Coordinates: 51°01′39″N 1°56′35″W / 51.0275°N 1.943°W
| Broad Chalke or Broadchalke | |
.png)  Broad Chalke or Broadchalke
 Broad Chalke or Broadchalke shown within Wiltshire |
|
| Population | 652 [1] |
|---|---|
| Unitary authority | Wiltshire |
| Ceremonial county | Wiltshire |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SALISBURY |
| Postcode district | SP5 |
| Dialling code | 01722 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| European Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Salisbury |
| List of places: UK • England • Wiltshire | |
Broad Chalke, sometimes spelled Broadchalke (including by Wiltshire Council), Broad Chalk or Broadchalk, is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 8 miles west of the city of Salisbury. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 652 , but now this figure has risen to around 850 . This civil parish includes the neighbourhoods Knapp and Mount Sorrel.
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Description
Broad Chalke is located within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is half way along a 13 mile valley commonly called The Chalke Valley.
The picturesque village on the banks of the River Ebble has been home to luminaries such as Sir Anthony Eden (Prime Minister), Sir Cecil Beaton society photographer, and musicians Sir Dennis Chalk[2].
John Aubrey (1626-1697) and Maurice Henry Hewlett (1861-1923), both authors, lived in Broad Chalke. Reverend Professor Rowland Williams (1817 - 1870), a theologian whose essays and sermons caused him to be charged with heterodoxy, was later vicar of Broad Chalke and is buried there.
The Gurston Down hill-climb course is within the administrative area of Broad Chalke.
The village shop and Post Office J E Fry & Son, is located in South Street & has traded as family butchers under the Fry family for several generations. Since the closure of the old village shop and Post Office around Christmas 1992 the butchers began to sell groceries & everyday items and also incorporated the village Post Office which opened on 15 June 1993.
Origins
It is not known when Broad Chalke was first inhabited or what it was called but fragmentary records from Saxon times indicate that the whole Chalke Valley area was thriving. [3]
The Doomsday Book in 1086 divided the Chalke Valley into eight manors, Chelke (Chalke), Eblesborne (Ebbesbourne Wake), Fifehide (Fifield), Cumbe (Coombe Bissett), Humitone (Homington), Odestoche (Odstock), Stradford (Stratford Tony) and Trow (circa Alvediston and Tollard Royal). [3]
In the 12th century the area was known primarily as the Stowford Hundred then subsequently as the Chalke Hundred. This included the parishes of Berwick St John, Ebbesbourne Wake, Fifield Bavant, Semley, Tollard Royal and 'Chalke'. The name Burchelke (Bowerchalke) first appeared in 1225 and Brode Chalk was first mentioned in 1380. Although Chalke was a comparatively large, disconnected estate it was not separated into the two ecclesiastical parishes of Broad Chalk and Bowerchalke until 1880. [3]
Local government
As well as having its own elected parish council, the civil parish also falls within the area of the Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which is responsible for all significant local government functions.
Notable people
See also
References
- ^ Census data
- ^ Wilton and District Brass Band
- ^ a b c Ebbesbourne Wake through the Ages by Peter Meers
External links
- Broad Chalke Information, News, Events, Contacts, History, Photos, Old Documents, Diaries and Wills
- Wiltshire County Council's page on Broad Chalke
- Gurston Down website
- Website of Chalke Valley Watercress
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