The OPC is Stephanie Heuston
Contiguous Parishes (our neighbours)
Everleigh – Manningford Abbas – Milton Lilborne – Wilcot
Websites of Interest
Pewsey Village – Community and History
Heritage Centre – History
Visit Pewsey Vale – Places to visit and things to do
The Parish Church of St. John the Baptist
St. John’s Gallery St. John’s Interior Gallery St. John’s Interior Wall Tablets Gallery A Tour of the Church
Church Interior
Interior Wall Memorial Inscriptions
Church News
Church Matters 1800-1899 Church Matters 1900-1949
Church Services
Incumbents
Parish Register Transcripts
Baptisms
Marriages
Burials
1654-1699 1700-1749 1750-1799 1800-1849 1850-1899 1900-1924
Parish Registers held at WSHC
Baptisms 1568-1960
Marriages 1569-1985
Burials 1568-1918
Look Ups for Baptisms and Burials up to 1837 can be requested from the OPC for Woodborough (Duncan McBurney) via the Contact Us Tab at the top of the Home Page
Parish History
Pewsey, or ‘Pevisigge’ as it was known in Anglo Saxon times, probably means the island (or dry land surrounded by marsh) that belongs to Pefe. The first recorded mention of Pewsey is as one of more than 60 places that King Alfred of Wessex, who died in 899, bequeathed in his will. Pewsey remained part of the royal estate until 940 when King Alfred’s grandson, Edmund, granted it to Hyde Abbey in Winchester with income from the estate being used for the monk’s clothing. It was to remain in the possession of Hyde Abbey until the monastery was dissolved in 1539. The Doomsday Book of 1086 records four entries for Pewsey (‘Pevesei’), the principal entry being the lands owned by Hyde Abbey that comprised 30 hides (1 hide = approx. 120 acres) and had 7 mills with land for 24 ploughs. The other entries are small land holdings in Pewsey but include a church held by Reinbold of Cirencester. It is estimated that the total population of Pewsey at this time would be 350 to 400 people.
Pewsey – A Village Description
The parish of Pewsey is located between Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in east Wiltshire. Included within the parish are the hamlets Southcott, Kepnal, and Sharcott, and the settlement Pewsey Wharf. Six miles north of Pewsey lies its nearest town, Marlborough, with nearby villages including Oare, Wootton Rivers, Wilcot, Manningford Bohune, Manningford Abbots, Huish, Manningford Bruce, Woodborough, and Burbage. Pewsey is a traditional large rural Wiltshire village boasting a range of styles of architecture, including Georgian homes and shops, thatched and slate roofed cottages, and more modern style buildings. Noted for its attractive landscape, the village is situated on the River Avon, one mile south of the Kennet & Avon Canal, and one mile south of Pewsey Hill. Pewsey Hill is significant in that on its slopes Pewsey’s most famous landmark, the chalk cut Pewsey White Horse can be found. In 1985 Pewsey’s architectural and historical heritage was recognised when it was designated a Conservation Area.
Pewsey Rural District Council
Council Meeting Reports
Finances
Civil Registration
1837 – April 1936 Pewsey Registration District
April 1936 – Present Devizes Registration District
Buildings and Land
Agriculture
County Agriculture Report 1847 Cattle Plague Regulations 1867
Cemetery
Cemetery Chapel
Built in 1862, by C.J. Phipps of Bath. Limestone rubble, banded with ashlar and cut siltstone. Banded slate roof. Apsidal on plan, with simple buttresses. Boarded west door with good ironwork. Cross in tympanum of banded pointed arch on columns, with stiff-leaf capitals and red sandstone ringed shafts. Two light west window over and attached pyramidal roofed belltower on north side having timber louvred openings. Small unmoulded lancets. Small vestry on north side. Interior unplastered, with truss over base of apse, and trussed rafters. Mandorlas flank chancel, with pelican in piety, and Agnus Dei. A very accomplished design.
Chalk Carvings
White Horses of Wiltshire 1930
Indentures
Tripartite Indenture between Swanborough, Winter, Gale 1764
Inquisitions of Lands Held
William, Earl of Pembroke 1630
Landowners
Land Surveys
Property Auctions
Public Houses
Railway Station
Pewsey station originally sat on a single track line on the Hungerford to Devizes Route. In 1900 the present station was built on a new double track line to provide a fast route from Reading to the South West. The station building was built of red brick with a gabled entrance on a single storey with a slate roof. The station was built on a distinct bend as the track passes by this pretty Victorian building.
Title Deeds
Extract of Title St. Thomas Hospital, London to The Manor of Pewsey 1927
Weather Phenomena
Crime and Legal Matters
Assaults
Goodman & Amor, Trial & Execution 1824
Commerce
Bakers Charged with Selling Underweight Bread 1869
Crime Reports
Libel & Slander
Denouncing Wadworths Beer 1889
Murder
Trial & Execution of William Amor 1773
Prisons and Inmates
Convicts sent to Prison Hulks 1823-1842
Quarter Sessions
Court Appearances
Victims of Crime
Swing Riots
Swing Letter Author Arrested 1831 Threshers Riots 1830-1831 Trials 1831
Rioters Transported
Theft
Horse Thefts 1865 Stealing a Loaf of Bread 1869 Father & Daughter Gaoled for Theft 1870
Directories
Education
Emigration and Migration
Parish Strays Emigration Home Contact Requested 1800-Present
Employment and Business
Advertising
Newspaper Advertisements 1850-1899
Agriculture, Farming and Land
Gamekeeping
Gamekeepers Certificates 1807 Gamekeepers Certificates 1834
Sales of Stock
Sale at Compton Farm, Enford, 1870
Apprentices
| Christopher Alsup 1747 | Alexander Crew 1716 | William Fidler 1713 | William Franklyn 1752 | Richard Gale 1758 |
| James Mattox 1720 | William Neate 1743 | William Noyes 1753 |
Aviation
Aviators Certificates
John Phillips 1934 Hubert Arthur Whatley 1917
Banking & Finance
Ramsbury Building Society Advertisement
Community Services
Police
Wiltshire Constabulary 1858 Police Sergeant Reakes Retires 1932
Medicine
Dentists
Advertisement R. L. Pinniger 1853
Doctors
General Medical Council Registrations 1859-1959
Postal Services
British Postal Service Appointments 1737-1969 Sunday Mail Deliveries 1850
Miscellaneous Documents
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Agricultural Societies
Wiltshire Agricultural Show Prize Winners 1904
Friendly Societies
Wilts Friendly Society Membership 1827-1871
Miscellaneous Clubs
Colony Club Whist Drive 1940 Visitors Club Meeting 1940
Toc H
Workingmen’s Club
Celebrations
Anniversaries
Alfred William Amor 1939
Census Returns
Deaths
Elections, Polls and Voters Lists
Local Council Elections
County Council Election Notice 1925
Members of Parliament
Walter Long Talks Schedule 1890
MP Nominations
Polls
Poll of Freeholders 1772 Poll Book 1818
Voters Lists
Voters List 1832 Poll Book 1865
Entertainment
Hunt Ball 1929 Whist Drive 1940
Family Notices
Funeral Reports
Obituaries
Rev. Edward Seymour Awdry 1936 Mary Ann Ansell (Nee Bird) – 1927
Parish Notables
Zoe Wanamaker – Actress
Personal Research Items
Family Research
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.
Help Required
Childrens Tea Party c1912-1914
Sport
Cricket
Pewsey v Tidworth 1847 Melksham v Pewsey Vale 1874
Wedding Reports
Poor Law, Charity and the Workhouse
Charity
Weekly Donations to Savernake Hospital
Poor Law Union
Supplies and Tenders
Pewsey Union Supplies Tender Notice 1846 Pewsey Union Supplies Tender 1890
Workhouse
Workhouse Crime
Workhouse Inmates
Adult Paupers in Union Workhouse for 5 Years Consecutive 1861
Workhouse Staff
Union Workhouse Chaplain to Resign 1838
Probate
Estate & Probate Notices
Robert Highlett 1872 Eliza Louise Plank (Ward) 1871
Wills
Wiltshire Wills Index 1545-1881
Parishioners Wills
War, Conflict and Military Matters
War Memorials & Military Gallery
Boer War
Casualty – James Bandy 1872-1900
Manoeuvres
Service Men and Women
Chelsea Pensioners 1808-1828 Servicemen & Families with the 1st Wilts. Regt. in South Africa 1911
WWI
Military Service Exemption Tribunals 1914-1918 WWI Volunteers of St. John’s Parish
British Red Cross/VAD Volunteers
Hospitals
V.A.D. & Red Cross Hospitals 1914-1918
Volunteers
Casualties
Frederick William Doggett 1917 Jacob Edward Pleydell-Bouverie 1914
War Memorials and Books of Remembrance
Roll of Honour Plaque 1914-1918 War Memorial Diocese of Salisbury Memorial Book 1914-1918 Calne & District Casualty Lists 1914-1918
