The OPC is John Pope
(Cyfa’s leah or clearing) has two very notable old houses as well as some lesser ones of equal age. ‘Tallboys’ is a fine half-timbered house of the 15th century, containing good panelling, but it has suffered somewhat by restoration. Later in date is the beautiful stone-built and gabled manor house, which was built c. 1580 by the Lamberts, by whom it was sold in 1680 to William Beach of Fittleton. It contains a panelled hall with Jacobean screen and is one of the best buildings of its kind in the county. [The Little Guides by Methuen 1949]
Contiguous Parishes (our neighbours)
East Coulston – Edington – Erlestoke – Potterne – Seend – Semington – Steeple Ashton – Worton & Marston
Websites of Interest
Keevil Village – For Historical and Local Information.
The Parish Church of St. Leonard
The church (St. Leonard) was originally Early English, but was largely rebuilt in the 17th century. It contains a monument to John Harris, citizen and alderman of London (1657) and many other 17th and 18th century memorials to the Blagden, Beach, and other families [The Little Guides by Methuen 1949]
St. Leonard’s Gallery St. Leonard’s Interior Gallery St. Leonard’s Churchyard Gallery
Interior Wall Memorial Inscriptions Churchyard memorial survey from information supplied by Lynne and Paul Powell
Church Lightning Strike 1794
Parish Register Transcripts
Baptisms
1700-1749 1750-1799 1800-1849 (incomplete) 1850-1899
Marriage and Burial Transcripts
John Pope’s Genealogy Resource Project for marriages and burials 1702-1813.
Parish Registers held at WSHC
Baptisms 1559-1954
Marriages 1559-1990
Burials 1562-1993
Parish History
The parish has been known in the past as Couvele, Kyvele, Kyvle or Kyneleygh
The parish included the tything of Bulkington until 1860 when it became a parish in its own right
Lewis’s Topographical Dictionary of England 1845 Scarecrow Trails 2014
Civil Registration
1837-April 1936 Westbury Registration District
April 1936 – Present Warminster Registration District
Coople Church
Base of Stone Cross from Coople Church, now in St. Leonard’s Church, Keevil
This church remains somewhat of a mystery; stones which are thought to be the foundations of an original church were found in a field on 11 March 1913. A group of labourers were ploughing what is now known as Upper Ashton Field and struck some sort of foundations of a building.
These two areas of stone were found around nine inches below the surface and was 56 feet long by 18 feet 6 inches wide; probably there were two separate rooms. Because of the bad condition of the stonework it was impossible to take exact measurements of what seemed to be foundations, but some had three feet thick walls and there was evidence of external buttresses. Another interesting aspect is that the church – if this is indeed what these remains once were – seems to be aligned directly with Steeple Ashton church, which perhaps strengthens a theory regarding the old name of the field in which the remains were found; Coople Church Field.
Later the architect and church historian, C. E. Ponting, identified the foundations of rood loft stairs and found pits that suggested burial vaults.
Two skeletons were found on the south side, near to south wall, the traditional site for a burial ground. The ‘font’, now in Keevil Church is believed to have been the base of a church cross that was later hollowed out to form a large bowl for use as a font. It was found by ploughing 40 years before the finding of the church. (Source: Wiltshire Community History)
Buildings and Land
| Domesday Book Extract | Enclosure Awards 1796 | Game Certificates 1839 | Game Certificates 1849 |
| Tithe Awards 1864 | Owners of Land 1873 | Old Field Names |
Listed Buildings
British Listed Buildings in Keevil
Maps
Ordnance Surveyor’s Drawings 1808-1811
Public Houses
Long Arms
Joseph Rogers, Innkeeper 1866
Beach Arms Inn
Daniel Orchard, Innkeeper 1891
Lamb Inn
Joseph Rogers, Innkeeper 1891
Properties for Sale
Field Head House for Sale 1963
Crime and Legal Matters
Courts
Fraud
General Crime
Crime Reports 1700-1799 Crime Reports 1800-1849
Prisons and Prisoners
Inmates of Gloucester Gaol 1815-1879
Theft
Highway Robbery 1846 Turnpike Gate Robbery 1847
Directories
Post Office 1855 Post Office 1875 Kellys 1889 Gillmans 1899 Gillmans 1900 Kellys 1915
Education
Emigration and Migration
Employment and Business
Agriculture and Land
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
Alexander Applegarth 1730 William Bartlett 1713 Charles Blake 1725 Robert Boyd 1723
Community Services
Police
