OPC Vacancy
Contiguous Parishes (our neighbours)
Brinkworth – Broad Town – Cliffe Pypard – Lydiard Tregoze – Tockenham
Websites
Wootton Bassett Community History – Historical information from Wiltshire County Council.
Royal Wootton Bassett – Information from the Town Council including cemetery records search,
Royal Wootton Bassett Historical Society
The Parish Church of St. Bartholomew and All Saints
St. Bartholomew’s Gallery St. Bartholomew’s Interior Gallery St. Bartholomew’s Churchyard Gallery
St. Bartholomew and All Saints is the Anglican (Church of England) Parish church of Royal Wootton Bassett. The Church is overseen by the Vicar and Rural Dean of Calne, The Reverend Canon Thomas Woodhouse. The Parish Church Clerk is Mrs Lesley Jones. The Parish Office is located in the Church Croft and is usually open for enquiries from Tuesday to Friday 9.30 am to 12.30 pm. There is a history of the Church on the Church Website. The careers of Clergy in the Parish from 1540 to 1835 may be researched on the Clergy of the Church of England Database. For Wootton Bassett the jurisdiction Diocese is Salisbury.
Church Building
Proposed Furbishment Tender 1838
Church Supported Charities
Salisbury Infirmary Diocese of Salisbury Parish Donations 1858
Churchyard
St. Bartholomew’s Churchyard Memorial Inscriptions
Parish Register Transcripts
Baptisms
Marriages
Marriages are published with gaps and some in fills from BTs
Burials
Parish Registers held at WSHC
Baptisms 1595-1985
Marriages 1584-1989
Burials 1584-1914
Parish History
There is a comprehensive history of the Parish on British History Online. According to the National Gazetteer (1868) the parish includes the village of Barkenham in the Wiltshire County jurisdiction – this village no longer exists.
Civil Registration
1837 – April 1936 : Cricklade Registration District
April 1936 – Present : Swindon Registration District
Royal Status
On 16th October 2011 Wootton Bassett was awarded the honour of being called Royal Wootton Bassett by the award of the Letters Patent on behalf of the Queen, in recognition of its dedication, loyalty and respect to those in the armed forces that passed through the town. During the ceremony Her Royal Highness Princess Anne said, “I am privileged to be allowed to add my thanks to those of Her Majesty the Queen and the whole country for the example you set in respecting with dignity the losses that this country’s operational responsibilities have forced upon us.”
Newspapers
If you wish to research the Wootton Bassett area the newspaper archives list may be of use, most, if not all of which are available on microfiche in Swindon Library or the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre at Chippenham.
Maps
Various maps are available to view at Swindon Library or the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre at Chippenham. These include Andrews and Drury map 1773 and Andrews and Drury Map 1810. Others held are 1885, scale 1:2500; 1887-1889, scale 1:10560; 1900, scale 1:2500; 1901, scale 1:10560; 1919, 1:50000, Ordnance Survey Popular Edition 173 – Swindon and Devizes; 1923, scale 1:2500; 1925, scale 1:10560; 1936, scale 1:2500 and 1938, scale 1:10560 (One inch to one mile is equivalent to scale 1:63360)
Ordnance Survey Map 1816 Ordnance Surveyor’s Drawings 1818 Ordnance Surveyor’s Drawing North Wilts 1826
Buildings and Land
Agriculture
Cattle Plague Regulations 1867
Canal
Notice of Intended Construction of the Wilts & Berks Canal 1793
Cemetery
Burial and Burial Plot records at Royal Wootton Bassett Cemetery have been scanned and are available to view on the Town Council Website. These date from the foundation of the Cemetery in 1871.
Cemetery Memorial Inscriptions
General Items
Some owners or tenants of houses which had a fireplace inside for cooking use were often referred to as pot-wallopers. These were seen to be a little more wealthy and were therefore given the right to vote.
There was once a Workmen’s Reading and Rest Room in Wood Street, possibly at the old cobbler’s shop (now an Osteopath)
James Clark, Fire Certificate 1855 White Horses of Wiltshire 1930
Landowners
Leaseholders
Henry & Robert Millard – Lease for a year 1816
Property Sales
Dwelling House, Shop & Premises Sale 1847 Sale by Auction of Buildings and Land 1902
Public Houses
Royal Oak
Royal Oak Inn Advertisement 1838
Railway
In 1850, an excursion train collided with a horsebox at Wootton Bassett. Following this accident, trap points and scotch blocks were provided at all sidings leading onto running lines.
Horse on Railway Line Caused Accident 1846 Stoker Injured at Railway Station 1846
Town Hall
Built at the end of the 17th Century, it owes its existence to the political ambitions of the Hyde family (the Earls of Clarendon) who presented the building to the town, and also had the market charter renewed.
