The OPC is Duncan McBurney
For more information on each of the Three Manningford Villages please see below
Contiguous Parishes (our neighbours)
Everleigh – Pewsey – Wilcot – Wilsford – Woodborough
Websites of Interest
GenUKI – For information on Manningford Abbas.
GenUKI – For information on Manningford Bruce.
Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre – The Wiltshire County Archives for all historical documents and the place to obtain original copies.
Manningford Community History – Historical information for parishes within the Wiltshire County jurisdiction.
The Parish Churches of The Manningford Villages
Manningford Abbots (Abbas) (No Dedication)
There was probably a parish church established in Manningford Abbas in the 10th century and certainly one in 1291, for which no dedication is recorded. The church was rebuilt in 1861-64 to designs by the architect S B Gabriel of Bristol. The church was made redundant in 1980 and remains unused.
Manningford Bohune (All Saints, Old Church)
The Old Church was a chapel of ease, Manningford Bohune being a detached tithing 3 miles from the home Church in Wilsford. The church was built on land donated by Henry Jenner of Chisenbury, being located on the eastern edge of the Parish, next to what was Manningford Bohune Common. The foundation stone was laid on 14 May 1858 and the building work completed on 1 October of the same year. However, due to the death of the wife of the Patron of the living (Rev G. E. Howman), consecration of the Church was delayed until 1 March 1859. The total cost of the building work amounted to £1350, most of which was provided by the Patron. Services at the Church were conducted by the Rector of Woodborough. The Old Church is now a private house.
Manningford Bruce (St. Peter)
The Parish Church in Manningford Bruce is of Norman origin, being built in the 11th or 12th Century, and is a Grade I listed building. It is likely that a church existed on the site before Norman times as there are Saxon elements within the structure of the building. The church consists of a chancel, with a semi-circular apse which has the unusual feature of no east window, and a nave, separated by a large chancel arch. The church was dedicated to St. Peter in 1291. In 1882 J.L. Pearson restored and improved the church. This included the addition of a bell turret with a leaden spire and the removal of external plaster to reveal herring-bone flint walls. In 1991 a joint service with the church in North Newnton was held to celebrate St. Peter’s millennium, which was conducted by the Bishop of Ramsbury.
Parish History
The name Manningford is derived from a ford (belonging to Mana) that was likely situated on the Anglo-Saxon road, now known as Hare Street, which crosses the eastern headwaters of the River Avon that runs from east to west across the Parish.
It is thought that the lands of all three Manningfords were originally one territory, as they are similar in size and shape being long thin strips of land stretching from a common northern boundary on an early (possibly) Saxon road on rich agricultural land in the middle of the Vale of Pewsey up to another common border to the south west on the high downlands on the edge of Salisbury Plain. There has also been speculation that the territory was originally the estate of a Roman villa that was discovered on the eastern side of Manningford Bruce church graveyard, which was partially excavated in 1958 and 1985.
The oldest and more important houses for each settlement lie between the southern bank of the River Avon, which is little more than a stream, and the main Pewsey to Devizes road that also runs east to west across the Parish.
It is known that the territory was divided into at least two parts by 987 when the part later known as Manningford Abbots (or Abbas) was granted by King Ethelred to a man known as Aethelwold. The separation of Manningford Bruce and Manningford Bohune likely occurred a little time later. At the time of the Doomsday Book in 1086, the land at Manningford Abbots was valued at 10 hides with the lands of Manningford Bruce and Manningford Bohune similarly being worth 10 hides in total (6 and a half and three and 3 a half hides respectively). This supports the idea that Manningford Bruce and Manningford Bohune were divided after Manningford Abbots was separated from the territory.
The Civil Parish of Manningford, which amalgamated all three territories, was formed in 1934. Despite the amalgamation, there is no clear centre to the Parish as a whole.
Civil Registration
1837- April 1936 Pewsey Registration District
April 1936 – Present Devizes Registration District
Buildings and Land
Agriculture
County Agriculture Report 1847
Landowners
Crime and Legal Matters
All crime and legal articles will appear under the relevant tab for Manningford Abbas, Manningford Bohune, or Manningford Bruce, unless original sources simply refer to Manningford.
