Stapleford

Situated 11km north-west of Salisbury and crossed by the river Till, the parish consists of Stapleford village, the settlement of Uppington, with Over Street and Serrington. After transfers of land from Berwick St. James in 1884 the parish covered an area of 2118 acres. The parish boundaries are mostly    formed by the river Till and a tributary of the Wylye. In the south east and east it is marked by ancient roads. Sited on chalk outcrops with alluvium and gravel deposits in the valley, there is a small area of clay and flint in the south east corner of the parish. Reaching a height of 155m with steep slopes to the river Till, but to the east is flat land. It forms the watershed between the Till and Avon. In the 18th century there were extensive water meadows ending in pasture to the far east and west. 

The names of the settlements, Stapleford, Uppington (Uphampton in 1249 and in the 17th century) Serrington (Southampton 14th century) all suggest Saxon origins. Stapleford is a ‘ford marked by a post or staple’. Serrington is ‘south hamtun’ and Uppington is ‘upper ham tun’.

Serrington is therefore the settlement south of the village and Uppington the settlement above the village. 

 Over Street has existed since 1537, and Church Street was possibly the main settlement until the 19th century, after when settlements gradually moved along the gravel strips beside the river Till.  

Three Palaeolithic handaxes were found in 1992 during excavations for the proposed A36 Salisbury Bypass. Early Iron Age artefacts have been found on the downland in the north east corner of the parish. The South Kite quadrilateral earthwork of some 22 acres is the possible site of a Romano-British settlement. A field system covering 450 acres is noted in the east of the parish with a possible second settlement to the west of the boundary with South Newton. 

Near Manor Farm, a tree-covered mound marks the site of Stapleford Castle.

An oval ringwork measuring 90m by 60m beside the River Till has a rampart and ditch around its northern perimeter. Within the ringwork are signs of possible foundations of walls. The castle was probably built in the 12th century by the Hussey family. A large, right-angled earthwork enclosure has been added to the north and west of the ringwork. It appears too weak in construction to represent a defensive enclosure. The fishpond is either contemporary with, or later than, the earthwork. This site illustrates that a well-sited, lowland earthwork castle with room for expansion could continue to operate in a manorial capacity long after its military needs had declined. 

In 1084, Suain held the 10 ½ hides which had been held by his father in 1066, this became Stapleford manor.  In 1166 it was held by Geoffry Hussey and passed through the family. In around 1218 the manors of Stapleford and Figheldean were both held by another Geoffry Hussey. Early in the 13th century they were held by Sir Hubert Hussey.  Following his daughter’s marriage, the manors passed to John Sturmey, a grandson, who granted it, in 1325, to Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester, who was executed in 1326.

It was claimed by the Sturmey family and in 1447, after passing through the family line, the manor passed to John Seymour who died in 1491. Seymour’s grandson was created Duke of Somerset in 1547.  By 1743, the moiety belonged to William Seymour of East Knoyle, and was held by this family until the death of Jane Seymour in 1943. Upon her death it was bought by J.V. Rank and became part of the Druid’s Lodge Estate.                                        

A second moiety of Stapleford manor was conveyed to Lord Gifford around 1316, on his execution in 1322 it was granted to Hugh le Dispenser. By the early 15th century it was owned by the Earl of Arundel. In 1561 the then Earl conveyed it by exchange to the Crown. From 1703 until 1808 Stapleford manor descended with Great Wishford manor and by 1840 Baron Ashburton owned 1030 acres in Stapleford. In the 20th century, Manor Farm of 407 acres was owned by the Moor family, Druid’s Head Farm, 478 acres became part of Druid’s Lodge estate. By 1992 Mr. R.A.

Hurst owned the estate which included 1400 acres in Stapleford. 

Three estates in Stapleford belonged to religious houses and were combined after the dissolution. Land, formerly held by St. Denis Priory in Southampton, Bath Abbey and Keynsham Abbey, was granted to William Northcote by the Crown in 1557. 

Lands in Stapleford which had been granted to Henry Hussey were confirmed to Stanley Abbey in 1189. In 1291, Hyde Abbey, Winchester, had lands in the parish. In 1535, St. Thomas’s church    Salisbury was entitled to 13/4d per year from Stapleford, and in the same year Salisbury Cathedral received 3/4d. From 1712 to 1981, Great Wishford Church owned rent charge £10 from Stapleford. 