Market and Fairs
Christmas Fare at Devizes 1870
Miscellaneous
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
Non-Conformists
Three people were burnt to death in the parish in 1556 for disrupting the vicar in the middle of a service in St Leonard’s. They were John Spicer, William Corberly and John Maundrel. In 1676 there were only seven non-conformists recorded as living in the parish.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries there were several private houses which were licensed as meeting places for dissenters. On 12 July 1709, a house at Keevil owned by Matthew Gunston was licensed. Just two years later, in 1711, the hall, parlour and kitchen of John Dalmer’s house at Keevil was licensed for worship. This was on November 3rd. On 9 July 1739 a dwelling house of Anthony Pyard was licensed at Keevil and on 15 July 1788 a house belonging to James Bendy was also given a certificate. [Source: Wiltshire Community History]
Wesleyan Methodist Chapel
In 1783 Methodists met every month in a house and were taught by a barber from Bradford-on-Avon. Keevil Methodist Chapel was built on 17 October 1833 and extended in 1910 to provide a room for the Sunday School. This was redesigned in 1923. Ministers usually visited from Melksham, but on occasion local lay preachers would talk if they were needed. On Census Sunday in 1851 the average number at services was between 70 and 80 people. The chapel was something of a social hub during World War II, with a lot of people from the RAF and USAF attending services and remaining afterwards for eating and drinking. Even after the war ended musical events continued to be held there. Each Sunday there were two services, up until the 1950s. After the school was shut, services in the chapel were reduced to just one. The chapel closed permanently on 22 November 1988, due mainly to dwindling numbers of people attending. It became a private house. The memorial tablets were taken to the west porch of St Leonard’s, where they remain. . [Source: Wiltshire Community History]
Wesleyan Methodist – Census 1851
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Census Returns Transcripts
The 1841 & 1871 Census can be found on my website “North Wiltshire Online Census Project”.
Bishop Compton’s census 1676
Aged over 16 years – 463 conformists, 7 non-conformists.
Elections and Polls
Poll of Freeholders 1772 Poll Book 1818 Voters List 1832 Voters Lists Revisions 1843 MP Nominations 2015
Entertainment
Family Notices
Family Notices 1700-1799 Family Notices 1850-1899 Family Notices 1900-1949 Diamond Wedding Celebrated 1936
Inquest Reports
1850-1899 Suicide of James Matthews 1869
Local Families
Personal Research Items
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
Contributing to Photo Galleries
If you have early photographs of Keevil or engravings of family members who were born in the village?
These are not only of great interest to researchers in the UK and Worldwide who cannot get to the parish in person, but they really do help the Keevil pages ‘come alive’. If you would like to share photographs (copyright credited and retained by contributor) of your ancestors, please email me via the Contact an OPC link. Thank you.
Poor Law, Charity and the Workhouse
Poor Rate 1752 Poor Rate 1782 Workhouse Provisions & Clothing Tenders 1846 Poor Law Union Audit 1849 Watts Charitable Bequests 1911
Probate
Inquisitions Post Mortem of Lands Held
William Jones 1626 Giles Tooker 1627 Roger Blagden 1630 Thomas Lambert 1639
Miscellaneous Probate Items
People Named in Probate Documents
Parishioners Wills
William Long proved 1597 Robert Pope proved 1775 George Gilbert proved 1792
War, Conflict and Military Matters
War Memorial & Military Gallery
War Memorial Diocese of Salisbury Memorial Book 1914-1918 Egg Collection for Wounded Servicemen 1914-1918 Calne & District Casualty Lists WWI WWI Tribunal Exemption Appeals 1916
Royal Navy
Naval Attestation – Silas Abraham 1836 Naval Attestation – Jacob W. Bodman 1906 Naval Attestation – Herbert J. Swanborough 1909
WWI
British Red Cross/Voluntary Aid Detachment
Volunteers
Ruby Baylis 1915-1919 Harriet Laura Chamberlaine 1915-1919
Casualties
James Andrews 1916 Frank Bodman 1915 Jacob W. Bodman 1916 Frederick G. Clifford 1917 Reginald J. V. Clifford 1918 George W. Dixon 1914
Edward G. Gilbert 1916 Leonard F. Griffin 1917 Albert G. Hicks 1916 Edward T. Jefferies 1917 Robert H. Lane 1917 Sidney H. Ludlow 1916
Thomas W. Ludlow 1914 Stephen O’Leary 1917 Herbert J. Swanborough 1914 Albert Wareham 1917 Frederick C. Wilmut 1918
