From the East & South East: From the M3 exit at Junction 7 onto the A303 (the highway only goes to the West) signposted to Andover. You cross the A345 roundabout, pass Stonehenge, cross the A360 roundabout, through Winterbourne Stoke - which has a very active speed camera - and through the roundabout on the A36. 8 km onwards just at the end of the dual carriageway there's a left turn signposted Fonthill Bishop. 3 km further, on the right, is the village of Chicklade with the church behind the layby and a crossroad a few metres farther. The left junction leads to Hindon and the right to some of the dwellings of Chicklade
The name 'Chicklade' is probably derived from two British words, cet (meaning Wood) and another, unknown word also found in the name 'Lydiard? The suggestion that the second word is the Old English 'hlid' (meaning 'gate') does not seem to be favoured by scholars. The earliest written mention is 'Cythlid' in the Cartularium Saxonicain.In the Domesday Book Chicklade is named Chigelic and a recognisable 'Chikkelade' appears in 1279 in the Somerset Assise Roll. The Great Ridge appears as Chickladriggh 1348AD, Chickladerigge 1367, Chicklade Ridge Woods 1635 and in 1773, Chicklade Ridge or Great Ridge.
Chicklade is a roadside village and has always been so since the 11th century, when Shaftesbury Abbey had an estate at Chicklade. Through the ages the village has remained small, but the road running through the middle of the parish from east to west has grown in importance. In the 1600s this was the Mere to Amesbury road and in 1761 it was turnpiked as part of the London to Exeter road. Now it is the busy A303, linking the M3 with the West country, and forming a barrier to the Chicklade land on the south side of the road. The village population reaching a peak of 150 adults in 1801, but by 1981 the adult population was just 47.
The larger village buildings were all on the north side of the road, with Chicklade House at the west end of the village, the church, rectory and St Dominicks Farmstead in the centre and Manor Farm towards the east end of the village. Small farmsteads and cottages were on the south side of the road in the 14th century, but very little of this survives. Chicklade House was built around 1720 (the central part of the present building). The western portion was added about 150 years ago and enlarged at a later date by an eastern wing. The brother of the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain once lived at Chicklade House. In the 19th century Chicklade Farm and Glebe Farm were built north and south of the road and Glebe Farm was rebuilt in the later 20th century. North east of the village in 1976 farm buildings were erected called Chicklade Dairy.
The Old Rectory, now a beautiful Bed and Breakfast, was once lived in by Laurence of Arabia's brother Bob, who was a medical missionary in China and later lodged there.
Chicklade Old Church was built in the 12th century consisting of a nave and a chancel. At some period during the middle ages the windows were replaced, apart from that the church was left unchanged. The Church may have been on the site of a still earlier one. In 1535 the living was worth 11. 5 shillings a year. There is a local belief that at some period a fire occurred. No evidence of this has been found in print. It was noted however that some pages of an old church register and some parchment sheets of the Parish Award (1783) appear to have been scorched. It was reported a few years later that no services had been held for 6 months and no sermon preached for a year. There were pages missing from the church Bible and a book of Homilies was missing from the church.
In 1662 after Cromwells Commonwealth the Bishop made a visitation to the church and found it in a neglected state; among matters that wanted attention was the floor of the church which needed to be levelled on account of some recent burials. The churchyard fence needed repair. There was no flagon for wine, and a surplice was lacking. The Bishop stated that the church needs to be restored to its former decency. By the early 19th century the church was again in poor condition, and in 1832 it was replaced by a church built in a plain 12th century style. The new church, built of ashlar, had a combined nave and chancel with a western bellcott and porch and was a good, solid, plain building. The only remnant from the old church was the Norman font. Interestingly no faculty for the building of this new church has been found at the Diocesan Registry and no account of the re-dedication of the church by the bishop. From 1899 the rector of Chicklade was also rector of Pertwood, then in 1972 Pertwood was declared a redundant church and sold. Following this Chicklade was united with Hindon.
In the Middle Ages the village supported sheep and corn husbandry. There were small strips of land for villagers in the open fields and pasture was shared. Open fields occupied the centre and the southern part of the parish, with pasture on the steeper northern slopes. In the 18th century there was considerable poverty in the village, however the money collected from the rates was used to help the poor.
1795 - 85.00 was paid to the poor.
1799 - 40.00 was spent on bread and 22 sacks of potatoes were bought at 6
shillings a bag for the poor.
Was it poverty that in 1806 made John Portnall and David Ford steal 7 sheep and 7 lambs from John Gale of Stockton? For which theft they were hanged. In 1854 the first constable of the parish was appointed, Thomas Portnall. One wonders was he a descendant of the sheep stealer 50 years earlier?
In 1848 a school for 30 children was built on the south side of the London road by the Revd JC Faber and a cottage next door was the school house. By 1881 the number of children attending the school was 12 and by 1892 it had ceased to be a school and was being used as a reading room and vestry hall. The school still stands but has been turned into a small house opposite the Old Rectory. Chicklade also possessed one shop, situated in the cottage at the foot of Lundy's Lane - otherwise 'The Chimney'. Chicklade never had a Post Office. The Post town was and still is Hindon.
There is a great possibility that the Wren family had a connection with Chicklade as Elizabeth Wren, aged 87, was buried at Chicklade in 1837. Dr Christopher Wren, father of the great English Architect was Rector of Knoyle and Dean of Windsor. His son, the future Sir Christopher Wren left Wiltshire to become a student of Wadham College in 1646.
CHANGE TO CHICKLADE SERVICES 2007 /
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Parish Communion 11.15am (fourth Sundays)