Nettleton, Wiltshire

Nettleton
Nettleton  Nettleton shown within Wiltshire
Population	693 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid reference	ST8278
Civil parish	Nettleton
Unitary authority	Wiltshire
Ceremonial county	Wiltshire
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Chippenham
Postcode district	SN14
Dialling code	01249
Police	Wiltshire
Fire	Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	North Wiltshire
List of places UK England Wiltshire

Coordinates: 51°30′22″N 2°15′32″W / 51.506°N 2.259°W

Nettleton is a village and civil parish about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) northwest of Chippenham in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the villages of Burton and West Kington, and the hamlets of Horsedown, Nettleton Shrub and West Kington Wick. The northern section of Nettleton village is known as Nettleton Green.

Until 1934, Burton and Nettleton were separate parishes.^[2]

Geography

The eastern limit of the parish is the boundary with the county of Gloucestershire. The Burton Brook and Broadmead Brook flow through the north and south of the parish respectively, meeting to form the Bybrook River on the eastern boundary of the parish. Nettleton Mill, an ancient watermill which was part of the Castle Combe estate, is on the Broadmead Brook at the southeastern boundary of the parish. The Fosse Way runs through the parish, crossing both brooks.

Religion

Nettleton has had a Baptist chapel since 1823.^[3]

The parish church is St Mary's at Burton; West Kington has a church of St Mary the Virgin.

Lugbury long barrow

Lugbury is a chambered long barrow about 0.75 miles (1.21 km) east of the village.^[4] Excavations in the 19th century found 28 human skeletons in its chambers.^[4]

Roman-period shrine

Priest and priestess on the site of the entrance to the shrine complex at Nettleton Scrubb

Remains of a Romano-British settlement of about 30 buildings have been found in the north-west of the parish, where the Fosse Way crosses the Broadmead Brook, south-west of Brotton Hill wood.^[4][2] This was excavated between 1956 and 1971; it is now field and woodland again. It was interpreted as a religious site, including an octagonal shrine some 10 metres in diameter. Apollo Cunomaglus may have been its overall patron; dedications to other deities, probably including Diana, Mercury, and Mars with his Gaulish consort Rosmerta, were also found.^[5]

On the site of the shrine of Apollo at Nettleton Scrubb, a priest and priestess face the setting sun.

References

1. "Parish population 2011.Retrieved 11 March 2015".
2. "Wiltshire Community History: Nettleton". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
3. "Baptist Chapel, Nettleton". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
4. Pevsner & Cherry, 1975, page356
5. Wedlake, 1982

Sources

• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975). The Buildings of England: Wiltshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 355–356. ISBN 0 14 071026 4.
• Wedlake, W.J. (1982). The Excavation of the Shrine of Apollo at Nettleton, Wiltshire, 1956-71. Society of Antiquaries of London. ISBN 0-85431-233-1.