All Cannings (pronounced "Allcannings") is a 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 English county of
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 ...
, about east of
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 ...
. The parish includes the nearby smaller settlement of Allington. In 2011 the parish had a population of 649.
The southern part of the parish lies in the
Vale of Pewsey, and in the north the parish extends some onto the
Marlborough Downs and includes
Tan Hill, which is (by a small margin) the second highest hill in Wiltshire. Etchilhampton Water, a tributary of the
River Avon, forms part of the southern boundary of the parish. Moor Brook flows south through Allington and All Cannings villages to join it.
History
Prehistoric sites in the north of the present parish include Rybury Camp, a Neolithic
causewayed enclosure overlaid by a late Bronze Age or early Iron Age
hillfort
A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...
, occupying some 2 hectares on a prominent ridge near Tan Hill.
All Cannings Cross is an Iron Age site further south, which was investigated by
Ben
Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett, Benson or Ebenezer, and is also a given name in its own right.
Ben meaning "son of" is also found in Arabic as ''Ben'' (dialectal Arabic) or ''bin ...
and
Maud Cunnington from 1911; they made important finds of pottery. The
Wansdyke earthwork crosses the parish in the far north.
The name is believed to be a derivation of "Old Canning". A village probably existed on the current site by the tenth century, as the invading Danes at that time referred to Canning marsh.
In 1086,
Domesday Book
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 ...
recorded land held by
St Mary's Abbey, Winchester at ''Caninge'', with 58 households and a mill; and land held by
Amesbury Abbey at ''Allentone'', with 32 households.
There was a church from early in the 13th century and the earliest features in the current
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 ...
are late
Norman. By the 14th century the village had a
water mill
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...
, but this had disappeared by the 18th century.
In 1499, the Winchester abbey was granted the right to hold an annual fair near Wansdyke on Tan Hill (at the time known as Charlborough Down) which became a large sheep and horse fair, with amusements including horse racing. The fair continued to be held until World War II.
The
Wiltshire Victoria County History traces the ownership of All Cannings manor from 1536, when it was granted to
Edward Seymour, later Duke of Somerset. The land was sold as separate farms from 1909. Allington was held alongside
Lydiard Tregoze until 1300, when it was allotted to
John la Warr, 2nd Baron De La Warr (d.1347). Again the Victoria County History has the later owners, culminating in breakup and sale in 1907.
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 ...
was built across the parish, passing just north of the village, and opened in 1810. The parish population peaked in the middle of the 19th century with the 1841 census showing 663 inhabitants.
The ancient parish had three
tithings, All Cannings being the largest. Allington, a narrow strip to the west, was deemed a separate civil parish in 1881 and was united with All Cannings parish in 1934; its population in 1931 was 70.
The third tithing was Fullaway (or Fullway), a small detached part between
Stert and
Urchfont, which was made a civil parish in 1857 and annexed to Stert parish in 1894, having a population around that time of 11.
Religious sites
Parish church
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 All Saints (St Anne until c.1928),
which stands at the south end of the village, took its present form in the 14th and 15th centuries and was restored in the 19th. It is a
Grade II* listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
building.
The church has a cruciform plan, which may reflect a Norman church on the same site;
when the crossing was rebuilt in the 14th century, two short 12th-century columns and capitals were reused. The nave was re-roofed in 1638 and renewed in 1843.
The chancel was rebuilt in 1678 and again in 1868–9, this time in
Bath stone
Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate originally obtained from the Middle Jurassic aged Great Oolite Group of the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its h ...
on a slightly narrower plan, to designs of Henry Weaver of Devizes. The elaborate interior decoration of the chancel is described by
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
as
Tractarian, with marble shafts decorating the four pairs of side windows, and an
alabaster
Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...
reredos
A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images.
The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...
with a relief of the
Last Supper
Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...
.
The three-stage central tower is mid-15th century and probably replaced an earlier one.
It has a square stair-tower at its northeast corner, with a clock face on its north side. The Beauchamp Chapel, east of the south transept, is a
chantry
A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings:
# a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or
# a chantry chapel, a b ...
probably built by
Richard Beauchamp, 6th Baron Amand (d. 1508).
The carved stone font is 15th-century, and its tall wooden cover is dated 1633. Monuments in the church include, at the west end of the south aisle, a large pedimented tablet to William Ernle (d. 1581) of Etchilhampton and his wife Jone; and at the same end of the north aisle, to
Sir John Ernle, 5th baronet (d. 1734) – who was rector from 1709
– and his wife Elizabeth.
Among the peal of six bells, two were cast by Roger Purdue of
Salisbury bell foundry
The Salisbury Bell Foundry at Salisbury, in Wiltshire, England, was operated from at least 1420 (but possibly as early as 1220) until 1731. The surnames of notable master bell-founders include Purdue and Wallis.
History of the foundry
Salisbu ...
in 1626 and one by
Thomas Rudhall in 1771.
The parish war memorial, a stone wheel-head cross unveiled in 1920, stands in the churchyard by its main entrance.
St Andrew's church at
Etchilhampton, built in the 14th century, was always a
chapelry
A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century.
Status
A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...
of All Cannings, and the parish became known as All Cannings with Etchilhampton. The benefice was united with
Bishop's Cannings in 1977 and today the All Cannings and Etchilhampton churches are part of the Cannings and Redhorn group. Parish registers from 1578 are held in the
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre
Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a Ceremonial counties of England, 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, Dorse ...
, Chippenham.
Others
There was a church at Allington before 1100 but it fell into disuse, possibly in the 14th century.
Bethel
Strict Baptist
Reformed Baptists, also called Particular Baptists, or Calvinist Baptists, are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology (salvation belief teached by John Calvin). The name "Reformed Baptist" dates from the latter part of the 20th century ...
chapel opened at Allington in 1828 and is still in use. A
Wesleyan Methodist chapel was registered in 1890 and closed sometime before 1959.
Modern long barrow
In 2015 the first
long barrow
Long barrows are a style of monument constructed across Western Europe in the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Typically constructed from earth and either timber or stone, those using the latter material repres ...
in thousands of years, inspired by those built in the
New Stone Age, was built on land just outside the village. The project was instigated by Tim Daw, a local farmer and a steward at
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...
.
The barrow was designed to have a large number of private niches within the stone and earth structure, to receive cremation urns. The structure received significant media attention as it was being built, and was fully subscribed within eighteen months.
Notable buildings
All Cannings village has several groups of cottages, mostly thatched, the oldest bearing a 1647 datestone.
Rustic Farmhouse is a timber-framed house under a thatched roof, from the late 16th century. Cliff Farmhouse is another timber-framed house from the late 16th century or early 17th, originally T in plan but now L, partly rebuilt.
The former rectory, close to the church, was rebuilt in the mid-17th century and extended in the early and late 19th; the older core has a
sarsen
Sarsen stones are silicification, silicified sandstone blocks found extensively across southern England on the Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire; in Kent; and in smaller quantities in Berkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Dorset, an ...
lower floor and brick upper, and limestone dressings. It was sold in 1969.
Education
All Cannings had a
Sunday school
]
A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes.
Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...
by 1808 and a day-school by 1818.
[Crittall ''et al.'', 1975, pages 20–33] 100 pupils were enrolled in the day-school but attendance was much less as many of the children worked in the fields during the week.
[
By 1833 the village had two day-schools: the parish school with 105 pupils and a private school with 12 pupils.][ The Rector had the parish school built that year on land given by the Lord of the Manor, Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton, Alexander Baring.][
The private school had closed by 1858.][ The parish school was reorganised in 1961][ and moved into a new building in 2000.
]
Rock Against Cancer concerts
The Kings Arms public house hosts an annual "Rock Against Cancer" event called Concert at the Kings. Artists at the 2012 event included:
* Bob Harris (compere)
* Mike and the Mechanics
Mike and the Mechanics (stylised as Mike + The Mechanics) are a British rock supergroup formed in Dover in 1985 by Mike Rutherford, initially as a side project during a hiatus period for his other group Genesis. The band are known for the hit ...
* Brian May
Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...
* Kerry Ellis
Kerry Jane Ellis (born 6 May 1979) is an English actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music. Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before training at La ...
* Madeline Bell
* Midge Ure
* Tom Robinson
* Chris Thompson
* Patti Russo
* The Sweet
Sweet (known as the Sweet until the early 1970s) are a British glam rock band who rose to prominence in the 1970s. Their best-known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bassist Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott and drummer ...
* Strawbs
The Strawbs are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock.
They are best known for their hi ...
Early concrete housing
In 1868 Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton, and his tenant farmer Simon Hiscock decided to each build a pair of semi-detached
A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single-family Duplex (building), duplex dwelling that shares one common party wall, wall with its neighbour. The name distinguishes this style of construction from detached houses, with no sh ...
workers cottages. They had two adjacent plots of the same size. The tenant built his pair of brick, his Lordship of concrete – the only major difference is that, in the absence of internal shuttering, the concrete chimneys are straight rather than bent to combine into a single chimney stack.
Both pairs of cottages still stand largely unaltered, although one of the concrete houses had an extension added in June 2006.
It is assumed that this was a trial into the efficacy of using shuttered reinforced concrete as a building method. It seems to have been successful as two more pairs were then built, followed by a more elaborate villa style pair of cottages and finally a large farmhouse. This experiment is little acknowledged outside the area. While these houses may not be the very first concrete houses built, they were built within a couple of years of the first one.
Notable people
* David Curwen (1913–2011) built miniature railway steam locomotives at All Cannings.
* Andy Scott (born 30 June 1949), guitarist with band The Sweet
Sweet (known as the Sweet until the early 1970s) are a British glam rock band who rose to prominence in the 1970s. Their best-known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bassist Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott and drummer ...
, and as of June 2020, the last surviving member of their 'classic lineup', lives in a converted barn at the village.
References
Sources and further reading
*
External links
*
All Cannings Parish Council
*
*
{{authority control
Villages in Wiltshire
Civil parishes in Wiltshire