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Sherston Magna, Wiltshire

Historical Description

Sherston Magna, a village and a parish in Wilts. The village stands on the river Avon, 5¼ miles WSW of Malmesbury station on the G.W.R. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Malmesbury. Acreage of the civil parish, 3758; population, 1349; of the ecclesiastical, 1524. It was known to the Saxons as Sceorstan, witnessed an obstinate battle in 1016 between Edmund Ironside and Canute, and was long a place of considerable consequence. Roman coins have been found; a deep well, supposed to have been of Roman origin, is behind the village, and an entrenched camp, probably Saxon, is a little to the NE. The living is a vicarage, united with Sherston Parva, in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; gross value, £220 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester. The church is Norman and cruciform, and has a central tower. It has been beautifully restored chiefly through the exertions of the Cresswell family. The Norman arches date from 1135. There are Congregational, Baptist, and Primitive Methodist chapels.

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 
Ecclesiastical parishSherston Magna Holy Cross 
HundredChippenham 
Poor Law unionMalmesbury 

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


Church Records

The Phillimore transcript of Marriages at Sherston Magna 1653-1812, Wiltshire is available to browse online.

Findmypast, in association with the Wiltshire Record Office, have the following parish records online for Sherston Magna:

BaptismsBannsMarriagesBurials
1601-1864 1601-18641838-1864

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.


Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Sherston Magna from the following:


Newspapers and Periodicals

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