Christian Malford
| Christian Malford | |
  Christian Malford Christian Malford shown within Wiltshire | |
| Population | 701 (In 2001)[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | ST9631278783 |
| Civil parish | Christian Malford |
| Unitary authority | Wiltshire |
| Ceremonial county | Wiltshire |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Chippenham |
| Postcode district | SN15 |
| Dialling code | 01249 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | North Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency) |
| Website | www.christianmalford.org.uk/ |
Christian Malford is a small village in the county of Wiltshire in England. The unusual name is evidently a corruption of Christ mal Ford, Old English moel, mal being a mark: "Christ’s mal" is Christ’s mark or sign, the cross. The name signified "Cross Ford". Deeds from Glastonbury Abbey cartulary relate to Christmalford Manor: in AD 940 King Edmund granted Christmalford to St. Dunstan, Abbot of Glastonbury.[2]
Christian Malford School recently celebrated its 150-year anniversary and the building of the school was closely linked with the building of the Great Western Railway. The village has no railway station, however people can travel by bus or car to nearby Chippenham for frequent services to London and the West Country.
The village is known to palaeontologists as a rediscovered Lagerstätte, a site of remarkably preserved fossils, in this case in the Middle Jurassic Oxford clay, in which a chance discovery in the 19th century uncovered thousands of exquisitely preserved ammonites, fish and crustaceans. The site, whose exact location had not been publicly disclosed, became most famous for squid-like cephalopods and belemnites, complete with their phosphatized soft parts. The site was rediscovered in 2008.[3]
Notes
- ↑ "Christian Malford Census Information". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
- ↑ Village web site
- ↑ Philip R. Wilby et al., "Preserving the unpreservable: a lost world rediscovered at Christian Malford, UK", Geology Today 24.3, (2008:95-98); Times On-line, "Jurassic treasure trove lost by Victorians found by Phil Wilby, fossil sleuth", 24 October 2008 (accessed 20 August 2009.
External links
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