Everything about Purton totally explained
Purton is a large village in
North Wiltshire with a current population of about 4,000.
The village is of a linear structure, lying along the old road between the historic market towns of
Cricklade (4 miles to the north) and
Wootton Bassett (4 miles to the south). The main urban centre is
Swindon however the towns of
Cirencester and
Chippenham are closer for shopping and employment centres. Both
Gloucestershire and
Oxfordshire are within close proximity. The railway station is now closed, but Purton can be reached from junction 16 of the
M4 motorway or by leaving the
A419 at Cricklade and following the B4553 or alternatively from junction 17 of the M4. The village is accessed by one ‘B’ road, which is narrow, has a weight and speed limit and is unsuitable for heavy vehicles. There are also a number of minor country lanes and roads to the village.
Purton sits on the brow of a hill, with views across to Cricklade and the
Thames floodplain. Nearby, Bradon Forest stretches out to
Minety in the west.
Village amenities include several shops, post office, pubs and restaurants, doctor’s surgery, dentist, and veterinary surgery. The way the village has developed means that there's now not one central focus for shopping. A few shops exist on the main road at the junction with Pavenhill, and a few are around the bend in the road near the Village Hall.
Purton has an unusual
church, St Mary the Virgin, with a
tower at one end and a
spire at the other. This is one of only three
parish churches in England that has both a spire and a tower; the other two being at
Wanborough and
Ormskirk.
History
Place Names Origins: Onomastics
The name Purton is derived from old English
pirige (pear) and
tun (enclosure or homestead).
Prehistoric, Saxon, and Mediæval
Like the neighbouring town of Cricklade, Purton boasts its own remarkable landmarks and archæology. Whereas Cricklade is a
Saxon town, Purton can demonstrate much from the
Iron Age, and
Roman Britain times.
Purton is a very old community with historical connexions to many interesting people. It is probable that at different times during its development, from the early
Neolithic settlers, through the Romans and Saxons, distinct areas of the village were occupied. Later a mediæval settlement leading to the pattern of the village we see today came into being.
Ringsbury Camp, which has evidence of settlement during the Neolithic period, is actually considered to be an Iron Age hill fort dating from about
50 B.C. There is suggestion that the remains of a Roman villa lie under the soil at Pavenhill, on the Braydon side of Purton; whilst at The Fox on the east side of the village, grave goods found together with bodies show that a Saxon cemetery existed in Purton, the burials being from the
pagan period.
Purton’s first mention in the historical record was in the year
796 when the Saxon King
Ecgfrith of Mercia gave 35 hides from Purton to
Malmesbury Abbey. The Abbot of Malmesbury continued to be the Chief Landlord of Purton throughout Saxon and Norman times, suggesting that an earlier church almost certainly stood at Purton.
Early Modern Times to the Present
Religious History
The current parish church of St Mary the Virgin appears at one time to have dedicated to St Nicholas. The surviving parish registers date from 1558 (Marriages and Burials)/1564 (Baptisms), with some gaps, 1641-47, which coincide more or less with the unrest associated with the
English Civil War period.
In addition to the parish church, there was a Quaker Meeting House at Purton Stoke in the parish during the late 17th century and early 18th century. Later, there were two Methodist chapels belonging to different Methodist denominations. There was also a Congregational Chapel situated at the site of the Scout Hut in the High Street; it was demolished in 1969.
Local Families
Maskelyne
During Tudor times, the Maskelyne family were both a significant landlord and landowner in Purton, having inherited rights granted by the last Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey to the Pulley or Pulleyne family, from whom they descended on the distaff side. The Reverend Dr
Nevil Maskelyne (1732-1811) who was, in 1765, appointed as the
Astronomer Royal, was a noteworthy member of this family who were involved in Purton life for over four centuries from the 1500s. Though born in London, his grave is in Purton churchyard. A Miss Maskelyne lived in the village until her death in the 1960s aged over a century.
Hyde and Ashley-Cooper
The well-known Tory statesman and author
Edward Hyde, who served as MP for the nearby borough of Wootton Bassett in the 1630s, lived at College Farm in the centre of the village where it's likely that his daughter
Anne Hyde, first wife of
King James II of England also lived for a time. After serving
King Charles II of England during his years of exile under the Commonwealth and Republic, he later became
Lord Chancellor of England, was raised to the peerage as
Earl of Clarendon, and appointed the Chancellor of the
University of Oxford. By a curious fluke, his Whig arch-rival, Sir
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, also had property in Purton parish. The Ashley-Cooper family also held the
advowson of the parish church.
Sadler
By the late 19th century and into the early part of the 20th century, other local families had risen to the gentry level after becoming significant landowners in the parish. Among these was James Henry Sadler, Esq., D.L., J.P., (1845-1929) who, though a Purton native, lived in nearby Lydiard House in the neighbouring parish of Lydiard Millicent, Wiltshire, until his death. A strict but generous benefactor of the old school, Sadler gave the cricket ground and Workingman's Institute to the village. Described as the last unofficial
Squire of Purton, his father was Dr Samuel Champernowne Sadler, F.R.C.S., of Purton, who built the Pump House at
Salt's hole, a natural hotspring used for medicinal purposes since the Middle Ages and possibly earlier. Under Dr Sadler and subsequent owners, attempts were made to develop this natural attraction as
Purton Spa, and to market the spring waters for their healing qualities.
Other Prominent or Long-Established Families
Other locally prominent, or gentry, families include those of Bathe, Canning, Carter, Digges,
Ernle, Francome, Kemm, Langton, Martlewright alias Morse, Nanfan, Phillips alias Major, Plummer, Prower, Richmond (Richman), Sheppard, Stephens, Wykeham-Martin.
Old village names include Bunce, Gleed, Hayward, Holliday, Iles, Jefferies, Kibblewhite, Large, Moulden, Newth, Rawlings, Shurmer, Telling, and Warman.
Local Studies
Genealogy and Prosopography
A study of the interconnexions of people within the parish, based on the registers and other historical evidence, since the earliest recorded period, is being prepared (2006) under the working title,
The Plenteous Pear Tree: Pedigrees and Progress of Purton's People Past and Present, a parish prosopography of Purton, Wiltshire, with ramifications elsewhere in North Wilts. and beyond, under the auspices of Richard Carruthers-Żurowski, a Canadian-based, Oxford-trained historian and genealogist.
Victoria County History: Local History
The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire volume covering the hundreds of Cricklade and Staple, where Purton lies, is planned to appear within the next few years.
People
People with connexions to Purton, Wiltshire include:-
Further Information
Get more info on 'Purton'.
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