Woodborough 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

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 Salisbury ...

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

Pewsey Pewsey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and i ...

History

The

Domesday 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 in 1086 recorded 22 households and a mill at ''Witeberge'', in Swanborough Hundred. The

Wiltshire Victoria County History The Wiltshire Victoria County History, properly called The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire but commonly referred to as VCH Wiltshire, is an encyclopaedic history of the county of Wiltshire in England. It forms part of the overall Vic ...

has an account of later landowners. From 1917, three farms accounted for most of the land in the parish: Church farm, Honey Street farm and Hurst's farm. At some point, the Honeystreet area – including the canalside hamlet and the farm – was transferred from Woodborough civil parish to

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) * Alton (surname) Places Australia * Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario * Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zeala ...

. The Manor House (brick with a thatched roof) and Church Farmhouse (vitrified brick and red brick, slate roof) are both from the early 18th century.

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 ...

, 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.

Church and chapel

The

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

of St Mary Magdalene is on the northern edge of the village and is built in squared limestone. The present building is entirely from the 19th century but there is evidence of a 12th-century church on the site, and records of the church occur from the mid-13th century. In 1850, the chancel was rebuilt in 13th-century style by

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a British Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was bo ...

, and in 1861–2 T.H. Wyatt rebuilt the nave, with a south porch, lean-to vestry, and above the west gable a

bell-cot A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

for the single bell. All Saints' Church, Manningford Bohune was transferred from Wilsford in 1924 to create the parish and benefice of Woodborough with Manningford Bohune. Honeystreet hamlet was transferred to the parish of Alton Barnes with Alton Priors in 1928. From 1951, the united benefice was held in plurality with

Beechingstoke Beechingstoke is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Pewsey about west of Pewsey and the same distance east of Devizes. The parish includes the hamlet of Broad Street and the northern part of the villag ...

, and in 1961 Beechingstoke was added to the union. In 1972, a team ministry was established for the wider area, and today the church is part of the Vale of Pewsey group, alongside 15 others. A Wesleyan Methodist chapel opened in 1822 and closed in 1970.

Transport

The

Kennet and Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of Navigability, navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than sol ...

, opened in 1810, crosses the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

. A wharf at Honeystreet, a short distance to the north of the parish, handled cargo for the area. The Reading to Taunton railway line, built in 1862, became the southern boundary of the parish; station, which was south of the village off Broad Street, closed in 1966 making the nearest station. There are no main roads in the parish. Minor roads provide links to

Alton Barnes Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) * Alton (surname) Places Australia * Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario * Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zeala ...

to the north,

to the west, and to the south through other villages to the A342

Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...

–

Upavon Upavon is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portion of the River Avon which runs from north to south through the village. It is on the north edge of Salisbury Plain ...

road.

Amenities

Woodborough C of E Primary School serves the parish and surrounding area. The building began as a National School in 1873. The village has a social club. The nearest

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

is at Bottlesford.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire