South Wraxall, Wiltshire

Historical Description

Wraxall, South, a parish consisting of Lower Wraxall and Upper Wraxall hamlets, Wiltshire, 3 miles N of Bradford station on the G.W.R. It has a post office under Bradford-on-Avon; money order and telegraph office, Bradford-on-Avon. Population, 337. There is a parish council consisting of seven members. Wraxall Manor House, dating from the 13th century, is a good specimen of a mediaeval mansion, containing some fine oak carving, and is supposed to be the first house in England in which tobacco was used, tradition asserting that Sir Walter Long and Sir Walter Raleigh used to smoke here out of silver pipes. The living is a vicarage, with Atworth, in the diocese of Salisbury; net value, £200 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Bristol. The church is an ancient and interesting building in the Early Perpendicular style, has been restored, and contains some monuments to the Long family.

Administration

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

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

Church Records

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

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for South Wraxall from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Wraxall, South)

Maps

Online maps of South Wraxall are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

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

• Salisbury and Winchester Journal
• Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette
• Wiltshire Independent
• Swindon Advertiser and North Wilts Chronicle