Pewsey 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 ...

at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

and the A303 and is served by Pewsey railway station on the

Reading to Taunton line Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word r ...

. The parish includes the settlements of Kepnal to the east, Pewsey Wharf (on 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 ...

) to the north, Sharcott to the west, and Southcott on the south-east.

History

The place name comes from the Old English "peose", or "piosu" meaning "pea" "island," collectively meaning "island, or dry ground in marsh, where peas grow."

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

excavations on Pewsey Hill show evidence of a settlement in the 6th century. In the Tudor era, the Manor of Pewsey belonged to the Duchess of

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. Several of the village's houses were built in this era: the timber framed cruck house at Ball Corner, Bridge Cottage on the Avon and the Court House by the Church. In 1764, the founder of the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

movement

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

(1703–1791) preached at Pewsey's

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 ...

. The rector at that time, Joseph Townsend, was responsible for the building of Pewsey's first bridge over the River Avon. The

reached Pewsey in 1810. Of more lasting effect for the village was the completion of the Hungerford to Devizes section of the GWR's Berks & Hants line in 1862, which allowed fast travel to London and to the

West Country The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...

. Since 1906, the line at Pewsey has been part of the

, a more direct route via Westbury to the West Country. In 1898 Pewsey

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

was first held, a tradition that flourishes today with a fortnight of events, including The Feaste, culminating in an illuminated procession in mid to late September. A prominent statue of King

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

, the former Anglo Saxon King of

Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...

and a local landowner, stands in the middle of the village.

Pewsey White Horse

The Pewsey White Horse hill figure is located on a steep slope of Pewsey Hill about south of the village, and can be viewed from several places in the surrounding area. It was cut in 1937 and is one of the smaller Wiltshire white horses. It replaces an earlier one which was possibly cut in 1785.

Governance

The civil parish elects a 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 ...

, 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 most local government functions. The Pewsey electoral division covers the parishes of Pewsey,

Milton Lilbourne Milton Lilbourne is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England, in the Vale of Pewsey between Pewsey and Burbage, Wiltshire, Burbage. It is largely a mixed residential area centred on the Manor. Th ...

, Wootton Rivers and Easton Royal, and elects one member to Wiltshire Council.

Education

Pewsey Vale School is a state secondary school, without a sixth form. Pewsey has a state Primary Academy, Pewsey Primary School which is linked to Pewsey vale secondary school. It appeared in the 100 Most Improved Schools table for its 2013 results and its 2014 results put it in the top 100 schools nationally. An

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

inspection in 2012 rated the school as 'good' and this was confirmed by a short inspection in 2017. St. Francis School, an independent preparatory school, is just outside the village.

Churches

Parish church

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 John the Baptist stands next to the main road in the south of the village and is built in flint and

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 ...

with limestone dressings. A church at Pewsey was recorded 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 ...

of 1086. The present building has work from the late 12th or early 13th centuries in the four-bay arcades, on foundations of large sarsens; Pevsner suggests the arches were cut through the walls of an earlier building. The plain font bowl is also from the 12th century. The chancel was rebuilt in the late 13th or early 14th century, the

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

added in the late 14th or early 15th century, and the ashlar west tower added in the 16th century. In 1861, G.E. Street largely rebuilt the chancel and added the south chapel, reusing early windows from the chancel. Restoration in 1889–1890 by C.E. Ponting included the addition of the north porch. The tower has six bells, the oldest cast in 1620 by Purdue of Salisbury; two others from the 18th century are by Rudhall of Gloucester. On the outside of the tower's east wall hangs a sanctus bell cast by James Burrough of Devizes in 1754. The church was recorded as

Grade I 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, Hi ...

in 1964. Notable rectors include Joseph Townsend, from 1764 until his death in 1816. Townsend, who lived in Bath, was known for his work in medicine, geology and the theory of economics. Today the church is central to the Vale of Pewsey Team, which includes many rural parishes around Pewsey.

