Calstone Wellington is a small village and former parish, now part of

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 and the hamlets of Blackland, Theobald's Green, ...

parish, in Wiltshire, England. The village lies about south-east of

Calne Calne () is a town and Civil parishes in England, 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 ...

and has a 15th-century church.

Geography

Anciently, there was a distinction between Calstone (which was a

tithing A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or ...

of Calne parish and had no central settlement or church) and the small Calstone Wellington parish (which had a village and St Mary's church). In 1890, both were absorbed into the newly created Calne Without parish. Today, Calstone Wellington has two farms, the church and a few houses. The hamlet of Theobald's Green, which had been in the north of Calstone Wellington parish, remains a small settlement. The southern boundary of Calstone Wellington was a

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

. The eastern boundary followed a prehistoric ditch, while in the north the boundary with Cherhill passed through Oldbury Camp, the site of an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

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 ...

. In the west the boundary followed the minor road from Quemerford to Bishops Cannings. The source of the

River Marden The River Marden is a small tributary of the River Avon, Bristol, 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 j ...

is at Ranscombe Bottom near Calstone Wellington, and most of the land is chalk downland. The Calstone and Cherhill Downs is a biological SSSI, notified in 1971.

Name

The name 'Calstone' may have developed from ''Calne east tun'', meaning that the village was a rural extension of the neighbouring town of

. In about 1600, a small manor of Calstone was given the name of Calstone Wellington, in which 'Wellington' was the name of the

lords of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

in the 13th and 14th centuries.

History

The Ridgeway The Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road. The section clearly identified as an ancient trackway extends from Wiltshire along the chalk ridge of the Berkshire Downs to the River Thames at the Gori ...

, an ancient road dating from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, meets the

early medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Middle Ages of Europ ...

Wansdyke near Calstone Wellington. Calstone was probably part of the large royal estate of

which was held by the

kings of England This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the heptarchy, seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself king of the ...

in the 10th century, and perhaps also before that. By the time of the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

of 1066, most of this royal estate had been granted away from

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

as a series of smaller estates, including Calstone, Calstone Wylye, the future Calstone Wellington, and the future Blunt's. The

Domesday 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 ...

survey in 1086 recorded three landholdings at ''Calestone'', with altogether 62 households and four mills. The 'black land' of Calstone was held by the Crown until 1194, when it was granted to a new owner and became the manor and parish of Blackland. What later became the manor of Calstone Wellington was held in 1086 by Estrild, who held it of

Ernulf de Hesdin Ernulf de Hesdin (died 1097), also transcribed as ''Arnulf'' and ''Ernulphe'', was a French knight who took part in the Norman conquest of England and became a major landholder under William the Conqueror and William Rufus, featuring prominentl ...

. The overlordship appears to have descended with the manor of

Keevil Keevil is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about east of the centre of Trowbridge and a similar distance south of Melksham. The village lies on a slope between Great Hinton and Bulkington, Wiltshire, ...

in the Hesdin and FitzAlan families, and was held by

Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (5 August 130119 March 1330), whose seat was Arundel Castle in Sussex, was the sixth and youngest son of King Edward I of England, and the second son of his second wife Margaret of France, Queen of England ...

, when he died in 1330. Ralph de Wilington held the manor in 1228; the

Wiltshire Victoria County History The Wiltshire Victoria County History, properly called The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire but commonly referred to as VCH Wiltshire, is an encyclopaedic history of the county of Wiltshire in England. It forms part of the overall Vic ...

traces its later ownership in the Wilington family – including John de Wilington, 1st Baron Wilington (d. 1338) – and from 1396, by marriage, the Beaumonts and Bassets. In 1584 it was bought by Stephen Duckett (c.1548–1591), whose father Lionel had bought Calne manor and the adjacent Calstone manor in 1572. Lionel Duckett was a wealthy London merchant who supported early voyages to Africa which paved the way for the

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

in later centuries; he was Lord Mayor of London in 1572–1573. Stephen and seven other Duckett descendants were returned as MP for the

rotten borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or Electoral district, constituency in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, or the United Kin ...

of Calne, the small number of electors being under the influence of the lord of the manor. Stephen's son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(1580–1648), MP and

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

, lived at Calstone House until it was destroyed by fire during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. In 1763, Thomas Duckett sold a wide expanse of land – including Calstone, the former Calstone Wylye, and Calstone Wellington – to

William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne William Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne (2 May 17377 May 1805), known as the Earl of Shelburne between 1761 and 1784, by which title he is generally known to history, was an Anglo-Irish Whig (British political party), Whig states ...

