Rowde

Rowde

Village hall with parish church behind it
Rowde
 Rowde shown within Wiltshire
Population 1,382 (in 2011)[1]
OS grid referenceST979627
Unitary authorityWiltshire
Ceremonial countyWiltshire
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town DEVIZES
Postcode district SN10
Dialling code 01380
Police Wiltshire
Fire Wiltshire
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK ParliamentDevizes
List of places
UK
England
Wiltshire

Coordinates: 51°21′50″N 2°01′55″W / 51.364°N 2.032°W

Rowde is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire, on the A342 about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) northwest of Devizes.

History

The village now mainly consists of modern brick built houses, but a number of 17th century buildings still remain in the centre of the village including the George & Dragon public house. The George & Dragon was pre-dated in the village by another pub, a timber framed and thatched building that was destroyed by fire in 1938; a replacement The Cross Keys now stands in its place.

On the outskirts of Rowde are the Caen Hill flight of locks of the Kennet and Avon Canal. The canal rises 237 feet by means of 29 locks, 16 of them in a straight line at Caen Hill . The Kennet and Avon Canal was constructed between 1794 and 1810 and served to link Devizes with Bristol and London. The canal fell into disuse after the coming of the railway but has been restored, and is now used for leisure purposes.

The small hamlet of Rowde Hill, consisting of around 10 residences, lies around 1.3 miles (2.1 km) west of the village towards Sells Green and Melksham, at the junction of The Common and Berhills Lane (though this is not signposted).

Amenities

The parish has a village hall[2] and two schools: Rowde C of E Primary Academy[3] and Rowdeford School which is a Special Needs school.

The Anglican church is dedicated to St. Matthew and has a 15th-century tower.[4] It has a font designed in 1850 by Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt, architect, who was born in Rowde and lived for a time at Rowdeford House (now the home of Rowdeford School).

Local government

Rowde is a civil parish with an elected parish council. It is in the area of the Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which is responsible for all significant local government functions. In the 2001 census, the district ward of Bromham & Rowde had a population of 2,880 persons.

Former railway

The Devizes Branch Line was built through the parish in 1857 and a station (Bromham and Rowde Halt) was added in 1909 at Sells Green, to the west just outside the parish. The line was closed in 1966.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Wiltshire Community History - Census". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Rowde Village Hall". The Charity Commission. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Rowde C of E Primary Academy". Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Church of St. Matthew, Rowde". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 6 April 2015.

External links

Media related to Rowde at Wikimedia Commons