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{{EngvarB|date=July 2016}}
'''Britford''' is a [[village]] and [[civil parish]] situated 1 mile southeast of [[Salisbury]] in [[Wiltshire]], [[England]], just off the [[A338 road|A338]] and on the bank of the [[River Avon, Hampshire|River Avon]]. The much larger village of [[Alderbury]] is further to the southeast.
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox UK place
|official_name= Britford
|static_image_name= The Old Bakery, Britford - geograph.org.uk - 2115647.jpg
|static_image_caption= The Old Bakery, Britford
|coordinates = {{coord|51.053|-1.773|type:city(500)_region:GB-WIL|display=inline,title}}
|os_grid_reference= SU160282
|label_position= bottom
|population= 592
|population_ref= ([[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 Census]])<ref name=ONS>{{cite web |url= http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11121219&c=Britford&d=16&e=62&g=6476179&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1385221026366&enc=1 |title=Area: Britford (Parish); Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics |work=[[Neighbourhood Statistics]] |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |access-date=22 November 2013}}</ref>
|civil_parish= Britford
|unitary_england= [[Wiltshire Council|Wiltshire]]
|lieutenancy_england= [[Wiltshire]]
|region= South West England
|country= England
|constituency_westminster= [[Salisbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Salisbury]]
|post_town= [[Salisbury]]
|postcode_district= SP5
|postcode_area= SP
|dial_code= 01722
|website= {{URL|https://britfordparishcouncil.co.uk/|Parish Council}}
}}


'''Britford''' is a village and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] beside the [[River Avon, Hampshire|River Avon]] about {{convert|1.5|mi}} south-east of [[Salisbury]] in Wiltshire, England. The village is just off the [[A338 road|A338]] Salisbury-Bournemouth road. The [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 Census]] recorded a parish population of 592.<ref name=ONS/>
The village has both a church and a [[Church of England]] primary school. In addition, the main road of the village also has a [[Park and Ride]] service for Salisbury, and because of the shape of Salisbuty, it is very close to Salisbury Hospital.


== Geography ==
{{coord|51|02|N|1|46|W|display=title|region:GB_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki}}
Britford village lies towards the east of the parish, about {{convert|1.3|mi|km}} south-east of Salisbury Cathedral. East of the village are [[Britford Water Meadows|water meadows]] created by the Avon. The parish extends some {{convert|3|mi|km}} westward across agricultural land, with no named settlements;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Election Maps: Great Britain|url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/|access-date=18 February 2022|website=|publisher=Ordnance Survey}}</ref> in this area, about 1 mile south-west of the village, a hospital begun in the Second World War has expanded into the large [[Salisbury District Hospital]] which serves a wide area.


==Archaeology==
[[Little Woodbury]], {{convert|0.5|mi|m}} south-west of the village, is the site of an [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] settlement.<ref name=Pevsner143>{{harvnb|Pevsner|Cherry|1975|p=143.}}</ref> Excavations in 1938–39 revealed the sites of granaries, [[storage pit (archaeology)|storage pits]] and a circular house nearly {{convert|50|ft|m}} in diameter.{{sfn|Pevsner|Cherry|1975|p=144}}

Great Woodbury, {{convert|1|mi}} from the village, is the remains of an Iron Age [[Hill fort#Great Britain|hill fort]].

== History ==
The place-name 'Britford' is first attested in a Saxon charter of circa 670, where it appears as ''Brytfordingea''. It appears as ''Bretford'' and ''Bredford'' in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086,<ref name="x5">{{OpenDomesday |SU1628 |britford |Britford}}</ref> and as ''Brideford'' in the [[Curia Regis Rolls]] of 1203. The name means "brides' [[Ford (crossing)|ford]]", and has the same etymology as [[Bridford]] in Devon.<ref>[[Eilert Ekwall]], ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names'', p.66.</ref>

Domesday Book recorded 48 households, two mills and a church.<ref name="x5"/> In the second quarter of the 13th century, Britford had an [[Anchorite|anchoress]] called Joan. In 1215 [[John of England|King John]] granted her an income of one [[penny]] per day. She received royal gifts of oaks in 1226, 1231 and 1245. In 1237 the [[sheriff]] of Salisbury was ordered to ensure that the courtyard around her house was securely enclosed with a wall.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol3/pp150-155 |title=A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 3 |date=1956 |publisher=University of London |editor1-last=Pugh |editor1-first=R.B. |editor1-link=Ralph Pugh |series=[[Victoria County History]] |pages=150–155 |chapter=Religious Houses: Introduction |access-date=2022-02-17 |editor2-last=Crittall |editor2-first=Elizabeth |via=British History Online}}</ref>

The [[Manorialism|manor]] of Britford, together with that of [[Bramshaw]] nearby in Hampshire, appears to have been granted by one of the [[House of Normandy|Norman kings]] to the [[de Lacy]] family sometime during the 12th century.<ref name="Bramshaw">{{Cite book |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol4/pp623-626 |title=A History of the County of Hampshire, Volume 4 |date=1911 |publisher=University of London |editor-last=Page |editor-first=William |editor1-link=William Page (historian) |series=[[Victoria County History]] |pages=623–626 |chapter=Parishes: Bramshaw |access-date=2022-02-21 |via=British History Online}}</ref> Bramshaw church belonged to Britford from an early date until 1158.<ref name="Bramshaw" /> By the 16th century the manor was owned by [[George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon]], whose wife was [[Anne Stafford, Countess of Huntingdon|Anne Stafford]], daughter of [[Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham]].<ref name="wch">{{Cite web |title=Britford |url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Community/Index/31 |access-date=2022-02-21 |website=Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre: Community History |publisher=Wiltshire Council}}</ref>

In 1538 the earl sold the manor to a London [[Mercer (occupation)|mercer]] named Jervoise or Jervys.<ref name="wch" /> Descendants include [[Thomas Jervoise (died 1654)]], MP for [[Whitchurch (UK Parliament constituency)|Whitchurch, Hampshire]]. He was married at age 14 to Lucy Powlet, daughter of Sir Richard Powlet of [[Herriard]] and [[Freefolk]], Hampshire, and after her sister died he added the Herriard estate to his family's substantial landholdings in Wiltshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.<ref name="HoP">{{Cite web |last=Moseley |first=Virginia |title=JERVOISE, Sir Thomas (1587-1654), of Herriard and Freefolk, Hants.|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/jervoise-sir-thomas-1587-1654 |access-date=2022-02-22 |website=History of Parliament Online}}</ref> Thomas's sons [[Richard Jervoise|Richard]] (born 1615) and [[Thomas Jervoise (died 1693)|Thomas]] (died 1693), and grandson [[Thomas Jervoise (died 1743)|Thomas]] (1667–1743) were also MPs.

[[Moat House, Britford|Moat House]], south-west of St Peter's, was owned by the Jervoise family from 1542; the present 17th-century house is surrounded by a [[moat]].<ref name="EH-moat">{{National Heritage List for England |num=1023794 |desc=Moat House |access-date=9 November 2015 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref> The house was remodelled in 1766 and again in the 19th century, so that externally it looks early 19th century [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]].<ref name="Pevsner143" /> It is now divided into two houses.<ref name="EH-moat" /> Another addition in the 1760s was a pigeon house or [[dovecote]] in the garden, its [[ogee]]-headed windows matching those added to the house.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1023797 |desc=Pigeon House in garden of Pigeon House Cottage |access-date=2022-02-23 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref>

Rectory Farmhouse, north-west of St Peter's, is a 17th-century house with a symmetrical front of three [[Bay (architecture)|bays]]. At the front the two ground-floor windows have four lights and a [[Transom (architecture)|transom]]; the first floor windows have [[ovolo]]-moulded [[mullion]]s.<ref name="Pevsner143" /><ref name="EH-rectory">{{National Heritage List for England |num=1023790 |desc=Rectory Farmhouse |access-date=2015-11-09 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref> It is a [[Listed building#Categories of listed building|Grade II* listed building]].<ref name="EH-rectory" />

There are Georgian cottages on the main A338 road, built for the [[Longford Castle]] estate.<ref name="Pevsner143" />