Crime and Legal Matters
Assault
Charges of Assault, Drunk & Disorderly 1872 Clergyman Charged with Assault 1875
Bastardy Examinations
Bastardy Examinations 1867 Jane Haddrell v William Cook 1855 Mary Clifford v John Henley 1867 Elizabeth Cole v Henry Page 1877
Crime Reports
1700-1799 1800-1849 1850-1899 Police Court Notices 1850-1899
Murder
Elizabeth Butcher, Charge of Child Murder 1846 Murder Trial of William Hillier 1878
Prisons and Prisoners
Inmates of Gloucester Gaol 1815-1879
Theft
Horse Stealing 1847 George Ash Stole from Sidney Watts 1870
Vandalism
Throwing Trees, Waldron vs Twine 1878
Directories
Kellys 1889 Kellys (Extended) 1915 Swindon & District 1928 Taylors Telephone 1941
Education
Education News 1850-1899 Area School Sports Winners c1935
The first school in Wootton Bassett is thought to have been run by a Mr. Dyer on top of the Market House from around 1750. This was closed about 1859.
The British School
In 1842 the Primitive Methodists formed a school next to their “Hillside Church” on School Hill. The first Head was Mr. Tuck. This school became the British School when the British and Foreign Society took it over in 1858. It then became non-denominational. This school expanded to the extent that by about 1950 classes were also being held in four chapels, a “Hut” and the club room of the Beaufort Arms. The problem was resolved when the students were split into three age groups. The Infants remained on the original site, the seniors moved to the new Modern School at Lime Kiln in 1958, and the juniors moved to Noremarsh in 1968.
The National School
In 1850 another small Church school was started in two cottages opposite the Primitive Methodist’s School in School Hill (Mount Pleasant). Boys were downstairs and girls upstairs. The first master was Henry Blanchett, son of the sub-agent of the Earl of Clarendon. The first mistress was probably Miss Sellwood, whose father owned the Curriers Arms. The cottages were sold, and in 1860 a new school built in Station Road, on land donated by Lord Clarendon. The new school, the National School, was opened in 1861. The school grew and eventually became overcrowded and classes were held in the Vicarage. In 1890 the collection of 1000 books which had been collected at the school were moved to the Town Library at Town Hall. As with the British School, the senior pupils moved out to the new Modern School in 1958. The National School closed in 1974 and the building is currently used as the Civic Offices.
Other Schools
Mrs. E. Drake had a private school around 1842 which lost pupils to other schools and was eventually forced to close.
Miss Woodward ran a Seminary for Young Ladies at Priory Cottage, Wood Street from about 1896 to unknown date.
Miss Wheeler ran a Young Ladies’ Seminary in the High Street until the 1930s.
Headmaster C. E. Ashfield, MA ran a Boys’ Preparatory School at ‘The Lodge’ in 1897.
Mr. J. T. Greatfield ran Collegiate House School, a boarding school for young gentlemen which also admitted girls.
Little Meads School was run at the Manor House, the first head being Captain Eric Fenn in 1924, the second Mr. J E Whittaker, the third Major Christian Weis Cranko, and the last another Cranko, when the school closed.
On the closure of the National School in Station Road in 1974 two new schools were opened to replace it – St Bartholomew’s and Longleaze.
Emigration and Migration
Published in tables from the Poor Law Commissioners Annual Reports for 1835, 1836 and 1847-1848 the following may be of use for tracing missing ancestors. 7 paupers emigrated to Canada under an assisted emigration programme in 1845.
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.
Wiltshire Society
Edward Frederick Blanchett 1834 Simeon Shelton 1846
Communications
British Postal Services Appointments 1737-1969
Community Services
Police
Medical
General Medical Council Registrations 1859-1959
Miscellaneous Documents
Parish Snippets 1739-1836 Joseph Little Ceramic Jug 1896
Wootton Bassett YMCA records are held at the Cadbury Research Library, Special Collections, University of Birmingham.
Non Conformity and Other Places of Worship
Primitive Methodism 1824 to Present
For in depth information the best source is the book, “Victory in the Villages”, written by Reverend W C Tonks in 1907. In 1824 the Primitive Methodist preacher Mr. S. Heath arrived on his ‘Wiltshire Mission’ from Shrewsbury and visited Brinkworth, “proverbial for its wickedness, ignorance, glaring vice and barbarous practices”. He then moved on to Wootton Bassett High Street. In 1827 the Mission was renamed the Brinkworth Circuit and the first three chapels were built in Broad Town, Bradenstoke and Brinkworth. Wootton Bassett meetings were at first held in a cottage licensed for Primitive Methodist worship and in the Long Room at the Royal Oak, until in 1831 two houses and a garden on School Hill (Mount Pleasant) were bought and converted into a chapel which was licensed in October 1831. The Methodist cause prospered and in 1838 a new and enlarged chapel was built on the same site. This is sometimes known as “Hillside Church” due to its location. In 1841 a gallery was added to accommodate more people and in 1842 a day school was built (taken over by the British Society in 1858). The congregation continued to grow. The Primitive Methodists were joined by the Wesleyan Methodists in the early 1960s. In 1964 the Wesleyan chapel was demolished and the two congregations worshipped together as Wootton Bassett Methodist Church in the Primitive Methodist chapel. There is no Cemetery and the site is occupied by shops, offices and ancillary accommodation.
