Liddington

Liddington is a village and civil parish near Swindon in Wiltshire, England. The settlement lies southeast of Swindon town, close to junction 15 of the M4 motorway, which is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) away via the B4192.

Not to be confused with Lyddington, Rutland.
Liddington
All Saints' churchyard
Liddington is located in Wiltshire
Liddington
Liddington
Location within Wiltshire
Population593 (in 2021)[1]
OS grid referenceSU207815
Civil parish
  • Liddington
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSwindon
Postcode districtSN4
Dialling code01793
PoliceWiltshire
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
WebsiteParish Council

History

The parish has been an area of settlement since the earliest times. The ancient Ridgeway traverses the parish just north of the village and the Iron Age hill-fort known as Liddington Castle, which is a scheduled monument, overlooks the present-day village.[2] Liddington is recorded in the late Saxon period, around 940 AD. The Domesday Book of 1086 refers to the settlement as Ledentone.[3] The population of the parish peaked at 454 in 1841 and then gradually declined.[4]

'Starfish' decoy control bunker

Liddington Hill was the site of a control bunker for a World War II 'Starfish' bombing decoy site. This would have been used to control fires, which would have acted as a decoy to enemy planes targeting the town of Swindon to the north. The bunker had a hatch in its concrete roof and consisted of two rooms off a central passage; the room on the right housed generators, while the control room was on the left.[5]

Economy

Just east of the village is the children's adventure centre PGL Liddington,[6] based at the historic King Edward's Place. Whilst the centre takes its name from Liddington as the nearest village, the centre is in the neighbouring parish of Wanborough.

References
  1. "Liddington: population statistics, 2021 Census". CityPopulation.de. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  2. Historic England. "Liddington Castle (1016312)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  3. Liddington in the Domesday Book
  4. "Liddington Census Information". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021 – via Internet Archive.
  5. Historic England. "Starfish Bombing Decoy Sf41a (19191)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  6. "Adventure centre creates 106 jobs". BBC News. 13 May 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2023.

Media related to Liddington at Wikimedia Commons


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