POULSHOT
The modern parish of Poulshot is bounded on the
north by the main road from Devizes to Trowbridge
(A 361), and for a short distance by the Kennet and
Avon Canal and the railway line running from Patney
to Holt junction (formerly part of the Berks, and Hants
line). Summerham Brook forms part of the western
boundary and another stream the south-western,
southern, and part of the eastern boundaries. The two
streams meet at the extreme south-western corner of the
parish. The parish is low lying, nowhere reaching a
height of more than 200 ft. above sea-level, and lies
mainly in the clay region of north and mid-west
Wiltshire. (fn. 1)
In 1883, by Order of the Local Government Board,
detached portions of the parish of Poulshot were transferred to the parish of Chittoe, (fn. 2) now in Bromham
(q.v.).
The parish is roughly rectangular in shape and covers
1,531 acres. (fn. 3) The village is long and straggling and lies
approximately in the centre of the parish. It is scattered
along Poulshot Green, large and oblong, through which
runs a secondary road joining the Devizes-Trowbridge
main road with a secondary road between Worton and
Seend. The church lies ¾ of a mile south-west from the
centre of the village. There are traces of a causeway
running from the church to the Devizes-Trowbridge
main road. (fn. 4)
In 1273 Burdon's manor in Poulshot (see below—
Manors) comprised 240 acres of arable land and 33
acres of meadow. There was pasture, poor and unwholesome, for 40 oxen, 25 other beasts, and 200
sheep. In the forest 5 leagues distant was a detached
parcel of woodland of 14 acres. (fn. 5) In 1334 Nicholas
Burdon granted to the king his wood of 'Raderigge'
lying near Melksham forest (gisaunt pres de la foreste de
Melksham) in exchange for the hundred of 'Grymbaldesasch' (Grumbalds Ash, Glouc.). (fn. 6) The manor
belonging to the Paulesholtes (see below—Manors) also
had outlying woodland property which in 1330
amounted to 32 acres in Melksham forest. (fn. 7) Both
manors had mills. A mill belonging to Burdon's manor
was valued at 10s. a year in 1273 (fn. 8) and 1280, (fn. 9) and in
1301 Nicholas Burdon died seised of a fourth part of
a water mill worth 3s. 4d. a year. (fn. 10) A mill is mentioned
as belonging to the Paulesholtes manor in 1322. (fn. 11) This
is possibly the mill at 'Hurst' which was part of the same
manor in 1463. (fn. 12) Poulshot Mill on Semington Brook
is now the only mill within the parish and this is no
longer working. According to tradition it was once
used for grinding snuff. (fn. 13)
John Aubrey (1626–97) described Poulshot as a
'wett dirty place' and the inhabitants of the parish as
'appearing in the spring time of primrose complexion'.
This peculiarity he attributed to the various springs in
the parish which, he said, 'taste brackish'. These
springs, according to Aubrey, were renowned for their
medicinal value and on this account were frequently
visited by the inhabitants of Devizes. (fn. 14)
There were several distinguished incumbents of
Poulshot. Isaac Walton (1651–1719), son of theauthor
of the Compleat Angler, held the rectory from 1680 until
his death. His mother was a half-sister of Thomas Ken,
Bishop of Bath and Wells (1637–1711) and Ken frequently visited his nephew at Poulshot. The bishop
retired there in 1688 when the Prince of Orange was
advancing on London by way of the western counties. (fn. 15)
Thomas Rundle (1688–1743) who became Bishop of
Derry in 1735 was presented to the living in 1720. (fn. 16)
A third distinguished rector was Benjamin Blayney
(1728–1801) the Hebrew scholar who prepared a
corrected edition of the authorized version of the
Bible for the Clarendon Press. (fn. 17)
Thomas Boulter a notorious highwayman was the
son of a Poulshot miller. On the many occasions when
he was obliged to seek refuge he retired to Poulshot
where he was securely harboured. He was executed at
Winchester in 1778. (fn. 18)
Manors
It is impossible certainly to identify with
Poulshot any entry in the Domesday
Survey. (fn. 19) It may be represented by the 3
hides and a virgate in the adjacent parish of Potterne
(q.v.) held by Robert under Ernulf de Hesding. (fn. 20)
Ernulf was the ancestor of the FitzAlans, lords of the
manor of Keevil, of whom, by 1242, Poulshot was held.
It has, on the other hand, been suggested that it is to be
identified with Liseman's holding in Melksham (q.v.).