Hillside Methodist Church Fellowship Meeting 1940 Hillside Methodist Women’s Bright Hour Meeting 1940
Wesleyan Church
The Wesleyan Methodists were holding services in Wootton Bassett by 1851 and built a chapel in the High Street on the corner of Coxstalls in 1855. Support dwindled and the chapel was eventually demolished in 1964. The congregation merged with that of the Primitive Methodists on School Hill. There is no Cemetery.
Parting Gifts for Methodist Minister 1941
The Baptist Church
The Baptists built Hope Church in 1896 opposite the present Infant School on School Hill. There was no resident minister and the chapel ceased to run services in 1939. The site is now easily spotted as the side garden of a residential property.
The Congregational Church/United Reform Church/Hepzibah
This church had its roots in the Independent Nonconformists who were active in Wootton Bassett from at least 1676. The first defined meeting place was a converted barn in Wood Street in 1797. A permanent meeting house, Hepzibah, was built in Wood Street in 1825. In 1972 the congregation linked with the local Presbyterians to form a United Reform Church. They continue to worship in the original building. There is no burial ground.
The Catholic Church
The local Catholic Church has its roots in the worthy old families of the area, some of which had their own priests. Catholicism remained very low key in the area until WWII when the Catholic congregation grew, partly due to the arrival of some Catholic evacuee children. A Chapel of Ease was formed in 1941 and the Church of the Sacred Heart was built in 1954.
The Bible Society
A non-denominational Bible Society formed in 1846 and met first in the Town Hall, then at the Royal Oak, them back at the Town Hall in 1906. It remained active until at least the 1970s.
People and Parish Notables
Associations, Clubs, Organisations and Societies
Agricultural Societies
Wiltshire Agricultural Show Prize Winners 1904
Friendly Societies
United Oddfellows & Foresters March 1874
Women’s Groups
Women’s Missionary Federation Meeting 1941
Census Returns
(Census’s 1861 & 1871 not transcribed as already free to view)
Elections and Polls
Poll Book 1705 Poll of Freeholders 1772 Poll Book 1818 Voters List 1832 Voters Lists Revisions 1843 MP Nominations 2015
Entertainment
Family Notices
1800-1849 1850-1899 1900-1949 1950-1999
General Items
Secrets of Farming Book Subscribers 1863 Almost Married 1921
Inquests
John Simpkins 1841 Thomas Newth 1866 Henry White 1868
Personal Research Items
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.
Sport
Pigeon Racing Annual Awards 1956
Taxes
Wedding Reports
Jesse Beech to Joyce Mead 1941 Elizabeth Pratt to Charles Tanner 1861
Poor Law, Charity and the Workhouse
The earliest known workhouse in Wootton Bassett was in Old Court. There were 12 inmates in 1793. At the time this was the poorest area of the town.
The Workhouse covering Wootton Bassett was the Cricklade and Wootton Bassett Union Workhouse built in 1836 in Purton. The Workhouse was managed by a Board of Guardians. They released regular reports which were generally published in the Swindon newspapers. The County Council took over the management of the Workhouse in 1929 and it closed in 1948.
Workhouse Crime 1835-1850 Public Assistance Administration 1948
Probate
Probate Index 1570-1881 Probate Duty of Sir Henry Meux 1885
Inquisitions Post Mortem
Parishioners Wills
War, Conflict and Military Matters
War Memorials & Military Gallery
General Military Items
Repatriations
Lyneham & Wootton Basset Repatriation Gallery
Before April 2007, the bodies of fallen servicemen were repatriated to the UK via RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. When renovations began at Brize Norton in April 2007 repatriations were moved to RAF Lyneham. The last to pass through Wootton Bassett was 24-year-old Lieutenant Daniel Clack of 1st Battalion The Rifles. From September 2011 repatriations returned to RAF Brize Norton. The departure from Wootton Bassett was marked by a quiet and dignified sunset ceremony; there had been 167 repatriations in all. The Roll of Honour below lists the repatriations which took place through Royal Wootton Bassett. Roll of Honour of Repatriations 2005-2011
Servicemen & Women
War Memorials
Royal Wootton Bassett War Memorial Poppy Tribute to WWI Fallen 2014
Wiltshire Regiments
Servicemen & Families with the 1st Wilts. Regt. in South Africa 1911
WWI
War Memorials & Books of Remembrance
Diocese of Salisbury Memorial Book 1914-1918
Wiltshire Regiment in WWI
WWII
Casualties
WWII Civilian Deaths 1939-1947 Church Roll of Honour 1939-1945
Biographies
Royal Engineers
Spitfire Fund
Lord Beaverbrook’s Thanks 1940
