West Lavington, Wiltshire
Historical Description
Lavington, West, a village and a parish in Wilts. The village stands under the Ridge Way, 1 mile SW of Market Lavington, and 6½ miles S by W of Devizes station on the G.W.R. It suffered much from a fire in 1689, is still a considerable place, and has a post office under Devizes; money order office, Littleton Pannell; telegraph office, Market Lavington. The parish contains also the tithing of Littleton Pannell, and is sometimes called Bishops Lavington. It comprises 5906 acres; population of the civil parish, 1088; of the ecclesiastical, 1093. A seat of the Danvers family was here, passed to the Dauntseys and the Montagues, and was sold to the late Duke of Marlborough. A considerable area is disposed in market gardens, for sending produce to Salisbury and Bath. Tumuli and traces of ancient camps are on the downs. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Salisbury; gross value, £360 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Salisbury. The church is good, has an embattled tower, and contains monuments of the Danverses, and a brass of 1550. There are an endowed school, alms-houses for ten persons, and other charities, also a Baptist chapel. At Littleton a large agricultural college was erected in 1894-95.
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 | West Lavington All Saints | |
| Hundred | Potterne and Cannings | |
| Poor Law union | Devizes |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The parish register dates from the year 1595.
Findmypast, in association with the Wiltshire Record Office, have the following parish records online for West Lavington:
| Baptisms | Banns | Marriages | Burials |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1597-1898 | 1657-1812 | 1598-1907 | 1597-1812 |
Churches
Church of England
All Saints (parish church)
The church of All Saints is a building of grey stone in the Transitional and Early English styles, consisting of chancel, clerestoried nave, aisles, transepts, south-eastern chapel, north porch, and an embattled tower, with turret, containing a clock and 6 bells: there is a piscina in the chancel and another in the chapel: the east window and eight others are stained: in the south transept is a fine alabaster monument, with recumbent effigy to Henry Danvers: the church was repaired in 1847, at a cost of about £1,600, and an organ chamber and clergy vestry were added in 1910: there are sittings for 500 persons.
Methodist
Wesleyan Chapel
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 Lavington from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Lavington, West, or Bishop's-Lavington (All Saints))
Maps
Online maps of West Lavington 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: