34-577: Milk Hill , located near Alton Priors east of Devizes , is the highest point in the county of Wiltshire , southwest England , at some 295 m (968 ft) above sea level (the adjacent Tan Hill rises to 294 m). It is the location of the Alton Barnes White Horse (a hill figure cut in 1812). On 23 August 2009, the BBC programme Countryfile featured an item on analysis by Ordnance Survey to determine whether Milk or Tan Hill
68-516: A separate civil parish in 1866. In 1934 the civil parishes of Alton Barnes and Alton Priors were abolished and merged to form the new civil parish of Alton. In 1086, Domesday Book recorded two landholdings within Swanborough Hundred at Awltone : one corresponding to Alton Barnes, held by Edward of Salisbury , with 14 households and a mill; and another held by Winchester Abbey with 50 households and two mills. The association of
102-571: Is a civil parish with an elected parish council . It is in the area of the Wiltshire Council unitary authority , which is responsible for all significant local government functions, and is represented in the council by Paul Oatway. For Westminster elections, the parish is within the East Wiltshire constituency. Both villages had a Church of England parish church ; Alton Barnes church continues in use. The Church of St. Mary
136-527: Is a distinctive brass plaque to local landowner William Button (1526–1591) , with complex artwork and inscription. All Saints was declared redundant in 1972 and was placed in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust . It is a Grade II* listed building . Alton Priors was anciently a chapelry of Overton parish. In 1913, Alton Priors was annexed to Alton Barnes to form the parish of Alton Barnes with Alton Priors. The benefice
170-464: Is a four-bay block of two storeys with attic, and a single-storey kitchen wing. The Kennet and Avon Canal , opened in 1810, crosses the parish. A wharf at Honeystreet served the local area and a rural industrial area developed around it, including a firm of barge builders – Robbins, Lane, and Pinniger – who continued until the 1950s. The Barge Inn was built at Honeystreet in 1858, replacing an earlier building, to cater for those living and working on
204-562: Is an encyclopaedic history of the county of Wiltshire in England. It forms part of the overall Victoria County History of England founded in 1899 in honour of Queen Victoria . With eighteen volumes published in the series, it is now the most substantial of the Victoria County Histories. A set of Wiltshire volumes was planned from the start; the authors engaged included Maud Davies, who began writing in 1906. However,
238-463: Is at Woodborough . A Parochial school was opened at Alton Barnes in 1837 and closed in 1976 owing to falling pupil numbers. There is a chalk hill figure of a horse dating from 1812 ( 51°22′21″N 1°50′52″W / 51.37255°N 1.84789°W / 51.37255; -1.84789 ), a little more than 1000 m north of Alton. It is based on another white horse hill figure in Wiltshire,
272-540: Is buried in Alton Priors church, as is his son, also William (1526–1591). Both were Members of Parliament, as were two more family members: Ambrose (c.1549–c.1608) and Sir William Button, 1st Baronet (c.1584–1655). Distinguished rectors of Alton Barnes include Richard Steward (c. 1593–1651, royalist churchman), rector from 1630; William Crowe (1745–1829, poet) from 1787; and Augustus William Hare (1792–1834, writer) from 1831. The Barge Inn at Honeystreet
306-739: Is the higher. It was confirmed that Milk Hill is 26 centimetres (10.2 in) higher than Tan Hill. Located at the western edge of the Vale of Pewsey (part of the North Wessex Downs AONB ), it is also the highest summit along a 50 km ridge extending all the way from the South Downs , across the southern Chilterns and into Wiltshire. Milk Hill is the second highest point between Bristol and London after Walbury Hill in West Berkshire (297 m; 974 ft), and
340-641: Is thus also the second highest chalk hill in the UK, again behind Walbury Hill, though it has a slightly greater prominence. Views are extensive from here, as far as the Mendips and Cotswolds and in very clear weather as far as the Black Mountains in South Wales , making this one of the most southeasterly points in the UK from which high mountain country can be sighted. Milk Hill is frequently used by
374-643: The Cherhill White Horse . The figure is the third largest white horse in Wiltshire. The Pewsey White Horse can be seen from Milk Hill (the location of the horse). The figure is featured in Staying Out for the Summer , a music video for a song of the same name by Dodgy . For April Fool's Day in 2003 and 2014, the horse was temporarily transformed into a zebra, on the latter occasion by applying black stripes, made from plastic sheeting, across
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#1732776102307408-786: The Committee represented the main financial contributors to the project (initially these were Wiltshire County Council and other local authorities in Wiltshire, and by 2009 Wiltshire Council and the University of the West of England ), and also the Central Committee of the Victoria County History , the University of Winchester , the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society and
442-604: The County of Hampshire. The committee was established in 1947. It did not control the day-to-day work of the staff (who were initially employed by the University of London and later by the University of the West of England ), but from the early days of the Wiltshire County History project the committee was responsible for ensuring that funding was available for staff salaries and other expenses, offices provided, and suitable projects undertaken. The members of
476-475: The Old Rectory, stands west of the church. Built in vitrified brick with dressings in red brick and stone, it has two storeys with an attic. The five-bay east range is from the 1720s or 1730s, the rear block was added in 1785 and further alterations were made around the 1830s. Augustus William Hare , orator and writer, lived here c.1829 to 1833 during his rectorship, until his early death. At Alton Priors,
