Chiseldon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chiseldon is a village in the borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom. Pop. c 3000.
The village lies on the edge of the Marlborough Downs, a mile south of junction 15 of the M4 motorway, on the A346 between Swindon and Marlborough. The hamlets of Draycot Foliat, Hodson and Badbury are nearby, and the village of Wroughton is around two miles to the west.
Chiseldon Primary School is located in the village and has some 300 Pupils, most of them from the village itself. The Holy Cross Church is also located in Chiseldon. The Church, built in the thirteenth century is currently run by the Reverend Roger Powell as are the Churches in Ogbourne St. George and Ogbourne St. Andrew. The village also has a surgery, as well as two Hotels, an ESSO Petrol Station, and various other businesses. The engineering consultancy firm Halcrow Group Ltd operates from Burderop Park, located in the parish.
There are two pubs in the village, The Elm Tree and The Patriot Arms. The Elm Tree Pub was originally a thatched beer house and was constructed in 1845. The pub was named after the elm tree that was located on the village green until the 1970's.
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[edit] History
Settlements in the area date back to prehistoric and Roman times, but Chiseldon itself was started by the Saxons. The village was included in the Domesday Book and was called Chiseldene at the time. At one point the nearby hamlet Draycot Foliat was bigger than Chiseldon. Chiseldon lies on one of the country's oldest highways, the Icknield Way, although this section of the road is more commonly known as The Ridgeway.
A Midland and South Western Junction Railway line was constructed in 1881 and ran through the centre of the village until 1961.
During World War II there was an American army camp near the village.
[edit] Religion
Most of the population are members of the Church of England although other denominations exist. The Parish Church has sizable regular attendance and many more attend on special occasions. The most notable of other Christian denominations present is Methodism, and there is a significant community of Methodists in the village. Some Villagers adhere to other major religions however the adherents are limited to a few families.
[edit] The Parish
The Parish of Chiseldon encompasses not only the village but also the neighboring hamlets of Badbury and Hodson.
[edit] Local businesses
Local businesses declined in the 20th century due to more people shopping in Swindon rather than in the village. Current local businesses include Chaplins (a small newsagents), a hairdressers and a small supermarket (that offers many commodities and is larger than Chaplins or any other store in Chiseldon). The store was an old army barracks later converted into a shop. Until recently it was a SPAR convenience store but was recently bought by new owners and is now known as 'Meadow Stores'. Previous local businesses included a chip shop, which was run by a coal miner, whose customers apparently used to find traces of coal in their chips.
