OPC Vacancy
Contiguous Parishes (our neighbours)
Allington – Boscombe – Bulford – Cholderton – Durnford – Durrington – Idmiston with Porton – Newton Tony – Wilsford – Winterbourne Stoke
Websites of Interest
Amesbury – Parish Web Site
The Parish Church of St. Mary and St. Melor (The Abbey Church)
A Brief History of the Abbey Church
The first known place of worship on the site of today’s church was a Benedictine Abbey, founded by Queen Elfreda in 979 and consecrated by the Bishop of Ramsbury. Henry II re-founded the Abbey in 12th Century, increasing it’s size and grandeur as penance for the death of St. Thomas A Becket. In 1283, King Edward The First’s daughter Mary entered the Convent where she spent the rest of her life. Four years later his mother, Eleanor of Provence, took her vows and was buried there. At the time of the Reformation the Abbey was dissolved; many of it’s buildings were destroyed. Lands were given to Jane Seymour’s family (3rd wife of Henry VIII)but the Abbey Church was given to the people of Amesbury. Much of its monastic dignity is forever lost; the nave having been shortened, three of the four chantry chapels destroyed and only traces of the original Abbey cloisters can still be seen today. The church does however boast an 18th Century organ donated by St. Edmund’s Parish, Salisbury in 1983; an historic font with a Norman bowl of Purbeck stone mounted on a Tudor base and oak tie beams in the roof of the nave, carved in situ by craftsmen in the 16th Century. A white Beam Tree was planted in 1979 by HRH The Prince of Wales to commemorate the millennium of the Abbey Church. St. Mary & St. Melor is a beautiful church of which the parishioners of Amesbury are immensely proud.
Abbey Gallery Abbey Interior Gallery Abbey Churchyard Gallery
Protestation Return 1641-1642 Churchyard Memorial Inscriptions
Church Supported Charities and Funding
Parish Register Transcripts
Baptisms
1579-1674 1675-1699 1700-1749 1750-1799 1800-1849 1850-1899 1900-1925
Registers Held at WSHC
Baptisms 1579-2002
Marriages 1599-2008
Burials 1599-1989
Records available from Other Sources
Rev. Thomas Holland, Inventor
In Amesbury Church there is a tombstone, inscribed: Thomas Holland, who was for half a century minister of this parish, a small living, yet he never solicited a greater, nor improved to his own advantage his marvellous talents in applying the powers of nature to the useful purposes of life; the most curious and complete engine which the world enjoys for raising water being invented by him. He died May 11th, 1730, aged 84.
The Medieval Amesbury Clock
Housed in the church, the clock is believed to have been built in 15th Century for the Benedictine Abbey. Originally, it had neither hands nor a dial – its sole purpose was to herald the times of worship by announcing the hour. In 1919 it was replaced with a modern timepiece and the Amesbury Clock was stored away in the Church Hall where it remained until it was re-discovered by the antiquarian horologist T. R. Robinson – about the same time as he re-discovered the Salisbury Clock. Robinson took the clock to London and began work on it. In 1971 it was returned to the Abbey Church. Amesbury Clock Photo Gallery
Parish History
Situated 7 miles to the north of Salisbury and 14 miles west of Andover (Hampshire), Amesbury sits in a valley on the beautiful River Avon and incorporates the hamlet of West Amesbury. Formerly a market town, it is a place of considerable antiquity, not least because the historic monument of Stonehenge lies within this parish. “Amesbury” is believed to be a derivation of ‘Ambrose Burgh’ – the name of the camp of Ambrose Aurenlianas, a great leader of British tribes and founder of a Monastery in the town in 5th Century. He positioned his camp here to repel Saxon invaders. The Monastery was destroyed in 6th Century. In 2014 Amesbury was officially crowned “The Oldest Town in Britain” after archaeological research showed that the area had been occupied since c8820 BC. The title had previously been held by Thatcham 40 miles to the east of Amesbury. For further details about the findings visit the Mail Online. The parish includes the hamlets of Countess and West Amesbury (see bottom of page)
Civil Registration
1837 – April 1936 Amesbury Registration District
April 1936 – Present Salisbury Registration District
Buildings and Land
Agriculture
County Agricultural Report 1847 Cattle Plague Regulations 1867 Foot and Mouth Disease 1924-1925
Amesbury Priory
Inquisition of The Prioress and Nuns 1299 Antrobus Deeds of Gift for Amesbury Priory 1323-1380
Cemetery
Municipal Cemetery Gallery Cemetery Memorial Survey
Highways & Roads
Amesbury Turnpike v Hindon Highway Board 1868
Landowners
Inquisition of Lands Held 1433 Owners of Land 1873
Public Houses
Antrobus Arms, Church Street
On the west wing remains of the original 18th century building when the establishment was known as the Chopping Knife Inn.
