Tidworth
Encyclopedia
Tidworth is a town in south-east Wiltshire
, England with a growing civilian
population. Situated at the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain
, it is approximately 10 miles west of Andover
, 12 miles south of Marlborough, 24 miles south of Swindon
, 15 miles north by north-east of Salisbury and 6 miles east of Amesbury
. Its population is approximately 9,500.
as Todeorde, in the Andover
Hundred
, in "Hantscire". It was once the family home of the Studd
family. On John Speed
's maps (1611), the town is referred to as Tudworth, North Tudworth belonging to Amesbury
hundred in "Wilshire", and South Tudworth to Andover hundred in "Hamshire". When the boundary between Wiltshire
and Hampshire
was redrawn in 1992, the old distinction between North Tidworth and South Tidworth vanished, and the entire town became part of Wiltshire. The separate parts remained as two separate civil parishes until April 1, 2004.
). The military mainly because many units are being relocated to Tidworth as the army
centralises its forces around the major training areas of the country, due to both economic and practical purposes. Its situation near the A303
, and hence the M3
, make it attractive to commuters.
The barracks
at Tidworth are named after British Army
battles in India and Afghanistan
(e.g. Aliwal
, Assaye
, Bhurtpore
, Candahar
, Delhi
and Lucknow
).
Tidworth has a small commercial area, containing: 2 supermarket
s (a Lidl
and a large Tesco
opened in December 2007), 2 hairdresser
's, 2 veterinary surgeries and various takeaway outlets. This area is based upon Station Road (so named because there was once a railway station there). At the base of this hill is a dental surgery
(completed in 2005) which serves Tidworth and the surrounding area (approx. 5,000 people). In 2003 a new medical centre
was completed, the cost being split between the Ministry of Defence
and the NHS
and it serves both the armed forces
and their dependants within the surrounding area.
Tidworth has one of the lowest crime rates per thousand in Wiltshire and between the years of 1990 and 2004 only one major crime took place.
Zouch, Avon and Mathews are exclusively married quarters for NCO
s in the armed services living in Tidworth or one of the many other military bases nearby.
Officers' married quarters are mainly housed in South Tidworth.
Council and private housing is contained within Hilltop Avenue, Forest Drive, Gason Hill and Manor Bridge.
and surrounding villages. Located on the eastern edge of Tidworth at Castledown, the academy moved into its £32million purpose built campus in 2011, which includes boarding for 100 students and dedicated CCF facilities. The boarding unit has been funded by central government as part of a drive to improve stability for military families. The local garrison commander is a governor of the academy, which is named after Wellington College in Berkshire
, the independent school founded as a national memorial to the Duke of Wellington
. The academy is a non-selective, 11-19 state funded secondary school.
in South Tidworth was built in 1878. It is a Grade I listed building now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
. The church was built, of rock faced brown stone, in a Gothic Revival style, by John Johnson, with work supervised by G.H. Gordon, for Sir John Kelk of the Kelk Baronets
, near the site of an older medieval parish church. The chancel
is 28 feet (8.5 m) by 17 feet (5.2 m) and the nave
43 feet (13.1 m) by 17 feet (5.2 m). There are also north and south aisle
s and a north vestry and a south porch. The interior includes carvings and polished marble shafts in the columns of the arcade piers. The chancel
floor is laid with Italian mosaic. There is also a silver
chalice
s and paten
s of 1837 and 1877 and a silver-gilt flagon of 1869. The altar
and stone carvings were built by Farmer & Brindley
. The church was declared redundant
in 1972 and passed to the Redundant Churches Fund, which became the Churches Conservation Trust, in 1973.
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 with a growing civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
population. Situated at the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
, it is approximately 10 miles west of Andover
Andover, Hampshire
Andover is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton some 18.5 miles west of the town of Basingstoke, 18.5 miles north-west of the city of Winchester and 25 miles north of the city of Southampton...
, 12 miles south of Marlborough, 24 miles south of Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, 15 miles north by north-east of Salisbury and 6 miles east of Amesbury
Amesbury
Amesbury is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is most famous for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is in its parish, and for the discovery of the Amesbury Archer—dubbed the King of Stonehenge in the press—in 2002...
. Its population is approximately 9,500.