In 1242 John FitzAlan, lord of the manor of Keevil,
was overlord of Poulshot (fn. 21) and from then the overlordship of Poulshot followed the descent of the manor of
Keevil. Under John FitzAlan, Roger de Sifrewast held
1 fee about which nothing further is known; Nicholas
Burdon held 1 fee, and Ralph de Paulesholte held 1 fee
under the intermediate lordship of Ralph de Wiliton. (fn. 22)
The intermediate overlordship of the de Wilitons
passed in that family until 1398 when John de Wiliton
died childless. (fn. 23) It then passed to John's sister, Isabel
wife of William Beaumond, (fn. 24) and from her in 1424 to
her son Thomas Beaumond. (fn. 25) In 1463 and 1478 this
manor was said to be held of the Bishop of Salisbury by
right of his church at Poulshot. (fn. 26) In 1562 and 1635 it
was said to be held of William Brouncker as of his manor
of Melksham. (fn. 27)
A grant in 1216 by the king to Hugh de Bernevall of
land in Poulshot may refer to this manor. (fn. 28) In 1272
Ralph de Paulesholte settled the manor as a messuage
and a carucate of land in Poulshot and elsewhere upon
himself and his children John, William, and Alice. (fn. 29)
John de Paulesholte had succeeded his father by 1289 (fn. 30)
and in 1322 he forfeited all his possessions. (fn. 31) As part of
his manor, John held 32 acres in the forest of Melksham. (fn. 32) His lands were restored to him before his
death in 1330 when he was holding the manor of
Poulshot and land in 'Chitumersche'(Chittoe Marsh). (fn. 33)
John's heir was his kinsman, John Enok of Potterne,
son of William Enok. It seems probable that John
Enok is the same as John de Paulesholte, upon whom
with his wife Margaret the manor was settled in fee in
1335. (fn. 34)
In 1383 the manor was conveyed by Henry Eyre
to Sir John Lovel. (fn. 35) Sir John died in 1408 and was
succeeded by his son John. (fn. 36) In 1412 this John, by
then Lord Lovel, conveyed the manor to William
Stourton. (fn. 37) From this date the manor passed in the
Stourton family until 1545 when it was sold to Thomas
Long, clothier, of Trowbridge, and great-uncle of
Gifford Long, (fn. 38) who died holding the manor in 1635. (fn. 39)
The next mention of the manor is in 1749 when it
was in the possession of Walter Long. (fn. 40) It is possible
that when Henry Long of Rood Ashton died childless
in 1672, Poulshot instead of passing with Rood Ashton
to Henry's sister Elizabeth, went to the male heir,
Sir Walter Long of Whaddon, and passed in the same
way as Whaddon (q.v.) to the present owner Viscount
Long of Wraxall.
Burdon's Manor. Nicholas Burdon, who held
I fee at Poulshot in 1242, was probably the same
Nicholas Burdon who did homage in that year for lands
in Devonshire which his father Richard held of the king
in chief. (fn. 41) He was knighted in 1261 (fn. 42) and died in
1273 holding 3 carucates of land in Poulshot and 14
acres of wood in the forest '5 leagues distant'. (fn. 43) His son
Robert Burdon, who succeeded him, died about 1280
and the property passed to Robert's son Nicholas, a
minor aged 11. (fn. 44) The queen (Eleanor) was granted
the custody of Nicholas Burdon during his minority, (fn. 45)
and in 1286 his mother, Mary Burdon, paid rent to the
queen for Poulshot. (fn. 46) Nicholas was succeeded in 1301
by his son, another Nicholas Burdon. (fn. 47) In 1353
Nicholas settled his manor at Poulshot on himself and
his wife Dennise, with remainder first to Peter de
Testewood and his wife Agnes, and then to his own
heirs. (fn. 48) By 1358 Nicholas had been succeeded by his
son Edmund, who that year conveyed Poulshot to
Nicholas and Richard atte Borgh for their lives. (fn. 49)
Edmund was succeeded in 1361 by his son John
Burdon. (fn. 50) In 1388 John conveyed half of the manor to
Thomas Cutting and Agnes his wife for their lives with
reversion to Thomas Worfton and Cecily his wife. (fn. 51)
Cecily was probably the daughter and heir of John
Burdon and married Henry Thorp as a second husband, (fn. 52) for Henry Thorp at the time of his death held
the whole manor in right of his wife Cecily. (fn. 53) Cecily
outlived her husband and her eldest son Thomas. (fn. 54)
She died in 1422 having conveyed the manor to feoffees
in trust for her son Ralph after payment of her debts
