Broad Chalke
Encyclopedia
Broad Chalke, sometimes spelled Broadchalke (including by Wiltshire Council
), Broad Chalk or Broadchalk, is a village and civil parish
in Wiltshire
, England
, about 8 miles west of the city of Salisbury
. The 2001 Census
recorded a parish population of 652 but this has now risen to around 850. This civil parish includes the neighbourhoods Knapp, Mount Sorrel, Knighton and Stoke Farthing.
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
and is half way along the 13 miles (20.9 km) Chalke Valley. The parish has two chalk stream
s, as the River Chalke
flows into the River Ebble
at Mount Sorrell in the parish, and the main settlement stands on the banks of the Ebble.
At the heart of the village is the Church of England
's All Saints' Church, dating from the 13th century. Following a major restoration project leading up to the millennium year, 2000, it boasts a peal of eight bells.
The village has been home to several notable people, including Sir Anthony Eden
(Prime Minister). Sir Cecil Beaton
the photographer lived at Reddish House
, as did Dr. Lucius Wood, father of the painter Christopher Wood
. Later Reddish House was owned by musicians Toyah Wilcox and Robert Fripp
. The village is also home to the author James Holland, his brother Tom Holland
, noted musician, bell ringer, undertaker, conductor and cake baker Sir Dennis Chalk and Sir Terry Pratchett
.
John Aubrey
(1626–1697) and Maurice Henry Hewlett
(1861–1923), both authors, lived in Broad Chalke. Reverend Professor Rowland Williams (1817–1870), a theologian whose essays and sermons caused him to be charged with heterodoxy
, was later vicar of Broad Chalke and is buried there, as is Cecil Beaton.
The Gurston Down hill-climb course is within the parish of Broad Chalke and attracts many hundreds of visitors every year.
The local pub is the Queen's Head which enjoys a prime position in North Street adjacent to the Chapel.
J E Fry & Son, the village shop
and Post Office
is in South Street and has traded as family butchers under the Fry family for almost 100 years. Since the closure of the old village shop and Post Office around Christmas 1992 the butchers began to sell groceries and everyday items and also incorporated the village Post Office which opened within the butchers on 15 June 1993. The shop was featured on BBC South Today as one of the most unusual locations for a Post Office in the region, and the current butcher Robert Fry was the subject of ITV
's Country Ways programme some years ago.
of 826 records the name of the area including Bowerchalke and Broadchalke as Cealcan gemere.
an estate called Chalke which included land in Broad Chalke and Bowerchalke. The charter records the village name as aet Ceolcan.
A charter in 974 records the name as Cheolca or Cheolcam.
in 1086 divided the Chalke Valley into eight manors, Chelke or Chelce or Celce (Bowerchalke
and Broad Chalke), Eblesborne (Ebbesbourne Wake
), Fifehide (Fifield), Cumbe (Coombe Bissett
), Humitone (Homington), Odestoche (Odstock
), Stradford (Stratford Tony
and Bishopstone
) and Trow (circa Alvediston
and Tollard Royal
).
, Fifield Bavant
, Semley
, Tollard Royal
and 'Chalke'.
A charter of 1165 records the village name as Chalca, and the Pipe Rolls
in 1174 record it as Chalche.
The Curia Regis Rolls of 1207 records the village name as ChelkFeet of Fines, and another of 1242 records it as Chalke. The name Burchelke (Bowerchalke
) first appeared in 1225.
Brode Chalk was first mentioned in 1380.
granted Chalke to Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
. In 1560 Queen Elizabeth I granted Reddish House
and farm to William Reddiche who already owned several properties in the village as a 'Free tenant
' of the Earl of Pembroke
in Wilton.
The wills of William King (1545) and John Penny (1555) record the village name as Brood Chalke, whilst the Earl of Pembroke surveys of 1567 and 1590 list it as Brodechalke and Broadchalke.
Meeting House
Certificates used Broadcholk (They were Dissenters after all).
By 1608 the Pembroke estate had also acquired the manors of Knighton and Stoke Farthing.
of Broad Chalk and Bowerchalke in 1880.
The spelling of Broad Chalke continued to vary, in 1804 the will of Josiah Gould spelled it as Broad Chalke, whilst the 1830 will of Colt Hoare used Broad Chalk.
The spelling of Broad Chalke continued to vary, the Ordnance Survey
maps and village road signs spelled it as Broad Chalke, whilst the Electoral Register
used Broadchalke.
unitary authority
, which is responsible for all significant local government
functions.
Wiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council is the unitary authority for most of the county of Wiltshire, in the West of England, the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council and to four districts—Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, and West Wiltshire—all of which had been created in 1973 and were...