=== Avon navigation ===
[[File:Britford - Water Meadows.jpg|thumb|The 17th-century navigation channel on the edge of the water meadows near Britford]]
In 1664 an [[Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom|Act of Parliament]] authorised the conversion of the River Avon into a [[Navigability|navigation]] between Salisbury and the [[English Channel]] at [[Christchurch, Dorset|Christchurch]].<ref name="Cross">{{harvnb|Cross|1970|p=}}{{page needed|date=September 2013}}</ref> Canalised channels were dug to straighten sections of the river, including one about a {{convert|1|mi}} long through Britford parish, leaving the watermeadows just downstream from the cathedral and rejoining the river near Longford Castle, south-east of the village. Work began in 1675 and the route was completed in 1684, but it fell out of use around 1715.<ref>{{HERR|mnumber=1031488|mname=Avon River Navigation|access-date=15 February 2022}}</ref> The only surviving lock on the defunct waterway is near Longford Castle, and was rebuilt in brick as a [[pound lock]] soon after the original [[flash lock]] was damaged by flooding c.1700.<ref>{{HERR|mnumber=1011344|mname=Britford Lock|access-date=15 February 2022}}</ref> Nearby is a footbridge over the navigation, built c.1748 after the abandonment.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1023840 |desc=Bridge over Avon Navigation, to rear of stable Block |access-date=2022-02-15 |fewer-links=yes}}</ref>

=== East Harnham ===
[[East Harnham]], upstream of Britford, was a [[tithing]] of Britford parish until All Saints' church was built there in 1854, and a district chapelry created for it the next year.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue = 21662 |date=1855-02-13 |pages = 544-545
}}</ref> East Harnham remained within Britford civil parish until 1896 when it was made a separate civil parish, which was abolished in 1904 in an expansion of Salisbury parish;<ref>{{Cite web |title=East Harnham CP |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10404204 |access-date=23 February 2022 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=University of Portsmouth}}</ref> at the same time some of its area was transferred to Britford.<ref name="vch-sal">{{Cite book |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol6/pp69-72 |title=A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 6 |date=1962 |publisher=University of London |editor-last=Crittall |editor-first=Elizabeth |series=[[Victoria County History]] |pages=69–72 |chapter=New Salisbury: Introduction |access-date=2022-02-23 |via=British History Online}}</ref> Further expansion of the city boundary in 1954 took from Britford the built-up areas north and south of the river, including the Petersfinger area on the Southampton road.<ref name="vch-sal" />

==Parish church==
<!-- St Peter's Church, Britford redirects here -->
[[File:St Peter's Church, Britford - geograph.org.uk - 466991.jpg|thumb|St Peter's Church]]
The [[Church of England parish church]] of [[Saint Peter]] stands near the riverbank, with Rectory Farm alongside, north-west of the present village. The tall [[nave]] survives from a substantial [[Anglo-Saxon architecture|Saxon]] church of the 8th or 9th century,<ref name="EH-church">{{National Heritage List for England|num=1023791|desc=Church of St Peter and attached Radnor Mausoleum|access-date=9 November 2015}}</ref> although it has been rebuilt except for the lower parts of the north and south walls.<ref name="SE">{{Cite book|author=Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ivRIAQAAIAAJ|title=Churches of South-East Wiltshire|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office|year=1987|isbn=978-0-11-700995-0|pages=112–115|authorlink=Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England}}</ref>