and those of her husband. (fn. 55)
In 1428 John Ernesley was holding this manor. (fn. 56)
It was probably, however, conveyed to him for life only,
for in 1431 Ralph Thorp settled it upon himself, his
wife Philippa, and their heirs. (fn. 57) The manor descended
in the Thorp family until William Thorp died childless in 1509. (fn. 58) It then passed to William Clifford son
of Thomasine sister of William Thorp. (fn. 59)
The next mention of the manor occurs in 1555
when John Ernley died seised of it. (fn. 60) It then descended
in the Ernley family until 1614 when Sir John Ernley
conveyed it to John and Robert Drewe. (fn. 61) In 1632
Robert Drewe and his wife Jane conveyed it to Robert,
Nicholas, and Michael Drewe, (fn. 62) and in 1656 John
Drewe and Elizabeth his wife conveyed it to John and
William Norden. (fn. 63) Sir John Drewe died in 1660. (fn. 64)
His widow Elizabeth married Sir Henry Andrews of
Lathbury (Bucks.) and conveyed the manor to him in
1663. (fn. 65) Elizabeth died in 1686 and Sir Henry died
childless in 1696. (fn. 66)
Nothing more is known of the descent of this manor
until 1776 when John Tuck conveyed ⅓ of it to Philip
Smith. (fn. 67) In 1779 the same John conveyed the other
two parts to John Parker. (fn. 68) In 1805 Robert Skeate,
Mary his wife, and William and Elizabeth Hughes
conveyed it to Samuel Naylor. (fn. 69) The further descent
cannot be traced and the property apparently became
merged in the manor belonging to the Longs.
Church
In 1207 William, Abbot of Bec, assigned the churches of Poulshot, Brixton
Deverel, and Durrington to the Bishop of
Salisbury in return for the prebend of Ogbourne and
the churches of Ogbourne, Hungerford, and Wantage. (fn. 70)
The advowson of the church of Poulshot remained
vested in the Bishops of Salisbury, who, as far as is
known, never surrendered their right of presentation
to the living. (fn. 71)
In 1274 John de Hinton, parson of Poulshot,
acquired for himself and his successors a messuage and
a virgate of land in Poulshot. The right to this property was disputed in 1340 and again in 1351 when it
was unsuccessfully alleged that John de Hinton had
acquired it without a mortmain licence. (fn. 72) In 1341 the
property belonging to the rectory was described as a
carucate of land and pasture. (fn. 73) In 1671 the glebe
comprised approximately 76½ acres of arable and pasture
lying in separate parcels varying from 1 to 23 acres. (fn. 74)
In 1785 the total acreage of the glebe was given as 77½
acres, of which all except 15 acres were let. (fn. 75)
In 1291 the church at Poulshot was valued at £10; (fn. 76)
in 1341 at £7. 6s. 8d. (fn. 77) and in 1535 at £7. 8s. 8d. (fn. 78)
The rectory of Poulshot was united with the rectory of
the ecclesiastical parish of Worton and Marston in
1932. (fn. 79)
The parish church of Poulshot is dedicated to
St. Peter. It comprises a chancel, nave, north and
south aisles, west tower, south porch, and vestry. The
only traces of a building earlier than the 13th century
are portions of carved 12th-century capitals built in
over the north door, the opening to the rood stair over
a recess in the south aisle, and part of a blocked roundheaded window in the chancel. The present nave
dates from the late 13th century but was badly damaged
by fire in 1916. (fn. 80) The two aisles were added and the
present chancel arch built in the 14th century. In the
15th century most of the windows were replaced and
the porch was added. The tower was built in 1853 and
the vestry a little later. The aisles, 4 ft. 6 in. wide, are
unusually narrow, and it is probable that the arcades
within the nave were built with the intention of taking
down the outer walls and rebuilding them to make
aisles of normal width. The nave roof, which still bears
traces of the fire, spans both aisles. The chancel has
been refaced with ashlar. The aisles are built of rubble
patched with ashlar and the porch and tower are of
ashlar.
There are three bells (i) from the Bristol foundry,
c. 1540, inscribed 'JOHANNES XPE CARE', (ii) and (iii)
dated 1606. (fn. 81) The registers date from 1627 and are
complete. (fn. 82)
The Commissioners of Edward VI left the church
its old chalice and took 10½ oz. of silver for the king.