), Broad Chalk or Broadchalk, is a village and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, about 8 miles west of the city of Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
. The 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
recorded a parish population of 652 but this has now risen to around 850. This civil parish includes the neighbourhoods Knapp, Mount Sorrel, Knighton and Stoke Farthing.
Description
Broad Chalke is in the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire DownsCranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs
The Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers of Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. It is the sixth largest AONB in the country....
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
and is half way along the 13 miles (20.9 km) Chalke Valley. The parish has two chalk stream
Chalk stream
Chalk streams have characteristics which set them apart from watercourses associated with other rock types.Aside from those with an interest in the geological and ecological disciplines, the term chalk stream is most widely used among a small group of fly fishermen ,...
s, as the River Chalke
River Chalke
The River Chalke is a small river within the English county of Wiltshire, the most significant tributary of the River Ebble.The river rises at Bowerchalke and flows through the Chalke Valley to join the Ebble at Mount Sorrel in Broad Chalke...
flows into the River Ebble
River Ebble
The River Ebble is one the five rivers of the English city of Salisbury.Rising at Alvediston 12 miles to the west it joins the River Avon 2 miles south of Salisbury at Bodenham , after flowing through Ebbesbourne Wake, Fifield Bavant, Little London, Knapp, Mount Sorrel, Broad Chalke, Stoke...
at Mount Sorrell in the parish, and the main settlement stands on the banks of the Ebble.
At the heart of the village is the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
's All Saints' Church, dating from the 13th century. Following a major restoration project leading up to the millennium year, 2000, it boasts a peal of eight bells.
The village has been home to several notable people, including Sir Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
(Prime Minister). Sir Cecil Beaton
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, CBE was an English fashion and portrait photographer, diarist, painter, interior designer and an Academy Award-winning stage and costume designer for films and the theatre...
the photographer lived at Reddish House
Reddish House
Reddish House, also known as Reddish Manor in the village of Broad Chalke in Wiltshire, England is an early 18th century manor house possibly built in its current form for Jeremiah Cray, a clothier...
, as did Dr. Lucius Wood, father of the painter Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood (English painter)
John Christopher Wood , often called Kit Wood, was an English painter born in Knowsley, near Liverpool.-Biography:-Early life:Christopher Wood was born in Knowsley to Doctor Lucius and Clare Wood...
. Later Reddish House was owned by musicians Toyah Wilcox and Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
. The village is also home to the author James Holland, his brother Tom Holland
Tom Holland
Tom Holland may refer to:*Tom Holland , American film director*Tom Holland , British author*Tom Holland , British actor*Tom Holland , English footballer...
, noted musician, bell ringer, undertaker, conductor and cake baker Sir Dennis Chalk and Sir Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
.
John Aubrey
John Aubrey
John Aubrey FRS, was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the collection of short biographical pieces usually referred to as Brief Lives...
(1626–1697) and Maurice Henry Hewlett
Maurice Hewlett
Maurice Henry Hewlett , was an English historical novelist, poet and essayist. He was born at Weybridge, the eldest son of Henry Gay Hewlett, of Shaw Hall, Addington, Kent. He was educated at the London International College, Spring Grove, Isleworth, and was called to the bar in 1891. He gave up...
(1861–1923), both authors, lived in Broad Chalke. Reverend Professor Rowland Williams (1817–1870), a theologian whose essays and sermons caused him to be charged with heterodoxy
Heterodoxy
Heterodoxy is generally defined as "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position". As an adjective, heterodox is commonly used to describe a subject as "characterized by departure from accepted beliefs or standards"...
, was later vicar of Broad Chalke and is buried there, as is Cecil Beaton.
The Gurston Down hill-climb course is within the parish of Broad Chalke and attracts many hundreds of visitors every year.
The local pub is the Queen's Head which enjoys a prime position in North Street adjacent to the Chapel.
J E Fry & Son, the village shop
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
and Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
is in South Street and has traded as family butchers under the Fry family for almost 100 years. Since the closure of the old village shop and Post Office around Christmas 1992 the butchers began to sell groceries and everyday items and also incorporated the village Post Office which opened within the butchers on 15 June 1993. The shop was featured on BBC South Today as one of the most unusual locations for a Post Office in the region, and the current butcher Robert Fry was the subject of ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's Country Ways programme some years ago.
Origins
It is not known when Broad Chalke was first inhabited or what it was called but fragmentary records from Saxon times indicate that the whole Chalke Valley area was thriving.9th century
An Anglo-Saxon charterAnglo-Saxon Charters
Anglo-Saxon charters are documents from the early medieval period in Britain which typically make a grant of land or record a privilege. The earliest surviving charters were drawn up in the 670s; the oldest surviving charters granted land to the Church, but from the eighth century surviving...
of 826 records the name of the area including Bowerchalke and Broadchalke as Cealcan gemere.
