Chisbury
Chisbury is a hamlet and prehistoric hill fort in the civil parish of Little Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England. Chisbury is about 4 miles (6 km) west of Hungerford and about 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Marlborough.
| Chisbury | |
|---|---|
 St. Martin's Chapel | |
  Chisbury Location within Wiltshire | |
| OS grid reference | SU277663 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Marlborough |
| Postcode district | SN8 |
| Dialling code | 01672 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
History
At 176 metres (577 ft) above sea level, Chisbury hillfort is the highest point in Little Bedwyn parish[1] and encloses an area of about 14 acres (5.7 ha).[2] Palaeolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age artefacts have been found in the area, but the hillfort was most probably built in the late Iron Age in the 1st century AD.[1] There may be a link with the 7th-century West Saxon nobleman Cissa.[3] The hillfort was re-used in the Anglo-Saxon times as a burh, cited as Cyssanbyrig in the Burghal Hidage document which lists the fortifications of Wessex in the later part of the 9th century, although Julian Orbach cautions that this may be a misreading for Tisbury.[4]
St. Martin's chapel, on the eastern edge of the hillfort, seems to have been built in the early part of the 13th century.[1] After the middle of the 16th century the building lapsed from use for worship and was turned into a barn.[1] It was re-roofed in the 19th century but in 1998 its condition was semi-ruinous.[1] The hillfort and chapel were designated as a scheduled ancient monument in 1925.[5]
Chisbury Manor farmhouse, also within the hillfort site, is a two-storey brick building from the mid 18th century.[6]
Knowle Farm, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of Chisbury, has a 14th-century chapel[1] which is now an outbuilding of the farmhouse.[1] A blocked ogee-headed north window and the surround of the east window are the only surviving features.[7] The farmhouse is a brick-built Georgian house of five bays dated 1735.[7]
References
- Crowley, 1999, pages 50-69
- Pevsner & Cherry, 1975, page 174
- "Cissa 1 (Male)". Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England. King's College London. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- Orbach, Julian; Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (2021). Wiltshire. The Buildings Of England. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. p. 228. ISBN 978-0-300-25120-3. OCLC 1201298091.
- Historic England. "Chisbury Camp and St Martin's Chapel (1013400)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- Historic England. "Chisbury Manor Farmhouse (1184320)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- Pevsner & Cherry, 1975, page 463
Sources and further reading
- Aston, Michael; Bond, James (1976). The Landscape of Towns. Archaeology in the Field Series. London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd. pp. 59, 60. ISBN 0-460-04194-0.
- Baggs, A P; Freeman, J; Smith, C; Stevenson, J H; Williamson, E (1999). Crowley, D.A. (ed.). "Victoria County History: Wiltshire: Vol 16 pp50-69 – Little Bedwyn". British History Online. University of London. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) [1963]. Wiltshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 174–175, 463. ISBN 0140710264.