Coroners Inquests
The office of Coroner was formally established in 1194. The early duties of coroners were varied and included the investigation of almost any aspect of medieval life that had a potential revenue benefit for the Crown. Suicides were investigated on the grounds that the goods and chattels of those guilty of the crime would be forfeit to the Crown. Over time the role has developed to focus on the investigation of any sudden, unnatural or unexplained death to ascertain cause, time and manner of death.
Petty Sessions
Petty Sessions were the lowest tier in the court system and developed at the beginning of the 18th century to take on some of the work previously undertaken by the Quarter Sessions. The court was presided over by one or more volunteer justices of the peace, or stipendiary magistrate, there being no jury. Petty Sessions were abolished in 1971 and replaced by Magistrates Courts.
Quarter Sessions & Assizes
The Court of Quarter Sessions dealt with criminal cases and also other disputes such as poor law disputes, settlement issues and bankruptcy. The Quarter Sessions were presided over by at least two Justices of the Peace, with a jury present, being held quarterly in each county at Epiphany, Easter, Midsummer and Michaelmas. The more serious criminal cases were committed by the Quarter Sessions for trial at the Courts of Assize. In addition to criminal cases, the Courts of Assize included the Nisi Prius where civil actions (private cases) were decided before a judge and jury. The Court of Quarter Sessions and Court of Assize were effectively amalgamated into Crown Courts in 1971.
Education
Emigration and Migration
In 1840 a Colonial Land and Emigration Commission was created, amalgamating two smaller organisations, to administer arrangements for emigration schemes to the Colonies. Many schemes involved assisted, or free, passage from the UK. In December 1847 agents in Devizes and Enford began advertising free passage to New South Wales, South Australia and the Cape of Good Hope in local newspapers. The advertisements claimed there was a particular need for Agricultural Labourers, Shepherds, female Domestic Servants and Dairymaids. This prompted a surge in emigration from the Vale of Pewsey, including a number of families from the Manningfords (details of individuals/families under each tab below).
Assisted Emigration Advert 1848
Emigrants
The native place of the following emigrants is simply recorded as Manningford and it has not been possible to identify which one.
Thomas Stratton 1855 Simon Osland 1856
Employment and Business
Agriculture, Farming and Land
Gamekeeping
Sale of Stock
Sale at Compton Farm, Enford 1870
Communications
British Postal Service Appointments 1737-1969
Miscellaneous Documents
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
There is little evidence of non-conformity in either Manningford Abbas, or Manningford Bruce. However, the absence of a chapel in Manningford Bohune and the distance to the home Parish Church in Wilsford lead to a growth in non-conformity with both Baptist and Methodist Meeting Houses in the tithing (see tab below for further details).
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs, Organisations & Societies
Wiltshire Agricultural Society Annual Meeting 1848
Elections and Polls
Voters Lists Revisions 1843 MP Nominations 2015
Poor Law, Charity and the Workhouse
There was no workhouse in Manningford. Those in need of relief would be admitted to the workhouse located at Worlds End in Pewsey.
Pewsey Union Supplies Tender Notice 1846
Probate
War, Conflict and Military Matters
Manningford Abbas
Manningford Abbas Photo Gallery
Parish Church (Dedication Unknown)
Church Supported Charities and Funding
Parish Register Transcripts
Baptisms
Burials
Marriages
Parish Registers held at WSHC
Baptisms 1539-1982
Marriages 1543-1964
Burials 1538-1980
Parish History
Buildings and Land
Swanborough Tump
Manningford Abbas is the location of Swanborough Tump, a barrow mound and Anglo-Saxon meeting point for the Hundred of Swanborough. Swanborough Tump is also reputedly the spot where, in the year 871, the future King Alfred the Great met his elder brother King Aethelred I on their way to fight the invading Danes. Each swore that, if the other died in battle, the dead man’s children would inherit the lands of their father King Aethelwulf.
Doomsday Book Entry
The church of St. Peter at Winchester holds Maneforde. It was rated in the time of King Edward [the Confessor] at 10 hides. Here are 10 ploughlands. Five hides and half a yard land are in demesne, where are 2 ploughlands and 5 servants. Eight villagers and 7 cottagers occupy two ploughlands and a half. The mill pays 12 shillings and 6 pence. Here are 10 acres of meadow. The pasture is half a mile long, and a furlong broad. It was valued at 6 pounds, now at 8 pounds. Source: Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, Volume 34.
Berkshire and Hampshire Railway
The main London to Penzance railway crosses the Parish from east to west. Construction of the line was completed in 1862, as an extension of the Berkshire and Hampshire Railway from Hungerford to Devizes. Originally, there was no station stop between Pewsey and Woodborough but in 1932 Manningford Halt was opened. This was located within Manningford Abbots, north of Abbots Common off Hare Street, but it was closed in 1966 and there is now no trace of its existence.
Conveyance of Land Between William Head and Alexander Meek 1907
Landowners
Land Surveys
Crime and Legal Matters
Directories
Education
Emigration and Migration
Emigrants
Employment and Business
Miscellaneous Documents
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
There is no record of any non-conformist meeting place in the Parish. Only one non-conformist was recorded in Manningford Abbas in 1676 and just three in 1864. Hence, it is unlikely that there were sufficient numbers to support a Meeting House.
People and Parish Notables
Census Returns Transcripts
1810 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911
The 1810 census listed above is a household head count found in the parish register
Elections, Polls and Voters Lists
Poll of Freeholders 1772 Poll Book 1818 Voters List 1832
Funeral Reports
General Items
Inquests
Parish Notables
Brigadier Robert Wallace Strachan Hall – Army Officer and former Chairman of Wiltshire County Council
Tuck Family Research 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.
Poor Law, Charity and The Workhouse
Probate
National Probate Index 1858-1966
War, Conflict and Military Matters
WWI
Calne & District Casualty Lists 1914-1918 Diocese of Salisbury Memorial Book 1914-1918 WWI Volunteers of Manningford Abbots Parish
Manningford Bohune
Manningford Bohune – All Saints
Parish Church of All Saints (The Old Church)
Parish Registers
Baptisms
Parish Registers held at WSHC
Baptisms 1859-1973
Marriages 1876-1937
Burials 1859-1978
Prior to 1859, baptisms, marriages and burials for conformist residents of the tithing of Manningford Bohune are most likely to be found in Wilsford, Manningford Bruce, North Newnton, or Woodborough.
Parish History
Manningford Bohune is a former detached tithing of the Parish of Wilsford. Between 1871 and 1934 it was a Civil Parish in its own right, before being amalgamated into the larger Civil Parish of Manningford.
In 1066 the territory of Manningford Bohune was owned by an individual named Godric, but by the time of the Doomsday Book in 1086 the new King had granted the lands to Amelric de Drewes. The land was valued at 3 and half hides and shared income from a Mill with Manningford Bruce, although the location of the Mill is not known.
It is possible that the Church at Manningford Bruce had originally also been shared, prior to the two parts being separated, as it sits on the western edge of Manningford Bruce and on the eastern edge of Manningford Bohune in what would have been the centre of a joint territory. As the Parish Church in Wilsford was 3 miles to the west, the inhabitants of Manningford Bohune are often to be found in the Parish Registers for Manningford Bruce. The Parish Churches of North Newnton, on the western boundary of Manningford Bohune, and Woodborough near to the settlement of Bottlesford, were also in regular use by conformist inhabitants of the tithing.
The old settlement of Manningford Bohune itself is largely to be found on a cul-de-sac now known as Wick Lane, which borders the Manningford Bohune Estate and that runs north from the Pewsey to Salisbury Road. Part of the settlement, known as Townsend, has spread onto the Pewsey to Salisbury Road. To the north of Wick Lane and the Manningford Bohune Estate lies what was Manningford Bohune Common. This covered a large expanse but was enclosed in the late 1700s. The area is still referred to as Manningford Common and comprises just a handful of houses and large open fields used for growing salad crops, forming part of Mullens Farm. The north eastern edge of the Common is also the location of the Old Church, being the Chapel of Ease finished in 1859.
On the northern edge of the tithing, which borders the Parish of Woodborough, lies the settlement of Bottlesford. This is a corruption of the name of Botwells Ford (early document may simply refer to Botwell). A small stream crosses the road through Bottlesford, the source of which is a spring at Alton Barnes and it joins the River Avon near Woodbridge in North Newnton. To the east of Bottlesford, and within the tithing, lies Nursery Farm (now largely part of Woodborough Garden Centre), which also includes an area of land known as Free Trade. It is likely that this name derives from an experiment in market gardening started in the late Victorian period.
Buildings and Land
Doomsday Book Entry
Amelric de Drewes holds of the King Maniford. Godric held it in the time of King Edward [the Confessor] and it was assessed at 3 hides and a half. Here is a ploughland and a half. There are 4 borderers. The third part of a mill pays 50 pence. Here are 12 acres of meadow, and the pasture is half a mile long, and 1 furlong and a half broad. It was valued at 30 shillings, now at 60 shillings. Source: Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, Volume 34.
Crime and Legal Matters
Crime Reports 1800-1849 Trespass Alexander v Jesse 1824 Isaac Macklin Stealing Straw 1848
Directories
Emigration and Migration
Emigrants
Employment and Business
Bankruptcy of Jonathan Waight 1828
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
Baptists
A chapel for Particular Baptists was built at Bottlesford in 1842 and registered by John Keepence a year later. In 1851 it was known as the Ebenezer Baptist chapel with 30 people attending morning service, and 100 afternoon service, on Census Sunday that year. The chapel was closed in 1937 and is now a private dwelling.
In 1869 a red brick Baptist Chapel was constructed at Townsend in Manningford Bohune on the Pewsey to Salisbury Road. It is likely that this was constructed to replace the use of the house and premises of George Hawkins that was certified as a meeting place for Particular Baptists on 27th February 1840. At various times in the 19th Century the Chapel was described as a Particular, Strict and General Baptist Meeting House. The Meeting House is still in use as a Particular and Strict Baptist Meeting House. New Baptist Chapel 1870
Methodists
A house in the occupation of William Rudman was also certified as a meeting house for Methodists on 18th February 1819.
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Friendly Societies
Wiltshire Friendly Society
Census Returns Transcripts
Elections, Polls and Voters Lists
Poll Book 1818 Voters List 1832
Inquests
War, Conflict and Military Matters
Manningford Relief Landing Ground
In 1939 an airfield was opened on Manningford Bohune Common to operate as a Relief Landing Ground (RLG) for the nearby Central Flying School at RAF Upavon flying Avro Tutors, practicing takeoffs, landing and circuits. There were no buildings on the site, just a wind sock. The airfield was closed down in 1947 and returned to farmland (it is now part of Mullens Farm).
Manningford Bruce
Manningford Bruce – St. Peter’s
Church of St. Peter
St. Peter’s Gallery St. Peter’s Interior Gallery St. Peter’s Churchyard Gallery
St. Peter’s Churchyard Memorials
Parish Register Transcripts
Baptisms
Marriages
Parish Registers held at WSHC
Baptisms 1657-1916
Marriages 1660-1983
Burials 1658-1986
Parish History
Buildings and Land
Doomsday Book Entry
Grimbaldus the goldsmith holds Maniford. Edward held at in the time of King Edward [the Confessor] and it was assessed at 6 hides and a half. Here are 4 ploughlands. Two ploughlands, with one villager, are in demesne. Ten cottagers and 2 borderers occupy one ploughland. Two shares of a mill pay 12 shillings and 6 pence. Here are 20 acres of meadow, and the pasture is a mile and a half square. It was valued at a hundred shillings, now at 6 pounds. Source: Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, Volume 34.
Conveyance of Land Lott/Meek 1900
Landowners
Land Surveys
Crime and Legal Matters
Trial & Execution of William Amor 1773
Directories
Education
Emigration and Migration
Emigrants
Employment and Business
Miscellaneous Documents
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Pig Keeper’s Club Meeting 1941
Census Returns Transcripts
1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911
Elections and Polls
Poll of Freeholders 1772 Poll Book 1818 Voters List 1832
Inquests
Inquest Report on Elizabeth Harding 1888
Parish Notables
Dr. Robin Baker, Novelist and Broadcaster
Poor Law, Charity and The Workhouse
Blanket Distribution – Grant Charity 1941
Probate
National Probate Index 1858-1966
War, Conflict and Military Matters
War Memorials & Military Gallery
World War I
There is a large stone cross and memorial to those from the Parish of Manningford Bruce that gave their lives in World War I in the graveyard of St. Peters Church.
Diocese of Salisbury Memorial Book 1914-1918 War Memorial WWI Roll of Honour 1914-1918
Biographies of the Men Remembered on the World War I Memorial
| Edwin Hawkins | Frank Muddle | Herbert North |
| Edwin Nash | George Taylor | George Frederick Whitmarsh |
In addition to those named above, Percy John Waters who was born in Manningford Bruce in 1890 is named on the memorial in Rushall.
Individual biographies are currently being researched and these will be added as and when completed.
