Berwick St Leonard

Berwick St Leonard is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 8 miles (13 km) southeast of Warminster and 14 miles (23 km) west of Salisbury.

Berwick St Leonard

St Leonard's church
Berwick St Leonard
Location within Wiltshire
Population47 (in 2011)[1]
OS grid referenceST924332
Civil parish
  • Berwick St Leonard
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSalisbury
Postcode districtSP3
Dialling code01747
PoliceWiltshire
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament

Geography

In 1934, part of the southwest of the parish including the village of Hindon, was transferred to an adjoining parish. A small stream rises near that village and flows intermittently, under wet conditions. Soon after leaving the parish the stream forms Fonthill Lake and then joins the Nadder near Tisbury. The northern boundary of the parish is the watershed between the Nadder and the Wylye. The soil is chalky and mainly used for arable cropping and sheep, but increasing numbers of cows have been kept since about 1980.[2]

The A303 trunk road, linking London with southwest England, crosses the parish. Berwick St John village is on the B3089 about 0.8 miles (1.3 km) to the south.[2] The Monarch's Way is a 615-mile (990 km) long-distance footpath that passes through the parish.[3]

History

There is a prehistoric earthwork near Penning, in the north of the parish.[4] From before 1650 to around 1900, nearly all the land in the parish belonged to a single farm, probably Cold Berwick Farm, which appears on a 1773 map but had been demolished by 1822.[2]

In the 11th and 12th centuries the manor was probably part of Shaftesbury Abbey's Tisbury estate.[5] Berwick House is from the late 18th century.[6]

Parish church

St Leonard's Church was built in the 12th century and rebuilt in 1860. It has been designated as a Grade II* listed building.[7] The church was closed in 1966,[8] declared redundant in 1973 and is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[9]

Local government

The parish is in the area of Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which is responsible for all significant local government functions. The civil parish does not elect a parish council. Instead the first tier of local government is a parish meeting, which all electors are entitled to attend.[10]

References
  1. "Wiltshire Community History - Census". Wiltshire Council. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  2. "Berwick St Leonard". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  3. "The Monarch's Way". The Monarch's Way Association. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  4. Historic England. "Earthwork enclosure in Penning Wood (1017714)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  5. "Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 13 pp100-105 - Parishes: Berwick St Leonard". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  6. Historic England. "Berwick House, Berwick St Leonard (1146059)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  7. Historic England. "Church of St Leonard (1318783)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  8. "Fonthill Bishop". Nadder Valley Focus. Archived from the original on 1 September 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  9. "St Leonard, Berwick". Churches Conservation Trust. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  10. "Berwick St Leonard Parish Meeting". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 22 September 2015.

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