Sherston is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 approximately 5 miles to the west of Malmesbury

Malmesbury

Malmesbury is a market town and civil parish located in the southern Cotswolds in the county of Wiltshire, England. Historically Malmesbury was a centre for learning and home to Malmesbury Abbey...

 in the English

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...

 county of 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...

. The population in 2001 was 1418 (source: Wiltshire County Council).

History

Ethelred, who was Ealdorman

Ealdorman

An ealdorman is the term used for a high-ranking royal official and prior magistrate of an Anglo-Saxon shire or group of shires from about the ninth century to the time of King Cnut...

 of Mercia

Mercia

Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...

, made the first mention of Sherston or Scorranstone. Evidence of Roman

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 activity has been found in the village in the form of ramparts and ditches in a field called Pennymead, which is now the recreation ground. Remains of a villa

Villa

A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...

, built around 350 AD, have also been discovered. The Fosseway, a major Roman road, is nearby.

In 1016, King Cnut came with his army and was met by the Saxons

Saxons

The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

. A battle took place over two days on the hills around Sherston. John Rattlebone of Sherston was the leader of the local militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

 and is now an emblem of Sherston and its community. His name is celebrated in a local pub, the Rattlebone Inn. In 1511, a fire destroyed most of Sherston.

The old part of the village is laid out around a broad High Street with a borough arrangement.Much of this lies within a conservation area. The newer parts of the village represent housing styles of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Every year on the Saturday closest to 14 July, a carnival

Carnival

Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...

 takes place. The main attraction is the boules

Boules

Boules is a collective name for games played with metal balls.Two of the most played boule games are pétanque and boule lyonnaise. The aim of the game is to get large, heavy balls as close to the 'jack' as you can. It is very popular especially in France, but also Italy, where it may often be seen...

 tournament and music evening, which features local bands.

Sherston has a football,a cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 team and Scout

Scout

A scout is a soldier performing reconnaissance and other support duties.Scout may also refer to:-Aircraft:* Scout , pre-1920s terminology for a single-seat fighter...

 Group. There are two pubs, the Rattlebone and the Carpenters Arms.

The village has a shop, and a post office. It has won 'Best Rural Retailer' award in the Best Shop/Post Office category for Wessex.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Sherston was the home of eccentric socialite Lady Edith Foxwell

Lady Edith Foxwell

Lady Edith Foxwell was a colorful eccentric known as "The Queen of London Cafe Society" in the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1981, she became an investor in London's famous Embassy Club, where celebrities mixed with the aristocracy....

, and her friend the soul singer Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye

Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....

 was a frequent visitor. Until his death in 2002, John Thaw

John Thaw

John Edward Thaw, CBE was an English actor, who appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles, his most popular being police and legal dramas such as Redcap, The Sweeney, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC.-Early life:Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Gorton,...

, the famous actor, lived nearby with his wife, the actress Sheila Hancock

Sheila Hancock

Sheila Cameron Hancock, CBE is an English actress and author.-Early life:Sheila Hancock was born in Blackgang on the Isle of Wight, the daughter of Ivy Louise and Enrico Cameron Hancock, who was a publican. Her sister Billie is seven years older...

.

Sherston has three churches: the Anglican Church of the Holy Cross, a Congregational Church and a Methodist church.

The village of Sherston is also well known for being the home of the Sherston Publishing Group (more commonly known as Sherston Software

Sherston Software

Sherston Software, also known as Sherston Publishing Group is a British software publisher, producing educational games. Set up by two teachers, Bill and Lou Bonham, in 1983, they started making their first games for the BBC Micro...

).

External links