On each side of the nave there is a round-headed Saxon arch into a ''[[porticus]]'' (small space for a side-chapel). The arch to the south ''porticus'' is plain, but that to the north ''porticus'' is supported by decorated stone slabs. The carving on one slab seems to be developed from the style of decoration of the [[Bewcastle Cross|Bewcastle]] and [[Ruthwell Cross|Ruthwell]] [[Preaching cross|crosses]] at the beginning of the 8th century; the style of the other seems to be 9th century.<ref name="Pevsner142">{{harvnb|Pevsner|Cherry|1975|p=142.}}</ref> Both arches contain re-used [[Roman Britain|Roman]] brick.<ref name="SE" /> Julian Orbach, extending [[Nikolaus Pevsner]]'s description of the church, calls the arches the "sensation of the interior"<ref name="Orbach">{{Cite book|last1=Orbach|first1=Julian|title=Wiltshire|last2=Pevsner|first2=Nikolaus|last3=Cherry|first3=Bridget|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|year=2021|isbn=978-0-300-25120-3|series=The Buildings Of England|location=New Haven, US and London|pages=181–183|oclc=1201298091|authorlink2=Nikolaus Pevsner|authorlink3=Bridget Cherry}}</ref> and notes [[Rosemary Cramp]]'s suggestion that there was a royal tomb here.<ref>{{Cite web|year=2006|page=36-37|title=Monument Types: Architectural Sculpture|url=https://chacklepie.com/ascorpus/vol7_chap5.pdf|access-date=19 February 2022|website=The Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture|publisher=Durham University}}</ref> The arches were walled up, although visible from outside, until they were uncovered by Street in the 1870s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Talbot|first=C.H.|date=1877|title=Downton and Britford Churches: Britford Church|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/12540829|journal=[[Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine]]|volume=17|issue=50|pages=246–253|via=[[Biodiversity Heritage Library]]}}</ref>

In the 14th century the chancel and north and south [[transept]]s were added, making the church the [[Cruciform#Cruciform architectural plan|cruciform]] building it is today.<ref name=Pevsner142/> Each transept is next to the Saxon ''porticus'' on its corresponding side and includes the east wall of that ''porticus''. The arches where the transepts meet the nave are [[English Gothic architecture#Decorated Gothic|Decorated Gothic]], as is the east window of the [[chancel]].<ref name=Pevsner142/> A tomb-chest in the chancel, under a 14th-century arch, is supposed to be that of [[Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham]] who was executed in [[Salisbury]] in 1483.<ref name="Orbach" /> Also 15th-century is a small, iron-bound wooden chest in the north transept.<ref name=Pevsner143/> Other memorials include a marble book listing the descent of the Jervoise family (by [[John Bacon the Younger]], 1820) and in the mausoleum a bronze [[Heraldic Achievement|heraldic achievement]] for the [[William Pleydell-Bouverie, 5th Earl of Radnor|5th Earl of Radnor]] (died 1900).<ref name="Orbach" /> The finely-carved [[pulpit]] is late 17th century<ref name="Pevsner143" /> although its stone base is Victorian.<ref name="SE" />

The west wall of the nave was rebuilt in 1764.<ref name="EH-church" /> Over the [[Crossing (architecture)|crossing]] is a central tower, which was refaced or rebuilt in 1764<ref name="EH-church" /> or 1767.<ref name="Pevsner143" /> [[John Robartes, 1st Earl of Radnor|John Robartes]] of Longford Castle, later 1st Earl of Radnor, paid for the 1764 work and had a family [[mausoleum]] added to the north-west corner of the north transept in 1764<ref name="EH-church" /> or 1777.<ref name="Orbach" /> [[Box pew|Box pews]] in the south transept are from the same century.<ref name="Orbach" /> The building was [[Victorian restoration|restored]] in 1872–3 to the designs of [[George Edmund Street]]: the work included changes to the windows and moving the entrance from the west end to the re-opened Saxon south doorway.<ref name="SE" /> He had the Radnor mausoleum [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothicised]], reduced in height, and shortened to make room for a north-east vestry.<ref name="EH-church" /><ref name="Pevsner143" /> Street also designed the [[Chilmark stone]] font.<ref name="Orbach" /> The renovation of 1873 was overseen by the Rev. [[Arthur Phillip Morres]].<ref name="Morres">{{cite web | url = https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Church/Details/1298 | title = Church of St. Peter, Britford | website = Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre: Community History | access-date = 2023-09-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230917120218/https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Church/Details/1298 | archive-date = 2023-09-17 | url-status = live}}</ref> The west window of the nave has [[stained glass]] made by [[Ward and Hughes]] of London in 1882.<ref name="EH-church" /> The tower was reconstructed in 1903.<ref name="SE" /> The church and mausoleum were designated as Grade I listed in 1960.<ref name="EH-church" />

