Orcheston

Orcheston

Flood Cottages, Orcheston
Orcheston
 Orcheston shown within Wiltshire
Population 339 (in 2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSU059453
Civil parishOrcheston
Unitary authorityWiltshire
Ceremonial countyWiltshire
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Salisbury
Postcode district SP3
Dialling code 01980
Police Wiltshire
Fire Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK ParliamentSalisbury
List of places
UK
England
Wiltshire

Coordinates: 51°12′25″N 1°55′01″W / 51.207°N 1.917°W / 51.207; -1.917

Orcheston is a civil parish and village in Wiltshire, England, lying on Salisbury Plain less than a mile north-west of neighbouring Shrewton. The present-day parish combines the two former parishes of Orcheston St Mary and Orcheston St George and includes the hamlet of Elston.

History and description

The village is recorded in the Domesday Book, with the spelling Orchestone.[2][3]

The two civil parishes of Orcheston, based on the two Church of England parish churches of St Mary and St George, were united into a single civil parish in 1934 and into a single ecclesiastical parish in 1971.[4]

The parish gives its name to the 'Orcheston long grass' (Agrostis stolonifera), also called 'Creeping Bent', the most commonly used species of Agrostis.[5][6][7] The Rough-Stalked Meadow Grass (Poa trivialis), is also called Orcheston Grass,[8] and in the early 19th century there was something of a controversy among botanists as to which was the true Orcheston Grass.[9][10]

The source of the River Till is near the village.

As of 2009 Orcheston contains about sixty-five houses, of which twenty-six are listed buildings, and has a single parish council.[11] Almost all local government services are provided by the Wiltshire Council unitary authority.

Churches

St Mary's Church dates from the 13th century and is Grade II* listed.[12][13]

St George's Church is also from the 13th century and also Grade II* listed.[14][15] It is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[16]

Notable people

Maurice Roy Ridley (1890-1969), writer and poet, Fellow and Chaplain of Balliol College, Oxford, was born in Orcheston. Dorothy L. Sayers is reputed to have based the appearance of her fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey on Ridley.

Mick Channon, footballer and racehorse trainer, was born in the village.

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ "Wiltshire Community History - Census". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Richard Tomkins, Wiltshire Place Names (1983), p. 79
  3. ↑ Orcheston at probertencyclopaedia.com
  4. ↑ Frederic A. Youngs, Guide to the local administrative units of England (1980), page 546
  5. ↑ William George Maton, Observations on the Orcheston long grass in Transactions of the Linnean Society, v. 5 (1800), pp. 28-31
  6. ↑ William Bingley, Useful knowledge: or, A familiar account of the various productions of nature (1831) page 33 online at books.google.com
  7. ↑ William Withering, An arrangement of British plants (1796) page 144 at books.google.com
  8. ↑ Martin John Sutton, Permanent and Temporary Pastures (1929), p. 60
  9. ↑ 'An Account of the Grasses and Produce of the Orcheston Meadow in Wiltshire, by Mr Tanner', in The Farmer's Magazine (1813)
  10. ↑ 'Fiorin Grass', in Retrospect of philosophical, mechanical, chemical, and agricultural discoveries (volume for 1815) page 174 at books.google.com
  11. ↑ "Orcheston". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  12. ↑ Historic England. "Church of St Mary, Orcheston (1181876)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Church of St. Mary, Orcheston". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  14. ↑ Historic England. "Church of St George, Orcheston (1024021)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "Church of St. George, Orcheston". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "St George, Orcheston". Churches Conservation Trust. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
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