Britford

Britford is a small parish to the south of the county of Wiltshire adjacent to the city boundaries of Salisbury. The village of Britford is approximately two miles south east from the city centre and is almost 10 miles north of Fordingbridge. The parish is made up of 2,711 acres; around 2000 acres of this is pasture land and the rest is meadow and water. The parish of Britford is four and a half miles long, and at its widest point reaches two miles wide.

The manor was held by Edward the Confessor in 1065. At the Domesday survey in 1086 Britford is noted as “Bretforde” and the church was held by Osbern, a priest; the population at this time would have been around 200 people. At the start of the Middle Ages there are many names for Britford, including Brytford, Brutford, Brudefort, Burtford and Burford. It was not until the latter part of the Middle Ages that Britford (or Britfordstok) was used regularly. It is thought that Britford means “Briton's Ford” or Ford of the Britton's.

Until the 16th century, the manor belonged to the earls of Huntingdon. In 1538, the Jervys family bought Britford from George, earl of Huntingdon, who was married to Anne, who was the daughter of Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham. He had been executed by Richard III in Salisbury in 1483.

In 1999, during an archaeological investigation into some land near to Odstock Road in the parish prior to residential extension, 22 trenches found evidence of late Neolithic and early Bronze age pottery, as well as finds from the middle to late Bronze age and Romano- Britain times. The study concluded that there was probably domestic activity at Britford during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age period. and found 59 sherds of pottery, probably from three beakers. During the 1873 restoration of St. Peter's Church, four Roman coins were found. They dated from the time of Constantine the Great, from the 3rd and 4th centuries and were made in Carthage.

Until 1855, the parish of Britford included East Harnham, but after a church was built there in 1854, the parishes became ecclesiastically separate. Up until 1896, East Harnham remained as part of the civil parish of Britford, but in that year it was separated by an order of the Local Government Board. In 1904 East Harnham and Britford were made part of the borough of Salisbury.

An attempt to develop the Salisbury Avon as navigable was made at the end of the 17th century. Waterways were of course a very important way of transporting goods and work began in 1675. However, money for the project ran out in 1677, and apart from a few spasmodic attempts to continue, all work stopped by 1730. One of the main signs of the work is a lock in the west of the village of Britford.

The Britford Fair was traditionally a big event in the parish taking place annually on August 12 every year. In 1835, there were 53,000 sheep sold at the fair.

The Reverend T.K. Woodhall, speaking about Britford parish, is noted as saying: “I am continually being asked by my Salisbury friends after a wet day: “Aren't you drowned out at Britford?” The parish is certainly not short of water; the Avon splits into three courses at Britford where there is a long history of water meadows, and indeed has one of the last two managed water meadows in Britain. Britford's water meadows are a Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI). The meadows were created in the 17th century and work when water is diverted from a river and used to deliberately flood or “drown” the fields through a series of ridges and furrows. The logic behind this practice is that the river water gives land nutrients and promotes lush and healthy growing of pasture. In 1992, 42 acres were managed by farmer Peter Martin and the land was owned by Lord Radnor. At the height of the water meadows popularity, there were 350 acres at Britford.

There is currently no public house in the village, although there are records of a short lived inn called “The Square and Compass.” There are a few listed buildings in the parish, including the Church of St. Peter, which is Grade I. Manor Farmhouse, The Old Forge, Moat Cottage, Bridge Farmhouse and Little Manor Farmhouse are all Grade II listed buildings. Numbers One and Two Moat House are also Grade II listed and are especially interesting as the large house, now divided into two private residences, dates from as far back as the 17th century.