Melksham Without

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Melksham Without
Shaw church.jpg
Church and primary school at Shaw
Wiltshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Melksham Without
Location within Wiltshire
Population7,230 (in 2011) [1]
OS grid reference ST9265
Civil parish
  • Melksham Without
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Melksham
Postcode district SN12
Dialling code 01225
Police Wiltshire
Fire Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
Website www.melkshamwithout-pc.gov.uk OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
List of places
UK
England
Wiltshire
51°23′N2°07′W / 51.38°N 2.11°W / 51.38; -2.11
Melksham Without parish council logo on a bus stop near Berryfield Melksham Without logo.jpg
Melksham Without parish council logo on a bus stop near Berryfield

Melksham Without is a civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. It surrounds, but does not include, the town of Melksham and is the largest rural parish in Wiltshire, with a population of 7,230 (as of 2011) [1] and an area of 29 square kilometres (7,200 acres).

Contents

In 1894 the ancient parish of Melksham was divided into Melksham Urban District and the rural parish of Melksham Without. [2] The northern boundary of the parish is the Roman road from Silchester to Bath; downstream from Melksham the Bristol Avon forms the southwestern boundary, and parts of the southern boundary are the Semington Brook and the Kennet and Avon Canal.

The parish includes the villages of Beanacre, Berryfield, Shaw and Whitley, and the hamlets of Outmarsh and Redstocks. It also includes the outer Melksham suburbs of Bowerhill and The Spa, and the dispersed settlement of Sandridge which includes Sandridge Common.

Governance

The Local Government Act of 1894 created the parish of Melksham Without, dividing the ancient parish of Melksham into an urban area (Melksham Within) and a rural area (Melksham Without). The latter consists of the ancient settlements of Beanacre, Shaw and Whitley, surrounding Melksham Within on all sides except the west. Until the 17th century, the area to the east was royal forest, and this part is lightly populated and agricultural. To the south the land was similarly rural but was used for military purposes in the mid-20th century, with RAF Melksham based at Bowerhill, and this area now consists of light industry and housing estates. There is another housing estate separate from the town at Berryfield, to the south. [3]

The civil parish elects a parish council. It is in the area of Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which performs most local government functions. Unusually, the parish shares some land in common with the parish of Broughton Gifford, namely farmland to the north of Holbrook Farm, bounded to the west by the Avon. [4] [5]

There are two electoral wards, Melksham Without North and South. The northern ward consists of the northern section of the parish together with the parishes of Atworth and Broughton Gifford. The southern ward has the rest of the parish, south of a boundary which mostly follows Clackers Brook, and includes Bowerhill and Berryfield. The total ward population taken at the 2011 census was 8,402. [6] [7]

Notable buildings

The parish has one Grade I listed building: Beanacre Old Manor, west of what is now the A350, has a timber-framed hall from the late 14th century, with many additions and alterations in later centuries. [8] Close by to the south-west is Beanacre Manor, from c.1595 with a 17th-century dairy, Grade II* listed. [9]

Two further buildings are listed Grade II*: Woolmore Manor, built in 1631 and now on the south-east edge of Melksham, near modern Bowerhill; [10] and Christ Church, Shaw, designed in 1905 in Arts and Crafts Gothic style by C.E. Ponting. [11]

Transport

A packhorse bridge dating from 1725 spans the River Avon, providing a route (now a public footpath) to Broughton Gifford. [12]

The Kennet and Avon Canal was built in the south of the parish by 1804 and fully opened in 1810. In the same year the Wilts & Berks Canal opened, having been built through the parish from its connection with the K&A near Semington. After passing through the eastern side of Melksham town the canal continued north through the parish towards Chippenham, Swindon and Abingdon. Both canals fell into decline following the arrival of the railways in the 1840s, and the closure of the Somerset Coal Canal (which provided much of their traffic) in 1904. [13]

In 1848 the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway company built their line through the parish, to link the Swindon-Bath line (near Chippenham) with Westbury via Melksham and Trowbridge; the line was handed over to the Great Western Railway in 1850 and is still in use. From 1905 to 1955 there was a small station, Beanacre Halt, near Beanacre on the road towards Whitley. [14] The Devizes Branch Line was completed in 1857 and also taken over by the GWR, but closed in 1966. It connected with the main line near Holt and passed near Outmarsh, where there was a station, Semington Halt. [15]

Today the Kennet and Avon Canal is a well-used recreational waterway, following its restoration in the 1970s and 1980s and formal re-opening in 1990. The Wilts & Berks Canal was abandoned in 1914 and its route south and east of Melksham has been built over; preservation and restoration efforts began in 1977 and in 2012 a planning application was submitted for a new section of canal (called the Melksham Link) to connect the Semington junction, via Berryfield, with the Avon below Melksham. [16]

The A350 primary route runs north–south through the parish on its section from Chippenham to Melksham and passes through Beanacre. South of Melksham, on its way to Westbury, its original route past Berryfield and Outmarsh was replaced in 2004 by the Semington bypass, about 400m to the east. [17] The new route required the construction of an aqueduct to carry the Kennet and Avon Canal, the New Semington Aqueduct. The Hampton Park West industrial area, between the old and new routes, has the headquarters of Avon Rubber and G Plan Upholstery, and a divisional headquarters of Wiltshire Police. [18]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wiltshire</span> County of England

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire and Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to the west. The largest settlement is Swindon, and Trowbridge is the county town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilts & Berks Canal</span> Canal linking the Kennet & Avon Canal to the River Thames

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 branch to the Thames and Severn Canal at Latton near Cricklade. Among professional trades boatmen, the canal was nicknamed the Ippey Cut, possibly short for Chippenham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Wiltshire</span> Former local government district in Wiltshire, England

West Wiltshire was a local government district in Wiltshire, England, between 1974 and 2009, when it was superseded by Wiltshire Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melksham</span> Human settlement in England

Melksham is a town and civil parish on the River Avon in Wiltshire, England, about 4.5 miles (7 km) northeast of Trowbridge and 6 miles (10 km) south of Chippenham. At the 2011 census, the Melksham built-up area had a population of 19,357, making it Wiltshire's fifth-largest settlement after Swindon, Salisbury, Chippenham and Trowbridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broughton Gifford</span> Human settlement in England

Broughton Gifford is a village and civil parish about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Melksham in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Norrington Common and The Common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A350 road</span> Road in England

The A350 is a north–south primary route in southern England, that runs from the M4 motorway in Wiltshire to Poole in Dorset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wessex Main Line</span>

The Wessex Main Line is the railway line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. Diverging from this route is the Heart of Wessex Line from Westbury to Weymouth. The Wessex Main Line intersects the Reading to Taunton Line at Westbury and the West of England Main Line at Salisbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atworth</span> Human settlement in England

Atworth is a village and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. The village is on the A365 road between Melksham and Box, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Melksham and 4 miles (6 km) northeast of Bradford on Avon. The hamlet of Purlpit lies east of Atworth village, and in the south of the parish are the small village of Great Chalfield and the hamlet of Little Chalfield.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semington Locks</span>

The Semington Locks are situated at Semington, Wiltshire on the Kennet and Avon Canal, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semington</span> Human settlement in England

Semington is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about 2 miles (3 km) south of Melksham and about 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Trowbridge. The parish includes the hamlets of Little Marsh and Littleton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whaddon, Wiltshire</span> Human settlement in England

Whaddon is a hamlet in the civil parish of Hilperton, Wiltshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowerhill</span> Human settlement in England

Bowerhill is a village near Melksham, Wiltshire, England, in the civil parish of Melksham Without. Central Bowerhill is approximately 1.75 miles (2.8 km) south of Melksham town centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beanacre</span> Human settlement in England

Beanacre is a small village in Wiltshire, England, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Melksham on the A350 towards Chippenham. It is in the civil parish of Melksham Without. The Bristol Avon passes to the east of the village where a stream from Sandridge joins it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berryfield</span> Small village to the south of the town of Melksham, in Wiltshire, England

Berryfield is a small village to the south of the town of Melksham, in Wiltshire, England. The village is separated from the southwestern outskirts of Melksham by the A350 road and about 500 metres of farmland; it falls within the civil parish of Melksham Without. The Bristol Avon is about 0.6 miles (1 km) west of the village. Although close to Melksham town, Berryfield remains a separate community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Semington Aqueduct</span> Bridge in Semington

New Semington Aqueduct carries the Kennet and Avon Canal over the carriageway of the A350 road Trowbridge Bypass, at Semington in west Wiltshire, England. Although the construction of new canals is no longer common practice in England, new aqueducts such as this are sometimes built in relation to new roads or road widening schemes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holt, Wiltshire</span> Human settlement in England

Holt is a village and civil parish in the west of Wiltshire, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) north-east of Bradford-on-Avon and 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Melksham.

References

  1. 1 2 "Wiltshire Community History - Census". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  2. "Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 7 pp99-121 - Parishes: Melksham". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  3. "Melksham Without". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire County Council. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  4. "Ordnance Survey Boundary Maps of England and Wales – Wiltshire". A Vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. 1931. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  5. "Land Common To Melksham Without and Broughton ExP". A Vision of Britain Through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  6. "Melksham Without North ward 2011". Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  7. "Melksham Without South ward 2011". Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  8. Historic England. "Beanacre Old Manor (1021755)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  9. Historic England. "Beanacre Manor with Dairy (1364152)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  10. Historic England. "Woolmore Farmhouse, Bowerhill (1021762)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  11. Historic England. "Christ Church (1194686)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  12. Historic England. "Packhorse Bridge, Melksham Without (1251182)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  13. "Kennet & Avon Canal Trust". Kennet and Avon Canal Trust. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2006.
  14. Oakley, Mike (2004). Wiltshire Railway Stations. Wimborne: The Dovecote Press. p. 13. ISBN   1904349331.
  15. "The borough of Devizes: Town, castle and estates". British History Online. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  16. "Plans for Wiltshire town's canal submitted". BBC News - Wiltshire. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  17. "Bypass set to open to fanfare of celebrations". Brighton. 26 March 2004. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  18. "Contact Us - Write in". Wiltshire Police. Retrieved 26 December 2015.

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