Quemerford

Coordinates: 51°25′34″N 1°59′13″W / 51.426°N 1.987°W Quemerford is a suburb of the town of Calne in the county of Wiltshire, South West England, UK.

History of Quemerford

Quemerford is in the parish of Calne, on the edge of Calne in Wiltshire, situated on the A4 road between Bristol and Marlborough, and 28 miles northwest of Salisbury. The River Marden flows behind the village at the bottom of a slope, before passing through Calne into the Avon.[1]

In the mid-19th century, Quemerford had a population of 635 inhabitants.[2] According to etymologists, the name is derived from the Old English Cynemaeres-ford, meaning the ford at the royal (cyne) boundary (maere) or lake (mere).[3] The etymologist Ekwall notes the early variants of the name include Camerford (1204), Kemerford (1226-1228), Quemerford (1240-1245), Cameresford (1292), and Quemerforde (1294).[3]

Today, Quemerford is part of the town of Calne, which claims to be “of very remote antiquity.” The parish website claims the town has one of the longest histories in Wiltshire. The first recorded mention of the town was in the will of King Edred in 955. Calne was probably laid out as a deliberate settlement during the Anglo-Saxon period, when it was described as a villa regia, meaning a place on crown land. In 977, Archbishop Dunstan of Canterbury presided at a synod in Calne to settle a dispute between monks and secular clergy. During the synod, the floor of the chapter gave way, and several secular priests were killed although the monks escaped unhurt. Calne became famous for wool and bacon from then on, with extensive mill development in the town.

Calne is currently a quickly expanding semi-industrial town, and an extremely important town in Wiltshire, despite the Harris Pork Factory closing in 1982.[4]

Quemerford today

Quemerford today is mostly an Edwardian terrace and a long line of mainly 1930s houses, although new developments are under construction; and several have already been completed. In the latest Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) this area was ranked 31,325 out of 32,482 in England, where 1 was the most deprived and 32,482 the least.[5]

Swindon Town Football Club have been the local football team since its formation in 1875.[6]

Notable Former residents

References

  1. ↑ National Gazetteer (London, 1868), i, p. 454; ii, p. 269.
  2. ↑ Samuel Lewis, Topographical Dictionary, iii, p. 602.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Eilert Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English place-names (Oxford, 1936), pp. 359 and 296.
  4. ↑ Lewis (i, 1842), pp. 468-469.
  5. ↑ UK Local Area - Calne Quemerford, North Wiltshire - Neighbourhood Profile - Schools - House Prices - Council Tax - Gas / Electricity Prices
  6. ↑ National Gazetteer, i, p. 454.
  7. ↑ And For My Next Trick (from The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

External links

Media related to Quemerford at Wikimedia Commons