Hilperton 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 ...

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 ...

, England. The village is separated by a few fields (the Hilperton Gap) from the northeastern edge of the town of

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England; situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, close to the border with Somerset. The town lies south-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, south-west of Swindon and south-east of Brist ...

and is approximately from Trowbridge town centre. To the east of the village are the Devizes Road and Stourton Park housing areas, and Paxcroft, a small industrial hamlet. In the west of the parish is the village of Hilperton Marsh which is adjacent to the village of Staverton (a separate parish) and the Canal Road industrial estate (part of Trowbridge). In the north, beyond 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 ...

, is the rural hamlet of Whaddon. The

Bristol Avon The River Avon ( ) is a river in the southwest of England. To distinguish it from a number of other rivers of the same name, it is often called the Bristol Avon. The name 'Avon' is loaned from an ancestor of the Welsh word , meaning 'rive ...

forms part of the parish's northern boundary. The Paxcroft Brook, a tributary of the

River Biss The River Biss is a small river in Wiltshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Avon, Bristol, Bristol Avon. The river rises on Salisbury Plain and passes through Westbury, Wiltshire, Westbury and Trowbridge, before meeting the Avon at Wid ...

, crosses the south of the parish.

History

Settlements with altogether 12 households were recorded at ''Helprintone'' or ''Helperitone'' in the Domesday Book of 1086. Little is known of Hilperton's history until the 19th century; home-based cloth weaving was a major source of employment but declined during that century. From the 16th century the

Long family The Long family is a family of politicians from the United States. Many have characterized it as a political dynasty. After Huey Long's 1935 assassination, a family dynasty emerged: his brother Earl Long, Earl was elected lieutenant-governor in 1 ...

were landowners at Hilperton and Whaddon. Hilperton House dates from the 18th century and is Grade II* listed. A school with 100 places was built near the church c. 1840 and replaced with a larger building in 1875, which by 1893 was attended by 122 children on average. All ages attended until 1931, when it was reorganised into an infant school and junior school; it became

voluntary controlled A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy th ...

in 1948. Responding to the increase in population, a new school was opened in 1970 a short distance to the north, and was attended by 151 in 2004. The ancient parish of Whaddon was merged with

Semington Semington is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about south of Melksham and about northeast of Trowbridge. The parish includes the hamlets of Little Marsh and Littleton. A 2016 community governance review extended the Trowbridge boundary north-east into Hilperton, effective April 2017. The area transferred to Trowbridge, lying south of Hilperton Drive, has around 260 houses, The Mead primary school, and a local shopping centre with a

Budgens Budgens Stores Limited, trading as Budgens, is a chain of grocery stores in the United Kingdom. The business was founded in 1872 by John Budgen, who opened the first shop in Maidenhead, Berkshire and was incorporated as a private limited compan ...

supermarket and the ''Red Admiral'' pub.

Religious sites

Church of England

The ecclesiastical parishes of Hilperton and Whaddon were combined in 1854.

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of St Michael and All Angels was largely rebuilt by T.H. Wyatt in 1852, as the previous 15th-century church had insufficient capacity. Internal changes were made in the 1890s, including relocation of the organ to an enlarged vestry, the addition of stained glass windows, and the installation of the 12th-century font bowl from the church at Whaddon, mounted on a 19th-century shaft and base. Five of the six bells were recast in 1909. St Mary's church at Hilperton Marsh was built as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

in 1889, using prefabricated corrugated iron components. After further funds were raised, a chancel in stone and flint was added in 1899; the church also gained the 19th-century font from St Michael's. Services were influenced by the Anglo-Catholic

Oxford Movement The Oxford Movement was a theological movement of high-church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the Un ...

