Stanton St Bernard is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

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 Salisbur ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...

, England. Its nearest town is

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between St ...

, about away to the west. The parish is tall and narrow, extending north onto the

Marlborough Downs The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The name ''North Wessex Downs'' is not a traditional one, the area covered being better kn ...

where it includes

Milk Hill Milk Hill, located near Alton Priors east of Devizes, is the highest point in the county of Wiltshire, southwest England, at some above sea level (the adjacent Tan Hill rises to 294 m). It is the location of the Alton Barnes white horse ...

, the highest point in Wiltshire.

History

Evidence of prehistoric activity in the area includes

earthworks Earthworks may refer to: Construction *Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour *Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil *Earthworks (military), mi ...

on Milk Hill. The Wansdyke

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 or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

earthwork crosses the north of the parish. The boundaries of the parish were defined in

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country ( Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the No ...

times and remain largely unchanged. 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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 recorded 46 households at ''Stantone'', held by

Wilton Abbey Wilton Abbey was a Benedictine convent in Wiltshire, England, three miles from Salisbury, probably on the site now occupied by Wilton House. It was active from the early tenth century until 1539. History Foundation Wilton Abbey is first reco ...

, and the manor continued to be held by the abbey until its

dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

in 1539. The manor was granted to Sir William Herbert in 1544, who was created Earl of Pembroke in 1551, and the estate remained with the Pembrokes until 1917. Tenants of the

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

farm included the Prater family. Anthony Prater (1545-1583) was subject to litigation for extortion and was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

from the Catholic church. The

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with ...

and Mill Farmhouse (a former

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the productio ...

) are from the 17th century; Church Farmhouse is from the late 18th. 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 navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the c ...

was built through the parish in 1807. The wharf at Honeystreet, just over the eastern boundary, served the area. A small school was built in 1849, next to the church. It closed in 1970 and the children transferred to the school at Woodborough; the building became the village hall. Population of the parish peaked in the late 19th century, with 371 recorded at the 1871 census and 373 in 1891, then declined throughout the 20th century.

Religious sites

A church, which became the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the 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 community activitie ...

of All Saints, was first mentioned in 1267. The tower was added in the 15th century, then in 1832 all except the tower was rebuilt in

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style; a further rebuilding of the chancel became necessary in 1859. Scholarly vicars of Stanton St Bernard include Robert Parker (from 1594) and

Nathaniel Stephens Nathaniel Stephens (1589 – 30 May 1660) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1628 and 1653. He supported the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War. Biography Stephens was the son of Richa ...

(1604). The benefice was united with that of Alton Barnes with Alton Priors in 1928, with the parsonage house at Stanton St Bernard to be sold, taking effect on the next vacancy (which occurred in 1932). A team ministry was established for the area in 1975, and today the parish is part of the Vale of Pewsey Churches, alongside 15 others. A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built in 1841 and closed in the early 20th century.

Governance

The civil parish elects a parish council. All significant local government services are provided by

Wiltshire Council Wiltshire Council is a council for the unitary authority of Wiltshire (excluding the separate Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of Borough of Swindon, Swindon) in South West England, created in 2009. It is the successor authorit ...

, with its headquarters in

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England, on the River Biss in the west of the county. It is near the border with Somerset and lies southeast of Bath, 31 miles (49 km) southwest of Swindon and 20 miles (32 km) southe ...

, and the parish is represented there by Paul Oatway. In the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

the parish is part of the

constituency.

History

Religious sites

Governance

References

Further reading