St Peter's has a [[Change ringing|ring]] of six bells: five including the tenor were cast in 1765 by Robert Wells I of [[Aldbourne]]; the treble was cast in 1899 by Thomas Blackbourn of Salisbury.<ref name="DoveDetails">{{cite web|last=Dawson|first=George|date=21 December 2006|title=Britford S Peter|url=http://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?searchString=Britford&DoveID=BRITFORD|access-date=3 September 2013|work=[[Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers]]|publisher=[[Central Council of Church Bell Ringers]]}}</ref><ref name="DovesFounders">{{cite web|author=Dovemaster|date=31 October 2012|title=Bell Founders|url=http://dove.cccbr.org.uk/founders.php|access-date=3 September 2013|work=[[Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers]]|publisher=[[Central Council of Church Bell Ringers]]}}</ref> Monuments in the churchyard include chest tombs from the 18th and 19th centuries,<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1023792|desc=Five Lewis memorials in group, in the churchyard|access-date=20 February 2022|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> and a carved stone cross commemorating [[John Wordsworth]] (bishop of Salisbury until his death in 1911) and his first wife Susan.<ref name="Orbach" />

The parish is now one of 13 in the Chalke Valley [[Benefice#Church of England|benefice]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our Churches|url=https://www.chalkevalleychurches.org/ourchurches.htm|access-date=2022-02-17|website=Chalke Valley Churches}}</ref>

==Local government==
The civil parish elects a [[Parish councils in England|parish council]]. It is in the area of [[Wiltshire Council]] [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]], which performs all significant local government functions.

The ancient parish of Britford included the [[tithing]] of East Harnham,<ref>{{cite web|website=British History Online|title=Victoria County History – Wiltshire – Vol 4 pp315-361 – Table of population, 1801–1951|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol4/pp315-361|publisher=University of London|access-date=9 November 2015}}</ref> which became a separate [[ecclesiastical parish]] in 1855 after a church was built there in the previous year. East Harnham continued as part of Britford civil parish until 1896, when it became a separate parish; in 1904 it joined the borough of Salisbury and is now part of [[Harnham]] suburb.<ref name="wch" />

==Amenities==
Britford has a [[Voluntary controlled school|Church of England]] primary school, built in 1959 to replace a [[National school (England and Wales)|National School]] which opened in 1853.<ref>{{cite web|website=Wiltshire Community History|title=Longford C of E (VC) Primary School, Britford|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/School/Details/1334|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=9 November 2015}}</ref> On 1 April 2010 it merged with the primary school in [[Odstock]] to form Longford C of E Primary School,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.longford.wilts.sch.uk/aboutlongfordschool-longford-primary-school-salisbury/?pid=57 |title=About Longford School |publisher=Longford C of E Primary School |year=2013 |access-date=3 September 2013}}</ref> named after the Longford estate. Both sets of buildings remain in use: the Britford site teaches Key Stage 1 and the Odstock site teaches Key Stage 2.

[[Salisbury District Hospital]] is in the parish about {{convert|1|mi}} southwest of the village.

A [[Park and Ride]] bus service for journeys to Salisbury operates from a site on the A338 near the village.<ref>{{cite web|title=Salisbury Park & Ride|url=http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/parkingtransportandstreets/carparking/parkandride.htm|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=9 November 2015|archive-date=14 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314140041/http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/parkingtransportandstreets/carparking/parkandride.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Britford Water Meadows]] is a biological [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite journal |last1=Cross |first1=Donald Alfred Edgar |year=1970 |title=The Salisbury Avon Navigation |journal=Industrial Archaeology |publisher=[[David & Charles]] |volume=VII |issue=2 |pages=121–135 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Pevsner |first1=Nikolaus |author-link1=Nikolaus Pevsner |last2=Cherry |first2=Bridget (revision) |orig-year=1963 |year=1975 |title=Wiltshire |edition=revised |series=[[Pevsner Architectural Guides#Buildings of England|The Buildings of England]] |location=Harmondsworth |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |isbn=0-14-0710-26-4 |pages=142–144 }}

==External links==
{{Commons category inline}}
* [https://britfordparishcouncil.co.uk/ Britford Parish Council]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Civil parishes in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Villages in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Villages in Wiltshire]]

