Corsley
Encyclopedia
Corsley is a village and civil parish 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Warminster
in Wiltshire
, England
, at . The parish includes seven hamlets
: Corsley Heath (generally regarded as the centre of the parish), Lane End, Longhedge, Lyes Green and three Whitbournes. The 2001 census
recorded a parish population of 716.
Much of the parish was originally part of the Longleat
Estate and part of the Longleat Safari Park
lies within the parish boundary.
Corsley Mill is now in Chapmanslade
parish.
says of Corsley "Azor holds one hide in Corselie... Here is ploughed land... and the mill pays 40 pence. And the wood is a furlong
in length and half a furlong broad. It is worth 20 shilling
s." In 1232, Henry III
granted the manor of Corsley to Godfrey de Crawcumb, with the right to hold an annual fair on 20 July (the feast of St Margaret) and a weekly market on Fridays.
By about 1250, there were four separate manors
, Corsley, Little Corsley, Huntenhull, and Whitbourne.
In 1544, after the monastery
at Maiden Bradley
had been dissolved
, the manor of Whitbourne was sold and the chapel of St John there disappeared. In 1579, Little Corsley was bought by Walter Hungerford
of Farleigh Hungerford Castle
. In 1539, the manor of Corsley was granted to Edward Seymour
, who leased it to his steward John Thynne
. In 1560 Thynne was himself granted the manor of Corsley and lived at the present Manor Farm from 1563 to 1568 while building Longleat House.
After the death of Thynne in 1580, his widow, known as Dame Dorothy, lived at Manor Farm as a dower house. At the same time, Sir Walter Raleigh
, who was in disgrace, was living at a farm near St Margaret's parish church, Corsley. He and his brother Carew Raleigh
used to visit Dame Dorothy, who married Carew Raleigh.
Corsley House was built for the Barton family in 1814, designed by the Bath architect John Pinch the elder as a Greek revival mansion around a previous house.
Sturford Mead was built in 1820 by John Pinch in the Greek revival style for H.A. Fussell, a clothier and dyer from Frome
. It was sold to the Longleat estate in 1854: in the 1930s it was occupied by Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath
, then Viscount Weymouth, and his first wife Daphne. The gardens were designed by Russell Page
.
, which has its offices in nearby Trowbridge
. The village is represented in Parliament
by the MP
for Westbury, Andrew Murrison
and in Wiltshire Council
by Fleur de Rhé-Philipe
.
Warminster
Warminster is a town in western Wiltshire, England, by-passed by the A36, and near Frome and Westbury. It has a population of about 17,000. The River Were runs through the town and can be seen running through the middle of the town park. The Minster Church of St Denys sits on the River Were...
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...
, at . The parish includes seven hamlets
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...
: Corsley Heath (generally regarded as the centre of the parish), Lane End, Longhedge, Lyes Green and three Whitbournes. The 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
recorded a parish population of 716.
Much of the parish was originally part of the Longleat
Longleat
Longleat is an English stately home, currently the seat of the Marquesses of Bath, adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster in Wiltshire and Frome in Somerset. It is noted for its Elizabethan country house, maze, landscaped parkland and safari park. The house is set...
Estate and part of the Longleat Safari Park
Longleat Safari Park
Longleat Safari Park, in Wiltshire, England was opened in 1966 and was the first drive-through safari park outside Africa. The park is situated in the grounds of Longleat House, an English stately home that attracts tourists and is the current home of the 7th Marquess of Bath...
lies within the parish boundary.
Corsley Mill is now in Chapmanslade
Chapmanslade
Chapmanslade is a village and parish in the County of Wiltshire, in the south west of England.-Location:Its closest towns are Westbury and Warminster in Wiltshire, and the Somerset town of Frome is also nearby. Trowbridge is to the north.-Sources:...
parish.
History
Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
says of Corsley "Azor holds one hide in Corselie... Here is ploughed land... and the mill pays 40 pence. And the wood is a furlong
Furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....
in length and half a furlong broad. It is worth 20 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s." In 1232, Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
granted the manor of Corsley to Godfrey de Crawcumb, with the right to hold an annual fair on 20 July (the feast of St Margaret) and a weekly market on Fridays.
By about 1250, there were four separate manors
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
, Corsley, Little Corsley, Huntenhull, and Whitbourne.
