Alton Priors, Wiltshire
Historical Description
Alton-Priors, a township and chapelry in Overton parish, Wilts, on the Kennet and Avon Canal, contiguous to Alton-Barnes, 7 miles E of Devizes. It includes the tithing of Stowell, and its post town is Pewsey; money order and telegraph office, Woodborough railway station, 2 miles distant. Acreage, 1909; population, 178. The manor belonged anciently to Winchester monastery. The living is a curacy, annexed to Overton vicarage, in the diocese of Salisbury. The church has a curious brass of 1528.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Wiltshire | |
| Civil parish | Overton | |
| Hundred | Elstub and Everley | |
| Poor Law union | Pewsey |
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 Alton Priors:
| Baptisms | Banns | Marriages | Burials |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1604-1880 | 1604-1845 | 1619-1880 |
Churches
Church of England
All Saints (parish church)
The parish church of All Saints is an ancient building of stone in the Norman style, consisting of chancel and nave, and an embattled western tower containing 3 bells: the east window is stained: in the chancel is a marble tomb, with brass dated 1590, to William Button, and ancestor of Sir Henry Bruce Meux bart. and in the floor of the nave is a brass representing a nun, dated 1528, to Agnes Button: there are 120 sittings.
The register dates from the year 1664.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Alton Priors from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Alton-Priors)
Maps
Online maps of Alton Priors 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: