Quidhampton, Wiltshire
The name Quidhampton probably means "muddy home farm" or "home farm with good manure", from the Old English cwéad (dung, dirt) + hām-tūn.
Geography
Quidhampton is on low-lying land between Salisbury and Wilton, close to the A36 road. The parish is a narrow strip between the Rivers Nadder and Wylye and consists of watermeadows and marshland, known as the Great Marsh. Much of this marsh was included in the park around Wilton House when it was enclosed, and the remaining land is mostly used for arable cropping. In the eighteenth century there was a gravel pit in the parish, and many old chalk pits. The roads had to be rerouted when Wilton Park was formed, and are mostly straight and lined with trees planted at the time.
Local government
The civil parish elects a parish council. It is in the area of Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which is responsible for all significant local government functions. Until 1894, Quidhampton was a tithing of Fugglestone St Peter, and it then formed part of the new parish of Bemerton until it was established as a parish in its own right in 1934.
Notable landmarks
There is a pub, the White Horse, and a village hall.
Quidhampton has no church. For Church of England purposes it is part of Bemerton parish.
The chalk pit known as Quidhampton Quarry is outside the parish, to the north of the A36. It is owned by Imerys and produced chalk and china clay until its closure in 2009. The abandoned quarry has been described as a "derelict and ugly site", and in 2016 there are plans to fill it with imported recycled aggregate and level the site to remove the eyesore.
Notable people
- Simon Forman, a 16th and 17th century astrologer, was born at Quidhampton in 1552.
References
- ^ "Wiltshire Community History – Census". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ^ Mills, A.D: A Dictionary of English Place-Names, page 266. Oxford University Press, 1991.
- ^ Concise Road Atlas of Britain. AA Publishing. 2016. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-7495-7743-8.
- ^ "Quidhampton". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ "The White Horse at Quidhampton". Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ^ "Quidhampton Village Hall". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ^ "Bemerton Parish". Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ^ Kemble, Elizabeth (30 April 2016). "Plans for Quidhampton Quarry unveiled". Salisbury Journal. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1889). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 19. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ Ann Hoffman, Lives of the Tudor age, 1485-1603 (1977), p. 177
External links
- "Victoria County History – Wiltshire – Vol 6 pp37-50 – Fugglestone St Peter". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- Quidhampton Parish Council
Media related to Quidhampton, Wiltshire at Wikimedia Commons