Bromham, Wiltshire
| Bromham | |
 Bromham village lockup, with St. Nicholas' parish church in the background |
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  Bromham |
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| Population | 1,846 (in 2011)[1] |
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| OS grid reference | ST963652 |
| Unitary authority | Wiltshire |
| Ceremonial county | Wiltshire |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Chippenham |
| Postcode district | SN15 |
| Dialling code | 01380 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Devizes |
| Website | Welcome to Bromham |
Coordinates: 51°23′10″N 2°03′14″W / 51.386°N 02.054°W
Bromham is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England.[2]
Besides the main village of Bromham, the parish includes six other settlements: St Edith’s Marsh, Westbrook, Hawkstreet, Netherstreet, Roughmoor and Chittoe. These are sub-villages and hamlets all within 2 miles (3.2 km) of the main village centre, thus 'greater Bromham' is geographically extensive. The village is 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Devizes and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) east of Melksham. Its stands one and a half miles north of the Kennet and Avon Canal and one and three-quarters of a mile south of the Roman road leading to Bath, Somerset.[3]
History
In Anglo-Saxon times the manor was held, in the reign of Edward the Confessor, by Earl Harold Godwinson. Under the Normans there were two manors covering Bromham. Bromham Hall, later called Bromham House, the manor house of Bromham Roches, stood to the east of the Devises Road; it was burnt by Royalist troops in May 1645, during the Civil War.[4][5] Battle House, named for the manor of Bromham Battle, held by Battle Abbey, is a grade II* listed building,[6] partly 15th century, largely rebuilt c. 1760; it was the home of the historian Sir William Napier between 1826 and 1831. Spye Arch at the top of Bowden Hill, once served as gatehouse to Spye Park, a seat of the Bayntun family.[7] it had originally been constructed as the gatehouse of the Cistercian Stanley Abbey, which stood near the eastern edge of the parish, towards Chippenham; the Abbot's Wood that appears as a block of woodland in Andrews’ and Dury’s Map of Wiltshire, 1773, survives as a narrow wooded strip south of the village.
Amenities
Bromham has a village shop/Post Office and a family butcher’s shop.[8]
Education
St. Nicholas Church of England Primary School is in the village.[9] For secondary education Bromham is in the catchment area of The John Bentley School in Calne.
Events
Carnival
The Bromham Carnival is held each June for two weeks. It comprises village-wide events, opening with the choosing of the carnival Queen, Butterfly Princess, Princess and Prince. The events then continue including quizzes, bingo, treasure hunts and much more. On the final Saturday of the two weeks the carnival procession is held, commencing usually at 2pm from The Pound playing field and winding its way through the village to the Social Centre playing field where activities and shows take place throughout the afternoon. For the past few years, the carnival has been followed by the locally organised show: "Bromfest". Bands from the local area play from 5 through until 12 and mark the end of the carnival period.[8]
In July 2007 HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall made an official visit to the village.
Local government
Bromham is a civil parish with an elected parish council and is in the area of Wiltshire Council. Both councils are responsible for different aspects of local government.
The village falls in 'Bromham, Rowde and Potterne' electoral ward. The ward starts in the north at Bromham then moves south to Rowde and eventually Potterne whilst avoiding Devizes. The total population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 4,850.[10]
Location
Position: grid reference ST963652
Recreational Facilities
Bromham has two playing fields: The Pound playing field and the Social Centre's Jubilee and Millennium Fields.
The Pound Playing field has the village tennis court, a grassed football pitch, a play park and a hardcourt basketball and five-a-side football area.
The Social Centre playing fields include Bromham FC's football pitch along and a smaller pitch that is used by the youth team. There is also a pavilion that is used as a changing facility for both home and away teams as well as the officials. Just by the car park of the Social Centre is another children’s play park which is overlooked by the Millennium Cross: a tall stone cross erected in 2000 and recording the village's Christian heritage.[8]
Places of worship
Bromham has two main places of Christian worship: the Church of England parish church of Saint Nicholas in the centre of the village, where Rev. John Rees is the Priest-in-Charge and the Chapel near the top of Church Hill.[8] In the churchyard of St Nicholas is buried the Irish poet Thomas Moore, who had long resided at Sloperton Cottage, towards the north.
The Church of St Mary, Chittoe, was erected in 1845. Previously the hamlet had been a detached part of the parish of Bishops Cannings and villagers had to travel there for marriages and burials, using a trackway called "The Burying Road". For burials this requirement was relaxed at the end of the eighteenth century, but weddings were still conducted at Cannings until the new church was brought into use.[11] In the 1980s the church and vicarage at Chittoe were converted to private residences.[12]
Sport
Football
Bromham Football Club was founded in 1897 by Harry Amor and Arthur Powney.
Bowls
There is a bowls club that meet every week at the Social Centre to play indoor bowls on special mats that turn the dancefloor into a bowls green.[8]
Tennis
At the Pound Playing field there is a Tennis Court available to hire.[8]
Twinnings
Bromham is twinned with:
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- Avoca, Ireland (the location for the 1990s BBC series Ballykissangel) -
- Ingrandes-sur-Loire, France
Sources
- Wiltshire County Council Website page on Bromham, retrieved 19:30 Oct 8, 2004 (UTC)
References
- ↑ "Wiltshire Community History - Census". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ↑ OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). ISBN 978-0319239438
- ↑ John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales1870-72.
- ↑ "Bayntun History - Bromham House". Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ↑ "Andrews’ and Dury’s Map of Wiltshire, 1773". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ↑ British Listed Buildings.
- ↑ Bayntun history: Spye Arch
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Village Website". Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ↑ "St Nicholas VC Primary School". Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ↑ "Bromham, Rowde and Potterne ward 2011.Retrieved 11 March 2015".
- ↑ "Image of St. Mary, Chittoe". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ↑ "Church of St. Mary, Chittoe". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
External links
Village website http://www.bromhamwiltshire.org
Media related to Bromham, Wiltshire at Wikimedia Commons