History
Tidworth was listed in the 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...
as Todeorde, in the Andover
Andover, Hampshire
Andover is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton some 18.5 miles west of the town of Basingstoke, 18.5 miles north-west of the city of Winchester and 25 miles north of the city of Southampton...
Hundred
Hundred (division)
A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in England, Wales, Denmark, South Australia, some parts of the United States, Germany , Sweden, Finland and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions...
, in "Hantscire". It was once the family home of the Studd
Studd
-The cricketing and missionary Studds:The Studd family were a wealthy Victorian English family who produced a number of outstanding cricketers, missionaries and two Lord Mayors of London. The family is believed to be descended from William the Conqueror, King of England...
family. On John Speed
John Speed
John Speed was an English historian and cartographer.-Life:He was born at Farndon, Cheshire, and went into his father's tailoring business where he worked until he was about 50...
's maps (1611), the town is referred to as Tudworth, North Tudworth belonging to Amesbury
Amesbury
Amesbury is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is most famous for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is in its parish, and for the discovery of the Amesbury Archer—dubbed the King of Stonehenge in the press—in 2002...
hundred in "Wilshire", and South Tudworth to Andover hundred in "Hamshire". When the boundary between 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...
and Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
was redrawn in 1992, the old distinction between North Tidworth and South Tidworth vanished, and the entire town became part of Wiltshire. The separate parts remained as two separate civil parishes until April 1, 2004.
Today
In recent years the population of Tidworth has increased in both the civilian and military quarters (Tidworth is home to the 1st Mechanised BrigadeArmoured warfare
Armoured warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war....
). The military mainly because many units are being relocated to Tidworth as the army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
centralises its forces around the major training areas of the country, due to both economic and practical purposes. Its situation near the A303
A303 road
The A303 is a 92-mile long trunk road in England. It is the main road between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon. The M3, the A303 and the A30 together make up one of the main routes from London to South West England, running from London to Land's End in Cornwall...
, and hence the M3
M3 motorway
The M3 motorway runs in England for approximately from Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, to Southampton, Hampshire and forms an unsigned section European route E05. It is dual three lanes as far as Junction 8 near Basingstoke and then dual two lane until Junction 9 near Winchester and then dual three...
, make it attractive to commuters.
The barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
at Tidworth are named after British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
battles in India and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
(e.g. Aliwal
Battle of Aliwal
The Battle of Aliwal was fought on 28 January 1846 between the British and the Sikhs. The British were led by Sir Harry Smith, while the Sikhs were led by Ranjodh Singh Majithia...
, Assaye
Battle of Assaye
The Battle of Assaye was a major battle of the Second Anglo-Maratha War fought between the Maratha Confederacy and the British East India Company...
, Bhurtpore
Battle of Bharatpur
The Siege of Bharatpur took place between 2 January and 22 February 1805 in what is now Rajasthan, India, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War. Forces of the British East India Company, led by General Gerard Lake, were four times repulsed in attempts to storm the fortress...
, Candahar
Battle of Kandahar
The Battle of Kandahar, 1 September 1880, was the last major conflict of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The battle in southern Afghanistan was fought between the British forces under command of General Roberts and the Afghan forces led by Ayub Khan, inflicting nearly 3,000 casualties in...
, Delhi
Battle of Delhi
The Battle of Delhi took place on 11 September 1803 during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, between British troops under General Lake, and Marathas of Scindia's army under French General Louis Bourquin...
and Lucknow
Siege of Lucknow
The Siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defense of the Residency within the city of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief attempts had reached the city, the defenders and civilians were evacuated from the Residency, which was abandoned.Lucknow was the capital of...
).
Tidworth has a small commercial area, containing: 2 supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s (a Lidl
Lidl
Lidl is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany that operates over 7,200 stores across Europe. The company's full name is Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG...
and a large Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
opened in December 2007), 2 hairdresser
Hairdresser
Hairdresser is a term referring to anyone whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques...
's, 2 veterinary surgeries and various takeaway outlets. This area is based upon Station Road (so named because there was once a railway station there). At the base of this hill is a dental surgery
Dental surgery
Dental surgery is any of a number of medical procedures that involve artificially modifying dentition, in other words surgery of the teeth and jaw bones.-Types:Some of the more common are:...
