Chitterne People Graveyard Search Glossary Bibliography Acknowledgements Maps Blog
In researching the history of my home, The Round House in Chitterne, Wiltshire, I became fascinated by the history of Chitterne itself. I am still fascinated, so this history I present here for whoever is interested, is being added to from time to time. If, having read it, you find you have some historical fact about Chitterne that I have omitted, please email me : Sue Robinson Visit my website here to find out what I am up to.
| Before 1066 | Chitterne consisted of two manors in Anglo Saxon times, though by the Norman Conquest it formed three properties held by Azor, Chenvin and Ulwen. | |
| After 1066 | An Englishman, Edward of Salisbury, held Chitterne and was made Sheriff of Wiltshire, he had his castle at Old Sarum. Edward then had a son called Walter | |
| 1086 | In the Domesday Book Chitterne was called Chetre or Cheltre (a place of refuge). Chitterne means "dwelling in the wood", aern or ern being Anglo-Saxon for dwelling. | |
| 1142 | Walter, Edward's son, founded Bradenstoke Priory and gave the Chapel of St Andrew in Chitterne to it. Edward's grandson, Patricius (Patrick), took the Chapel back in exchange for land at Wilcote. | |
| 1149 | Patrick was created Earl of Salisbury by Empress Matilda, he was her steward of the household. | |
| 1168 | Patrick died whilst returning from a crusade . | |
| 118? | Ela, daughter to William, Second Earl of Salisbury (son of Patrick) was born at Amesbury. (William was keeper of the charter for licensing tournaments). | |
| 1196 | William died. Ela, now Countess of Salisbury, was married to William Longespee, illegitimate son of Henry II and half-brother of King John, at an early age. | |
| 1215 | As Earl of Salisbury, William was present with King John at the signing of the Magna Carta. | |
| 1220 | Ela and William laid one foundation stone each of the new Cathedral of Sarum (now Salisbury Cathedral). | |
| 1226 | William died and was buried in the Cathedral. | |
| 1229 | Ela proposed a Monastery at Lacock. | |
| 1232 | Ela founded the Monastery of Lacock. Her son, William Longespee II, gave his lands at Chitterne to the Monastery . | |
| 1238 | Ela joined the Abbey at Lacock as a nun. | |
| 1240 | Ela became Abbess. | |
| 1247 | William's donation of lands to the Monastery confirmed by Henry III. | |
| 1256 | Henry III gave the nuns a market, a fair and free warren at Chitterne. | |
| 1261 | Ela died and was buried at Lacock Abbey. | |
| 1264 - 68 | H. de Bratton, chancellor of Exon, granted 17 acres at Chitterne to his valet, H. de Paddebroke, he in turn granted it to the Dean and Chapter for 20 marks. | |
| 1270 | Giles de Bridport, as Bishop of Sarum, acquired All Saints Church and 17 acres of glebe and gave it to his newly formed College de Vaux, at Harnham, Sarum. | |
| 1289 | Lacock Abbey, under Abbess Juliana, bought one messuage and two carucates of land in Chitterne from William de Horton, Margaret le Rous of Beremtham and Matilda de Merweden at 20s . each. | |
| 1291 | Nicholas Longespee, last surviving son of Ela, became Bishop of Salisbury. | |
| 1306 | The first listed Vicar of Chitterne All Saints was John de Netheravene under the patronage of the Bishop of Salisbury. | |
| 1316 | Chitterne mentioned in Nomina Villarum as Chuterne. The lords listed were "Abbissa de Lacock, Johannes Syfrewast (Cifrewast B) Prior de Bradenstoke et Alicia Pickeford." | |
| 1319 | The first listed Vicar of Chitterne St Mary was William de Bratton, under the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury. | |
| 1341 | At the Inquisition of the Ninths, the ninth of Chitterne was valued at 56s.8d., the portion of the Abbess of Lacock was 21s.3d. The Chapel of St Andrew was valued at £3.3s.4d., having one carucate of land with pasture and a dovehouse valued at £1.6s.8d. | |
| 1447 | The belfry, the bell and all the Abbess's houses in Chitterne were suddenly burnt by lightening. | |
| 1450 | The Chapel of St Mary , (the chancel that remains of the partly demolished church of Chitterne St Mary) is reputed to date from around this time. | |
| 1530 | Edward Morgan died, he was chief tenant in Chitterne of the Abbess of Lacock. | |
| 1536 | Lacock Abbey placed in King Henry VIII's power. He spared it. | |
| 1539 | The Abbey was surrendered to the King. | |
| 1543 | Lacock Abbey was bought by Sir William Sharrington. Former Abbey lands at Chitterne were sold to John Williams and Anthony Stringer and held by Milbourne and Flower after the dissolution. The Rectory of Chitterne, formerly belonging to the College de Vaux, Sarum was granted to Francis Morrice and Francis Phelips. | |
| 1545 | John Williams and Anthony Stringer sold the Manor of Chitterne All Saints to Thomas and Elizabeth Temys, on 25th April 1545, for £207.14s.0d. | |
| 1552-54 | John Flower senior, son of John Flower of Worton, leased Milbournes Court in Chitterne All Saints and Morgan's in Chitterne St Mary. | |
| 1580 | John Temys, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Temys, sold the Manor of Chitterne All Saints to his brother-in-law, William Jordan, on 3rd May 1580 for £440. | |
| 1588 | John Flower and William Jordan of Chitterne donated £25 each to the fund for the defence of the country against the threatened invasion by the Spanish Armada. | |
| 1592 | John Flower of Chitterne died and left his Chitterne estates to John, son of his brother Thomas Flower. | |
| 1600 | John Flower, son of Thomas died and left his Chitterne estates to his son Edward, aged 9 years. | |
| 1619 | Edward Flower sold the lease of his Chitterne estates to John Aprice to pay off his gambling debts. | |
| 1625 | Edward Flower and John Aprice sold the lease of the Chitterne estates on to Sir James Ley, Earl of Marlborough. | |
| 1635 | Matthew Ley nephew of Sir James Ley, died in possession of manors or farms and land in Chitterne All Saints and Chitterne St Mary. | |
| 1651 | Lord Pawlett granted a licence for the digging of clay, from the clay pits on Chitterne St Mary Down, to be made into tobacco pipes. | |
| 1662 | William Jordan (grandson) and Jane his wife sold the Manor of Chitterne All Saints to John Gyles of Fisherton Delamere. | |
| 1668 | Samuel Pepys stayed at the White Hart (now White Hart House) overnight. | |
| 1714 | The bride wore her smock at the wedding of a Chitterne couple who married at Orcheston St Mary. | |
| 1716 | Highway Robber shot by Edward Slade of Chitterne | |
| 1734 | The Manor of Chitterne St Mary belonged to the Michell family. | |
| 1742 | The George Inn burnt down. | |
| 1761-62 | The Amesbury Turnpike Trust was set up. Chitterne is on the section of the road from West Amesbury to Ansty Hill. | |
| 1775 | The Michell family had an addition made to All Saints Church to house their pew and mausoleum. | |
| 1793 | Paul Cobb Methuen purchased the Manor of Chitterne All Saints from Norton Pawlett esq. | |
| 1799 | The Manor of Chitterne St Mary bought by Paul Cobb Methuen of Corsham Court, from Bryant Biggs. | |
| 1810 | Oram's grave burial site of suicides outside the village boundary. | |
| 1812 | The Vicarage (now the Old Vicarage) was built in Chitterne Saint Mary. | |
| 1819 | The benefices of Chitterne All Saints and Chitterne St Mary were united by deed. | |
| 1830 | Walter Long bought land in Chitterne Saint Mary and Chitterne All Saints. | |
| 1839 | Highway Robbery foiled by Farmer Dean. | |
| 1840 | Chitterne School was opened. | |
| 1841 | John Wallis Titt born in Chitterne. Went on to found his own agricultural engineering business and became internationally known for his windpumps and farm and waterworks equipment. | |
| 1852 | Manor Farm buildings and house at Chitterne All Saints were destroyed by fire on 17 April. | |
| 1861 | The two old churches, were demolished, except for the chancels, which were used for mortuary chapels. The foundation stone of the new church of All Saints with St Mary's was laid by the Venerable Archdeacon Macdonald, Vicar, on land given by Walter Long for the purpose. | |
| 1862 | The new church was consecrated by the Bishop of Salisbury. | |
| 1868 | The Amesbury Turnpike Trust was defunct. The effects, including the Chitterne gates, were auctioned off in 1871. | |
| 1872 | William Fred "Farmer" Brown of Scotland Yard was born in Chitterne. | |
| 1877 | The chancel of the old church of All Saints was removed. | |
| 1878 | Polden and Feltham, carpenters and wheelwrights, started in business in the village. | |
| 1879 | Charles Morris died and bequeathed £300 in his will for the benefit of Chitterne School, known as the Morris Charity. | |
| 1881 | The population of All Saints was 431, St Mary's 198, totalling 629. | |
| 1891 | The population of All Saints was 428, St Mary's 154, totalling 582. | |
| 1894 | The Inception of The Rural District Council. Annie Compton representing Chitterne St. Mary became one of the first women councillors in the country. | |
