Ebbesbourne Wake

Ebbesbourne Wake

War memorial and Old Forge Cottage, Ebbesbourne Wake
Ebbesbourne Wake
 Ebbesbourne Wake shown within Wiltshire
Population 222 (in 2011)[1]
OS grid referenceST991241
Civil parishEbbesbourne Wake
Unitary authorityWiltshire
Ceremonial countyWiltshire
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Salisbury
Postcode district SP5
Dialling code 01722
Police Wiltshire
Fire Wiltshire
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK ParliamentSalisbury
List of places
UK
England
Wiltshire

Coordinates: 51°01′02″N 2°00′46″W / 51.01718°N 2.01278°W

Ebbesbourne Wake is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, approximately 12 miles (19 km) south-west of Salisbury. The parish includes the small village of Fifield Bavant.

Description

Ebbesbourne Wake is sited near the head of the valley of the small River Ebble. The parish church is dedicated to St John the Baptist and is Grade II* listed.[2][3] There is a public house called the Horseshoe Inn.[4]

History

It is not known when Ebbesbourne was first inhabited or what it was called but fragmentary records from Saxon times (circa 826 AD) indicate that the whole Chalke Valley area was thriving, and the village was called Eblesburna. It is surmised that the land adjacent to the bourne (river) was once owned by a man called Ebbel.[5] Note that the word bourne is derived from the Old English "brunna".[6]

The Domesday Book in (1086) described it as Eblesborne. Geoffrey de Wak became Lord of the manor in 1204, but although his relationship to Hereward the Wake is unknown, the shield of Hereward's coat of arms can today be seen on the church tower. By 1249 it was known as Ebbelburn Wak. By 1785 it was known as Ebesborne Wake.[5]

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 Wake, Fifield Bavant, Semley, Tollard Royal and 'Chalke'.[5]

Although the name Ebbesbourne Wake has developed over time, the spelling has never been completely settled. The Ordnance Survey of 1889 and 1927 used Ebbesborne Wake, whilst the 1963 and 1974 maps used the 'orne' spelling for the parish, but named the village Ebbesbourne Wake.[5]

Historian Peter Meers notes in his book Ebbesbourne Wake through the Ages that Fowler's A Dictionary of Modern English Usage of both 1926 and 1965 describes the spelling of 'bourne/borne' as inconsistent.[5]

Domesday book

The Domesday Book divided the Chalke Valley into eight manors, Chelke (Chalke - Bowerchalke and Broadchalke), Eblesborne (Ebbesbourne Wake), Fifehide (Fifield), Cumbe (Coombe Bissett), Humitone (Homington), Odestoche (Odstock), Stradford (Stratford Tony and Bishopstone) and Trow (circa Alvediston and Tollard Royal).[5]

Peter Meers, in his book Ebbesbourne Wake through the Ages, translates the village's Domesday entry, as:

Robert holds Eblesborne from Robert. Aluard and Fitheus

held it before 1066 as two manors. (TRE = tempore Regis Edwardii, the time of Edward the Confessor, 1042-1066) Taxed for 14 hides. Land for ten ploughs. In lordship ten hides, there six ploughs. Four slaves (serfs). Eighteen villeins (villagers). Seven bordars (smallholders) with four ploughs. Fourteen acres of meadow, pasture fourteen furlongs long, 4 furlongs wide.

Woodlands two leagues length and width. Value £12, now £14.[5]

Demography

Local government

The civil parish has an elected parish council. The parish is in the area of Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which is responsible for all significant local government functions.

References

  1. ↑ "Wiltshire Community History - Census". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "Ebbesbourne Wake: St John the Baptist". A Church Near You. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "List Entry, Church of St John the Baptist, Ebbesbourne Wake". English Heritage. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Daily Telegraph, Wiltshire Pub Guide: The Horseshoe Inn, Ebbesbourne Wake, By Belinda Richardson in Wiltshire 12:01AM BST 06 Oct 2007
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Ebbesbourne Wake through the Ages by Peter Meers
  6. ↑ http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bourn

External links

Media related to Ebbesbourne Wake at Wikimedia Commons