. Changes in 1954 created the parish of Staverton with Hilperton Marsh, where St Mary's became the sole church on the closure of the older St Paul's church at Staverton in 2011. Whaddon's Church of St Mary is from the 12th and 14th centuries; a chapel for the Long family (later of Rood Ashton House) was added in 1770, and the chancel and bellcote were rebuilt in 1879. 12th-century stones survive, although rearranged, in the north (blocked) and south doorways. The church was designated as Grade II* listed in 1988. Today the two Hilperton churches, together with those at Whaddon and

Semington Semington is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about south of Melksham and about northeast of Trowbridge. The parish includes the hamlets of Little Marsh and Littleton.Particular 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, an offshoot of the Back Street chapel at Trowbridge, was built in Hilperton village in 1806 and enlarged in 1821. The congregation numbered 59 in 1829 and 30 in 1890; the chapel continued in use until the second half of the 20th century, and has been replaced by dwellings. A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built in the village in 1819, then rebuilt in 1891 with seating for 300. The chapel closed before the 1990s and is now a private house. Grace Reformed Baptist Church has met at Hilperton C of E Primary School since March 2015.

Governance

Hilperton is an ancient civil parish with its own elected parish council. It is in the area of

Wiltshire Council Wiltshire Council, known between 1889 and 2009 as Wiltshire County Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Wiltshire (district), Wiltshire in South West England, and has its headquarters a ...

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

, which is responsible for all significant

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

functions. Hilperton

electoral division An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

has the same boundaries as the parish, and elects one member of Wiltshire Council; it has been represented by Ernie Clark (

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

) since 9 May 2005. For Westminster elections, Hilperton is part of the

South West Wiltshire South West Wiltshire is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency in Wiltshire, England. The constituency has been represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the Unite ...

constituency, which has been held since 2010 by

Andrew Murrison Surgeon Commander Andrew William Murrison (born 24 April 1961) is a British doctor, Royal Navy, naval officer and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament ...

for the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

. Boundary changes which came into effect at the 2024 general election transferred the parish out of 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, ...

constituency to join Trowbridge in South Wiltshire.

Amenities

Hilperton village has a free house

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

, the ''Lion and Fiddle'', on Devizes Road. The

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

and general stores closed in 2004, though a petrol station (with a small shop) remains in place. The village hall on Whaddon Lane is the social hub of the older part of Hilperton, and the adjoining football pitch is home to Hilperton United FC. Trowbridge Rugby Football Club, who play in Southern Counties South, have their ground at Paxcroft. The

crosses the rural northern section of the parish and forms the western boundary of Hilperton Marsh, where there is a marina. The village school continues as Hilperton CE Primary School. The south of the parish is served by The Mead Community Primary School at Paxcroft Mead, which was in Hilperton parish when it opened in 2001 but is within the area transferred to Trowbridge in 2017. Castle Mead School, another primary school in Trowbridge parish, is nearby.

Landmarks

Hilperton is home to a mid-18th century limestone

village lock-up A village lock-up is a historic building once used for the temporary detention of people in England and Wales, mostly where official prisons or criminal courts were beyond easy walking distance. Lockups were often used for the confinement of d ...

known as The Blind House, a set of

stocks Stocks are feet and hand restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law de ...

, a green

village pump A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

manufactured by Lee Howl, a

milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like Mileage sign, mileage signs; or they c ...

giving directions to three nearby towns, and two elaborate Paxcroft Mead signs constructed in 1997. There are plaques commemorating nine hundred years since Hilperton's entry in the

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 ...

, the village's win as "The Best Kept Village 2012", and a plaque commemorating the centenary of parish councils in 1994. The Paxcroft Mead Country Park has three "People in the Park" benches, one of which commemorates the tenth anniversary of the Paxcroft Mead Community Centre.

Notable people

* Sir William Roger Brown (1831–1902), mill-owner and philanthropist"SIR WILLIAM ROGER BROWN" in Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, ''Armorial Families'' (1895)
p. xxxiv
/ref>

References

External links

Hilperton Parish Council

Village Design Statement, 2005
{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire