The OPC is Karen Hooper
Contiguous Parishes (Our Neighbours)
Ansty – Chilmark – Donhead St. Andrew – East Knoyle – Fonthill Bishop – Fonthill Gifford – Sedgehill – Semley – Sutton Mandeville – Swallowcliffe – Teffont Evias
Websites of Interest
Wiltshire Footprints – Family and Parish History for Tisbury and Wardour. – Please note that this site is no longer updated by the owners.
Parish Church of St. John
St. John’s Gallery St. John Interior Gallery St. John Churchyard
Church Interior
Memorial Plaques and Tablets
The Arundell Helm Augusta E. Howell 1928 Tablet
Church Officials
Grants to Retiring Aged Parish Clerks 1864
Church Services
Church Supported Charities
Salisbury Infirmary Diocese of Salisbury Parish Donations 1858
Churchyard
In the churchyard you can see the grave of John Lockwood and Alice Kipling, parents of author Rudyard Kipling.
Parish Registers
Interesting Entries in the Parish Registers
Parish Registers held at WSHC
Baptisms 1563-1967
Marriages 1563-1991
Burials 1563-1939
Parish History
Tisbury is a picturesque village in Southwest Wiltshire, situated near the Wiltshire – Dorset Border. It lies in a triangle between the A303, the A30 and the A350 and although it is a large village with shops, there is no main road into the village. The buildings of Tisbury are a mixture of thatched, local stone and brick, a mixture of modern and old.
Its nearest city is Salisbury, the nearest towns are Shaftesbury & Gillingham, Dorset and Warminster in Wiltshire. It lies in the middle of countryside designated as an area of outstanding beauty (AONB). The River Nadder meanders through Tisbury and is joined by the River Sem at Wardour and Fonthill Brook & Oddford Brook in Tisbury. Tisbury Station lies on the main Exeter to London Railway line; it is one of the few local stations that Beeching didn’t remove! This has led to a steady growth of population as Tisbury has become a very popular place to live.
The hamlets of Wardour and Chicksgrove lie either side of Tisbury along the River Nadder. Wardour has the famous Wardour Castles (new & old) and a primary school, whilst Chicksgrove still has a Manor House and a functioning Stone Quarry dating from Roman times.
Tisbury is one of Wiltshires’ oldest towns with many interesting features, not the least of which is the Tithe Barn. The town once a hive of activity is much sleepier but retains its rail links o London and has a good range of retail outlets.
Civil Registration
July 1837-April 1936 – Tisbury Registration District
Apr 1936-Jan 1978 – Mere Registration District
January 1978-Present – Salisbury Registration District
Buildings and Land
Agricultural
Cattle Plague Regulations 1837
Alms Houses
There is a group of almshouses in the town, builtin 1887. The buildings carry a stern message. “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”
Brewery
The old brewery forms a noticeable landmark at the bottom of the main street helping to show the importance of the town in earlier years.
Buildings of Interest
PytHouse
Letter from Charles I to Prince Rupert Found 1877 For Sale 2024
Tithe Barn
This is the largest tithe barn in England and was built of stone in the 15th century. It forms part of a grange belonging to a nunnery in Shaftesbury (Dorset).
Landowners
Pubic Houses
Bennett Arms, High Street
Built in the 1890s by Becketts Brewery.
Boot Inn, High Street
This is a 17th century establishment with a village ambience to it. It has been much extended in the late 1990s but retains its old world style. In 1927 the thatched roof was destroyed by fire. The landlord at the millennium (2000) had been the licensee for 20 years.
Cross Inn, High Street
This is a 17th century former cider house. It was granted an ale license in 1948.
Crown, Church Street
This is a former 17th century coaching inn. Refurbished and changed layout occurred in around 2000. It retains its featured ceiling bells once played by a very colourful character who frequented the pub. During the 1980s it was the hub of the village hosting many local entertainers including recitals, mime acts and squeeze box playing.
South Western Hotel, Station Road
A large Victorian public House opposite the Railway Station. It acts as the brewery tap for the Tisbury Brewery which is just across the river.
Railways
Southern Railways Excursion Advert to Weymouth c1963
Taxes
Crime and Legal Matters
Animal Related Crime
Bastardy
Bastardy Examinations 1850-1860
Business Crime
Shopkeepers Use Unjust Weights 1867
Child Related Crime
Gipsies and Their Children 1901
Court Cases
Ansty Farmer Makes Three Claims 1922
Crime Reports
Swing Riots of 1830-1831
Rioters
Theft
Charge of Stealing a Watch & Chain at Fonthill 1884 Theft from a Till 1894
Vehicle and Transport Crime
Driving Prosecution Dismissed 1932
Directories
Education
British School Annual Meeting 1872 Diocesan Board of Education Meeting 1874 School Treat 1885
Emigration and Migration
Strays Index Emigration Home Contact Requested 1800 – Present
Employment and Business
Agriculture
Gamekeeping
Game Notice 1805 Gamekeepers Certificates 1807 Gamekeepers Licenses 1834
Thatching
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
John Andrews 1742 Samuel Bracher 1759 Jacob Targitt 1724 William Wheble 1730
Wiltshire Society Apprentices
| Elizabeth Gillingham 1835 (Unelected) | Thomas Gillingham 1838 | Joseph King 1871 | Reuben Turner 1843 |
| Charles Wilkins 1835 | Henry Charles Wilkins 1862 |
Brewing
Tisbury Brewery
Communications
British Postal Service Appointments 1737-1969
Community Services
Police
Metropolitan Police Pensions Records
General Items
Employment & Business News 1850-1899
Medical
General Medical Council Registrations 1859-1959
Situations Vacant
Miscellaneous Documents
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
Congregational Chapel
Independent Chapel
Roman Catholicism
See also Tisbury, Wardour Section Below
Papist Oath of Allegiance 1792 Broughton Catholic Charitable Society Members 1844
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs, Organisations & Societies
Agricultural Societies
Wiltshire Agricultural Society Annual Meeting 1848
Benefit & Friendly Societies
Miscellaneous Friendly Societies
Victoria Friendly Society Anniversary Meeting 1888
Wiltshire Friendly/Wilts Working Men’s Benefit Society
Wiltshire Friendly Society Membership 1827-1871 Wilts Conservative Benefit Society Club Festival & Fete 1912
Census Returns Transcripts
Elections, Polls and Voting Lists
Poll of Freeholders 1772 Poll Book 1818 Voters List 1832 MP Nominations 2015
Entertainment
Family Notices
Funeral Reports
Walter Burt 1937 William George Viney 1937
General Items
Letter of Insurtance – F. Parsons 1938
Inquest Reports
Ernest Silas Brain 1941 Sylvia Macey 1947
Obituaries
Parish Notables
Sir Christopher Hinton, Nuclear Power Engineer
Sport
Cricket
Football
Tisbury Football Club Dance 1951
Poor Law, Charity and the Workhouse
Workhouse Crime 1835-1850 Adults in the Workhouse for 5 Years Continuously 1861 Wrong Man 1901
Probate
Inquisitions Post Mortem of Lands Held
Philip Tyce 1633 Thomas Bennett 1635 Christopher Bennett 1638
Parishioners Wills
Thomas Bennet Written 1591 Ann Fricker Proved 1751 James Gray Proved 1830 Mary Odbar Proved 1718
War, Conflict and Military Matters
War Memorials & Military Gallery
Boer War
Reservists Leave for the Front 1899 Wiltshire Yeomanry – Volunteers for Active Service 1899
General Military Items
Wiltshire Regiment
Servicemen & Families with the 1st Wilts. Regt. in South Africa 1911
War Memorials and Books of Remembrance
Diocese of Salisbury Memorial Book 1914-1918
WWI
British Red Cross/VAD Detachment
V.A.D. & Red Cross Hospitals 1914-1918 V.A.D. Members at the Vicarage 1914-1918 Local Nurses and War Work 1919
Volunteers
WWI Casualties
Leonard Frederick Samuel Chivers 1917 Davis Stanley Macey 1915 Henry George Penny 1915
Wiltshire Regiment in WWI
WWII
The Fighting Sullivans 1942 Home Guards 1940-1944
Chicksgrove
History of the Hamlet
Passed to the parish of Sutton Mandeville in 1986
Buildings and Land
Public Houses
Compasses, off the A30
14th century thatched cottage pub. Situated on an old smugglers track.
Crime and Legal Matters
Crime Reports
Employment and Business
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.
John Gray 1725 William Jenkins 1729
People and Parish Notables
Elections, Polls & Voters Lists
Poll of Freeholders 1772 Poll Book 1818
Family Notices
Miscellaneous News
Taxes
Probate
Sale of Mr. Macey’s Dairy Stock 1830
War, Conflict and Military Matters
WWI
Casualties
East Tisbury
Crime and Legal Matters
Crime Reports 1800-1899 Bastardy Examinsations 1850-1860
Employment and Business
Community Services
Police
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
Roman Catholicism
Broughton Catholic Charitable Society Members 1844
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs. Organisations and Societies
Wiltshire Friendly Society Membership 1827-1871
Elections, Polls and Voters Lists
Inquest Reports
Staple
People & Parish Notables
Elections, Polls and Voters Lists
Wardour
Buildings and Land
Appointment of Select Commissioners for Land and Assessed Taxes 1842 Owners of Land 1873
New Wardour Castle
Timeline – Visitors and Residents 1750 – Present
Old Wardour Castle
Crime and Legal Matters
Animal Related Crime
Alleged Misrepresentation 1895
Bastardy
Bastardy Examinations 1852-1854
Employment and Business
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
Roman Catholicism
Papist Oath of Allegiance 1792
Catholic Groups
Broughton Catholic Charitable Society Members 1844 Catholic Womens League Rally 1935
Wardour Cemetery
Church History
Consecration of the Catholic Church 1934
Church Register Transcripts
Baptisms
1700-1799 (with Gaps)
Marriages
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Foresters
Foresters Fete 1861 Foresters Supper 1888
Friendly Society
Wiltshire Friendly Society Membership 1827-1871
Oddfellows
Oddfellows Fete 1888 Oddfellows Dinner 1899 Oddfellows Fete 1914
Elections, Polls and Voters Lists
Poll Books
Voters Lists
Family Notices
Funeral Reports
Inquest Reports
Sport
Coursing & Hunting
West Hatch
Buildings and Land
Pyt House
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
Roman Catholicism
Papist Oath of Allegiance 1792 Broughton Catholic Charitable Society Members 1844
People and Parish Notables
Inquest Reports
West Tisbury
Crime and Legal Matters
Bastardy
Bastardy Examinations 1850-1860
Poaching
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Wiltshire Friendly Society Membership 1827-1871
Elections, Polls and Voters Lists
Poll Book 1865 Voters List 1925