Others

chapel was built in 1873 and became a church in 1932. The

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Church of the Holy Family was built in 1964.

Amenities

Pewsey has a post office, a petrol station, and a Co-op supermarket. The village has an Indian restaurant and five pubs (the Royal Oak, the Crown Inn, the Moonrakers, the Coopers Arms, and The Shed Alehouse micropub). At Pewsey Wharf, north of the village, is the Waterfront bar and bistro. Pewsey Sports Centre, run by Wiltshire Council, is next to Pewsey Vale School. Its facilities include a 25m heated indoor swimming pool, squash courts and a large multi-sport hall.

Pewsey Heritage Centre is a museum run by the local history society, housed in Avonside Works, a former foundry building used by the agricultural engineering firm of Whatley & Hiscock. The company's collection of historic farm machinery forms the core of the museum's collection.

Jones's Mill Jones's Mill () is an 11.6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Pewsey in Wiltshire, SSSI notification, notified in 1975. The site is managed as a nature reserve by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. Sources Natural England cita ...

is a wetland nature reserve by the Avon. Pewsey is connected to London Paddington via its

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, a short walk from the village centre.

Notable residents

* Richard Hardinge (c.1593 – 1658), Groom of the Chamber to the then

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, later King Charles II * Stephen Duck (c.1705 in Charlton, Pewsey Vale – 1756), poet * Joseph Gilbert (1800 in Puckshipton – 1881), pastoralist and winemaker from Pewsey Vale in South Australia from 1839 * Francis Carter (1851–1935), Anglican priest who served in Cornwall, Kent, East Anglia and South Africa * Harold Sheppard (1889–1978), cricketer * Major General Peter George Francis Young (1912–1976), senior British Army officer, General Officer Commanding Cyprus District from 1962 to 1964 * Elinor Goodman (born 1946), journalist, political editor of Channel 4 News from 1988 to 2005 * Moose Harris (born 1967 in Devizes), bass guitarist * Mary Killen, newspaper advice columnist and TV personality known for appearances on '' Gogglebox'' * Tara Shears (born 1969), Professor of Physics at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

* Ian Walker (born 1971), former goalkeeper for the

England national football team The England national football team have represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by the Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Eng ...

and Tottenham Hotspur F.C. * Shelley Rudman (born 1981), winner of the silver medal in the skeleton bob, Britain's only medal at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

Sport and leisure

Pewsey has two rugby teams and a junior club. For the 2017–18 season, Pewsey Vale 1st XV plays in the SSE South West Division, Dorset & Wilts 1 North League. PVRFC have a joint second team called Alfred's Nomads, shared with Marlborough RFC; they play in Dorset and Wilts 3 North. Pewsey has a

Non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

team Pewsey Vale F.C. who play at The Recreation Ground. In July 2014 Pewsey Vale Youth FC was awarded 'FA Chartered Standard' Club of the year by the Wiltshire Football Association. Wiltshire Council run Pewsey Leisure Centre which is next to Pewsey Vale School. Its amenities include a 25m heated indoor swimming pool (used for swimming, float play, kayaking and snorkelling), squash courts and a multi-sport hall (used for badminton, indoor cricket/football/rugby, basketball, volleyball, circuit training, archery and martial arts (judo, taekwondo and kung fu)). Pewsey has a running club. A Bowls Club is next to the Tennis club. A swimming pool and gym offer a range of courses including spinning and aqua-aerobics. Pewsey Music Festival, established in 2007, is a celebration of live music held each August in Cooper's Field, behind the Cooper's Arms pub.

References

External links

Pewsey Parish Council

Pewsey Heritage Centre

Historic Pewsey Photos
at BBC Wiltshire
''Day Out: The Vale of Pewsey''
– a 30-minute BBC TV programme made in 1984 of a day spent exploring Pewsey Vale {{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Civil parishes in Wiltshire