(from 1784 Marquess of Lansdowne and Viscount Calne and Calston). These lands remained part of the family's Bowood landholdings until the 20th century. In 1377, Calstone had 79 poll-tax payers. By 1475, a

fulling mill Fulling, also known as tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelt waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven cloth (particularly wool) to eliminate (lanolin) oils, dirt, ...

was operating in the village. It later became a corn mill. In 1716, Calstone Wellington parish contained only four families,Donald A. Spaeth, ''The Church in an age of danger: parsons and parishioners, 1660–1740''
p. 225
online and in 1841 the population was 28. Notes to the 1901 census state that the former parish had nine houses. The house now called Calstone House began in the 17th century as a farmhouse which by 1728 was known as East Farm. It was remodelled in the 18th century and enlarged in the 19th, and the site ceased to be used as a farm in the late 20th century. In the early 18th century, the Rev. George Millard founded a

charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...

at Calstone Wellington, supported by the SPCK and with places for six children, but due to the low population of the village vacant places sometimes had to be filled by poor children from Calne. In 1843, a cottage in the parish was still used as a school. A National School was in operation in 1846, attended by pupils from the surrounding area including Blackland, and in 1860 the school moved into a new building (with teacher's house) to the west of Manor Farm. Pupils of all ages attended, although by 1936 their number had fallen to 13. The school closed in 1962. In the early 19th century, before

enclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

, the arable fields of Calstone Wellington were scattered in the open fields of Calstone and Blackland. After enclosure, which took place in 1813, most of Calstone Wellington was a compact area of some around Manor Farm, but it also included other detached parts. In 1827, a meeting house was certified for the use of

Wesleyan Methodists The Wesleyan Church is a Methodist Christian denomination aligned with the holiness movement. Wesleyan Church may also refer to: * Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia, the Australian branch of the Wesleyan Church Denominations * Allegheny W ...

, and in 1866 they built a chapel at Theobald's Green which remained in use until c.1960. In about 1882 a reservoir to supply water to Calne was created by damming the River Marden in the village. In 1908,

plough A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden ...

ing with oxen came to an end on Manor Farm. In 1958, heavy horses were still at work on the farm. The Marquesses of Lansdowne began to sell their farms in 1954, retaining Sprays Farm which in 2000 belonged to the 9th Marquess. The National Trust bought parcels of land in the 1980s and 1990s to add to their holdings around Cherhill Down.

Governance

On 25 March 1835, as a result of the

Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 (4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 76) (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the British Whig Party, Whig government of Charles ...

, the Calne

Poor Law Union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...

was formed, consisting of the parishes of Calne, Blackland, Bowood, Bremhill, Calstone Wellington,

, Compton Bassett, Heddington,

Highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

, Hilmarton, and

Yatesbury Yatesbury is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Cherhill, in Wiltshire, England. It is in the northeast of Cherhill parish, north of the A4 road approximately east of Calne and west of Marlborough. Yatesbury was ...

. These parishes had had a population at the 1831 census of 8,973, of which Calstone Wellington's was the smallest. In 1883, there was a tidying up of parish boundaries, in which of the parish were transferred to

, ten to Blackland, and other detached parts to Calne, while at the same time about lying to the north-west of Calstone Village was transferred to Calstone Wellington from Calne and Blackland. In 1885, Calstone Wellington amounted to . In 1890 the whole of Calstone and Blackland, including Calstone Wellington, became part of the new

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 ...

of Calne Without. Boundary changes which came into effect in May 2025 transferred this area to Cherhill parish.

Church

By 1301 a church had been built at the village of Calstone, although what was to become Calstone Wellington remained for a time part of the ecclesiastical parish of Calne. The present St Mary's parish church, which had that

dedication Dedication often refers to various religious and secular ceremonies and practices such as: * Dedication (ritual) the ritual or ceremonial establishment of a purpose for a person, place, or thing ** Dedication of churches ** Child dedication, a C ...

by 1763, was rebuilt in the 15th century of stone rubble and

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

and has a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

, a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, a north porch, a south

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

, and a west tower. The timber roofs of the nave and porch also date from the 15th century. A west gallery was built in the 18th century, and in 1884–1885 the church was carefully

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard Aus ...

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery (London), National Portrait Gallery. He was Arch ...

, when the vestry was added, the chancel was re-roofed, narrow windows in the nave and chancel were replaced by larger windows in a 15th-century style, and the gallery was removed.

John Wordsworth John Wordsworth (21 September 1843 – 16 August 1911) was an English Anglican bishop and classical scholar. He was Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford from 1883 to 1885, and Bishop of Salisbury ...

, Bishop of Salisbury, led the reopening ceremony in late 1885. The church had two bells in 1553. Another made by John Wallis in 1603 was the only bell in the tower until 1885, when two new bells cast by John Taylor & Co. of

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

were added. All were still in use in 2000. The parish registers now 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 ...

begin in 1760 and run up to 1963 for

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

s and burials, 1980 for marriages.
Calstone Wellington
' at genuki.org.uk, accessed 10 May 2010 In 1881, the ecclesiastical parish – by then known as Calstone Wellington – was united with the

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

of Blackland. In 1962, it was moved into a new union with Heddington, and then in 1973, together with the parishes of

, and Compton Bassett, it became part of a new benefice called Oldbury.
Calstone Wellington: St Mary the Virgin, Calstone Wellington
' at achurchnearyou.com, accessed 10 May 2010

Representation

Following the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

, the

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

lost one of its two members of parliament and its boundaries were changed to bring in parts of Calstone Wellington and Blackland. Calne was abolished as a constituency with effect from the 1885 election, after which Calstone Wellington was included in the

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...

county division.

References

External links

Village website
with social history, old photographs etc. {{authority control Calne Without Villages in Wiltshire Former civil parishes in Wiltshire