10th century
In 955 the Anglo-Saxon King Eadwig granted the nuns of Wilton AbbeyWilton Abbey
Wilton Abbey was a Benedictine convent in Wiltshire, England, three miles from Salisbury on the site now occupied by Wilton House. A first foundation was made as a college of secular priests by Wulfstan, Ealdorman of Wiltshire, about 773, but after his death was changed into a convent for twelve...
an estate called Chalke which included land in Broad Chalke and Bowerchalke. The charter records the village name as aet Ceolcan.
A charter in 974 records the name as Cheolca or Cheolcam.
11th century
The Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
in 1086 divided the Chalke Valley into eight manors, Chelke or Chelce or Celce (Bowerchalke
Bowerchalke
Bowerchalke or Bower Chalke is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southwest of Salisbury. It is in the south of Wiltshire, about from the county boundary with Dorset and from that with Hampshire. It is in the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding...
and Broad Chalke), Eblesborne (Ebbesbourne Wake
Ebbesbourne Wake
Ebbesbourne Wake is a civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about twelve miles south-west of Salisbury.-Village life:Village life today, for the population of 226, centres around the unassuming Horseshoe Inn in...
), Fifehide (Fifield), Cumbe (Coombe Bissett
Coombe Bissett
Coombe Bissett is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire, at . It is one of the villages in the River Ebble valley.-Description:...
), Humitone (Homington), Odestoche (Odstock
Odstock
Odstock is a village and civil parish about south of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England.In the woods about Odstock are earthworks. The meaning of the name is probably "Odo's stockade".Odstock's parish population was 118 in 1801, 158 in 1901 and 535 in 1971...
), Stradford (Stratford Tony
Stratford Tony
Stratford Tony, also spelt Stratford Toney, formerly known as Stratford St Anthony and Toney Stratford, is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England...
and Bishopstone
Bishopstone, Salisbury
Bishopstone is a civil parish in Wiltshire, England, one of the villages in the River Ebble valley. It is located about south-west of Salisbury. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 614....
) and Trow (circa Alvediston
Alvediston
Alvediston is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 91 . It is about eight miles east of Shaftesbury, at , and is the source of the River Ebble....
and Tollard Royal
Tollard Royal
Tollard Royal is a village and civil parish on Cranborne Chase, Wiltshire, England. The parish is on Wiltshire's southern boundary with Dorset and the village is southeast of the Dorset town of Shaftesbury....
).
12th century
In the 12th century the area was known primarily as the Stowford Hundred then subsequently as the Chalke Hundred. This included the parishes of Berwick St John, Ebbesbourne WakeEbbesbourne Wake
Ebbesbourne Wake is a civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about twelve miles south-west of Salisbury.-Village life:Village life today, for the population of 226, centres around the unassuming Horseshoe Inn in...
, Fifield Bavant
Fifield Bavant
Fifield Bavant /'fʌɪfiːld 'bavənt/ is a very small village and former civil parish in Wiltshire, England, seven miles south west of Wilton, midway between Ebbesbourne Wake and Broad Chalke....
, Semley
Semley
Semley is a village in Sedgehill and Semley civil parish in Wiltshire. The village is about north-east of Shaftesbury in neighbouring Dorset.-Manor:...
, Tollard Royal
Tollard Royal
Tollard Royal is a village and civil parish on Cranborne Chase, Wiltshire, England. The parish is on Wiltshire's southern boundary with Dorset and the village is southeast of the Dorset town of Shaftesbury....
and 'Chalke'.
A charter of 1165 records the village name as Chalca, and the Pipe Rolls
Pipe Rolls
The Pipe rolls, sometimes called the Great rolls, are a collection of financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, or Treasury. The earliest date from the 12th century, and the series extends, mostly complete, from then until 1833. They form the oldest continuous series of records kept by...
in 1174 record it as Chalche.
13th century
All Saints' Church was built during the 13th century.The Curia Regis Rolls of 1207 records the village name as ChelkFeet of Fines, and another of 1242 records it as Chalke. The name Burchelke (Bowerchalke
Bowerchalke
Bowerchalke or Bower Chalke is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southwest of Salisbury. It is in the south of Wiltshire, about from the county boundary with Dorset and from that with Hampshire. It is in the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding...
) first appeared in 1225.
14th century
A Saxon charter of 1304 records the village name as Cheolc and Cheolcan. The Feudal Aids of 1316 uses Chawke, whilst a Saxon Cartulary of 1321 uses Cealce. the Tax lists of 1327, 1332 and 1377 variously record the name as Chalk Magna and Chalke Magna.Brode Chalk was first mentioned in 1380.