In 1544, after the monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
at Maiden Bradley
Maiden Bradley
Maiden Bradley with Yarnfield is a small Wiltshire civil parish near the Somerset border and the home of the Duke of Somerset. The B3092 road that joins Frome to Mere runs through the middle of the village of Maiden Bradley....
had been dissolved
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
, the manor of Whitbourne was sold and the chapel of St John there disappeared. In 1579, Little Corsley was bought by Walter Hungerford
Walter Hungerford
Walter Hungerford may refer to:*Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford, d.1449, English nobleman and Speaker of the House of Commons*Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford of Heytesbury, 1503–1540, first person in England to be executed under secular anti-homosexuality laws*Sir Walter Hungerford...
of Farleigh Hungerford Castle
Farleigh Hungerford Castle
Farleigh Hungerford Castle, sometimes called Farleigh Castle or Farley Castle, is a medieval castle in Farleigh Hungerford, Somerset, England. The castle was built in two phases: the inner court was constructed between 1377 and 1383 by Sir Thomas Hungerford, who made his fortune working as a...
. In 1539, the manor of Corsley was granted to Edward Seymour
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
, who leased it to his steward John Thynne
John Thynne
Sir John Thynne was the steward to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset and a member of parliament. He was the builder of Longleat House and his descendants became Marquesses of Bath.-Early life:...
. In 1560 Thynne was himself granted the manor of Corsley and lived at the present Manor Farm from 1563 to 1568 while building Longleat House.
After the death of Thynne in 1580, his widow, known as Dame Dorothy, lived at Manor Farm as a dower house. At the same time, Sir Walter Raleigh
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England....
, who was in disgrace, was living at a farm near St Margaret's parish church, Corsley. He and his brother Carew Raleigh
Carew Raleigh
Sir Carew Raleigh or Ralegh , elder brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, was an English naval commander who served on the expedition led by his half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in 1578, and was on the list of sea-captains drawn up to meet the threat of a Spanish invasion in 1586; from 1591 to 1603 he...
used to visit Dame Dorothy, who married Carew Raleigh.
Corsley House was built for the Barton family in 1814, designed by the Bath architect John Pinch the elder as a Greek revival mansion around a previous house.
Sturford Mead was built in 1820 by John Pinch in the Greek revival style for H.A. Fussell, a clothier and dyer from Frome
Frome
Frome is a town and civil parish in northeast Somerset, England. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres around the River Frome. The town is approximately south of Bath, east of the county town, Taunton and west of London. In the 2001...
. It was sold to the Longleat estate in 1854: in the 1930s it was occupied by Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath
Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath
Henry Frederick Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath JP , styled Lord Henry Thynne until 1916 and Viscount Weymouth between 1916 and 1946, was a British politician, aristocrat and landowner.-Background and education:...
, then Viscount Weymouth, and his first wife Daphne. The gardens were designed by Russell Page
Russell Page
Montague Russell Page was a British gardener, garden designer and landscape architect.Former partner of Geoffrey Jellicoe and author of The Education of a Gardener . In this book he includes some reference to Islamic and classical gardens...
.
Local government and MP
Corsley elects a parish council. Most local government services are provided by Wiltshire CouncilWiltshire
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...
, which has its offices in nearby Trowbridge
Trowbridge
Trowbridge is the county town of Wiltshire, England, situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, approximately 12 miles southeast of Bath, Somerset....
. The village is represented in Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
by the MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Westbury, Andrew Murrison
Andrew Murrison
Dr Andrew William Murrison is a doctor and Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. After serving as the Member of Parliament for Westbury from 2001 to 2010, at the 2010 general election he was elected for the new seat of South West Wiltshire.-Early life:The son of William Gordon...
and in Wiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council
Wiltshire Council is the unitary authority for most of the county of Wiltshire, in the West of England, the successor authority to Wiltshire County Council and to four districts—Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, and West Wiltshire—all of which had been created in 1973 and were...
by Fleur de Rhé-Philipe
Fleur de Rhé-Philipe
Fleur de Rhé-Philipe is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom. Before 2009, she was a member of Wiltshire County Council representing first the Upper Wylye division and later Westbury Laverton and was the Cabinet member for Environment, Transport & Economic Development...
.
See also
- List of places in Wiltshire
- List of civil parishes in Wiltshire
- List of civil parishes in England
- Wiltshire Victoria County HistoryWiltshire Victoria County HistoryThe Wiltshire Victoria County History is an encyclopaedic history of the county of Wiltshire in England. It forms part of the overall Victoria County History of England founded in 1899 in honour of Queen Victoria...
- St Margaret's, CorsleySt Margaret's, CorsleySt Margaret's, Corsley, is the Parish Church of Corsley in Wiltshire.Designed by John Leachman and built in the 1830s, St Margaret's is one of two Anglican churches in the parish, the other being St Mary's, Corsley, which was once a private chapel. The design and layout was very similar to those...
External links
- Wiltshire Community History - Corsley
- British History Online - Corsley
- GENUKI - Corsley
- Sturford Mead
- Cross Keys, Lyes Green