Sopworth
| Sopworth | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Sopworth Location withinWiltshire | |
| Population | 103 (in 2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | ST827863 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Chippenham |
| Postcode district | SN14 |
| Dialling code | 01666 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
Sopworthis a small village andcivil parishin northwestWiltshire,England, on the county's border withGloucestershire.The village lies about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) west ofSherstonand 6.5 miles (10 km) west ofMalmesbury.The parish is within theCotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Domesday entry[edit]
Sopworth is mentioned in the 1086Domesday Book,its entry falling under section XXXII, The Land of William Deu. It reads:[2][3]
Hugh holdsSopewordof William. Ælfric held itTRE,and it paidgeldfor 5hides.There is land for 6ploughs.Of this 3½ hides are indemesne,and there are 2 ploughs, and 6slaves;and 3villansand 5bordarswith 3 ploughs. It was worth £6; now £4.
Local government[edit]
The civil parish does not elect aparish council;instead the first tier of local government is aparish meeting,which all electors are entitled to attend. The parish is in the area ofWiltshire Councilunitary authority,which is responsible for all significant local government functions.[4]
Parish church[edit]
TheChurch of England parish churchof St Mary the Virgin isGrade II* listed.[5]Probably begun in the 13th century, it was altered and extended in the 15th century, andrestoredin 1871 byT.H. Wyatt.Pevsner describes the church as "drastically restored".[6]
Built partly in dressed stone and partly in coursed rubble, the church has a chancel, nave with north aisle, south porch and 15th-century west tower.[5]Most of the windows were renewed in the 19th century but the chancel retains a 13th-century lancet window.[7]The chancel arch is 14th-century. The north aisle was rebuilt in the 19th century but the north transept (now the organ chamber) has older masonry.[7]
The circular font is 13th-century. The pulpit was constructed in the 19th century using 17th-century panels. Glass in the three-light south-east window of the nave, in subdued blue and green, is byMorris & Co., c.1873; it depicts theThree Marys,the central figure byBurne-Jonesand the others by Morris.[7]
The poetThomas Yalden(1670–1736) was brieflyrectorof the parish.[8]
The parish is within the Wotton deanery of thediocese of Gloucester.[9]Theregisterssurvive in theWiltshire and Swindon History Centreforchristenings(1697–1991), marriages (1698–1992), and burials (1697–1992).[10]Today the church is part of the Badminton benefice, a grouping of largely Gloucestershire churches.[11]
Other notable buildings[edit]
Just south of the church, the large house formerly called Sopworth Manor is now three dwellings. Built as the rectory in the early 18th century, and called "handsome" by Julian Orbach,[7]it has a seven-bay south front.[12]
On the main street, the five-bay Old Manor House is from the late 17th century,[7]altered c. 1840.[13]Street Farmhouse is a 16th-century building while Manor and North End Farmhouses date from the 17th century. They, and several cottages in the village are all Grade IIlisted buildings.[14]
References[edit]
- ^"Wiltshire Community History – Census".Wiltshire Council.Retrieved4 October2022.
- ^Domesday Book A Complete Translation.Penguin. 2003. p. 185.ISBN0141439947.
- ^Sopworthin theDomesday Book
- ^"Sopworth Parish Meeting".Wiltshire Council.Retrieved27 January2016.
- ^abHistoric England."Church of St Mary (1283124)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved27 January2016.
- ^Pevsner, Nikolaus;Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) [1963].Wiltshire.The Buildings of England(2nd ed.). Harmondsworth:Penguin Books.p. 473.ISBN0-14-0710-26-4.
- ^abcdeOrbach, Julian;Pevsner, Nikolaus;Cherry, Bridget(2021).Wiltshire.The Buildings Of England. New Haven, US and London:Yale University Press.p. 647.ISBN978-0-300-25120-3.OCLC1201298091.
- ^'Yalden, Thomas (1670–1736), poet', inDictionary of National Biography.
- ^"St Mary the Virgin, Sopworth".A Church Near You.The Archbishops' Council.Retrieved25 February2023.
- ^Sopworthat genuki.org.uk
- ^"Badminton Benefice".Retrieved25 February2023.
- ^Historic England."Sopworth Manor, White Leas and Glebe House (1199940)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved25 February2023.
- ^Historic England."Old Manor House (1023262)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved27 January2016.
- ^"Listed Buildings in Sopworth, Wiltshire, England".British Listed Buildings.Retrieved2 September2016.
External links[edit]
Media related toSopworthat Wikimedia Commons