OPC Vacancy
Contiguous Parishes (our neighbours)
Atworth – Biddestone – Box – Chippenham – Ditteridge – Lacock – Melksham
Websites of Interest
The Parish Church of St. Bartholomew
St. Barthomew
St. Bartholomew’s church was an important one of the “wool country”. It’s nave is 12th Century; there was once a central tower but this was taken down during the 19th Century and the present one built. As a “clothiers church”, the richness of its architecture is concentrated on the eastern parts of the building. The chancel with its chapels and burial places for the local magnate’s tombs can still be seen today. There is stone panelling and a stone screen in the North chapel.
St. Bartholomew’s Gallery St. Bartholomew’s Interior Gallery St. Bartholomew’s Churchyard Gallery
Corsham & Lacock Churches – Inscriptions on the headstones, memorials and tombs in St. Bartholomew’s churchyard.
Interesting entries from the parish registers 1727-1730 Marriage of George Smith (15yrs) and Honour Sumbler (13yrs 9mths) 1824
Parish Register Transcripts
Marriages
1563-1600 1601-1640 1641-1670 1671-1699 1700-1749 1750-1799 1800-1837
Parish Records held at WSHC
Baptisms 1563-1973
Marriages 1563-1995
Burials 1563-1971
BT’s 1838-1875 held at Bristol Record Office
Parish History
The Parish includes Avon, Easton, Garsdon, Neston and Pickwick
Population and Other Information
Civil Registration
1837 – Present Chippenham Registration District
Newspapers
| Devizes & Wiltshire Gazette 1816 – Present | Salisbury Journal 1738-1819 | Sherborne Mercury 1737-1867 |
| Somerset & Wiltshire Journal 1855-1925 | Trowbridge Advertiser 1855-1874 | Trowbridge Chronicle 1861-1906 |
| Wiltshire Independent 1836-1876 | Wiltshire News 1909-1955 | Wiltshire Times 1880 – Present |
Twin Towns
Buildings and Land
| Court Leet – Archard to Cox 1789 | Harp & Crown PH Sale by Auction 1838 | Chippenham Turnpike Notices 1846 |
| Corsham Turnpike Notices 1846 | Donation to Roads Maintenance 1870 | Owners of Land 1873 |
Agriculture
Cattle Plague Regulations 1867
Buildings of Note
Corsham Court
Flemish Cottages
Indentures
Robert Hulbert – Defeazance of Land 1785 Between Orchard and Cox 1788 Between Taylor & Pritchard 1839
Maps
Ordnance Surveyor’s Drawings 1808-1811 Ordnance Surveyor’s Drawings 1813-1814
Public Houses
Methuen Arms
The front of the inn is 19th century, but the back is part of Winter’s Court, A Tudor building in which the inn was established in 1608, the famous Edinburgh skittle alley forming part of this earlier inn. The inn stands near the gates of Corsham Court, Lord Methuen’s seat, and his Arms may been seen above the portico. The chequer design painted on the door posts of the bar entrance is a unique survival of this oldest of inn signs, which originated in the Roman Tabernae, the custom being carried through Saxon times. Winters Court was owned by the Nott family.
Red Lion Inn
This was a former inn on the site of the current Methuen Arms. In 1809 the inn was sketched by John Buckler.
Railway
Crime and Legal Matters
Bastardy
Bastardy Examinations 1814 Bastardy Examination Archard v Simmons 1861
Court Cases
Crime Reports
Forgery
Fake Notes in Circulation 2014
Motoring Offences
Manslaughter Charge Reduced to Dangerous Driving 1940 Fine & Driving Ban for Drink Driving Offence 2014
Prisons and Prisoners
Bedford Gaol
Solomon Emery 1851 Harry Parker 1881 Harry Parker 1885
Gloucester Gaol
Directories
Pigots 1830 Pigots 1842 Slaters 1852/53 Post Office 1875 Kellys 1889 Kellys 1915
Telephone Connections
Education
Chapel Knap School, Corsham
Corsham Free School
Corsham Primary
Corsham Regis Primary School
Corsham School
Corsham Secondary Modern School
Heywood Preparatory School, Corsham
Lypiatt Primary School, Corsham
National School for Girls, Corsham
St. Patricks Catholic Primary School, Corsham
Emigration and Migration
Strays Index Emigration Home Contact Requested 1800 – Present
Employment and Business
Agriculture and Land
Gamekeepers Certificates 1807 Gamekeepers Certificates 1846 Lord Methuen & The Labourer 1874
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.
James Best 1713 Henry Box 1754 William Brinsdon 1759 John Brite 1721 George Brooks 1721 Henry Colborn 1724
Wiltshire Society Apprentices
Communications
British Postal Service Appointments 1737-1969
Community Services
Police
Wiltshire Constabulary 1858 Police Sergeant Reakes Retires 1932
Medicine
General Medical Council Registration 1859-1959
Miscellaneous Documents
Poem – Yew Tree 1915 Filming of Poldark for TV 2014
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
Baptist Chapel, Moor Green
Brethren, Pockeridge Lodge
Brethren, Corshamside Hall (also used by Neston Brethren)
Congregational Church, Pickwick Road
Ebenezer Chapel, Priory Street
Ebenezer Baptist Chapel, Velly
Monks Lane Chapel
Monks Chapel Website A Short History of Monks Chapel A Longer History of Monks Chapel
Transcriptions
Baptisms 1760-1837 Burials 1778-1836 These transcriptions are published courtesy of and with thanks to AIGS
Particular Baptist, Pound Pill
Primitive Methodist Chapel, Station Road
Society of Friends (Quakers), Monks Lane
St. John the Baptist, Gastard (see Gastard tab below)
St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, Park Lane
Sts. Philip & James, Neston (see Neston tab below)
Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Pickwick Road
Zion Hill Baptist Chapel
People and Parish Notables
Accidents
Dreadful Accident at Stone Quarry 1853
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Friendly Societies
Trowbridge Provident Society Success 1789 Wiltshire Friendly Society Membership 1827-1871
Horticultural Societies
Wiltshire H. S. Visits to Corsham & Salisbury 1952
St. John Ambulance
Certificates Awarded 1940 St. John Ambulance Fete and Prize Giving 1950
Bankruptcy
Celebrations and Entertainment
Marlborough Ball 1838 Festivities at Harthouse Park 1888
Census Returns Transcripts
Elections and Polls
| Poll of Freeholders 1722 | Poll Book 1818 | Voters List 1832 | Voters Lists Revisions 1843 |
| MP Nominations 2015 (Chippenham Constituency) | MP Nominations 2015 | MP Nominations 2017 (Chippenham Constituency) | MP Nominations 2017 |
Entertainment
Hunt Ball 1929 Second Period Drama 2014
Family Notices
Family Notices 1750-1799 Family Notices 1800-1849 Family Notices 1850-1899 Family Notices 1900-1949
Funeral Reports
Funeral Report of Emily Hazell 1939
Health
Bath Hospital Patient Discharges 1839
Parish Notables
Sir Richard Blackmore – Physician, Poet & Religious Writer. He was born in Corsham on 22nd January 1654. He died in Boxted, Essex on the 9th October 1729
Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles, OBE – Retired Army Officer and former husband of Queen Camilla. He was born in Surrey on the 27th December 1939. The couple were sometime resident of the parish living at Middlewick House.
Camilla, Queen – 2nd Wife of King Charles III – was born on the 17th July 1947 in London. Former wife of Andrew Parker Bowles. She married Prince Charles on the 9th April 2005. Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II on the 8th September 2022 she became Queen Consort. She was crowned as Queen on the 6th May 2023 in a joint Coronation Ceremony.
Edward Hasted – Antiquarian, Historian & Master of Hungerford Almshouse was born on the 31st December 1732 in Lombard Street, London, Middlesex. He died in Corsham on 14th January 1812.
Peter Gabriel – Musician, Record Producer, Songwriter and Activist. He was born in Chobham, Surrey on 13th February 1950. He is resident of the parish and runs a music studio in nearby Box.
Nick Mason (Nicholas Berkeley Mason – Musician, Composer and Drummer, was born in Birmingham on the 27th January 1944. Best known as the drummer with rock band Pink Floyd. Since 1995 he has been resident of Middlewick House, Corsham.
Herbert Spackman – Photographer & Musician – Born 24 October 1864 in Corsham. He ran a grocery and photographer’s shop in Corsham. He is the father of Heather Tanner. He died on the 14th April 1949 in Corsham.
