Milton Lilbourne 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 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 ...

, England, in the

Vale of Pewsey The Vale of Pewsey or Pewsey Vale is an area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the village of Pewsey. Geography The vale is an extent of lower lying ground separating the chalk downs of Salisbury ...

between

Pewsey Pewsey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and i ...

and Burbage. It is largely a mixed residential area centred on the Manor. The nearest town is

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

, to the north. The parish includes the following hamlets: * Clench – to the north, near

Wootton Rivers Wootton Rivers is a small village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. The village lies about northeast of Pewsey and south of Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough. During the 20th century its ...

* Fyfield with Fyfield Manor – west, near Pewsey (not to be confused with the village of Fyfield near Marlborough) * Little Salisbury – west, on the Pewsey-Burbage road * Littleworth – north, on the other side of the Pewsey-Burbage road * Milkhouse Water, formerly Milcot Water – northwest, by the Avon * New Mill – north, also by the Avon The parish is unusual in that it has a long thin shape and is one of the few to have boundaries on the uplands to both south and north of the Vale. The southern boundary passes by a

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 ...

and the northern one abuts the prehistoric fort on Martinsell Hill.

History

The parish contains several prehistoric features including the Giants Grave to the south (a

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

) and a

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 ...

Barrow Cemetery at Milton Hill Farm. "Milton" in the village's name probably derives from its position as "middle tun" between Pewsey and

Easton Royal Easton Royal is a village in the civil parish of Easton in Wiltshire, England, about east of Pewsey and south of Marlborough. The village was the location of Easton Priory from 1234 to 1536. The village mistakenly gained the Royal suffix in 1 ...

, the "east tun". "Lilbourne" is from Lillebonne, the surname of lords of the manor. The Manor House dates from c.1710 and is

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 ...

Parish church

There was a vicarage here by 1195. 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 Peter is in squared and coursed rubble with stone dressings, and ashlar copings and battlements. When the chancel was rebuilt in the 14th century, the jambs of the arch of the 12th-century church were retained; the four-bay north arcade is from the 13th century. Restoration of the chancel in 1859 was to designs of G.E. Street, and in 1875

J. L. Pearson John Loughborough Pearson (5 July 1817 – 11 December 1897) was a British Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficie ...

retired the nave, aisle and porch. The northwest tower has six bells, five of them cast by Robert Wells II in 1789. The building was recorded as Grade II* listed in 1959. The benefice was united with

in 1929, and with Pewsey and

in 1991. Today the parish is part of the Vale of Pewsey team of churches, centered on St John's, Pewsey.

Transport

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 ...

crosses the parish, using the Avon valley. The Reading to Taunton railway follows the same route; the nearest station is

. From 1928 to 1966 there was a halt at

, a short distance outside the parish.

Amenities

Facilities include the Village Hall with its playing fields. On the Pewsey-Burbage road in the area known as Little Salisbury stood the Three Horse Shoes pub, closed in 2009. The nearest shops are in Pewsey, about away.

References

External links

Milton Lilbourne Parish Council
* *

{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire