imported>Wire723: Update constituency and council warding

2024-08-24T15:28:14Z

Update constituency and council warding

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{{Use British English|date=December 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name = Kington Langley
| country = England
| coordinates = {{coord|51.492|-2.108|type:city(1000)_region:GB-WIL|display=inline,title}}
| os_grid_reference = ST926770
| static_image_name = St. Peters, Kington Langley - geograph.org.uk - 144266.jpg
| static_image_caption = St Peter's parish church, Middle Common
| population = 841
| population_ref = (in 2011)<ref>{{cite web|title=Wiltshire Community History – Census|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Census?communityId=129|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref>
| civil_parish =
| unitary_england = [[Wiltshire Council|Wiltshire]]
| lieutenancy_england = [[Wiltshire]]
| region = South West England
| constituency_westminster = [[South Cotswolds (UK Parliament constituency)|South Cotswolds]]
| post_town = [[Chippenham]]
| postcode_district = SN15
| postcode_area = SN
| dial_code = 01249
| website = {{URL|https://kingtonlangley.org/}}
}}

'''Kington Langley''' is a village and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] about {{convert|2|mi|km}} north of [[Chippenham]] in Wiltshire, England.<ref name=EX156>OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000; publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). {{ISBN|978-0319239438}}</ref> The parish includes the hamlet of '''Bowldown'''.

==Geography==
The parish covers about {{convert|1571|acre|ha}}. The geology is mostly of the [[Jurassic]] and [[Cretaceous]] periods. It is on a high water table and the soil is composed of sand with a sub-soil of [[Oxford Clay]]. The village stands on a hill, rising to {{convert|100|m|ft}} towards its western end. It is an example of a 'squared' village with approaches from Chippenham, [[Swindon]] and [[Malmesbury]]. It has three greens; the largest is the Common, which is the focal point of the village.

The village is {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} long and is separated from Kington St. Michael (to the west) by the [[A350 road]] which links Chippenham with the [[M4 motorway]] and Malmesbury.

==Governance==
Kington Langley is a [[civil parish]] with an elected [[Parish council (England)|parish council]]. It is in the area of [[Wiltshire Council]] [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]], which performs most local government functions. The parish is part of Kington [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|electoral division]], which covers six rural parishes north of Chippenham, together with Chippenham Without to the west,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Election Maps: Great Britain |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |access-date=24 August 2024 |website= |publisher=Ordnance Survey}}</ref> and elects one member of Wiltshire Council.<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Your Councillors |url=https://cms.wiltshire.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=WARD&VW=LIST&PIC=0 |access-date=24 August 2024 |website=Wiltshire Council |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
A brief history of Kington Langley is given in the relevant Wiltshire Community History page.<ref name="wch">{{cite web|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Community/Index/129|title=Kington Langley|website=Wiltshire Community History|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=16 May 2019}}</ref>

A settlement of 25 households at ''Langhelei'' was recorded in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, when the land was held by [[Glastonbury Abbey]].<ref>{{OpenDomesday|ST9277|kington-langley|(Kington) Langley}}</ref>

Kington Langley was part of the parish of [[Kington St Michael|Kington St. Michael]] until 1865.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Community/Index/130|title=Kington St. Michael|website=Wiltshire Community History|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=16 May 2019}}</ref> The Kington prefix serves to distinguish it from another nearby village, [[Langley Burrell]]. The hamlet was known as Langley Fitzurse in medieval times, although other spellings such as ''Langeleghe'' (11th century), "Langley Fearne" (c.1513), "Langley Fernhill" (1660) have been used.<ref name="wch" />

===Greathouse===

[[File:Great House, Kington Langley - geograph.org.uk - 297567.jpg|thumb|Great House, Kington Langley|alt=]]

The Greathouse, beside the B4069 road, was built in about 1690. In the 1699 marriage settlement of William Coleman and Elizabeth Hastings it is described as "All that capital messuage or tenement lately erected by William Coleman deceased (d. 1691) late Father of William Coleman".<ref>[[Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre]] Ref 873/125.</ref> It is a [[English country house|country house]] of nine [[Bay (architecture)|bays]] and two storeys.<ref name="Pevsner">Pevsner & Cherry, 1975, page 281</ref> Between 1783 and 1832 Greathouse was leased to Isaac Salter and his son Simon Salter (1766–1832) and used as a clothing factory specialising in woollen goods.<ref>[[Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre]] Ref 873/144B</ref> The third generation, Simon Uncles Salter and his brother Isaac, moved to old Burton Hill House, near [[Malmesbury]], and continued the manufacture of woollen goods at a new site near the bridge.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol14/pp127-168|title=Victoria County History: Wiltshire: Vol 14 pp127–168 – Parishes: Malmesbury|year=1991|website=British History Online|publisher=University of London|access-date=18 June 2019|editor-first1=A.P.|editor-last1=Baggs|editor-first2=Jane|editor-last2=Freeman|editor-first3=Janet H|editor-last3=Stevenson}}</ref>