Heather Tanner (nee Spackman) – Writer and Peace, Environment and Social Justice Campaigner was born on the 14th July 1903 in Corsham the daughter of Herbert Spackman. She died on the 23rd June 1993 in Kington St. Michael. She and her husband Robin Tanner were resident of Kington Langley.
Personal Research Items
Tuck Family
Marriage Extracts Burial Extracts – These items were donated by Ken Tuck and contains entries that may or may not relate to the Tuck family however they have been published as such. Many references to Quaker entries may be found from across the county.
Sport
Cricket
Cricket Match v Chippenham 1870 Cricket Match Yew Tree CC v Spye Park CC 1890
General Sport
Brinkworth Pony Gymkhana and Sports 1937 Pigeon Racing Annual Awards 1956
Hunting
Uncategorised People Items
Longevity 1846 People News 1850-1899 Residents Mentioned in Kilvert’s Diary 1870-1879
Poor Law, Charity and The Workhouse
Charity News 1800-1899 Young Girl has Haircut for Charity 2014
Hungerford Almshouses
Situated between Chippenham and Bath on the A4 road. It was built in 1668. Almshouses Gallery
Legacies for Charity
Probate
National Probate Index 1858-1966
Estate Notices
Parishioners Wills
Sales for Probate
War, Conflict and Military Matters
War Memorials & Military Gallery
Muster Roll 1539 Chelsea Pensioners 1808-1828 Servicemen & Families with the 1st Wilts. Regt. in South Africa 1911
Indian Mutiny
Army Pension Claim – Applegate 1858
WWI
WWI Service Exemption Tribunals Thrilling Adventure in Belgium 1914 Letter Home 1914-1918 Coleman, A Fighting Family 1914 German Censor Letter 1915
Absentees from Service
British Red Cross/Voluntary Aid Detachment
V.A.D. & Red Cross Hospitals 1914-1918 Local Nurses and War Work 1919
Volunteers
Memorials
WWII
Home Guard
Home Guard 1940-1944 Home Guard Awards 1944
Avon
People and Parish Notables
Wiltshire Friendly Society Membership 1827-1871
Personal Research Items
Tuck Family
Burial Extracts – These items were donated by Ken Tuck and contains entries that may or may not relate to the Tuck family however they have been published as such. Many references to Quaker entries may be found from across the county.
Gastard
Parish Records held at WSHC
Marriages 1959-1986
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Friendly Societies
Wiltshire Friendly Society Membership 1827-1871
Parish Notables
Robert Nicholas Fowler, 1st Baronet, JP and Deputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire
Personal Research Items
Tuck Family
Tuck Family Research Burial Extracts – This item was donated by Ken Tuck and contains entries that may or may not relate to the Tuck family however they have been published as such. Many refer to Quaker burials found across the county
War, Conflict & Military Matters
Boer War
Imperial Yeomanry Casualties 1899-1902
Hartham
Buildings and Land
Hartham House and Park
Probate
Inquisition of Richard Westfield 1625
War, Conflict and Military Matters
British Red Cross/Voluntary Aid Detachment
Kate Bird 1916-1919 Sarah Bishop 1916-1919 Jessima Davis 1916 Eliza Furnell 1916-1917 Alice Hazell 1916-1918
Neston
Church of Sts. Philip & James
Church Gallery Churchyard Gallery
Parish Registers held at WSHC
Baptisms 1869-1969
Marriages 1869-1996
Burials 1868-1980
Directories
Education
Neston Primary School
People & Parish Notables
Deaths
Funeral Reports
Frederick George Sheppard 1940
Parish Notables
George Pargiter Fuller – Politician John Hanning Speke – Explorer
Pickwick
Buildings and Land
Indenture between Neate, Bennett & Fry 1777
Crime and Legal Matters
Transportation for Assault 1841
Education
Pickwick School
Employment
General Medical Council Registrations 1859-1959
People and Parish Notables
Poll of Freeholders 1772 Family Notices 1800-1849
Personal Research Items
Tuck Family
Tuck Family Research Burial Extracts – This item was donated by Ken Tuck and contains entries that may or may not relate to the Tuck family however they have been published as such. Many refer to Quaker burials found across the county
Probate
Parishioners Wills
War, Conflict and Military Matters
Calne & District Casualty Lists WWI
British Red Cross/Voluntary Aid Detachment
Lily Francis 1916-1919 Mary Francis 1916-1919 Annie Lane 1916-1919