Latest revision as of 10:31, 5 July 2024

Britford
The Old Bakery, Britford
Britford is located in Wiltshire
Britford
Britford
Location within Wiltshire
Population592 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceSU160282
Civil parish
  • Britford
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSalisbury
Postcode districtSP5
Dialling code01722
PoliceWiltshire
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
WebsiteParish Council
List of places
UK
England
Wiltshire
51°03′11″N 1°46′23″W / 51.053°N 1.773°W / 51.053; -1.773

Britford is a village and civil parish beside the River Avon about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-east of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The village is just off the A338 Salisbury-Bournemouth road. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 592.[1]

Geography

[edit]

Britford village lies towards the east of the parish, about 1.3 miles (2.1 km) south-east of Salisbury Cathedral. East of the village are water meadows created by the Avon. The parish extends some 3 miles (4.8 km) westward across agricultural land, with no named settlements;[2] in this area, about 1 mile south-west of the village, a hospital begun in the Second World War has expanded into the large Salisbury District Hospital which serves a wide area.

Archaeology

[edit]

Little Woodbury, 0.5 miles (800 m) south-west of the village, is the site of an Iron Age settlement.[3] Excavations in 1938–39 revealed the sites of granaries, storage pits and a circular house nearly 50 feet (15 m) in diameter.[4]

Great Woodbury, 1 mile (1.6 km) from the village, is the remains of an Iron Age hill fort.

History

[edit]

The place-name 'Britford' is first attested in a Saxon charter of circa 670, where it appears as Brytfordingea. It appears as Bretford and Bredford in the Domesday Book of 1086,[5] and as Brideford in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1203. The name means "brides' ford", and has the same etymology as Bridford in Devon.[6]

Domesday Book recorded 48 households, two mills and a church.[5] In the second quarter of the 13th century, Britford had an anchoress called Joan. In 1215 King John granted her an income of one penny per day. She received royal gifts of oaks in 1226, 1231 and 1245. In 1237 the sheriff of Salisbury was ordered to ensure that the courtyard around her house was securely enclosed with a wall.[7]

The manor of Britford, together with that of Bramshaw nearby in Hampshire, appears to have been granted by one of the Norman kings to the de Lacy family sometime during the 12th century.[8] Bramshaw church belonged to Britford from an early date until 1158.[8] By the 16th century the manor was owned by George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, whose wife was Anne Stafford, daughter of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham.[9]

In 1538 the earl sold the manor to a London mercer named Jervoise or Jervys.[9] Descendants include Thomas Jervoise (died 1654), MP for Whitchurch, Hampshire. He was married at age 14 to Lucy Powlet, daughter of Sir Richard Powlet of Herriard and Freefolk, Hampshire, and after her sister died he added the Herriard estate to his family's substantial landholdings in Wiltshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.[10] Thomas's sons Richard (born 1615) and Thomas (died 1693), and grandson Thomas (1667–1743) were also MPs.

Moat House, south-west of St Peter's, was owned by the Jervoise family from 1542; the present 17th-century house is surrounded by a moat.[11] The house was remodelled in 1766 and again in the 19th century, so that externally it looks early 19th century Georgian.[3] It is now divided into two houses.[11] Another addition in the 1760s was a pigeon house or dovecote in the garden, its ogee-headed windows matching those added to the house.[12]

Rectory Farmhouse, north-west of St Peter's, is a 17th-century house with a symmetrical front of three bays. At the front the two ground-floor windows have four lights and a transom; the first floor windows have ovolo-moulded mullions.[3][13] It is a Grade II* listed building.[13]

There are Georgian cottages on the main A338 road, built for the Longford Castle estate.[3]

Avon navigation

[edit]
The 17th-century navigation channel on the edge of the water meadows near Britford

