Wikipedia

Baydon

Baydonis a village andcivil parishinWiltshire,England about 10 miles (16 km) south-east ofSwindon.The eastern boundary of the parish forms part of the county boundary withBerkshire,and the village is about 7 miles (11 km) north-west of theWest Berkshiremarket townofHungerford.

Baydon
St. Nicholas' parish church
Baydon is located in Wiltshire
Baydon
Baydon
Location withinWiltshire
Population653 (in 2021)[1]
OS grid referenceSU281780
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMarlborough
Postcode districtSN8
Dialling code01672
PoliceWiltshire
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
Websitebaydon.org
List of places
UK
England
Wiltshire
51°30′00″N1°35′49″W/ 51.500°N 01.597°W/51.500; -01.597

History

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Baydon is close tothe Ridgeway,a pre-Romanroad. The village is on theErmin WayRoman roadwhich runs north-west towardsCirencesterand forms part of the western boundary of the parish.[2](The road is called Ermin Street locally but is not to be confused with theErmine Streetbetween London and York.)

The earliest known reference to Baydon is in 1196. The land was part of theBishop of Salisbury's Ramsbury estate until most of it was sold in the later 17th century. Later landowners includeSir Francis Burdett(1770–1844), a long-serving Member of Parliament who marriedSophia Coutts,a daughter of the wealthy bankerThomas Coutts.[2]Their daughterAngelainherited the Coutts fortune, and her philanthropy included rebuilding several cottages in the village between 1875 and 1890.[2]

Bailey Hill farm, thedemesneland of Ramsbury manor in the north of the parish, was sold in 1681 and passed through several owners until it was bought byLord Cravenin 1800; it remained in Craven ownership until 1947.[2]In the south of the parish, the land of Baydon House farm also had a succession of owners from the 17th century. TheWiltshire Victoria County Historytraces the ownership of other smaller estates.[2]One source states thatSir Isaac Newtonhad an estate at Baydon, which he gave away shortly before his death in 1727.[3]

The population of the parish peaked at 380 around the time of the 1861 census, then fell steadily to 213 in 1921 before rising sharply from the 1960s,[4]as it became adormitory communityfor people working in Swindon.[2]

Until the 1790s, when it became an independentecclesiastical parish,Baydon was atithingandchapelryofRamsburyparish within Ramsburyhundred.[2][5]

TheM4 motorwaywhich passes just north of the village was opened on 22 December 1971.

Religious sites

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Parish church

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TheChurch of England parish church,dedicated since the 19th century toSaint Nicholas,[6]has aNormannaveand two-baynortharcade,while the southaisleand northernclerestoryareEarly English Gothic.[7]The north aisle was rebuilt in 1857–1858 by theGothic Revival architectG.E. Street,who also designed a new east window.[8]The south clerestory isPerpendicular Gothic.[7]The west window, dated 1928, is byEdward Wooreand is a memorial to the Rev. Augustus Gibson.[9]The church isGrade II* listed.[8]

The font, partly octagonal, is probably from the 13th century.[7]The three bells are dated 1744 (cast nearby atAldbourneby John Stares), 1670 and 1650.[10]

The church was dependant on Holy Cross at Ramsbury, and theprebendaryof Ramsbury appointed chaplains until the living became aperpetual curacyin the 19th century.[2]In 1956 the incumbent was authorised to hold both Aldbourne and Baydon,[11]and the two benefices were united in 1965.[12]Today the church is one of six in the Whitton grouping.[13]

Others

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AParticular Baptistchapel named Providence Chapel was built in 1806; it closed between 1885 and 1922, then was demolished.[14]AWesleyan Methodistchapel was built in 1823; by 1939 it was a private house.[15]

Notable buildings

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A barn at Finches Farm, with flint walls and a generous thatched roof, is from the 17th century.[16]Baydon House Farmhouse has a 1744 date-stone.[17]The school (1843, next to the church) and the former vicarage (1857, west of the church) were designed by Wiltshire architectT. H. Wyatt,in brick with flint bands.[18]

The water tower on Finches Lane near the M4, designed in the 1970s byEdmund Perceyfor Scherrer and Hicks, is described byPevsneras "a striking design... the tank clasped by tapering concrete piers".[7]

Amenities

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The village school is now Baydon St Nicholas Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School.[19][20]

Baydon Village Stores incorporates a Post Office.[21]The villagepub,theRed Lion(closed in 2019), has however reopened as a restaurant/bar under the new name Fancy B.

Baydon is close the local Motorway, the M4, which provides easy access to Bristol to the west and London to the east.[22]

Notable residents

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Ian Lomax(1931–1996, cricketer) farmed near Baydon.

Kevin Wilkinson(1958–1999, pop musician) lived at Baydon.

References

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  1. ^"Baydon (parish): population statistics, 2021 Census".CityPopulation.de.Retrieved30 July2024.
  2. ^abcdefghBaggs, A. P.; Freeman, Jane; Stevenson, Janet H. (1983). "Parishes: Baydon". In Crowley, D. A. (ed.).A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 12.Victoria County History.University of London. pp. 52–61.Retrieved13 June2021– via British History Online.
  3. ^Brewster, David(1855).Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton.Vol. 2. Edinburgh: Thomas Constable & Co. p. 397.
  4. ^"Wiltshire Community History – Census".Wiltshire Council.Retrieved14 September2015.
  5. ^"Baydon AP/CP".A Vision of Britain through Time.University of Portsmouth.Retrieved24 September2021.
  6. ^"Church of St. Nicholas, Baydon".Wiltshire Community History.Wiltshire Council.Retrieved14 September2015.
  7. ^abcdPevsner, Nikolaus;Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) [1963].Wiltshire.The Buildings of England(2nd ed.). Harmondsworth:Penguin Books.p. 105.ISBN0-14-0710-26-4.
  8. ^abHistoric England."Church of St Nicholas, Baydon (1034135)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved14 September2015.
  9. ^"Stained Glass Windows at St. Nicholas, Baydon, Wiltshire".Robert Eberhard.Archivedfrom the original on 27 September 2021.Retrieved14 September2015.
  10. ^"Baydon, St Nicholas".Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers.Retrieved27 September2021.
  11. ^"No. 40952".The London Gazette.18 December 1956. p. 7175.
  12. ^"No. 43610".The London Gazette.26 March 1965. p. 3048.
  13. ^"Aldbourne".Whitton Team.Retrieved27 September2021.
  14. ^"Providence Particular Baptist Chapel, Baydon".Wiltshire Community History.Wiltshire Council.Retrieved14 September2015.
  15. ^"Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Baydon".Wiltshire Community History.Wiltshire Council.Retrieved14 September2015.
  16. ^Historic England."Barn at Finches Farm (1034137)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved23 September2021.
  17. ^Historic England."Baydon House Farmhouse (1200550)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved23 September2021.
  18. ^Orbach, Julian;Pevsner, Nikolaus;Cherry, Bridget(2021).Wiltshire.The Buildings Of England. New Haven, US and London:Yale University Press.p. 129.ISBN978-0-300-25120-3.OCLC1201298091.
  19. ^"Baydon St.Nicholas Church of England School".Wiltshire Community History.Wiltshire Council.Retrieved14 September2015.
  20. ^"Baydon Primary School".Retrieved14 September2015.
  21. ^"Village Shop and PO".baydon.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2 May 2008.Retrieved13 June2021.
  22. ^"Baydon · United Kingdom".Baydon · United Kingdom.Retrieved7 October2022.
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