Calne Without is a

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 authority ...

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. It is a rural parish surrounding the town of

Calne Calne () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs h ...

, extending west to the Avon and south to the

Roman road from London to Bath The Roman road from Silchester to Bath connected Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester) with Aquae Sulis (Bath) via Spinae ( Speen), Cunetio (near Marlborough) and Verlucio (near Sandy Lane). The road was a significant route for east–west travel and ...

. Settlements in the parish are the village of

Derry Hill Derry Hill is a village in the English county of Wiltshire, in the civil parish of Calne Without. It has an elevated position at the northern edge of the Bowood House estate, about south-east of the centre of the town of Chippenham. Geography De ...

; the small villages of

Calstone Wellington Calstone Wellington is a small village and former parish in Wiltshire, England, about south-east of Calne and now part of the civil parish of Calne Without. The village has a 15th-century church. Geography Anciently, there was a distinction b ...

, Sandy Lane, Stockley and Studley; the dispersed settlement of

Stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

; the hamlets of Blackland, Broad's Green, Buck Hill,

Mile Elm Mile Elm is a hamlet in central Wiltshire, England, with a population of around 40 residents. It lies on the A3102 road, south-west of the town of Calne. There was a farm at Mile End in 1728; the area to the east of the road was the tithing of S ...

Pewsham Pewsham is a small village and former civil parish just south-east of the town of Chippenham on the A4 road (England), A4 national route towards Calne in Wiltshire, southwestern England. Description Although signposted as Pewsham on the main ...

and Theobald's Green; and part of the hamlet of

Ratford Ratford is a hamlet near Calne in the county of Wiltshire, England, with a population of approximately 50. It lies around north of the A4 national route, northwest of Calne on a minor road towards Bremhill, away. Other nearby settlements in ...

. The parish also encompasses the former tithing of

Calstone Calstone is a former tithing and manor in Wiltshire, England, lying southeast of Calne and adjacent to Calstone Wellington. The area was almost certainly part of the large Calne estate held by the king in the 10th century or earlier. By 1066, t ...

, and the country house estates of

Bowood Bowood is a Grade I listed Georgian era, Georgian English country houses, country house in Wiltshire, England, that has been owned for more than 250 years by the Fitzmaurice family. The house, with interiors by Robert Adam, stands in extensive g ...

and Whetham. The parish was created in 1890 when the large Calne parish was divided. The municipal area became Calne Within parish and the remainder formed Calne Without, together with the land of the abolished Blackland and Calstone Wellington parishes and the

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

of Bowood, and a small area of

Bremhill Bremhill is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about northwest of Calne and east of Chippenham. The name originates from '' 'Bramble hill'.'' Geography Bremhill civil parish is a rural area which stretches nort ...

parish. In 1934, Calne Without was reduced in size by transferring to Calne Within an area with a population of around 900, and transferring a smaller area to

Cherhill Cherhill is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about east of the town of Calne, on the A4 road towards Marlborough. The parish includes the village of Yatesbury. Overview Cherhill has a population of around 700 ...

. Finally, when Pewsham parish (to the west) was abolished in 1984 its rural area was transferred to Calne Without. The

River Marden The River Marden is a small tributary of the River Avon in England. It flows from the hills surrounding Calne and meets the Avon about a mile upstream of Chippenham. The river has a mean flow of . Course The Marden rises just north of the val ...

flows through the parish from its source near Calstone Wellington.

Proposed abolition

A Community Governance Review begun in 2021 may result in abolition of the parish. Its western area would form a new parish of Derry Hill & Studley (to include Pewsham and Sandy Lane), while other parts would be transferred to

Heddington Heddington is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England south of Calne. The parish includes the hamlet of Heddington Wick. King's Play Hill is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest within the parish ...

and

parishes. , the recommendations have draft status.

References

External links

* Civil parishes in Wiltshire {{wiltshire-geo-stub