Avon Hotel
Bell Hotel, Salisbury Street
A former coaching inn.
George Hotel, High Street
The George was the pilgrims’ hostel attached to nearby Amesbury Abbey, dating from circa 600 A.D., but became Crown property in Henry VIII’s reign, and is mentioned in official archives in 1541 as “St. George and the Dragon.” In 1645 General Fairfax made the George his headquarters and, with the advent of the stage coach, this became the halfway house for the London-Exeter Quicksilver Mail, and was referred to as the “Blue Dragon” by Dickens in “Martin Chuzzlewit” a claim to this accolade is also made by the Green Dragon, Alderbury. In 1899, The Prince of Wales later to become King Edward VII stayed here. Previous guests include Henry VIII, James I, George V and Charles Dickens. American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson stayed here during a visit to Stonehenge in July 1848 George Hotel Gallery
Greyhound, Smithfield Street
Is a Grade II listed building built in the late 18th and early 19th century.
Kings Arms Inn, 7 Church Street
Closed for a while but now reopened. The building as built in the 16th century and is linked from the bar to the nearby monastry by a tunnel system.
New Inn, High Street
The building is over 400 years old and has been modernised over time.
Railway Station
South Mill
This watermill was worked from the first half of the 19th century by William Sandell, by 1904 William had retired and handed the reins to his son William, Jnr. In turn William juniors son Thomas followed his father and grandfather into the family business.
Stonehenge
This is probably the most famous of all Wiltshire landmarks and ranks high on the list of visitor attractions across the UK. The exact reason for the stones existence has been subject to much speculation but is used today as a Druid’s gathering place on the date of the Summer Solstice. It is possible that these stones were hauled cross country from Pembrokeshire where similar stone has been found. The exact age of the circle is unknown.
The land surrounding and including the stone circle was given to the nation on 26th October 1918 by Cecil Chubb. He was born in 1876 and died in 1934. He had purchased the ancient site at a Salisbury Auction in September 1915. At one time the ancient stones were accessed via turnstiles and the stones circle commanded an entry fee. Stonehenge Photo Gallery
Stonehenge 1905 Stonehenge 1926
Books
Jottings on Some of the Objects of Interest in the Stonehenge Excursion Stonehenge and its Barrows
Custodians
Stonehenge Cafe
The cafe was a thriving enterprise sat near the junction of the A360 and the A303 serving refreshments to visitors to the ancient stones. It was owned and ran by Clement G. Billett who lived at Watergate, Countess Road, Amesbury.
Taxes
Appointment of Select Commissioners for Land and Assessed Taxes 1842
Weather Phenomena
West Amesbury House
This was the home of Frederick Turner in 1904. One of the cottages a little further along the street is now known as Manor Cottage.
