West Kington is a village in the

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 ...

of Nettleton, in

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 lies in the steeply wooded valley of the Broadmead Brook, a source of the Bybrook River, and is close to the county boundary with

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. It is southeast of the Gloucestershire

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

Chipping Sodbury Chipping Sodbury is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated 13 miles (21 km) north-east of Bristol and directly east of Yate. The town ...

. In 1931 the parish had a population of 225. On 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished and merged with Nettleton. The hamlet of West Kington Wick is southeast of the village at .

Buildings

The

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 ...

of St Mary the Virgin has a 13th and 15th century west tower. The rest of the church was rebuilt in 1856 to designs by the architect S.B. Gabriel of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. It 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 ...

. The farmhouse called Latimer Manor dates from the 16th century and is also Grade II* listed. It is believed to be named after

Hugh Latimer Hugh Latimer ( – 16 October 1555) was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, and Bishop of Worcester during the Reformation, and later Church of England chaplain to King Edward VI. In 1555 under the Catholic Queen Mary I he was burned at the ...

, who had the living of West Kington in the early 16th century.

Notable people

, later Bishop of Worcester, was vicar of West Kington church from 1531, prior to the controversy in the reformation which led to his martyrdom in Oxford. Television producer Dilys Breese retired to the village and is buried there.

In popular culture

The music video for the song "

The Safety Dance "The Safety Dance" is a song by Canadian new wave/synth-pop band Men Without Hats, released in Canada in 1982 as the second single from '' Rhythm of Youth''. The song was written by lead singer Ivan Doroschuk after he had been ejected from a ...

" by the Canadian band Men Without Hats was filmed in West Kington in the summer of 1982.Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance - Music Video
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References

{{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Former civil parishes in Wiltshire