In 1664 an Act of Parliament authorised the conversion of the River Avon into a navigation between Salisbury and the English Channel at Christchurch.[14] Canalised channels were dug to straighten sections of the river, including one about a 1 mile (1.6 km) long through Britford parish, leaving the watermeadows just downstream from the cathedral and rejoining the river near Longford Castle, south-east of the village. Work began in 1675 and the route was completed in 1684, but it fell out of use around 1715.[15] The only surviving lock on the defunct waterway is near Longford Castle, and was rebuilt in brick as a pound lock soon after the original flash lock was damaged by flooding c.1700.[16] Nearby is a footbridge over the navigation, built c.1748 after the abandonment.[17]

East Harnham

[edit]

East Harnham, upstream of Britford, was a tithing of Britford parish until All Saints' church was built there in 1854, and a district chapelry created for it the next year.[18] East Harnham remained within Britford civil parish until 1896 when it was made a separate civil parish, which was abolished in 1904 in an expansion of Salisbury parish;[19] at the same time some of its area was transferred to Britford.[20] Further expansion of the city boundary in 1954 took from Britford the built-up areas north and south of the river, including the Petersfinger area on the Southampton road.[20]

Parish church

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St Peter's Church

The Church of England parish church of Saint Peter stands near the riverbank, with Rectory Farm alongside, north-west of the present village. The tall nave survives from a substantial Saxon church of the 8th or 9th century,[21] although it has been rebuilt except for the lower parts of the north and south walls.[22]

On each side of the nave there is a round-headed Saxon arch into a porticus (small space for a side-chapel). The arch to the south porticus is plain, but that to the north porticus is supported by decorated stone slabs. The carving on one slab seems to be developed from the style of decoration of the Bewcastle and Ruthwell crosses at the beginning of the 8th century; the style of the other seems to be 9th century.[23] Both arches contain re-used Roman brick.[22] Julian Orbach, extending Nikolaus Pevsner's description of the church, calls the arches the "sensation of the interior"[24] and notes Rosemary Cramp's suggestion that there was a royal tomb here.[25] The arches were walled up, although visible from outside, until they were uncovered by Street in the 1870s.[26]

In the 14th century the chancel and north and south transepts were added, making the church the cruciform building it is today.[23] Each transept is next to the Saxon porticus on its corresponding side and includes the east wall of that porticus. The arches where the transepts meet the nave are Decorated Gothic, as is the east window of the chancel.[23] A tomb-chest in the chancel, under a 14th-century arch, is supposed to be that of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham who was executed in Salisbury in 1483.[24] Also 15th-century is a small, iron-bound wooden chest in the north transept.[3] Other memorials include a marble book listing the descent of the Jervoise family (by John Bacon the Younger, 1820) and in the mausoleum a bronze heraldic achievement for the 5th Earl of Radnor (died 1900).[24] The finely-carved pulpit is late 17th century[3] although its stone base is Victorian.[22]

The west wall of the nave was rebuilt in 1764.[21] Over the crossing is a central tower, which was refaced or rebuilt in 1764[21] or 1767.[3] John Robartes of Longford Castle, later 1st Earl of Radnor, paid for the 1764 work and had a family mausoleum added to the north-west corner of the north transept in 1764[21] or 1777.[24] Box pews in the south transept are from the same century.[24] The building was restored in 1872–3 to the designs of George Edmund Street: the work included changes to the windows and moving the entrance from the west end to the re-opened Saxon south doorway.[22] He had the Radnor mausoleum Gothicised, reduced in height, and shortened to make room for a north-east vestry.[21][3] Street also designed the Chilmark stone font.[24] The renovation of 1873 was overseen by the Rev. Arthur Phillip Morres.[27] The west window of the nave has stained glass made by Ward and Hughes of London in 1882.[21] The tower was reconstructed in 1903.[22] The church and mausoleum were designated as Grade I listed in 1960.[21]

St Peter's has a ring of six bells: five including the tenor were cast in 1765 by Robert Wells I of Aldbourne; the treble was cast in 1899 by Thomas Blackbourn of Salisbury.[28][29] Monuments in the churchyard include chest tombs from the 18th and 19th centuries,[30] and a carved stone cross commemorating John Wordsworth (bishop of Salisbury until his death in 1911) and his first wife Susan.[24]

The parish is now one of 13 in the Chalke Valley benefice.[31]

Local government

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The civil parish elects a parish council. It is in the area of Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which performs all significant local government functions.

