Steeple Ashton
Encyclopedia
Steeple Ashton is a village and a civil parish
in Wiltshire
, England
.
The village also abuts Keevil Airfield, an active military aerodrome which served throughout World War Two as home to squadrons of Bomber Command
, and also a launch site for gliders taking part in Operation Market Garden
, made famous in A Bridge Too Far. These days there is a well-attended Gliding club at the airfield, and the army and air force regularly train there, too. There is an annual 10k run around the airfield, and last year, the world record for a three legged race was broken on the perimeter track.
The parish had 931 inhabitants in 2001. It had twice as many in 1981. This is due to the parish boundary of Trowbridge
being moved to include some new housing estates which had been built at the edge of the town but within the parish of Steeple Ashton.
Steeple Ashton is the location of a 26.5 hectare
geological Site of Special Scientific Interest , notified in 1998.
Until the Dissolution of the Monasteries
, Steeple Ashton was a manor
of Romsey Abbey
. It was also part of the hundred of Whorwellsdown
.
The first element of the village's name may represent the steeple
of the church, which is claimed to have been struck by lightning
in the 17th century and the steeple rebuilt, only to be struck by lightning a second time. It was not rebuilt again, and the present day church has only a square tower. Some locals have it that a third spire was abandoned on the basis that the first two lightning strikes intimated divine disapproval of the steeple.
However, the prefix 'Staple-' or 'Steeple- sometimes indicates the privilege of holding a market, with a stapol or pole being set up to advertise its location to all passing through. Steeple Ashton was indeed once a market town
, holding a weekly market, the market cross
for which still stands on the village green
.
A great fire destroyed the textile mills within the small town, and when it came to rebuilding they moved to the nearby town of Trowbridge
, where the River Biss
provided better power. The business of the market then moved to neighbouring towns, such as Market Lavington
.
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
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...
.
Description
Steeple Ashton today is a busy village. It has an award winning local shop, run by a small army of volunteers, a thriving pub, a football team, an active Trust supporting the Church which organises events, a day nursery, recently a 'screen in the sticks' cinema and an informative village magazine published monthly, not to mention a number of special interest groups. The school closed about five years ago and children are now educated at nearby Keevil school.The village also abuts Keevil Airfield, an active military aerodrome which served throughout World War Two as home to squadrons of Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
, and also a launch site for gliders taking part in Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
, made famous in A Bridge Too Far. These days there is a well-attended Gliding club at the airfield, and the army and air force regularly train there, too. There is an annual 10k run around the airfield, and last year, the world record for a three legged race was broken on the perimeter track.
The parish had 931 inhabitants in 2001. It had twice as many in 1981. This is due to the parish boundary of 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....
being moved to include some new housing estates which had been built at the edge of the town but within the parish of Steeple Ashton.
Steeple Ashton is the location of a 26.5 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
geological Site of Special Scientific Interest , notified in 1998.
Name and history
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...
, Steeple Ashton was a manor
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...
of Romsey Abbey
Romsey Abbey
Romsey Abbey is a parish church of the Church of England in Romsey, a market town in Hampshire, England. Until the dissolution it was the church of a Benedictine nunnery.-Background:...
. It was also part of the hundred of Whorwellsdown
Whorwellsdown (hundred)
Whorwellsdown was a hundred of the English county of Wiltshire, lying in the west of the county to the south of the towns of Bradford on Avon and Melksham and to the north and east of Westbury...
.
The first element of the village's name may represent the steeple
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
of the church, which is claimed to have been struck by lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
in the 17th century and the steeple rebuilt, only to be struck by lightning a second time. It was not rebuilt again, and the present day church has only a square tower. Some locals have it that a third spire was abandoned on the basis that the first two lightning strikes intimated divine disapproval of the steeple.
However, the prefix 'Staple-' or 'Steeple- sometimes indicates the privilege of holding a market, with a stapol or pole being set up to advertise its location to all passing through. Steeple Ashton was indeed once a market town
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
, holding a weekly market, the market cross
Market cross
A market cross is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, originally from the distinctive tradition in Early Medieval Insular art of free-standing stone standing or high crosses, often elaborately carved, which goes back to the 7th century. Market crosses can be found in most...
for which still stands on the village green
Village green
A village green is a common open area which is a part of a settlement. Traditionally, such an area was often common grass land at the centre of a small agricultural settlement, used for grazing and sometimes for community events...
.
A great fire destroyed the textile mills within the small town, and when it came to rebuilding they moved to the nearby town of 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....
, where the River Biss
River Biss
The River Biss is a small river in Wiltshire, England and is a tributary of the Avon. The name is of uncertain origin; it is claimed that the word is from the Old Norse bisa, meaning "to strive".-Progress:...
provided better power. The business of the market then moved to neighbouring towns, such as Market Lavington
Market Lavington
Market Lavington is a large village with a population of about 2,300 on the northern edge of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, near the market town of Devizes.-Status:...
.
External links
- English Nature website (SSSI information)
- Steeple Ashton Online (Steeple Ashton Online)