In 1536 the Rectory estate was granted to Sir Edward Seymour, in 1547 he gave it to the King in exchange. The estate was then given to St.

George’s Chapel in Windsor. 

The church of St Mary dates back to the 12th century. It is built of chalk ashlar and flint and has a chancel and a clerestoried nave with north chapel, south chapel, north tower, south aisle, and two-storeyed south porch. The church was extensively restored in 1861. 

There were a small number of Non-Conformists in Stapleford, but the only chapel to have been built was a Methodist Chapel c. 1820. There were no services there after 1946 and it was demolished c. 1970. 

An 18th century demesne farmstead is north of the church with a 19th century house to the south of the church. To the west, four farmhouses of chequered flint and limestone survive. Parsonage House and Seymour Cottage are from mid-17th Century. East of the road, south of the church are two early 18th century cottages.

The Malthouse is thatched and from the 17th century with four bays.   In the later 19th century some houses and cottages were re-built. A school was built beside Western Lane, and Vicarage House beside Eastern Lane. North of the village six council houses were built in Riverside Terrace in 1950 with four houses and six bungalows built in Eastern Lane in 1961. In late 20th century small groups of houses and bungalows were built in various areas of the village.  

In Overstreet, to the west of the river, a small castle or fortified house was built for the lord of the Stapleford Manor in the late 12th or early 13th century. It was held by the Hussey family in mid-12th century. Only the mound and ditch survive. Manor Farmhouse is of 17th century origin and has two storeys with attics, the ground floor has one room each side of the chimney stack, and an 1860 extension.

There are two flint and limestone rubble cottages dating from the 17th century but 19th century farm buildings and cottages have been rebuilt.   

Serrington is an 18th century hamlet of eight houses beside the Warminster road, several surviving from 1773. Bridge House is from around 1700, with additions in 1777. The Pelican Inn is of late 17th century early 18th century, operating in 1751 and in 1992, it was rebuilt in 1937. Southington is a three bayed, chequered flint and limestone building from around 1700. Pembroke Cottage also dates from the same period. A mill stood in mid-late 19th century and more houses were built in 1840 including the New Inn which opened in 1848, but which was demolished in 1908. Four houses were built in the late 20th century, two police houses and two bungalows, also a house and commercial garage near the Pelican.  Southington Bridge over the river till dates from 1705. 

Uppington had three buildings in 1773, but it is possible there had been earlier farmsteads.

In 1992 there was a house dating from the early 20th century, and a farmhouse which possibly dated from the 18th century. There was no settlement on the downs in 1817 and by 1840 barns had been erected. Between 1840 and 1879 two farmsteads were built, Druids Head Farm and York Yard, both of which were enlarged in the early 20th century. 

 A settlement on the boundary of Woodford/Stapleford developed around 1800, called Druids Head, it still survives at the end of the 20th century. Chain Hill Farm in the south east of the village was built around 1840, but now demolished. Cowden Farm, built in 1879, was by the late 20th century a group of seven cottages called Camp Cottages. 

The Devizes to Salisbury road which forms the eastern boundary of the parish was turnpiked in 1761 and dis-turnpiked in 1870. Until the 18th century traffic from Southampton to Bristol via Bath crossed the parish south east of the church, north west across the parish. In 1761 other roads to Bath were turnpiked, so this road became less important and in 1992 only a rough track remained.

The Wilton to Warminster road was turnpiked in 1761, dis-turnpiked 1870, but in the 20th century was a trunk road. The road to the east of the river, called Uppington Lane in 1886 still carries local traffic. The parallel road to the west of the river was made after 1771, but never tarmacked north of Olver Street. Other roads which crossed the parish in 1773 only remain as tracks in the 20th century. Berwick Lane, crossing the parish, is thought to have been part of the ancient Harrow Way which connected Kent with Somerset. 

In the 1320s sheep were the main produce in the parish, with just a small amount of arable and this continued until the 19th century. In 1840 the parish had 1040 acres of arable, 640 acres of down land pasture, 70 acres of lowland pasture and 130 acres of water meadow. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries there were four principal farms. Manor Farm has been both an arable and a pasture farm; in 1992 it was a specialist arable farm of 528 acres. The farmers were the principal employers. In 1871 Henry Bennett was at Manor Farm; this 700 acre farm employed 16 labourers and 4 boys.