| 1897 | The Jubilee Tree, a horse chestnut, was planted on the village green to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. | |
| 1901 | The population of All Saints was 319, St Mary's 132, totalling 451. | |
| 1902 | Percy Dean of Chitterne invested capital in a Salisbury company that later became Scout Motors. | |
| 1903 | A fire destroyed a large part of the Baptist Chapel in Bidden Lane. | |
| 1904 | Reverend John Thomas Canner, author of "The History of Chitterne", became vicar of Chitterne. | |
| 1907 | The two parishes of Chitterne All Saints and Chitterne St. Mary became the civil parish of Chitterne by an order of the Local Government Board. | |
| 1914-18 | Chitterne at war. Photo of the 4th Batt.Wilts.Regiment, transcript of Chitterne War Memorial etc. | |
| 1920-21 | The Chitterne Hut was erected in Bidden Lane for social gatherings in the village. | |
| 1923 | Chitterne Football Club completed a hat trick by winning the Warminster Hospital Cup for the third consecutive season. | |
| 1928 | Ushers Brewery gave a piece of land to the village for the enlargement of St Mary's graveyard.
Queen Mary visited Chitterne on 17 August, calling at Chitterne House, the home of her lady-in-waiting, Lady Eva Dugdale. |
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| 1933 | Chitterne's postal address changed from "Chitterne, Codford, Wiltshire" to "Chitterne, Warminster, Wiltshire" on Monday 6th November 1933. | |
| 1936 | Air crash at Chitterne. | |
| 1939-45 | Chitterne at war again Wartime anecdotes about the Home Guard, the cadets, the Air Raid Warden etc. | |
| 1940's | The Chitterne Brook was excavated and half-lined with concrete. | |
| 1955 | Gay Donald, a horse trained by Jim Ford at his Chitterne Racing Stables, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup. | |
| 1967 | Chitterne School closed | |
| 1975 | Farm buildings of a former pig farm, on the north side of the Warminster Road, were demolished and a housing development built on the site. It was named St Mary's Close, but the locals still call it "The Piggeries". | |
| 1981 | The village roads were blocked by heavy snowfalls. | |
| 1983 | Chitterne Barn, which lay outside the village limits near Copehill Down, was dismantled. | |
| 1984 | Scenes in "Return to Oz", a film starring Fairuza Balk, were shot on location at Chitterne. | |
| 1986 | The Ministry of Defence proposed, and had built, a FIBUA (Fighting in built-up areas) training village on Copehill Down, a mile outside Chitterne, despite vigorous protests from the villagers. | |
| 1988 | Wessex Water built a new Pumping Station just outside the main village on the Tilshead Road at a cost of £1.7 million. The water, drawn from seven bore holes, serves Trowbridge and West Wiltshire. | |
| 1993 | A second-hand organ, originally built for Laleham Abbey Convent, Middlesex in 1968, was installed in the church. | |
| 1998 | Chitterne Village Hall, previously the school, was demolished. | |
| 1999 | The new Village Hall, on the same site, was opened on the 13th February. | |
| 2000 | Chitterne Post Office closed its doors for the last time.
The MoD opened the new Southern Range Road which passes to the north of Chitterne, through Breakheart Bottom. The road, built purely for army traffic, links Warminster, Knook, West Down and other camps en route to Tidworth, and should greatly reduce army traffic through the village. |
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| 2001 | Chitterne Cricket Club was launched. | |
| 2002 | To mark the Golden Jubilee of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II new gates were erected alongside All Saints with St Mary's Church. | |
| 2003 | The newly repaired Church clock was rededicated by the Ven. Alan Jeans, Archdeacon of Sarum. The old red telephone box on the Green was knocked over when a car skidded into it in icy conditions. It was replaced by one of a modern design. |
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| 2004 | The road bridge over the Chitterne Brook near the Codford Road junction was completely rebuilt to bring it up to the new standard during the first three months of the year. | |
| 2005 | Broadband came to Chitterne on 18 May. | |
| 2007 | A book called Chitterne - a Wiltshire Village was published by Hobnob Press. | |
| 2009 | The King's Head re-opened informally for locals after almost a year closed on 4th December, and opened for the general public on 18th December 2009. |