Greathouse became a farmhouse, tenanted by Mr Anstey, and it was during this period (1875) that [[Francis Kilvert|Kilvert]] visited, noting "the perishing remains of a fine old china cupboard with a shell porch corresponding to the shell porch of the house".<ref>Badeni, Wiltshire Forefathers, p90.</ref> It was restored and extended between 1907 and 1913 for Charles Garnett, a stockbroker from London, who had moved from Vasterne House, Wootton Bassett. The architect was Douglas Stewart of London, and the contractors were James Long & Son of Bradford-on-Avon.<ref>[[Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre]] Ref 1144/1</ref> Greathouse Estate was sold in 1957<ref>[[Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre]] Ref 1246/8</ref> and in 1972 there was an auction of antique effects<ref>[[Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre]] ref 1246/9</ref> on behalf of [[Leonard Cheshire Disability|Leonard Cheshire]] who used the premises until 2018. The house was designated as [[Grade II* listed]] in 1960.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1022321|desc=The Greathouse|access-date=1 December 2017}}</ref>

===The Manor===
The Manor was formerly an Inn called The White Horse. It was converted to the Manor House by Walter Coleman (1778–1845) on his coming of age and inheritance of much of the land and cottages in the Tything of Kington Langley.<ref>[[Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre]] Ref 873/124, 873/125 and 873/161</ref> The house was designated as Grade II listed in 1960.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1363854|desc=Manor House|access-date=18 June 2019|fewer-links=yes}}</ref>

===Fitzurse manor and farm===
This manor was on the north side of Parkers Lane and is described by [[John Aubrey|Aubrey]]:- "In Langley is another little Mannour called Langley Fitzurse. The Hill that leades up to Langley from Kington, is to this day called Fitzurse-hill. The Estate is now Mr Bampfield Sidenham’s who bought it of the heirs of [[Ralph Hopton, 1st Baron Hopton]]. It is a very ancient-built howse with a great Hall, and moted about". There were vestiges of the moat remaining in the late 19th century, by which time the farm had been converted to Eli Holder's sawmills, on the Draycot Estate (until 1920). Most of the sawmills were demolished in the late 1930s and only the barn remained by the late 1950s.<ref>Meers 1956. Historical Notes.</ref>

There is no evidence that [[Reginald Fitzurse]], one of the Knights who murdered [[Thomas Becket]], was ever resident in Kington Langley. But Urso held land, from the Church, according to the Domesday Book. And Jordan Fitzurse was in dispute with [[Glastonbury Abbey]] in 1243.<ref>Aubrey (Ed. Jackson) Wilts Topographical Colln, WANHS, 1862</ref>

===School===
A [[National school (England and Wales)|National School]] was built by John Darley & Sons of Chippenham in 1856/7 for 50-60 children<ref>[[Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre]] Ref 782/61</ref> and enlarged in 1886; after protracted negotiation and fundraising, by subscription, a school house was added in 1859–60.<ref>[[Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre]] Ref F8/600/166/1/22/1</ref> Land for both was donated by [[William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 5th Earl of Mornington]] of Draycot House, [[Draycot Cerne]]. By 1919 there were around 90 pupils. Children of all ages attended until 1940 when those over 11 went to secondary schools in Chippenham.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/School/Details/1124|title=Langley Fitzurse Church of England Primary School|website=Wiltshire Community History|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=1 December 2017}}</ref>

