Mildenhall, Wiltshire

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Minal church as seen from the eastern end

Mildenhall, Wiltshire (known to local residents as Minal and not to be confused with Mildenhall, Suffolk) is a small village with a population of around 400, about 2 miles east from the town of Marlborough on the road to Ramsbury.

The site has been occupied since the Roman occupation of Britain, when the fortress-town of Cunetio stood at a crucial road junction on approximately the same site. No remains are standing. The name of the river Kennet which runs through the village is thought to have been derived from the Roman name, which is also used on the village's coat-of-arms. Cunetio was deserted as a Romano-British site in c.450. A charter drawn up in 803 (which can be found in W. de Gray Birch (ed.), Cartularium Saxonicum) refers to the settlement by name in its first recognisable modern form as Mildenhald. The village is again mentioned in Domesday Book in 1086 as Mildenhalle and the name has since undergone numerous subtle changes in spelling and pronunciation.

The village has one pub, The Horseshoe Inn, and until a few years ago also had a post office and shop. The village hall was constructed in 1988. The church of St John the Baptist (pictured, right) originates from before the Norman Conquest - some parts of the tower are undoubtedly Saxon in date - although the present building dates from the thirteenth century.

Minal holds a fete every year with few exceptions, usually in mid-September on the village playing field (weather-permitting), as well as a Guy Fawkes Bonfire Night and a Duck Race (involving plastic rather than real ducks). Minal also produces a monthly newsletter called The Parish Pump, now a joint publication with the nearby village of Axford.