The chalice was later replaced by an Elizabethan cup
and paten of which only the paten cover, hall-marked
1576, remains. The present chalice bears a mark of
1634. There is also a large plain paten dish having no
regular hall-marks. In the centre of this is inscribed
'The gift of the Rev: Is: Walton Rector of Poulshot
1707'. There is another plated paten inscribed
'Poulshot Wm. Fisher A.M. Rector 1821', and a
tankard-shaped flagon of the same metal. (fn. 83)
A chapel of ease dedicated to ST. PAUL was built
in 1897. It is a brick and timber framed building with
100 sittings. (fn. 84)
In 1781 the rector's house at Poulshot was built
mainly of brick, the west front, 72 ft. long, being of
brick and lath and plaster rough cast. (fn. 85) The incumbent
of Poulshot now lives in Worton rectory.
Nonconformity
According to the 'census' of
Bishop Compton (1676) there
were that year no nonconformists in Poulshot, (fn. 86) although after the Declaration
of Indulgence (1672) the house of William Mayo of
Poulshot was licensed as a Presbyterian meeting-place. (fn. 87)
From the returns made in 1829 it appears that there
were 7 Methodists in Poulshot that year. (fn. 88) A Wesleyan
Methodist chapel was built in 1886 from designs by
C. E. Ponting, architect of Marlborough. It seats 100. (fn. 89)
School
The Revd. Benjamin Blayney (d. 1801)
directed that £12 should be paid annually
from his personal estate towards the maintenance of the school in Poulshot which had previously
been dependent on voluntary contributions. (fn. 90) The
school was reported in 1819 to have been founded by
the late rector, presumably Blayney himself. It was
attended by 20 children who were taught by a master
receiving a salary of £18 annually. (fn. 91) It appears from
the Charity Commissioners Report of 1834 that the
school received £1 from the parish rate because the
capital sum of £20 which Daniel Mayo had given in
1733 to teach poor children of the parish had been
spent on repairs to property. (fn. 92) There were 56 children
in school in 1833. They were taught reading 'gratuitously', but a small charge was made for writing and
arithmetic (fn. 93) There were still about 50 pupils in 1859.
These were taught by an elderly untrained master in
a room of a cottage leased by the rector for the purpose.
It was noted that 'the school is constantly looked after
by the parochial clergy'. (fn. 94) By a deed dated 1884 the
Revd. Henry Oliver conveyed to the rector and churchwardens part of the land known as Cook's Yard 'fronting the common or green' in trust for a school which was
to be in union with the National Society. (fn. 95) In the same
year the school, with a school chapel, was built. (fn. 96) In
the years 1893, 1895, 1906, and 1910 the accommodation was computed at 93. The average attendance was
55 in 1893 and 57 in 1906. (fn. 97) The school received
£7. 10s. from Blayney's charity in 1903 but nothing
from Mayo's charity except the rent of a cottage near
the Green which was let at 9d. per week. (fn. 98) In 1938
and 1950 the accommodation figures given are for a
school in 2 departments—mixed 49, infants 27. (fn. 99) The
School had 2 teachers and the average daily attendance
in July 1950 was 30. (fn. 100)
Charities
In 1903 there were 5 cottages in
Poulshot then said to have been in the
possession of the parish for 'very many
years'. They were managed by the parish council and
were let at small weekly rents varying that year from 6d.
to 1s. The income was used by the council to meet
certain expenses such as the salary of the parish clerk,
the cleaning of the council's meeting room and the
repair of footpaths. (fn. 101) In 1831 the vestry, with the consent of the lord of the manor, inclosed 'for the benefit
of the poor' 3 a. 1 r. 28 p. of waste land to the northeast of Poulshot Green. Until 1894 when it was taken
over by the parish council this land, known as The
Green Gardens, was managed by a committee appointed by the vestry. In 1903 the land was let out in
allotments of about 10 perches at an annual rent of 3d.
a perch. The income was then spent on buying coal
for the poor, or occasionally it was set aside for a special
purpose beneficial to the parish at large. (fn. 102)
George Taylor, by a codicil dated 1852 to his will,
bequeathed £3,000 in trust to be invested for the
benefit of the poor of the parish. Part of the interest on
this was to be spent on bread for distribution on Sundays
after morning service to 6 old men and 6 old women
selected by the rector and churchwardens. In 1903
12 loaves were given away every Sunday, but the proportion between men and women recipients was not
always observed. The same investment was also to
provide the Rector of Poulshot with £1 a year on condition that he preached a sermon to children on Easter
Wednesday. Cakes were to be brought and given to the
children and teachers attending the sermon. On the
same day 1s. 6d. was also to be paid to the parish clerk.
In 1902 the cost of the bread and cakes provided by
this bequest was £13. 6s. 8d. (fn. 103)