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West Harnham, Wiltshire

Historical Description

Harnham, West, a parish in Wilts, near the river Avon, 1½ mile SW by W of Salisbury station on the G.W.R. Post town, Salisbury; money order and telegraph office, Salisbury. Acreage, 1179; population of the civil parish, 254; of the ecclesiastical, 790. Harnham Hill commands a very fine view of Salisbury. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the vicarage of East Harnham, in the diocese of Salisbury. The church is ancient and good, and has a tower. It was well restored in 1873.

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 parishWest Harnham St. George 
HundredCawden and Cadworth 
Poor Law unionAlderbury 

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


Church Records

The register dates from the year 1567 and contains several curious and quaint entries.

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

BaptismsBannsMarriagesBurials
1567-1880 1589-18541588-1880

Churches

Church of England

St. George (parish church)

The church of St. George is an ancient building of stone, flint and brick, dating from about the 12th century, and consists of chancel, nave, south chapel, south porch and a tower on the north side containing 2 bells: the chancel is entered by a fine Decorated arch and contains some remarkable corbels, a good piscina and a Norman window: the sanctuary is adorned with five paintings, the gift of A. Weigall esq. of The Close, Salisbury. The nave has a Norman window on the north and the bowl of an Early English font: at the south-east corner is a remarkable structure, said to be the remains of an ancient stone altar, and on which the south pillar of the chancel arch is built: behind it are considerable traces of an ancient wall painting in a niche: the south chapel contains a good piscina and a splayed low side window: two corbels in the east wall of the chapel are adorned with an "Entombment" and a "Presentation," carved in oak, the gift of the Rev. G. H. Bourne D.C.L. treasurer and prebendary of Salisbury Cathedral, and in the chapel now stands the Jacobean altar-table of oak, formerly in the chancel: a Jacobean oak screen divides the chapel from the nave: the south porch contains several old inscriptions: the church was restored in 1873 under the direction of Mr. Wyatt, architect, and has sittings for 150 persons.


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 West Harnham from the following:


Newspapers and Periodicals

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