Crime and Legal Matters
Crime Reports
Driving Related Crime
Case Against Driver Dismissed 1949
Forgery
Fake Notes in Circulation 2014
Manslaughter
Manslaughter Due to Intoxication 1840
Murder
Prisons and Prisoners
Inmates of Gloucester Gaol 1815-1879
Theft
Robbery on the London Road 1839 Thomas Rolfe, Theft Charge 1868
Trade Crime
Malting Regulations Breaches 1802-1813
Directories
| Universal British 1793-1798 | Post Office 1855 | Post Office 1859 | Kellys 1867 | Post Office 1875 | Kellys 1903 | Kellys 1907 |
| Kellys 1915 | Kellys 1931 | Kellys 1939 | Post Office Telephone 1940 |
Education
Emigration and Migration
Strays Index Emigration Home Contact Requested 1800 – Present
Employment and Business
Agriculture and Land
Gamekeepers Certificates 1807 Gamekeepers Certificates 1834
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.
John Barnstock 1717 James Batten 1741 James Church 1759 Robert Cook 1741
Wiltshire Society Apprentices
John Tibbs 1826 Charles Awdry Whitmarsh 1829
Communications
British Postal Service Appointments 1737-1969
Community Services
Police
Metropolitan Police Pensions Records
Inventions and Patents
Legal Services
Attorneys, Lawyers & Solicitors Adverts 1700-1899
Medical
Coroner Candidate James Bloxham 1767 General Medical Council Registration 1859-1959
Situations Vacant
Miscellaneous Documents
Short-horned Cow’s Record Milk Yield 1939
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
All Saints Chapel, Ratfyn
This chapel was active by the 15th century when Amesbury Priory was responsible for supplying a priest. In 1412 it was said that the inhabitants were neglecting the building and that the priory was providing few services. It is likely that the chapel was in a ruinous state by the 16th century.
Amesbury Baptist Church
The church is situated in Butterfield Drive. The building is a modern structure.
Amesbury Wesleyan Methodist Chapel
John Wesley preached in Amesbury in 1779 and 1785 but it was not until 1806 that the house of Joseph Edwards was licensed as a meeting house. In 1816 a chapel was built behind buildings on the north west side of the High Street. This chapel was re-licensed in 1838, possibly after alterations had been completed, and in the 1851 religious census there were morning and afternoon congregations of 96 and 100 respectively. In 1864 the congregation was described as ‘very active’ and a schoolroom had been built. Both chapel and schoolroom were burned down in 1899 and a new chapel of red brick was built fronting the north west side of the High Street in 1900. A schoolroom was built behind this in 1931-2 while in 1961 a hall was built. In the latter part of the 20th century the name was changed to Upper Avon Methodist Church covering Amesbury and villages to the north of the town.
Christ the King, Roman Catholic Church, Lordscroft
Between 1794 and 1800 an English convent of Augustinian canonesses resided at Amesbury Abbey. There was no church until 1933 when one was opened in London Road, which then served chapels in neighbouring parishes. This church was replaced by a new church at Lord’s Croft in 1985. There is a resident priest at Amesbury.
Holy Angels
This church was built in 1931 to serve the military at Boscombe Down. It is now closed.
Primitive Methodist Chapel
In the early years of the 20th century a small chapel of corrugated iron was built in Flower Lane. The congregation seems to have been small in number and the chapel had closed by 1922.
Priory Church (Great Church)
This was built between 1177 and 1186. There were two chapels dedicated to Our Lady and to St. John. The Steeple was octagonal and of wooden structure coated with lead. It housed 4 bells. At the time of the Dissolution the building and lands were sold to Lord Hertford who systematically demolished the church and buildings removing materials from the site up to and beyond 1541. The Priory Church and other buildings occupied much of the site where the Amesbury Abbey Church is sited.
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs Organisations and Societies
Wiltshire Friendly Society Membership 1837-1871 Women’s Institute Branch News 1915 – Present Cubs, Scouts and Girl Guide Members c1920s
Musical Groups
Members of the Amesbury Amiables c1925 Ivor Buckland & His Blue Bohemians mid 1920s to late 1930s Amesbury Band Members Prior to WWII Little Theatre Members June 1930
Celebrations
Census Returns Transcripts
Elections, Polls and Voters Lists
Poll of Freeholders 1772 Poll Book 1818 Voters List 1832 Poll Book 1865 MP Nominations 2015 MP Nominations 2017
Family Notices
Inquest Reports
Inquest of William Weston 1872
Parish Notables
Antrobus Family
Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence was born in Aix-en-Provence, France c1223. She was married to Henry III on the 14th January 1236 at Canterbury Cathedral, she was also crowned Queen Consort of England on that same day. She held that title until 16th November 1272 and became the dowager queen on the death of Henry III. Eleanor died on 24/25 June 1291 in Amesbury. She was buried on 11 September 1291 in the Abbey of St. Mary and St. Melor, Amesbury on 9 December 1291. The exact site of her grave at the abbey is unknown making her the only English queen without a marked grave. Her heart was taken to London where it was buried at the Franciscan priory.
Sport
Amesbury Woodbines F.C. 1920 Clouted by a World Champion 1912
Suicide
Taxes
Knight Compositions 1628 Falstone Day Book 1645-1653
Poor Law, Charity and The Workhouse
Charitable Donations and Bequeaths
Charitable Donations and Bequeaths 1800-1899 Funds Raised for CofE Childrens Homes 1951
General Items
Poor Law & Charity News 1700-1899
Appointment of Overseers
Union Workhouse
Amesbury Union Guardians Appointed 1835 Offences Committed in the Workhouse 1835-1850 Adult Paupers in Workhouse 1861
Probate
Probate Index 1541-1881 (WSHC) National Probate Index 1858-1966 Estate Notice of Capt. L. A. Hutchinson 1951
Inquisitions Post Mortem of Lands Held
Parishioners Wills
Mary Asher Proved 1824 Mary Bundy Proved 1809 Anne Poore 1731/32
War, Conflict and Military Matters
War Memorials & Military Gallery
Servicemen and Women
Chelsea Pensioners 1808-1828 Servicemen & Families with the 1st Wilts. Regt. in South Africa 1911
On the 5th July 1912, Captain E. B. Lorraine of the Royal Engineers and Staff Sergeant R. H. V. Wilson were killed in a flying accident near the Stonehenge/Shrewton crossroads. A memorial now marks the spot.
Boer War
Reservists Leave for the Front 1899 Netton Brothers Home from the War 1902
Manoeuvres
WWI
Australian Forces
Casualties
Biographies
Lewis William Aldridge 1915 Bertred Canning 1915 Archibald Ware 1915
Memorials and Books of Remembrance
Bell-Ringers Memorial Book 1914-1918 Church Roll of Honour Plaque 1914-1919 Diocese of Salisbury Memorial Book 1914-1918
WWII
Memorials and Books of Remembrance
Church Roll of Honour Plaque 1939-1945
Post WWII
Meritorious Service Medal, R. J. Bayly 1951
War Memorial
The memorial stands in the churchyard commemorating the men of the parish who gave their lives in WWI and WWII. A campaign has been running to have the memorial returned to the High Street, which as at February 2011, has been successful and will be moved as soon as a suitable site can be found. In the meantime with funding from the War Memorials Trust and of the Co-Operative Society Community Fund the war memorial has had a £6000 restoration which has involved the cleaning and the raising of the stone cross back to its original height. When the memorial was moved from the High Street in 1964 it remained in a Council yard for about 4-5 years before being re-sited at the church, it would seem that part of the upright of the cross was either broken off or deliberately removed to accommodate over hanging trees in the churchyard. The trees have now been cut back and the memorial restored to its former glory.
War Memorial WWI & WWII War Memorial Restored 2011
Countess
West Amesbury
Acknowledgements
Much of the information submitted for this page is the work of the late Jan Oliver, which is most gratefully acknowledged.
