Luckington
Encyclopedia
Luckington is a village in north-west Wiltshire
, England
, on the road linking Old Sodbury
and Malmesbury — the B4040. Its name means a settlement connected with (someone named) Luc(c)a.
in Room 101
as an example of an outstandingly good Post Office and community hub.
Luckington has a primary school with fewer than fifty pupils taught by three full-time teachers and two teaching assistants. There are good playing fields and a village hall, each run by committees.
The farms which surround Luckington are both dairy and arable; some are owned by the Badminton Estate
. The Beaufort Hunt and the proximity of Badminton
have a bearing on village culture. Luckington holds its own fête each year, usually early in July.
The village has a Church-of-England Church and a Methodist Chapel; it has no Mosque. Luckington is a largely unspoiled little patch of rural England.
house at its centre was used as the location for ‘Longbourn’, the home of the Bennet family in the BBC
production of Pride and Prejudice
.
The actor John Thaw
owned a house in Luckington and died there in February 2002. His widow, Sheila Hancock
and family are still occasionally resident.
Luckington inspired the English composer Basil Harwood
when writing the hymn tune
of that name, often used for Let all the world in every corner sing.
Walkers and cyclists frequent its popular pub, the Old Royal Ship Inn. The Beaufort Hunt also meets there occasionally.
are in the valley to the south of the village. There is a concrete-slab footbridge which takes the MacMillan Way over the river. This crossing point is on the site of a long-vanished tannery.
is a little over two miles away to the south-west. Abutting Luckington to the west is the locale of Cherry Orchard. This comprises one house and a derelict barn, both owned by the Beaufort Estate. After Cherry Orchard, the west-heading road becomes a track as it crosses the county border into Gloucestershire
.
A village and a parish in Malmsbury district, Wilts. The village stands near the boundary with Gloucestershire, 7 miles WSW of Malmsbury, and 10 NW of Chippenham r. station; and has a post office, under Chippenham. The parish comprises 1,625 acres. Real property, £3,101; of which £10 are in quarries. Pop., 316. Houses, 78. The property is much subdivided. The manor belonged to King Harold, and passed to the Seymours. There are barrows and a cromlech. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value, £382.,* Patron, the Rev. J. F. Goggin. The church is ancient, with a tower; and was, still recently, in bad condition. Charities, £16.
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...
, on the road linking Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury is a small village in the valley of the River Frome just below and to the west of the Cotswold escarpment and to the east of Chipping Sodbury and Yate in South Gloucestershire, England. The village extends from Chipping Sodbury in the West to the Cotswold Edge in the East and is on the...
and Malmesbury — the B4040. Its name means a settlement connected with (someone named) Luc(c)a.
People
The village has a population of about 550 people (this is a 2011 pre-census estimate) who support, along with a pub, a single village shop. This was described by Sheila HancockSheila Hancock
Sheila Cameron Hancock, CBE is an English actress and author.-Early life:Sheila Hancock was born in Blackgang on the Isle of Wight, the daughter of Ivy Louise and Enrico Cameron Hancock, who was a publican. Her sister Billie is seven years older...
in Room 101
Room 101 (TV series)
Room 101 is a BBC comedy television series based on the radio series of the same name, in which celebrities were invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign them to a fate worse than death in Room 101, named after the torture room in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which is...
as an example of an outstandingly good Post Office and community hub.
Luckington has a primary school with fewer than fifty pupils taught by three full-time teachers and two teaching assistants. There are good playing fields and a village hall, each run by committees.
The farms which surround Luckington are both dairy and arable; some are owned by the Badminton Estate
Badminton House
Badminton House is a large country house in Gloucestershire, England, and has been the principal seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the late 17th century, when the family moved from Raglan Castle, which had been ruined in the English Civil War...
. The Beaufort Hunt and the proximity of Badminton
Badminton, Gloucestershire
Badminton, Gloucestershire, is a village in England famous for its horse trials, which take place in early May each year in the grounds of the Duke of Beaufort's residence, Badminton House...
have a bearing on village culture. Luckington holds its own fête each year, usually early in July.
The village has a Church-of-England Church and a Methodist Chapel; it has no Mosque. Luckington is a largely unspoiled little patch of rural England.
Census Data
| Census Year | Population | Number of Houses |
|---|---|---|
| 1881 | 336 | 81 |
| 1891 | 394 | 90 |
| 1901 | 390 | 89 |
| 1911 | 356 | not recorded |
| 1921 | 293 | 84 |
| 1931 | 348 | 89 |
| 1951 | 470 | 135 |
| 1961 | 466 | 148 |
Connections in Popular Culture
The local Luckington Court Gardens used to be open to the public. The Queen Anne styleQueen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
house at its centre was used as the location for ‘Longbourn’, the home of the Bennet family in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
production of Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice (1995 TV serial)
Pride and Prejudice is a six-episode 1995 British television drama, adapted by Andrew Davies from Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth starred as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Produced by Sue Birtwistle and directed by Simon Langton, the serial was a BBC...
.
The actor John Thaw
John Thaw
John Edward Thaw, CBE was an English actor, who appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles, his most popular being police and legal dramas such as Redcap, The Sweeney, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC.-Early life:Thaw came from a working class background, having been born in Gorton,...
owned a house in Luckington and died there in February 2002. His widow, Sheila Hancock
Sheila Hancock
Sheila Cameron Hancock, CBE is an English actress and author.-Early life:Sheila Hancock was born in Blackgang on the Isle of Wight, the daughter of Ivy Louise and Enrico Cameron Hancock, who was a publican. Her sister Billie is seven years older...
and family are still occasionally resident.
Luckington inspired the English composer Basil Harwood
Basil Harwood
Basil Harwood was an English organist and composer.-Life:Basil Harwood was born in Woodhouse, Gloucestershire on 11 April 1859. His mother died in 1867 when Basil was eight. His parents were Quakers but his elder sister Ada, on reaching 21 in 1867, converted to the Anglican Church...
when writing the hymn tune
Hymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm , and no refrain or chorus....
of that name, often used for Let all the world in every corner sing.
Walkers and cyclists frequent its popular pub, the Old Royal Ship Inn. The Beaufort Hunt also meets there occasionally.
The Sources of the Avon
The seasonal springs which are the sources of the Bristol AvonRiver Avon, Bristol
The River Avon is an English river in the south west of the country. To distinguish it from a number of other River Avons in Britain, this river is often also known as the Lower Avon or Bristol Avon...
are in the valley to the south of the village. There is a concrete-slab footbridge which takes the MacMillan Way over the river. This crossing point is on the site of a long-vanished tannery.
Around Luckington
Just a mile beyond this valley is the village of Alderton, to the south-east. BadmintonBadminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
is a little over two miles away to the south-west. Abutting Luckington to the west is the locale of Cherry Orchard. This comprises one house and a derelict barn, both owned by the Beaufort Estate. After Cherry Orchard, the west-heading road becomes a track as it crosses the county border into Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
.
History
In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Luckington as:A village and a parish in Malmsbury district, Wilts. The village stands near the boundary with Gloucestershire, 7 miles WSW of Malmsbury, and 10 NW of Chippenham r. station; and has a post office, under Chippenham. The parish comprises 1,625 acres. Real property, £3,101; of which £10 are in quarries. Pop., 316. Houses, 78. The property is much subdivided. The manor belonged to King Harold, and passed to the Seymours. There are barrows and a cromlech. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value, £382.,* Patron, the Rev. J. F. Goggin. The church is ancient, with a tower; and was, still recently, in bad condition. Charities, £16.