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BREMHILL AND SURROUNDING AREA The history of the Derry Hill, Studley and Bremhill is very much a part of the Townsend/Wiltshire family story, research has shown that they lived in the area back to at least 1650 and in all probability a lot longer than that. |
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These photographs collected by Peter Marlow are of the village of Bremhill. |
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| If you have any old photo's of this area kindly forward them to petert@magma.ca |
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William Lisle Bowles became Vicar of Bremhill in 1804, he was quite a character and no description
of the 1800's in Bremhill would be complete without acknowledging his contribution to local history. He was born in 1762 and died in 1850. He is remembered as a Cleric, English poet and literary critic. In 1818 he became Chaplain to the prince regent and in 1828 Canon residentiary of Salisbury Cathedral. In 1806 while he was the Vicar of Bremhill he was vigorously assailed by the poet Byron for some of his critical reviews of Pope a fellow poet. My main interest in the Rev. Bowles is that he wrote a book on the history of Bremhill and as far as I know this is the one and only book on this subject. DT has located a source for this book and has currently placed an order with a Wiltshire library for the loan of this book. Rev, Bowles is also famous or infamous for the construction of a monument to Maud Heath who paid for the construction of a causeway over a flood plain on the road to Chippenham in the 1400's. |
| The following is an excerpt from the 'Derry Hill Story' compiled by P.M. Gough, G.H. Hickman and M.D. Slatter, The story was edited by J.M.Edwards. |
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-- Passing through Studley on the A4 London to Bath Road, the traveller would only notice a fair sprinkling of modern houses tucked in between thatched or stone roofed cottages; some of which are over 300 years old, and yet its history goes back to the early days of civilised man. In fact, from archcelogical evidence, early Romano-British settlements covered the Downs, including our Hill. - The very nature of this locality was in every way ideal. A plateau like hill, 400 feet above sea level, with crystal clear water from the springs, would soon have been cleared of scrub for the making of homesteads, the growing of crops and grazing land for flocks and herds. The forest below would have provided deer and wild boar for meat and the marshes and river for eels and fish. An ancient track, now known as the Lydeway ran from Salisbury to Bristol and skirted the hill. This would have provided the trading link, because the Romano-British were a peaceful rural population who lived in unfortified places, even up to the Roman period. Of Roman occupation there has been ample evidence, with near-by Verlucio at Sandy Lane, sites in Bowood Park, at Heddington and Bromham. There appears to have been a villa of considerable size at Redhill, because in 1753 a number of square bricks with the maker's name or marl I.V.C. DIGNI were found, and these may have formed part of the heating room attached to a bath. In fact, as recently as 1978, pieces of tile, pottery, bricks and coins were found; the latter principally from the reign of Constantine. - The Revd. Leslie Hudson, Vicar of Derry Hill (1950's), organised an archaelogical dig near Studley Crossroads where graves of Roman Soldiers, coins and pottery were uncovered; the later can be seen at Devizes Museum. Smaller dwellings were no doubt built around Studley One was near Norley Lane ( as pieces of brick pottery and tiles were found in 1977) and when a sewer was being put down about 70 years ago, a Roman mosaic floor was uncovered, but unfortunately it was covered up without a record being made. Remains of a Villa lie under the raised ground east of the River Marden at the foot of Black Dog Hill |
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Thus a mental picture can be built on the extent of the Roman occupation hereabouts. With the general
exodus of the Romans, all the peaceful farming and arts disappeared, in line with the rest of Southern
Britain and for the next 200 years the people reverted to wild and savage ways and only history books
can give us an idea of what life was like during those intervening years called the 'Dark Ages', but
by 560 A.D. the area was taken over by the Saxons after they had arrived at Chippenham, three miles
to the west. The Saxon era was the time for building villages.The beautiful Churches in the West Country are monuments to the skill and art of the craftsmen of that time. Almost every village on the map of modern England had been created before the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Norman Barons, being great hunting men, had parks formed from the wood-lands around, and in all probability Bowood Park was established at this time. The name Bowood is said to derive from the Saxon words 'BUFON-WUDA' (a place above the wood) .This enclosure of Parkland, known as emparkment, could well have been the first instance of de-popula.tion; the peasants living in the settlements driven out to make homesteads elsewhere. STUDLEY, as a village does not appear to have been recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. It was first mentioned in ancient deeds of 1175 and 1196 as Stodleia and Stodlege respectively. (It is worthy to note that the early kings, such as Henry II, Richard I, John and the Edwards, used to make periodic visits to Stanley Abbey and there transacted much business and executed documents and granted charters). The name was Studlege in 1198 and in the Assize Rolls for Wiltshire for 1268 as Studle. In a manuscript written in the thirteenth century Stodleg was mentioned as part of lands belonging to the Cistercian Abbey of Stcnley,and a chapel at Stodleia is mentioned in records at Salisbury in the year 1240. Roger of Studle was allowed to have Q perpetual chantry in his chapel at Studle . ( See Marsh's History of Calne). |
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In the Feet of Fines for Wiltshire the name was recorded as Stodleye juxta Calne in 1296 and as Stodleyh
juxta Bremel in the year 1370. In the History of Bremhill, by Conon W. Bowles, one of the boundaries defined in the charter of Roger de Pavilly, made during the time of Edward I read ' TOTAM ILLAM PARTEM QUAE EST SUBTUS VIAM ANTIQUAM QUAE TENDIT A STODLEIA AD DIVISAS' .Thus it is obvious that Studley once embraced the whole of the area including Derry Hill and Redhill. The River Marden referred to as' AQUA DE MELKEDEN' in the Calender of Close Hills of 1228,forms the natural boundary on the east at the foot of Black Dog Hill and also along the north side , but it is also worth noting that a Medieval road from London to Chippenham ran along Norley Lane, (Minns Acct: Northeley in 1377)down to Studley bridge, [now demolished ] on through Stanley to the turnpiked at Pewsham. Both Derry Hill and Redhill were not mentioned in records until the parliamentary survey of 1650 A theory often put forward for the name 'Redhill' is that a battle was once fought there, and the ground covered with the blood of soldiers, but no record of a real battle can be found, Although there could have been skirmishes when Sir William Wallers army marched through to Devizes and did. battle on Roundway Hill. It is interesting to note that in his Topographical Collection of Wiltshire, Aubrey writes: of Redhill 'They digge plentye of ruddle', the meaning of 'ruddle' being a 'golden brown soil',and ruddle also means 'red' -so, Redhill! STANLEY, on the other hand appeared to be quite a village as it's name is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, and Stanley Mill is reputed to be the oldest in England_. An entry in the Calender of Charter Rolls for 1107 gave the name as Stanlegum, as Stanleia and Stanlea in 1187, and Abbas de Stonley in 1206. |