St Andrews, Swindon

St Andrews is a civil parish in the borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England, 3 miles north-northwest of the centre of Swindon, with the A419 forming its northeastern boundary. It is centred on the village of Blunsdon St Andrew, though much of the parish is residential, the result of urban expansion from Swindon.
In 2021 it had a population of 19,096.
St Andrews is the western half of the former Blunsdon St Andrew civil parish. In April 2017, that parish was divided and the eastern half became a new Blunsdon parish.

History

Blunsdon St Andrew is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as one of three settlements in the manor of ''Bluntesdone'', in the hundred of Scipa. These settlements lay across Blunsdon Hill on either side of Ermin Way, a Roman road that linked the historic Roman towns of ''Glevum'' (Gloucester) and ''Calleva Atrebatum'' (Silchester), via ''Corinium'' (Cirencester). They were held by three different lords, though the record does not differentiate them further. ''Bluntesdone'' had altogether ten households, and a total value of £5 17s in 1086.

Blunsdon St Andrew is mentioned as ''Bluntesdon Seynt Andreu'' in 1281 in the county Assize Rolls, and again in 1299 in the Sarum Register.

In 1870 Blunsdon St Andrew was recorded as having a population of 84, in 16 households, and covering 1,422 acres. Its value, together with Broad Blunsdon and Bury Blunsdon was £5,858.

Blunsdon Abbey was a Gothic mansion built near Blunsdon St Andrew church in 1858–1860 for wealthy sportsman Joseph Clayton de Windt, on the site of an earlier house. It was destroyed by fire in 1904 and remains as a ruin, with parts of the stable block – including a square tower – standing.

St Andrews parish contains two other Domesday manors, Widhill and Groundwell.

Widhill

Widhill, land lying north of Blunsdon St Andrew as far as the Roman road and bounded to the west by the River Ray, appears in Domesday Book as two estates at ''Wildehill'' with altogether 14 households. The area became a tithing of the parish of St Sampson, Cricklade, and for a time a small chapel served the two small settlements at Lower Widhill and Upper Widhill (sometimes North Widhill and West Widhill respectively). Robert Jenner, who prospered as a silver merchant in London, bought Widhill manor in 1624; the Jenner family remained at Widhill until the manor was sold in 1826.

In the late 19th century Widhill became part of Cricklade civil parish, then was transferred to Blunsdon in 1934; its population at the 1931 census had been 21.

Today, Lower Widhill Farm, Chapel Farm and Upper Widhill Farm survive in the strip of farmland between the north edge of Blunsdon St Andrew and the A419.

Groundwell

Groundwell, lying south of Blunsdon St Andrew and bounded to the east by Ermin Street and to the west and south by Moredon and Rodbourne, is recorded in the Domesday book as a manor of four households and/with a value of £3 10s. It remained as farmland until the northern expansion of Swindon in the mid 20th century.
Groundwell Ridge is the site of a Roman rural sanctuary and villa complex, and is a scheduled monument. The site contains traces of domestic buildings from the second to fourth centuries, and earthworks thought to be a formal garden with religious water features.

Parish Church

The parish church of St Andrew is a Grade II* listed building, built in the Early English style with a nave, chancel and an aisle to the south. It has a bell turret with two bells. While parts of the building date from the 13th century, it was largely restored between 1864 and 1868 by architect William Butterfield. Further restoration from September 2009 included the stripping and re-laying of the roof tiles; over 10,000 new handmade clay tiles were used on the south elevation.

Sport

Blunsdon's Abbey Stadium (also known as Swindon Stadium) is the home of Swindon Greyhounds, broadcast worldwide three times per week and a stalwart of off-course betting shops in the UK all the year round. The stadium has also been the home of a speedway team, the Swindon Robins, since it opened in 1949. The Robins competed in national leagues, including the Elite League and the SGB Premiership in the 21st century, but have not raced since 2019 due to long-running uncertainty over redevelopment of the site.

Governance

The first tier of local government is St Andrews Parish Council. For elections to Swindon Borough Council, the parish is covered by the St Andrews ward which elects three councillors. For Westminster elections, the parish is part of the Swindon North constituency.

The parish was formed on 1 April 2017, when the parish of Blunsdon St Andrew was divided in two along the line of the A419 road: the west half became the new parish of St Andrews, and the east half was renamed Blunsdon. At the same time, the boundary with Haydon Wick in the southwest of St Andrews parish was adjusted.

Transport

The Swindon and Cricklade Railway has rebuilt Blunsdon railway station, just outside the parish boundary.

Notable people

Margaret de Windt (1849–1836), daughter of the builder of Blunsdon Abbey, married the White Rajah Charles Brooke and thus became Ranee of Sarawak. Her brother Harry (1856–1933) was an explorer and travel writer.

References

External links

St Andrews Parish Council
* {{Commons category inline

Civil parishes in Wiltshire
2017 establishments in England
Geography of Swindon