16th century
Circa 1536 Henry VIIIHenry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
granted Chalke to Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
. In 1560 Queen Elizabeth I granted Reddish House
Reddish House
Reddish House, also known as Reddish Manor in the village of Broad Chalke in Wiltshire, England is an early 18th century manor house possibly built in its current form for Jeremiah Cray, a clothier...
and farm to William Reddiche who already owned several properties in the village as a 'Free tenant
Free tenant
Free Tenants, also known as Free Peasants, were peasants in Medieval England who occupied a unique place in the Medieval hierarchy. They were characterised by the low rents they paid to their Manorial Lord as well as being subject to fewer laws and ties than villeins.-Definition:One of the major...
' of the Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title created ten times, all in the Peerage of England. It was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, which is the site of Earldom's original seat Pembroke Castle...
in Wilton.
The wills of William King (1545) and John Penny (1555) record the village name as Brood Chalke, whilst the Earl of Pembroke surveys of 1567 and 1590 list it as Brodechalke and Broadchalke.
17th century
In 1605 the will of Michael Angod spelled the village name as Broadchalk. By 1631 the Earl of Pembroke's survey used the modern form of Broad Chalke, as did the will of John Farrent in 1699. However the 1671 DissentersEnglish Dissenters
English Dissenters were Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.They originally agitated for a wide reaching Protestant Reformation of the Established Church, and triumphed briefly under Oliver Cromwell....
Meeting House
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
Certificates used Broadcholk (They were Dissenters after all).
By 1608 the Pembroke estate had also acquired the manors of Knighton and Stoke Farthing.
18th century
The spelling of Broad Chalke continued to vary, in 1778 the will of Elizabeth Fifield spelled it as Broadchalk, whilst the 1784 will of Richard Follit used Broad Chalk.19th century
Chalke was a comparatively large, disconnected estate that was divided into the two ecclesiastical parishesParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Broad Chalk and Bowerchalke in 1880.
The spelling of Broad Chalke continued to vary, in 1804 the will of Josiah Gould spelled it as Broad Chalke, whilst the 1830 will of Colt Hoare used Broad Chalk.
20th century
In 1919 the Pembroke family started to sell the individual farms.The spelling of Broad Chalke continued to vary, the Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
maps and village road signs spelled it as Broad Chalke, whilst the Electoral Register
Electoral register
The electoral roll is a listing of all those registered to vote in a particular area. The register facilitates the process of voting, helps to prevent fraud and may also be used to select people for jury duty...
used Broadchalke.
Local government
The parish has an elected parish council and is in the area of the Wiltshire CouncilWiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council is the unitary authority for most of the county of Wiltshire, in the West of England, the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council and to four districts—Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, and West Wiltshire—all of which had been created in 1973 and were...
unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
, which is responsible for all significant local government
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
functions.
Notable people
- John AubreyJohn AubreyJohn Aubrey FRS, was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the collection of short biographical pieces usually referred to as Brief Lives...
- Sir Cecil Beaton
- Sir Anthony Eden
- Robert FrippRobert FrippRobert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
- Maurice HewlettMaurice HewlettMaurice Henry Hewlett , was an English historical novelist, poet and essayist. He was born at Weybridge, the eldest son of Henry Gay Hewlett, of Shaw Hall, Addington, Kent. He was educated at the London International College, Spring Grove, Isleworth, and was called to the bar in 1891. He gave up...
- Tom Holland (author)Tom Holland (author)-Biography:Holland was born near Oxford and brought up in the village of Broadchalke near Salisbury, England. His younger brother is the historian and novelist James Holland...
- Sir Terry Pratchett
- Toyah WillcoxToyah WillcoxToyah Ann Willcox is an English actress and singer. In a career spanning more than thirty years Toyah has had 13 top 40 singles, released 22 studio albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays and ten feature films, as well as voicing and presenting numerous television shows...
- Reverend Professor Rowland Williams
- Christopher Wood (English painter)Christopher Wood (English painter)John Christopher Wood , often called Kit Wood, was an English painter born in Knowsley, near Liverpool.-Biography:-Early life:Christopher Wood was born in Knowsley to Doctor Lucius and Clare Wood...
External links
- Wiltshire County Council's page on Broad Chalke
- General information, News, Events, Clubs, Sport, History
- The Queen's Head village pub & restaurant website
- Gurston Down website
- Website of Chalke Valley Watercress
- Church in the Chalke Valley website
- FryFilm Productions, Broad Chalke's Video Production, kit & crew hire company