Limpley Stoke
The village seen from the Kennet and Avon Canal
Limpley Stoke is located in Wiltshire
Limpley Stoke
Limpley Stoke
Location within Wiltshire
Population541 (in 2011)[1]
OS grid referenceST781609
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBath
Postcode districtBA2
Dialling code01225
PoliceWiltshire
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
WebsiteParish Council

Limpley Stoke is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It lies in the Avon valley between Bath and Freshford, and is both above and below the A36 road.

The parish is surrounded to the north, west and south by the Bath and North East Somerset district and includes the outskirts of the Somerset villages of Freshford and Midford. The Avon forms the eastern boundary of the parish, and its tributary the Midford Brook is the boundary in the north and west.

History

The 18th-century country house at Waterhouse is a Grade II listed building.[2]

Limpley Stoke was the westernmost part of the ancient hundred of Bradford, and a tithing of Bradford parish, which was divided into civil parishes in 1894.[3]

A small Baptist chapel was built on Middle Stoke in 1815 and rebuilt in 1888, providing 150 seats. The chapel closed in the 1970s.[4][5] A National School was opened on Middle Stoke in 1845; in 1893 there were 51 pupils. The school closed in 1932 owing to low pupil numbers, and the building is now the village hall.[6]

In 1886 Messrs E G Browne and J C Margetson acquired a cloth mill, known as Avon Mill, on the banks of the River Avon at Limpley Stoke. The previous owners of the mill had originally been timber merchants, but had later diversified into the production of rubber goods. By 1890 the business had transferred to premises in Melksham, where it became the leading industry of the town; the company later became Avon Rubber.[7]

The village's last pub, The Hop Pole, closed in 2018.[8] The 17th-century pub was used in 1993 for the filming of The Remains of the Day with Anthony Hopkins.[8][9] In 2022, it was brought into community ownership with the intention to reopen in 2024.[10]

A landmark water tower, nearby in Friary Wood,[11] is referred to as the Limpley Stoke Water Tower.

Canals and railways

The Kennet and Avon Canal was built in 1804 through the Avon valley, on the other side of the parish boundary. The Somerset Coal Canal opened in 1805; it followed the Midford Brook, again just beyond the parish boundary, to join the Kennet and Avon next to the Dundas Aqueduct in Monkton Combe parish.[12]

In 1857 the Great Western Railway (GWR) built their branch from Bradford Junction, north of Trowbridge, via Bradford on Avon to join their main line at Bathampton. The line follows the Avon valley, on the Limpley Stoke side of the river; Limpley Stoke station was below the north end of the village.[13]

The Coal Canal closed in 1898 and its route was bought by the GWR, who used it to extend their Bristol and North Somerset Railway from Camerton to Limpley Stoke; this line opened in 1910. Passenger traffic was light and ceased in 1925. Goods service from Camerton continued until 1951 and the track was lifted in 1958.[14] The Camerton branch was used to film scenes for the 1953 Ealing comedy, The Titfield Thunderbolt.[15]

Limpley Stoke station closed in 1966.[13] The line remains open, as part of the Wessex Main Line. The Kennet and Avon Canal fell into decline and almost closed in the 1950s, but restoration began in the 1970s and the whole canal was reopened in 1990.

Parish church

St Mary's Church

The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary dates from the 10th century; it was first dedicated to the Wiltshire saint Edith of Wilton, but in the 16th century, after some five hundred years, was rededicated to St Mary.[16]

The present building was begun in the early 13th century, and the north porch has an arch of that period. The short west tower was added in the 15th century; restoration in 1870 was of limited scope, leading Pevsner to describe the church as "unrestored".[17] When a south aisle and vestry were added in 1921 to designs of Charles Nicholson, a Saxon arch was incorporated in the arcade.[3][18][19]

The stone pulpit is from the 15th century. There is one bell, cast in 1596.[3] Stained glass includes a 1932 memorial by A.K. Nicholson. The church was designated as Grade II* listed in 1962.[19]

The early church was annexed to the church at Bradford. In 1846 the chapelry of Limpley Stoke was joined with that of Winsley to form a perpetual curacy; a new parish, Winsley with Limpley Stoke, was created in 1868.[3] In 1970 the parish was uncoupled from Winsley and united with Freshford, in the diocese of Bath and Wells.[20] In 1976 the parish of Hinton Charterhouse was added,[21] thus today the church is in the parish of Freshford with Limpley Stoke and Hinton Charterhouse, alongside St Peter's, Freshford and St John the Baptist, Hinton Charterhouse.[22]

Notable residents

See also

Neighbouring civil parishes (clockwise from north):

References

  1. ↑ "Wiltshire Community History – Census". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Historic England. "Waterhouse (1364106)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Pugh, R.B.; Crittall, Elizabeth, eds. (1953). "Victoria County History: Wiltshire: Vol 7 pp4-51 – Parishes: Bradford-on-Avon". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  4. ↑ Historic England. "Baptist Chapel (1021824)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  5. ↑ "Baptist Chapel, Limpley Stoke". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  6. ↑ "Church School, Limpley Stoke". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  7. ↑ Chettle, H. F.; Powell, W. R.; Spalding, P. A.; Tillott, P. M. (1953). "Melksham". In Pugh, R. B.; Crittall, Elizabeth (eds.). A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 7. Victoria County History. University of London. pp. 91–121. Retrieved 5 February 2022 – via British History Online.
  8. 1 2 Baker, John (1 February 2022). "Race to raise another £500,000 to save historic village pub". This Is Wiltshire. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  9. ↑ Historic England. "The Hop Pole Inn (1021822)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  10. ↑ "Save the Hop Pole Limpley Stoke". www.limpleystokecbs.org. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  11. ↑ "GSM base station photo: Friary Wood". Pratt Family. May 1998. Archived from the original on 14 November 1999.
  12. ↑ Clew, Kenneth R (1970). The Somersetshire Coal Canal and railways. A. M. Kelley. ISBN 9780678056608.
  13. 1 2 Oakley, Mike (2004). Wiltshire Railway Stations. Wimborne: The Dovecote Press. pp. 75–77. ISBN 1-904349-33-1.
  14. ↑ (Clew 1970, p. 145)
  15. ↑ Roberts, Steve (28 March 2018). "Thunderbolt enlightening". Rail. No. 849. Peterborough: Bauer Media. ISSN 0953-4563.
  16. ↑ Kate Pratt, St Edith at bishopwilton.com
  17. ↑ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) [1963]. Wiltshire. The Buildings of England (2nd ed.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 296. ISBN 0-14-0710-26-4.
  18. ↑ "Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Limpley Stoke". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  19. 1 2 Historic England. "Church of St Mary (1364104)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  20. ↑ "No. 45204". The London Gazette. 2 October 1970. p. 10763.
  21. ↑ "No. 46935". The London Gazette. 15 June 1976. p. 8395.
  22. ↑ "St Mary's Church, Limpley Stoke". Parish of Freshford, Limpley Stoke and Hinton Charterhouse. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  23. ↑ "Kate Allenby MBE To Carry Torch". Bath Echo. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  24. ↑ "Michael Bywater remembers Miles Kington". The Independent. 1 February 2008. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2021.

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