The OPC is Eric Read
This Page forms part of the Parish of Barford St. Martin
History
Groveley Wood is an extra parochial place within the parish of Barford St. Martin. There is no church here and there are no records of separate parish registers. It can be assumed therefore that residents of the wood travelled to either Barford or Great Wishford for church services including baptisms, marriages and burials
Oak Apple Day Celebrations
The origins of the Grovely Ceremonies lie in the rights of the villagers of nearby parishes to collect wood for fuel from the woods nearby – charters still exist from Elizabethan times which stipulate conditions which must be met in order to keep those rights alive. A group of dancers must go to Salisbury Cathedral and declaim “Grovely ! Grovely! And all Grovely!” and while this originally took place during Whit week , the festivities now occur on May 29th every year which is Oak Apple Day. The day begins with a raucous tin can band to wake everyone up (participated in keenly by the children armed with anything from trumpets to bin lids), followed by a procession into the forest with banners to gather the wood; houses in the village are decorated with bunting and boughs. The group of dancers, in period costume, still perform outside Salisbury Cathedral then lay branches on the altar there in the morning during a very brief service before returning home for a further procession and traditional village fair. There’s maypole dancing, stalls, food and entertainment. The first grant of the charter took place in 1603.
Parish Church of St. Matthew’s
St. Matthew’s Gallery
Buildings and Land
Crime and Legal Matters
Committed to the Devizes House of Correction & New Prison 1800-1849 Theft of Silver Watch at Groveley 1858 Gamekeeper Charged with Assault 1868
Directories
Education
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Wiltshire Friendly Society Membership 1837-1871
Census Returns Transcripts
1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911