==Churches==
===Parish church===
Parishioners used to have to travel more than {{convert|1|mi|km}} from Kington Langley to worship at [[Kington St Michael|Kington St. Michael]]. Until 1670, there was a [[chapel of ease]] at Kington Langley.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Church of St. Peter, Kington Langley |url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Church/Details/1015 |access-date=23 October 2022 |website=Wiltshire Community History |publisher=Wiltshire Council}}</ref> In 1857 a church was completed and dedicated to St Peter.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1283658|desc=Church of Saint Peter|access-date=30 November 2017|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> The building was designed by C.H. Gabriel and has [[lancet window]]s in an [[English Gothic architecture#Early English Gothic|Early English Gothic]] style.<ref name="Pevsner" /> In 1865 a district chapelry was created for the new church, with the same boundaries as Langley Fitzurse tithing, giving it the status of a [[Church of England parish church|parish church]] which could be used for baptisms, marriages and burials.<ref>{{London Gazette
| issue = 22928
| date = 10 January 1865
| pages = 106–107
}}</ref><ref name="Temple-Fry">{{cite web |author=Temple-Fry, Nick |date=April 2010 |title=Kington Langley   St Peter's |url=http://www.thechurchphotographer.co.uk/2010/04/kington-langley-st-peters.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716064751/http://www.thechurchphotographer.co.uk/2010/04/kington-langley-st-peters.html |archive-date=16 July 2010 |access-date=18 June 2010 |work=theChurchPhotographer |publisher=Nick Temple-Fry}}</ref> St. Peter's is in the [[Diocese of Bristol]].

From 1954 the vicar of Kington Langley also served the former parish of [[Draycot Cerne]], which lost its church in 1994 when [[St James's Church, Draycot Cerne|St James']] was declared redundant. Today the parish is part of the Draycot benefice, which covers five neighbouring parishes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://draycot.weebly.com/kington-langley.html|title=St Peter's - Kington Langley|website=Draycot Benefice|access-date=30 November 2017}}</ref>

=== Union Chapel ===
The earliest known record of Protestant [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Dissenters]] meeting for worship in Kington Langley is dated 1742. They met in private houses until 1834, when the house registered for their meetings was that of James Pinnegar, a builder. Pinnegar built Union Chapel on the Common, completing it in 1835.<ref name=Pevsner/> The name refers to its foundation as a union of Dissenters of the [[Baptist]], [[British Province of the Moravian Church|Moravian]] and Independent traditions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Union Chapel, Kington Langley|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Church/Details/1019|website=Wiltshire Community History|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref>

The chapel choir met in the middle of the nineteenth century at a chapel-goer's house on Sundays.{{citation needed|date=June 2010}} The chapel also had a band that used instruments such as flutes and violas.{{citation needed|date=June 2010}}

Union Chapel remains independent, and as of 2015 is active under the title of Union Chapel Christian Fellowship.<ref>{{cite web|title=Union Chapel|url=http://www.kingtonlangley.org/union-chapel/|publisher=Kington Langley Parish Council|access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref>

==Amenities==
Kington Langley had two [[public house]]s: the ''Hit or Miss Inn'' (17th century)<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1283664|desc=The Hit or Miss Inn|access-date=1 December 2017}}</ref> and the ''Plough Inn'' (17th and 18th).<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1283620|desc=The Plough Inn|access-date=1 December 2017}}</ref> now both closed. The primary school continues as Langley Fitzurse [[CofE]] Primary School, with [[Voluntary controlled school|voluntary controlled]] status. There is a [[village hall]], a playing field, a tennis court and a park.

==Notable people==
*[[Francis Kilvert]] (1840–1879), diarist and grandson of Walter Coleman, Lord of the Manor.
*[[Harry Dolman]] (1897–1977), chairman and president of [[Bristol City F.C.]]
*[[Norris McWhirter]] (1925–2004), co-founder and editor of ''[[Guinness World Records]]''
*[[Robin Tanner (artist)|Robin Tanner]] (1904–1988), artist
*[[Heather Tanner]] (1903–1993), writer and campaigner

''Wiltshire Village'', a 1939 book published by Collins with text by Heather Tanner and illustrations by her husband Robin, is a thinly disguised description of local village life.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |last1=Pevsner |first1=Nikolaus |author-link1=Nikolaus Pevsner |last2=Cherry |first2=Bridget (revision) |title=[[Pevsner Architectural Guides#Buildings of England|The Buildings of England]]: Wiltshire |orig-year=1963 |year=1975 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |location=Harmondsworth |page=281}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}
* [https://kingtonlangley.org/ Kington Langley village website]
* [https://memoriesofkingtonlangley.podbean.com/ Memories of Kington Langley] – podcast series begun in 2019
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Wiltshire]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Wiltshire]]

Kington Langley - Revision history

imported>Wire723: Update constituency and council warding