Chisbury
Encyclopedia
Chisbury is a hamlet
and prehistoric hill fort
in the civil parish of Little Bedwyn
in Wiltshire
, England
. Chisbury is about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Hungerford
and about 6 miles (9.7 km) south-east of Marlborough.
and Bronze Age
artefacts have been found in the area, but the hill fort was most probably built in the late Iron Age
in the 1st century AD.
St. Martin's chapel seems to have been built in the early part of the 13th century. There are written records of it from 1246 onwards and its surviving architecture is contemporary with that period. The windows have the remains of good-quality tracery in a style that suggests they were made in the latter part of the 13th century. Between 1496 and 1518 St. Martin's lacked a priest, but it was served again from 1518 until 1547. Thereafter St. Martin's lapsed from use for worship and was turned into a barn. It was re-roofed in the 19th century and is a listed building, but in 1998 its condition was semi-ruinous.
Knowle Farm, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-west of Chisbury, has a 14th century chapel. It is now an outbuilding of the farmhouse. A blocked ogee
-headed north window and the surround of the east window are the only surviving features. The farmhouse is a brick-built Georgian
house of five bays
dated 1735.
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
and prehistoric hill fort
Hillforts in Britain
Hillforts in Britain refers to the various hillforts within the island of Great Britain. Although the earliest such constructs fitting this description come from the Neolithic period, with a few also dating to the later Bronze Age, British hill forts were primarily constructed during the Iron Age...
in the civil parish of Little Bedwyn
Little Bedwyn
Little Bedwyn is a village and civil parish on the River Dun in Wiltshire, about south-west of the market town of Hungerford in neighbouring Berkshire....
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Chisbury is about 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Hungerford
Hungerford
Hungerford is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, 9 miles west of Newbury. It covers an area of and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 5,559 .- Geography :...
and about 6 miles (9.7 km) south-east of Marlborough.
History
At 176 metres (577.4 ft) above sea level Chisbury hill fort is the highest point in Little Bedwyn parish and encloses an area of about 14 acres (5.7 ha). Palaeolithic, NeolithicNeolithic British Isles
The Neolithic British Isles refers to the period of British, Irish and Manx history that spanned from circa 4000 to circa 2,500 BCE. The final part of the Stone Age in the British Isles, it was a part of the greater Neolithic, or "New Stone Age", across Europe.During the preceding Mesolithic...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age Britain
Bronze Age Britain refers to the period of British history that spanned from c. 2,500 until c. 800 BC. Lasting for approximately 1700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the era of Iron Age Britain...
artefacts have been found in the area, but the hill fort was most probably built in the late Iron Age
British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
in the 1st century AD.
St. Martin's chapel seems to have been built in the early part of the 13th century. There are written records of it from 1246 onwards and its surviving architecture is contemporary with that period. The windows have the remains of good-quality tracery in a style that suggests they were made in the latter part of the 13th century. Between 1496 and 1518 St. Martin's lacked a priest, but it was served again from 1518 until 1547. Thereafter St. Martin's lapsed from use for worship and was turned into a barn. It was re-roofed in the 19th century and is a listed building, but in 1998 its condition was semi-ruinous.
Knowle Farm, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-west of Chisbury, has a 14th century chapel. It is now an outbuilding of the farmhouse. A blocked ogee
Ogee
An ogee is a curve , shaped somewhat like an S, consisting of two arcs that curve in opposite senses, so that the ends are parallel....
-headed north window and the surround of the east window are the only surviving features. The farmhouse is a brick-built Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
house of five bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
dated 1735.