Bennett did not see a long term future for his family in farming and in 1865 he planted some roses on the farm, with the intention of propagating them for sale. His knowledge of cattle breeding enabled him to apply the same principles with roses, that of using named parents carefully selected for their individual qualities. His hybrids were called Pedigree Hybrids of the Tea Rose. He is considered the father of the Hybrid Tea class. 

 In 1898 Druid’s Head Farm was the base for a farm of 516 acres, half downland pasture and half arable; it was principally a sheep farm. By 1934 Church Farm and Parsonage farm had been combined as Parsonage Farm, 879 acres including arable, downland and water meadow. In the late 20th century Druid’s Head Farm became the main farm buildings of the Druid’s Lodge estate. This was a mixed farm, on which sheep and cattle were kept and cereal and fodder crops were grown. 

At the time of Domesday, Stapleford was already a thriving community.

The land amounted to 10½ hides that could support ten ploughs & the population was approximately 130-150 people. It was worth £12, which was a substantial sum. By the time of the first official census in 1801, the population was 233 & by 1831 it had risen to 337. There was a sharp fall from 309 in 1851 to 260 in 1861, due mainly to a reduction in road traffic following the opening of the Salisbury-Warminster section of the G.W.R in 1856. The lowest figure was 212 in 1961 and by 2001 it had risen to 265. 

There was no workhouse in Stapleford. The parish became part of the Wilton poor-law union in 1836; prior to this, the parish supported its own poor through the poor rate. In 1776 a total of £106 was spent on poor relief, rising to approximately £253 in 1834. There is no record of any charity for the poor. 

In 1776, £106 was spent on poor relief in the parish, this rose to £149 by 1803 when 10 adults and 23 children were relieved regularly and 4 occasionally.

Poor relief reached a peak in 1813 when £394 was spent.  

The Kelly’s trade directories give an indication of the businesses that were operating in the parish between 1885 and 1939. Farming was the main industry and there were five men advertising as farmers in 1885. There were also the associated trades you would expect to find in a rural community, such as a blacksmith, carpenter, boot maker, baker and grocer. Some men combined two jobs in order to make a living; Joseph Grant was a carpenter and ran the Post Office. After his death, son Henry took on the business and was still trading as a builder in 1939. 

The Williams family ran a nursery and were also seedsmen between 1855 and 1923.  

There were two pubs in the village, The Pelican and The New Inn.

The Pelican was an inn from the early 18th century and is still open today. The New Inn was open in 1848 and demolished c. 1908. 

A racing stable was opened in 1895. The gallops lay mainly outside the parish. In 1901, 22 men were employed as grooms. The stable was very successful until the First World War, when it was requisitioned. It was used again for some years in the 1920s, but training ceased c. 1954. 

There was a Methodist Sunday School in 1824. Around 1833, 10 pupils attended an infants’ school; most children from the parish attended Great Wishford. In 1847 the National School had 20 pupils, by 1859 there were 30-40. A new school with a teacher’s house was built in 1874. The attendance in 1914 was just nine, others attending school in Great Wishford and Berwick St. James. Wiltshire County Council withdrew funds in 1914, re-adopted the school in 1919, but closed it in 1925 when there were just 10 pupils. From 1914 until 1920 when funds had been withdrawn it was used as a private school.

In 1939-40 the building was used for 24 boys who had been evacuated to the area and later the building became the village hall. 

In 1938 the village had a distinguished visitor to stay, the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. He rented a room for a month while composing his 5th Symphony.  During his stay, he was able to walk to Salisbury to spend time with his friend Walter Alcock, the Cathedral organist. 

In 2002 there were still a few villagers who could remember Stapleford in the 1930s. It was a lively place with dances, whist drives and concerts. There were many tradesmen and craftsmen; cobbler, builder, undertaker, butcher, baker, coal merchant, road man, wheelwright, nursery and seedsman and a garage.

All have gone except the garage, although some were still there in the 1950s. 

Stapleford is still a farming village and in 2002 there were three farms, Brooklet Farm, Manor Farm and Druid’s Lodge. 

The village hall is at the centre of the community. It is a meeting place for various groups - book club, village lottery, table tennis, pool club, whist drive and plant sale. The village hall committee organises regular activities and events throughout the year such as film nights, talks, duck race, summer barbeque, harvest lunch and a Christmas party. Despite the many changes through the years, it remains a thriving community with plenty of activity.