Horningsham, Wiltshire
Historical Description
Horningsham, a village and a parish in Wiltshire. The village stands near the boundary with Somerset, 4½ miles SW of Warminster town and station on the G.W.R., enjoys picturesque environs, resembling the best parts of Devonshire, and has a post and telegraph office under Warminster; money order office, Maiden Bradley. Acreage, 3449; population of the civil parish, 862; of the ecclesiastical, 803. A well is here covered with masonry, partly old, and inscribed with the words-."0 ye wells, bless the Lord; with thee is the spring of life." The manor belonged formerly to the Arun-dells of Wardour, and belongs now to the Marquis of Bath. Remains of the Arundells' manor house adjoin the church, and contain in an upper room a chimney-piece sculptured with their arms, and reaching from floor to ceiling. Part of the extensive park of Longleat, the seat of the Marquis of Bath, is within the parish. Fine views over parts of Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, and Somerset are commanded by a hill. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Salisbury; value, £240 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Salisbury. The church, excepting the tower, was rebuilt in 1844 by the Marchioness of Bath, after designs by Wyatt and Brandon, at a cost of more than £5000, and is a handsome edifice. Bishop Ken usually repaired to the old church during his residence at Longleat, and he is said to have composed on a neighbouring eminence his "Morning and Evening Hymns." There are a Congregational chapel, a national school, and charities.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Wiltshire | |
Ecclesiastical parish | Horningsham St. John the Baptist | |
Hundred | Heytesbury | |
Poor Law union | Warminster |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register dates from the year 1561.
Findmypast, in association with the Wiltshire Record Office, have the following parish records online for Horningsham:
Baptisms | Banns | Marriages | Burials |
---|---|---|---|
1576-1880 | 1754-1814 | 1561-1926 | 1561-1896 |
Churches
Church of England
St. John the Baptist (parish church)
The church of St. John the Baptist, rebuilt with the exception of the tower, in 1844, at the expense of Harriet, Marchioness of Bath, is a building of stone in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, north porch, aisles, and a western tower, with pinnacles, containing 6 bells, rehung in 1906, at the cost of the Marquess of Bath: there are four stained windows: the church will seat about 500 persons.
Congregational
Congregational Chapel
The Congregational chapel, founded in 1566, had 300 sittings.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Horningsham from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Horningsham (St. John the Baptist))
Maps
Online maps of Horningsham 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: