East Kennett

East Kennett is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Marlborough. The United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded a parish population of 84.[1]

East Kennett

A thatched terrace in East Kennett
East Kennett
Location within Wiltshire
Population84 (in 2011) [1]
OS grid referenceSU119675
Civil parish
  • East Kennett
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMarlborough
Postcode districtSN8
Dialling code01672
PoliceWiltshire
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament

The River Kennet forms most of the northern boundary of the parish, and the village lies close to the river.[2] The neighbouring village of West Kennett is on the opposite bank a short distance upstream,[3] in Avebury parish.[4]

History

Evidence of prehistoric activity includes a Neolithic long barrow, probably a communal burial site, on a hillside south of the present village;[5] this monument is part of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site. Further south, a circle of sarsen stones is possibly from the Bronze Age.[6][7] The Ridgeway, an ancient trackway, passes through East Kennet village.[8] Some 600 metres north of the village, at Overton Hill, the trackway becomes the Ridgeway National Trail which runs northeast as far as Buckinghamshire.

The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded holdings in Chenete, the area which later became East and West Kennett.[9] There was a church at East Kennett in the 12th century and by 1291 it was a separate parish.[7]

A schoolhouse was built opposite the manor house in 1857 with support from Maria and Ann Mathews, daughters of the owner of the house. Maria gave a large endowment in 1878 and the school became known as Miss Mathews' School. After her death in 1882 it became a Church of England elementary school, and pupils of all ages attended until 1924 when older children transferred to Avebury or West Overton. In 1990 the school federated with the school at Lockeridge, as numbers at both schools were low; the combined school was named Kennet Valley and the East Kennet site housed the upper years, in buildings behind the original. This site closed in 2011 after accommodation at Lockeridge was increased.[7][10][11]

The church benefice was united with Avebury in 1923;[12] a further rearrangement in 1929 formed the benefice of Overton and Fyfield with East Kennett.[13]

Notable buildings

Manor Farmhouse, opposite the church, is dated 1630 with extensions added in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The older part is constructed from the local sarsen sandstone.[14]

East Kennett Manor House is a three-storey brick house from the late 18th century, extended in the 19th century and again in 1925.[15]

Christ Church

The Church of England parish church, Christ Church, was built in 1864 on the site of a 12th-century church.[7][16] Today the parish is part of the Upper Kennet benefice.[17]

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References
  1. "East Kennett Census Information". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 24 September 2014. Note: ONS raw data (as opposed to this County Council figure) is for an area 'too small to publish all data for reasons of confidentiality of living people', its parish data being combined with much of Avebury into output area E00162629; more demographic statistics will become available in a few decades from 2011
  2. Kelly, Edward Robert (1875). Wiltshire. p. 190.
  3. Google (4 September 2016). "East Kennett" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  4. Draper, Simon (January 2006). Landscape, Settlement and Society in Roman and Early Medieval Wiltshire. Archaeopress. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-84171-976-4.
  5. Historic England. "East Kennett long barrow (1012323)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  6. Historic England. "Langdean stone circle (1005700)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  7. Baggs, A.P.; Freeman, Jane; Stevenson, Janet H (1983). Crowley, D.A. (ed.). "Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 12 pp119-125 - Parishes: East Kennett". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  8. Davison, Steve (5 March 2013). The Ridgeway National Trail: Cicerone Press. Cicerone Press Limited. p. 218. ISBN 978-1-84965-885-0.
  9. Kennett in the Domesday Book
  10. "Closed but not forgotten: a worthy history of East Kennet school". Marlborough News Online. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  11. "Kennet Valley C. of E. VA Primary School". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  12. "No. 32829". The London Gazette. 1 June 1923. pp. 3843–3845.
  13. "No. 33493". The London Gazette. 10 May 1929. pp. 3114–3117.
  14. Historic England. "Manor Farmhouse (1033714)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  15. Historic England. "East Kennett Manor (1365943)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  16. Historic England. "Christ Church (1286148)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  17. "Christ Church, East Kennett". Upper Kennet Churches. Retrieved 2 August 2016.

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