(completed in 2005) which serves Tidworth and the surrounding area (approx. 5,000 people). In 2003 a new medical centre
Clinic
A clinic is a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients...
was completed, the cost being split between the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
and the NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
and it serves both the armed forces
Armed forces
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
and their dependants within the surrounding area.
Tidworth has one of the lowest crime rates per thousand in Wiltshire and between the years of 1990 and 2004 only one major crime took place.
Zouch, Avon and Mathews are exclusively married quarters for NCO
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
s in the armed services living in Tidworth or one of the many other military bases nearby.
Officers' married quarters are mainly housed in South Tidworth.
Council and private housing is contained within Hilltop Avenue, Forest Drive, Gason Hill and Manor Bridge.
Secondary school
The new Wellington Academy opened in September 2009, serving Tidworth, LudgershallLudgershall, Wiltshire
Ludgershall is a town and civil parish north east of Salisbury, Wiltshire, at grid SU264509. The population was: 535 in 1831; 1,906 in 1951; and 3,775 in 2001. Ludgershall is now officially a town.-Historical features:...
and surrounding villages. Located on the eastern edge of Tidworth at Castledown, the academy moved into its £32million purpose built campus in 2011, which includes boarding for 100 students and dedicated CCF facilities. The boarding unit has been funded by central government as part of a drive to improve stability for military families. The local garrison commander is a governor of the academy, which is named after Wellington College in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, the independent school founded as a national memorial to the Duke of Wellington
Duke of Wellington
The Dukedom of Wellington, derived from Wellington in Somerset, is a hereditary title in the senior rank of the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first holder of the title was Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington , the noted Irish-born career British Army officer and statesman, and...
. The academy is a non-selective, 11-19 state funded secondary school.
Religious sites
St Mary's ChurchSt Mary's Church, South Tidworth
St Mary's Church in South Tidworth, Wiltshire, England was built in 1878. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is now a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust....
in South Tidworth was built in 1878. It is a Grade I listed building now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
. The church was built, of rock faced brown stone, in a Gothic Revival style, by John Johnson, with work supervised by G.H. Gordon, for Sir John Kelk of the Kelk Baronets
Kelk Baronets
The Kelk Baronetcy, of Bentley Priory in the Parish of Stanmore and of Lancaster Gate, both in the County of Middlesex, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 16 May 1874 for the civil engineering contractor and former Member of Parliament for Harwich, John Kelk. The...
, near the site of an older medieval parish church. The chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
is 28 feet (8.5 m) by 17 feet (5.2 m) and the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
43 feet (13.1 m) by 17 feet (5.2 m). There are also north and south aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
s and a north vestry and a south porch. The interior includes carvings and polished marble shafts in the columns of the arcade piers. The chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
floor is laid with Italian mosaic. There is also a silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
chalice
Chalice
A chalice is a goblet or footed cup intended to hold a drink. This can also refer to;* Holy Chalice, the vessel which Jesus used at the Last Supper to serve the wine* Chalice , a type of smoking pipe...
s and paten
Paten
A paten, or diskos, is a small plate, usually made of silver or gold, used to hold Eucharistic bread which is to be consecrated. It is generally used during the service itself, while the reserved hosts are stored in the Tabernacle in a ciborium....
s of 1837 and 1877 and a silver-gilt flagon of 1869. The altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
and stone carvings were built by Farmer & Brindley
Farmer & Brindley
Farmer & Brindley was a firm of architectural sculptors and ornamentalists based in London, founded by William Farmer and William Brindley , who contributed to some of the greatest structures of the Victorian era....
. The church was declared redundant
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
in 1972 and passed to the Redundant Churches Fund, which became the Churches Conservation Trust, in 1973.
Culture
- The musician James BluntJames BluntJames Hillier Blount , better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", brought him to fame in 2005...
was born in Tidworth. - The StuddStudd-The cricketing and missionary Studds:The Studd family were a wealthy Victorian English family who produced a number of outstanding cricketers, missionaries and two Lord Mayors of London. The family is believed to be descended from William the Conqueror, King of England...
family of the AshesThe AshesThe Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
fame owned and lived in Tedworth House. - Tidworth PoloPoloPolo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
Club is the second largest in the country and frequently plays host to royals such as Princes William and Harry. - Tidworth Garrison Golf Club was constructed in 1904 initially for use by army officers. It was established in 1908 and gradually made available to all ranks and civilians. In 2000 it became a limited company.