Brixton Deverillis a small village andcivil parishabout 4 miles (6.4 km) south ofWarminsterinWiltshire,England.
| Brixton Deverill | |
|---|---|
 Village hall | |
  Brixton Deverill Location withinWiltshire | |
| Population | 83 (in 2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | ST863388 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Warminster |
| Postcode district | BA12 |
| Dialling code | 01985 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Parish Council |
The parish is in the Deverill Valley which carries the upper waters of theRiver Wylye.The six villages of the valley –Kingston Deverill,Monkton Deverill,Brixton, Hill Deverill,Longbridge Deverilland Crockerton – are known as the Deverills.
History
editThere was aRoman roadon Pertwood Down, about 1.2 miles (2 km) south-east of the village.[2]The remains of a largeRoman villawere discovered during the laying of a cable in a garden in the village in 2015.[3][4]Subsequent excavations by archaeologists fromHistoric EnglandandThe Salisbury Museumfound a mosaic floor from the mid-4th century, belonging to a grand villa arranged around three sides of a courtyard.[2]A Roman stone coffin, suitable for a child, which was being used as a plant pot, was also found.[5]
In 1086,Domesday Bookrecorded a settlement calledDevrelwith 25 households, a church and a mill, on land held by theAbbey of Bec-Hellouin,Normandy.[6]The lord in 1068 had been the SaxonBrictric,resulting in the 'Brixton' prefix to the placename.[7]The abbey lost control of the estate during the wars with France, and in the 1440s Brixton was granted toKing's College, Cambridge,who held it until 1941.[7]
The Manor, immediately north of the church, has a 15th-century house at its core and was much enlarged in the 17th and 18th centuries; a 15th-century stone exterior doorway is now internal.[8]The south-east block has an 18th-century staircase described as "good" by Julian Orbach.[9]
17th-century buildings include (south of the village) George's Barn, a pair of semi-detached cottages extended on both sides in the 18th century, all with thatched roofs.[10]
The population of the parish peaked in the 1860s and 1870s, standing at 227 at the 1871 census, then fell sharply to 69 in 1901. The next century saw only a small increase, reaching 83 in 2011.[1]
Local government
editBrixton Deverill parish includes the small isolated settlement ofLower Pertwood.[11]It elects members to aparish councilcalledUpper Deverills,shared with the neighbouring parish of Kingston Deverill.[12]The two parishes fall within the area of theWiltshire Councilunitary authority,which is responsible for all significant local government functions.
Parish church
edit
Theparish churchof St Michael the Archangel dates from the 13th century. The nave was rebuilt in 1760, and the plaster ceiling is part of that work. In 1862 the chancel was extended by the London-based architectWilliam White,and the windows were renewed; stained glass in the east window and two others is byWailes.[9]
The church, which is built in dressed limestone, was designated asGrade II* listedin 1968.[13]While the listing gives the low west tower as 15th-century, Julian Orbach, in his update ofNikolaus Pevsner's description, places its construction in the 13th century and notes its resemblance to the tower atMonkton Deverill.He further observes that the tower's details are from 1852 when a spire, since removed, was added.[9]
The stone font has a 12th-century bowl with chevron carving, but the base and the lower part of the shaft are later; the font was brought fromSt Giles, Imberin 1951, after that village was evacuated for military use in 1943.[14][9]In the tower is a bell cast at theSalisbury foundryc.1400.[15]On the north wall are two 17th-century Flemish carved panels depicting Adam and Eve, transferred from the 1880 pulpit of Monkton Deverill church (now a redundant church).[9]Monuments include an urn described as "elegant" by Orbach,[9]made byThomas Patyin memory of Rev. John Rogers, who was rector of Brixton Deverill and vicar of Warminster from the 1740s until his death in 1773.[16]
From December 1954 the benefice was held in plurality with that of Brixton Deverill.[17]In 1972 the parish of The Deverills and Horningsham[18][19]was formed by uniting the parishes of Brixton Deverill, Kingston Deverill with Monkton Deverill, and Longbridge Deverill with Crockerton and Hill Deverill.[20]Today the parish is part of the Cley Hill Churches benefice.[21]
Notable rectors
editTwo rectors of Brixton Deverill were simultaneouslyArchdeacon of Wilts:Thomas Henchman(rector 1662–1669, archdeacon from 1663 until his death in 1674);[22]andArthur Coham(archdeacon from 1779, rector from 1781, both until his death in 1799).[23]
References
edit- ^ab"Wiltshire Community History – Census".Wiltshire Council.Retrieved3 September2014.
- ^abHistoric England."Roman Villa at Brixton Deverill (1448408)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved11 March2023.
- ^"Magnificent Roman villa found in garden by accident while laying electric cables".Market Business News.17 April 2016.Retrieved27 March2021.
- ^"Roman villa unearthed 'by chance' in Wiltshire garden".BBC News.16 April 2016.Retrieved11 March2023.
- ^Patrick Sawer (17 April 2016)."'Unparalleled' discovery of Roman villa beneath Wiltshire garden ".The Telegraph.Retrieved18 April2016.
- ^Brixton Deverillin theDomesday Book
- ^ab"Brixton Deverill".Wiltshire Community History.Wiltshire Council.Retrieved27 March2021.
- ^Historic England."The Manor (1036352)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved11 March2023.
- ^abcdefOrbach, Julian;Pevsner, Nikolaus;Cherry, Bridget(2021).Wiltshire.The Buildings Of England. New Haven, US and London:Yale University Press.pp. 183–184.ISBN978-0-300-25120-3.OCLC1201298091.
- ^Historic England."Georges Barn (1183292)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved11 March2023.
- ^"Election Maps: Great Britain".Ordnance Survey.Retrieved12 March2023.
- ^"Upper Deverills Parish Council".Archivedfrom the original on 20 March 2020.Retrieved27 March2021.
- ^Historic England."Church of St. Michael the Archangel (1364380)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved27 February2016.
- ^"St Michael the Archangel, Brixton Deverill, Wiltshire".The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland.King's College London.Retrieved12 March2023.
- ^"Church of St. Michael the Archangel, Brixton Deverill".Wiltshire Community History.Wiltshire Council.Retrieved28 February2015.
- ^"Rogers, John (d.1773)".Clergy of the Church of England Database.King's College London.Retrieved12 March2023.
- ^"No. 40376".The London Gazette.4 January 1955. p. 99.
- ^"The Deverills and Horningsham".A Church Near You.Retrieved21 November2017.
- ^"Brixton Deverill: St Michael".A Church Near You.The Archbishops' Council.Retrieved12 March2023.
- ^"No. 45829".The London Gazette.17 November 1972. p. 13629.
- ^"St Michael the Archangel Brixton Deverill".Cley Hill Churches.Retrieved12 March2023.
- ^"Henchman, Thomas".Clergy of the Church of England Database.King’s College London.Retrieved11 March2023.
- ^"Coham, Arthur".Clergy of the Church of England Database.King's College London.Retrieved12 March2023.
External links
edit
Media related toBrixton Deverillat Wikimedia Commons
- "Brixton Deverill".Wiltshire Community History.Wiltshire Council.Retrieved17 February2015.
- Upper Deverills community website