Wardour is a settlement in 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 Tisbury, in

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, about west of

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

and south of Hindon.

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 west of 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 re ...

by the 11th century. The 15th-century

Wardour Castle Wardour Castle or Old Wardour Castle is a ruined 14th-century castle at Wardour, on the boundaries of the civil parishes of Tisbury and Donhead St Andrew in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Salisbury. The castle was built in t ...

was slighted during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, 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 school, independent boarding school for girls, and was located in the English counties of Dorset and (later) Wiltshire, between 1946 and 1990. History Cranborne Chase School opened in 1946 at Crichel ...

. 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 (; , ; 20 or 21 September 1744) was an Italian architect who was the foremost and most prolific practitioner of neoclassical architecture in Imperial Russia, particularly in Saint Petersburg. He brought into vogue an original mo ...

and

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

. 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 parishes in England, 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 ...

. In 1835 Tisbury was divided into three parishes: East Tisbury, West Tisbury and Wardour. In 1921 the parish had a population of 780. On 1 April 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 gazetteers. The '' Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' (published 1870–1872), was a substantial topographical dictionary in six volumes. It was ...

's ''

Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes h ...

'' (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 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 who served as Minister of State at the Cabinet Office The Minister for the Cabinet Office is a position in the Cabinet Offic ...

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

References

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