canal and opened in 1841. In 1903 the more direct route to South Wales was completed with the opening of the Badminton line, diverging from the older line at Wootton Bassett and passing close to the south of Brinkworth village. Both lines are still in use.


Brinkworth railway station

Brinkworth station, on the southern outskirts of the village near the road to
Dauntsey Dauntsey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It gives its name to the Dauntsey Vale in which it lies. The village is set on slightly higher ground in the floodplain of the upper Bristol Avon. Today, ...
and Grittenham, was opened at the same time as the Badminton Line in 1903. There were two platforms with buildings of brick and stone, a footbridge, goods yard and cattle pens, and a station master's house next to the road. Traffic (both goods and passengers) was always light and the station closed in 1961. The station was demolished but the house remains as a private residence.


Local government

The civil parish elects a parish council. It is in the area of
Wiltshire Council Wiltshire Council, known between 1889 and 2009 as Wiltshire County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Wiltshire (district), Wiltshire in South West England, and has its headquarters a ...
unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...
, which is responsible for all significant local government functions. An
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 t ...
of the same name exists. From Brinkworth the ward stretches west to Great Somerford and northwest to
Crudwell Crudwell is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in north Wiltshire, England. The nearest towns are Malmesbury, about to the south-west, and Cirencester, Gloucestershire to the north-east. Also to the north-east is Cotswold Air ...
. The ward's population at the 2011 census was 4,483.


Notable people

Landscape artist Thomas Hearne moved to Brinkworth aged five. His biographer, Simon Fenwick, suggests that nearby
Malmesbury Abbey Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, is a former Benedictine abbey dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul. It was one of the few English religious houses with a continuous history from the 7th century throug ...
proved an inspiration to Hearne's later interest in Gothic architecture.Simon Fenwick, 'Hearne, Thomas (1744–1817)',
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
, Oxford University Press, 2004
The writer and philosopher
Roger Scruton Sir Roger Vernon Scruton, (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher, writer, and social critic who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of Conservatism in the United Kingdom, c ...
lived at Sunday Hill Farm.


Schools

Brinkworth has a primary school, named Brinkworth Earl Danby's CE VC Primary School after it amalgamated in 1992 with the school at
Dauntsey Dauntsey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It gives its name to the Dauntsey Vale in which it lies. The village is set on slightly higher ground in the floodplain of the upper Bristol Avon. Today, ...
, to the southwest. The building opened as a National School in 1868 which became Brinkworth County School in the 20th century; the original building is still in use, with classrooms in an adjacent building which was opened in 1993. There was also a school attached to Brinkworth Methodist chapel, which was in use in 1859. A small school, Lady Holland's, opened at Grittenham in 1864. This school closed in 1927 owing to falling pupil numbers.


Amenities

The village has a village hall and a
public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
, the ''Three Crowns''.


References


Bibliography

*''The Court Records of Brinkworth and Charlton, 1544–1648'', ed. Douglas Crowley (
Wiltshire Record Society The Wiltshire Record Society is a text publication society in Wiltshire, England, which edits and publishes historic documents concerned with the history of Wiltshire. History In 1937, Ralph Pugh was the chief mover in a proposal to found the re ...
Vol. 61, 2009)


External links


Brinkworth Parish Council

Brinkworth Earl Danby's CE Primary School
{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire