Contiguous Parishes (Our Neighbours)
Amesbury - Bulford - Newton Tony - Shipton Bellinger (HAM)
Websites
GenUKI - For information relating to Cholderton
Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre - The Wiltshire County Archives for all historical documents and the place to obtain original copies
Wiltshire Community History - Historical information for parishes within the Wiltshire County jurisdiction
University of Leicester - Website for historical Wiltshire directories
Bourne Valley Historical Society - Local History Society
The Parish Church of St. Nicholas
St Nicholas', Cholderton was rebuilt between 1841 and 1850 of flint with Tisbury limestone dressings using designs by architect, TH Wyatt. It consists of a nave and turret with one bell. The consecration of the new church by Edward Denison, Bishop of Salisbury, took place on the 10th April 1850. More information about the church St. Nicholas
Chouldrington Protestation Return 1641-1642 Marriage Register Notes
Parish Register Transcripts
Baptisms
Marriages
Burials
Parish Registers held at WSHC
Baptisms 1652-1932
Marriages 1664-1974
Burials 1653-1992
Parish History
The parish of Cholderton lies in the Bourne Valley in the south west of the county bordering Hampshire. Previously known as Chouldrington, Chaldrington and West Cholderton, this tiny village has provided employment in farming through the centuries and this remains broadly so today although on a reduced scale, along with employment in rural activities including a rare breeds farm and an equestrian centre.
Today there is no shop, post office or school, the educational needs of the children being met in Newton Tony, Amesbury or Salisbury. The Crown public house sits at the heart of the village, which sadly endures the busy A338 running through it.
In 1880, the Victorian entrepreneur, chemist and manufacturer of the famous blue-black ink, Henry Charles Stephens, bought several farms and land on the Wiltshire/Hampshire border and formed them into the Cholderton Estate. For many years he was lord of the manor and chief landowner; the estate he created is still in the same family today. In the nave of the church is an inscribed tablet to Henry Charles Stephens, squire and ink manufacturer, who died in 1918.
Population Figures and Jurisdictions
Civil Registration
1837 - April 1936 Amesbury Registration District
April 1936 - Present Salisbury Registration District
Buildings and Land
Maps
Ordnance Surveyor's Drawings 1808 Cholderton 1841
Crime and Legal Matters
Crime Reports 1800-1849 Sentenced to Death For Burglary 1829 Death of Samuel Crouch 1850-1851 Breach of the Highway Act 1883
Directories
Kellys 1867 Post Office 1875 Kellys 1898 Kellys 1915
Education
Cholderton School
Cholderton School opened in 1851 on the south side of Church Lane. The building was constructed with some of the material from the recently demolished old Cholderton Church.
The initial intake of 16 pupils soon increased to over 30, but they began to decline again in the 1970’s and were down to 17 at time of the school’s closure in 1978. From then on primary school age children of the village had to travel to the Church of England Primary School at Newton Tony, whilst secondary school age children went to schools in Amesbury, Durrington or Salisbury.
Emigration and Migration
Employment and Business
British Postal Service Appointments 1737-1969 Gamekeepers Certificates 1807 Pitched Market Proposal 1847
Apprentices
Apprentice records published here may not necessarily mean that the apprentice was from the parish but was apprenticed to a master within the parish.
Wiltshire Society Apprentices
John Alexander Badham 1830 Jane Ann Penelope Badham 1831
Miscellaneous Documents
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Wiltshire Friendly Society Membership 1827-1871
Elections, Polls and Voters Lists
Poll of Freeholders 1772 Poll Book 1818 Voters List 1832 Poll Book 1865 MP Nominations 2015 MP Nominations 2017
General Items
Secrets of Farming Book Subscribers 1863
Taxes
Poor Law, Charity and The Workhouse
Amesbury Union Guardians Appointed 1835
Probate
Probate Index 1778 (WSHC) National Probate Index 1858-1966
War, Conflict and Military Matters
War Memorials & Military Gallery
Boer War
Wiltshire Yeomanry - Volunteers for Active Service 1899
General Military Items
WWI
Diocese of Salisbury Remembrance Book 11914-1918
Casualty Biographies