The ancient parish of Britford included the tithing of East Harnham,[32] which became a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1855 after a church was built there in the previous year. East Harnham continued as part of Britford civil parish until 1896, when it became a separate parish; in 1904 it joined the borough of Salisbury and is now part of Harnham suburb.[9]

Amenities

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Britford has a Church of England primary school, built in 1959 to replace a National School which opened in 1853.[33] On 1 April 2010 it merged with the primary school in Odstock to form Longford C of E Primary School,[34] named after the Longford estate. Both sets of buildings remain in use: the Britford site teaches Key Stage 1 and the Odstock site teaches Key Stage 2.

Salisbury District Hospital is in the parish about 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of the village.

A Park and Ride bus service for journeys to Salisbury operates from a site on the A338 near the village.[35]

Britford Water Meadows is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Area: Britford (Parish); Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  2. ^ "Election Maps: Great Britain". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Pevsner & Cherry 1975, p. 143.
  4. ^ Pevsner & Cherry 1975, p. 144.
  5. ^ a b /britford/ Britford in the Domesday Book
  6. ^ Eilert Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, p.66.
  7. ^ Pugh, R.B.; Crittall, Elizabeth, eds. (1956). "Religious Houses: Introduction". A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 3. Victoria County History. University of London. pp. 150–155. Retrieved 17 February 2022 – via British History Online.
  8. ^ a b Page, William, ed. (1911). "Parishes: Bramshaw". A History of the County of Hampshire, Volume 4. Victoria County History. University of London. pp. 623–626. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via British History Online.
  9. ^ a b c "Britford". Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre: Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  10. ^ Moseley, Virginia. "JERVOISE, Sir Thomas (1587-1654), of Herriard and Freefolk, Hants". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  11. ^ a b Historic England. "Moat House (1023794)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  12. ^ Historic England. "Pigeon House in garden of Pigeon House Cottage (1023797)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  13. ^ a b Historic England. "Rectory Farmhouse (1023790)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  14. ^ Cross 1970[page needed]
  15. ^ Historic England. "Avon River Navigation (1031488)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  16. ^ Historic England. "Britford Lock (1011344)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  17. ^ Historic England. "Bridge over Avon Navigation, to rear of stable Block (1023840)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  18. ^ "No. 21662". The London Gazette. 13 February 1855. pp. 544–545.
  19. ^ "East Harnham CP". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  20. ^ a b Crittall, Elizabeth, ed. (1962). "New Salisbury: Introduction". A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 6. Victoria County History. University of London. pp. 69–72. Retrieved 23 February 2022 – via British History Online.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g Historic England. "Church of St Peter and attached Radnor Mausoleum (1023791)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  22. ^ a b c d e Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England) (1987). Churches of South-East Wiltshire. H.M. Stationery Office. pp. 112–115. ISBN 978-0-11-700995-0.
  23. ^ a b c Pevsner & Cherry 1975, p. 142.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g Orbach, Julian; Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (2021). Wiltshire. The Buildings Of England. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. pp. 181–183. ISBN 978-0-300-25120-3. OCLC 1201298091.
  25. ^ "Monument Types: Architectural Sculpture" (PDF). The Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture. Durham University. 2006. p. 36-37. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  26. ^ Talbot, C.H. (1877). "Downton and Britford Churches: Britford Church". Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine. 17 (50): 246–253 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  27. ^ "Church of St. Peter, Britford". Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre: Community History. Archived from the original on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  28. ^ Dawson, George (21 December 2006). "Britford S Peter". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  29. ^ Dovemaster (31 October 2012). "Bell Founders". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Central Council of Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  30. ^ Historic England. "Five Lewis memorials in group, in the churchyard (1023792)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  31. ^ "Our Churches". Chalke Valley Churches. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  32. ^ "Victoria County History – Wiltshire – Vol 4 pp315-361 – Table of population, 1801–1951". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  33. ^ "Longford C of E (VC) Primary School, Britford". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  34. ^ "About Longford School". Longford C of E Primary School. 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  35. ^ "Salisbury Park & Ride". Wiltshire Council. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2015.

Sources

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Media related to Britford at Wikimedia Commons

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