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Littlecott, Wiltshire

Historical Description

Littlecott, a tithing in Enford parish, Wiltshire, on the river Kennet, 3½ miles NW of Hungerford. Post town and money order and telegraph office, Upavon. Littlecott Park belonged to the Dayrells or Darrels, and passed in the time of Elizabeth to the Pophams. The mansion was built in the loth century by the Dayrells, and remains almost unaltered. The great hall measures 46 feet by 24, and is hung with crossbows, buff-jerkins, steel caps, and other armour of Cromwell's soldiery; the gallery is 110 feet long, and contains family portraits, including those of Judge Popham and Nell Gwynn; another apartment contains the chair of Judge Popham and a curious instrument of torture called the finger-stocks, and another contains a piece of needlework representing a tessellated Roman pavement which was found in the park in 1730, measured 41 feet by 33, and exhibited a variety of decorated devices. A strange story respecting a barbarous infanticide is associated with the house at the time of the Dayrells and with some extant features in it, and has been told by Aubrey, by Scott in a note to " Rokeby," and by many others. William of Orange stopped at the house in December, 1688, when negotiating with James II. at Hungerford. Pickedfield, which belonged to the Littlecott domain, was purchased by Government in 1803 for the forming of an Ordnance depot, but it was repurchased after a time by General Popham, and the magazines, store-houses, and other buildings erected on it were taken down.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient CountyWiltshire 
Civil parishEnford 
HundredElstub and Everley 
Poor Law unionPewsey 

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Littlecott from the following:


Maps

Online maps of Littlecott are available from a number of sites:


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Wiltshire papers online:

CountyWiltshire
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Postal districtSN11
Post TownCalne

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