Donhead St Andrew

Donhead St Andrew is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the River Nadder. It lies 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the Dorset market town of Shaftesbury. The parish includes the hamlets of West End, Milkwell and (on the A30) Brook Waters.

Donhead St Andrew
The Forester
Donhead St Andrew Location within Wiltshire
Population	413 (in 2011)[1]
OS grid reference	ST916247
Civil parish	Donhead St Andrew
Unitary authority	Wiltshire
Ceremonial county	Wiltshire
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Shaftesbury
Postcode district	SP7
Dialling code	01747
Police	Wiltshire
Fire	Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	South West Wiltshire
Website	The Donheads

Ferne House, on the site of a former manor house, is within the parish.

History

Donhead St Andrew and its neighbour Donhead St Mary were once part of a single Donhead estate. By c. 1200 Donhead St Andrew had a church, and the 'St Andrew' suffix was in use in 1240.[2]

The Wardour estate occupies the northeast of the parish. Wardour Castle, built in the 1390s and now known as Old Wardour Castle, straddles the boundary with Tisbury parish. South of the castle stands Old Wardour House, built for the Arundells in the 17th century after the partial destruction of the castle in the Civil War.[3] New Wardour Castle, a large country house begun in 1769, is nearby in Tisbury parish.

The ridgeway which enters the parish from the east at White Sheet Hill (not to be confused with Whitesheet Hill north of Mere) became part of the Salisbury-Exeter road, following the route of the present A30 towards Shaftesbury. By 1788 the present lower-level route was in use instead of the ridgeway.[2]

A school was built near the church in 1835 and became a National School, then was rebuilt on the same site in 1880, to provide places for 100 children. The school closed in 1970.[4]

Population of the parish peaked around the time of the 1841 census when 900 were recorded, then fell steadily until stabilising at around half that number in the mid-20th century.[1]

Church

St Andrew's Church

The Anglican Church of St Andrew has 12th-century origins and was extended and remodelled in the 14th, 15th and 17th. Victorian restoration included the rebuilding of the chancel and tower.[5] The tower has four bells, the oldest from the 15th century.[6]

The poet William Lisle Bowles was a curate at the church until 1792. A wall tablet is a memorial to Captain John Cooke, a naval officer killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Notable rectors include Charles Clarke in the 20th century.

The church was designated as Grade II* listed in 1966.[7] In 1980 the benefice was united with Donhead St Mary and Charlton;[8] today the parish is part of the Benefice of St Bartholomew.[9]

Opposite the church stands Donhead House, a former rectory built in the early 18th century and enlarged in the early 20th for Sir James Pender, businessman and Member of Parliament.[10]

Local government

Donhead St Andrew has an elected parish council. It is in the area of Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which performs most significant local government functions.

Notable people

• Julian Bream (1933–2020), classical guitarist, was living in the parish in 2013[11]
• Kenneth Cooper (1905–1981), British Army officer, lived at West End House

References

1. "Donhead St. Andrew Census Information". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
2. Freeman, Jane; Stevenson, Janet H (1987). Crowley, D.A. (ed.). "Victoria County History: Wiltshire: Vol 13 pp126-138: Donhead St Andrew". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
3. Historic England. "Old Wardour House (1183506)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
4. "National School, Donhead St. Andrew". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
5. "Wiltshire Community History: Church of St. Andrew". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
6. "Donhead St Andrew". Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
7. Historic England. "Church of St Andrew (1146099)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
8. "No. 48103". The London Gazette. 19 February 1980. p. 2651.
9. "Benefice of St Bartholomew". Retrieved 21 June 2016.
10. Historic England. "Donhead House (1146100)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
11. Jeffries, Stuart (13 September 2013). "Julian Bream: 'I'm a better musician now than when I was 70'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 May 2020.

External links

• The Donheads
• Village Design Statement, c. 2004, reviewed 2013 at wiltshire.gov.uk

Media related to Donhead St Andrew at Wikimedia Commons