Norton 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England, about southwest of Malmesbury. The parish includes the hamlets of Foxley and Bremilham (also known as Cowage). The Sherston branch of the Bristol Avon forms the north boundary of the parish.

History

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

ring ditches and signs of early

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

or Saxon settlement are in the east of the parish, near Cowage Farm. The Fosse Way Roman road forms the west boundary of the parish, where it is a

bridleway A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding horses, riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now s ...

. The east–west road between Malmesbury and Sherston passes through Foxley and Bremilham. From the late 17th century until 1756 this was the main route between Oxford and Bristol. Foxley and Bremilham were separate ecclesiastical parishes until 1893 when Bremilham was united with Foxley. In 1934 Foxley (with Bremilham) was transferred to the civil parish of Norton.

Religious sites

Norton

The

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

Church of All Saints at Norton is

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. There was probably a church in the 13th century, which was rebuilt in the 15th and restored in 1854 for

Joseph Neeld Joseph Neeld (1789–1856) was Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom for the rotten borough of Gatton, Surrey from March to July 1830 and for Chippenham, Wiltshire, England from September 1830 to March 1856. Career Neeld was one of five b ...

of Grittleton House. A font from the late 12th or early 13th century survives from the earlier church. Today All Saints, together with the churches at Foxham and Bremilham, is part of the Gauzebrook group of churches.

Foxley

There was a church at Foxley in the 12th century or earlier, perhaps linked to Malmesbury Abbey. There was a rector by 1300. The small church, which has no dedication, is built of coursed rubble with some herringbone masonry. Thirteenth-century work survives in the north arcade and the font is from the same period. The church was altered and re-roofed in the 15th century, and the tower built or rebuilt. In the 17th century the south aisle and north chapel were demolished, and around 1708 the south porch with stone pediment was added. A clock by Charles Frodsham & Co was installed in the tower in 1873. The interior of the church was renovated in the early 20th century; it was recorded as Grade I listed in 1959. In 1874 the benefice was authorized to be united with Bremilham, and this became effective in 1893; by that time parishioners of Bremilham attended Foxley church. From 1951 the benefice of Foxley with Bremilham was held in plurality with that of Corston with Rodbourne.

Bremilham

The small church at Cowage Farm, Bremilham is the remainder or partial rebuilding of a 15th-century church, used for a time as a mortuary chapel.

Manor houses

There are two

manor houses A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with ...

. Norton Manor is from the early 17th century and is Grade II* listed. Foxley Manor is from a similar date and is Grade II listed. (Not to be confused with Foxley House, next to the church and also Grade II listed).

Local government

There is no elected parish council, instead an annual Parish meeting is held. The parish is in the area of Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which is responsible for all significant local government functions.