510-546: The Thames Valley Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club. Milk Hill continues to be one of the best locations in England for free flight . This article about a location in Wiltshire is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Alton Priors Alton is a civil parish in Wiltshire , England. The parish includes the adjacent villages of Alton Barnes and Alton Priors , and
544-581: The VCH central office ran into financial difficulty in 1908, and although work resumed in 1910 in ten counties, Wiltshire was not among them. In 1947 the Wiltshire project was revived, leading to publication of the first volume in 1953. For many years the project was chiefly funded by Wiltshire County Council and other Wiltshire local authorities and managed by the Wiltshire Victoria County History Committee . In 2002
578-533: The Virgin in Alton Barnes is partly Saxon , built in the 10th and 11th centuries, although Domesday Book mentions no church. It has only a chancel , nave and west tower. The nave has characteristic Anglo-Saxon features : typically tall, narrow proportions and (visible at the west end) long-and-short quoins . The round-headed north doorway, now blocked and glazed, is another early feature. The south door
612-624: The Wiltshire Local History Forum. The Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire , as Custos rotulorum , was also an honorary member of the Committee. The Committee was wound up in 2014 after all major contributors had withdrawn their funding for the Wiltshire VCH, so that there were no longer any partners to be represented. At that point, the project was handed over to the Wiltshire VCH Trust, with support from
646-766: The Wiltshire VCH Committee said in a news release in December 2003: "While the big red volumes are still at the heart of the Wiltshire Victoria County History, we are keen to take our county history out to as many people as possible, through affordable publications, modern technology, and new ways of working". In 2014 the Wiltshire Victoria County History Committee was wound up because all funding partners had ended their funding, and
680-572: The canal. It was designated as Grade II listed in 1987. In 2010, following the closure of the business, local volunteers successfully applied for funding to aid its reopening from the Village SOS lottery fund. In 2011 the project was the subject of episode 2 of Village SOS on BBC One . The group ceased to run the pub in October 2012, but it is still open, albeit in private hands, as of February 2024. William Button (by 1503–1547, landowner)
714-589: The continuation of the project became the responsibility of the Wiltshire Victoria County History Trust. Work is expected to proceed more slowly, according to available resources, but will continue to be overseen, and volumes published, by the Institute of Historical Research of the University of London . Until 1968, there was only one assistant editor, but after that there were sometimes two. A series of volumes addresses
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#1732776102307748-645: The estate was bought by New College in 1912. The Ridgeway , an ancient trackway , passes through Alton Barnes (although this section is not part of the Ridgeway National Trail, which begins further north). The Wansdyke , an early medieval earthwork, crosses the north of the parish on the Marlborough Downs . Alton Barnes Manor Farmhouse (18th-century) and the Manor House at Alton Priors (c. 1830) are Grade II listed . Alton
782-460: The history of Wiltshire on a parish-by-parish basis, arranged according to the former hundreds . Three topographical volumes are in preparation: Four further volumes will complete the coverage of the county. In no particular order, these will cover: Shalbourne is covered by the History of the County of Berkshire. South Tidworth, now part of Tidworth parish, is covered by the History of
816-500: The horse. Since the late 1970s Wiltshire has become known for crop circles (patterns created by flattening a crop, usually of cereal). In 1990 a pattern at Alton was used on the cover of the Box Set compilation by rock band Led Zeppelin . Wiltshire Victoria County History The Wiltshire Victoria County History , properly called The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire but commonly referred to as VCH Wiltshire ,
850-404: The latter with the abbey led later to the name Alton Priors. The Wiltshire Victoria County History traces the later ownership of the manors: Alton Barnes was granted in 1385 by William of Wykeham to New College, Oxford which he had recently founded, and it remained in their ownership in 1970. Alton Priors remained with the abbey until the dissolution , then passed through several hands until
884-454: The limestone T-plan house known as the Manor House was built c.1830 in the north of the village; it is surrounded by an earlier walled garden and probably replaced an earlier house. The original manor house, now The Priory, stands by the stream that separates the two Altons; built in Flemish brickwork in the late 17th century, it was much reduced in size in the early 19th century. What remains
918-663: The national organisation of the Victoria County History . The Trust, originally established in 2004 as the Wiltshire Victoria County History Appeal Trust, is a registered charity. Until 2014 it was responsible for raising funds for the work of the VCH beyond its core activities. With effect from February 2014, after the core funding of Wiltshire Council and the University of the West of England had been withdrawn,
952-407: The nave as "over-restored" but praises its roof. The building was designated as Grade I listed in 1964. Alton Priors' church was built in the 12th century and retains its original Norman chancel arch. The nave has two 14th-century ogee -headed windows and the west window is 15th-century. As at Alton Barnes, the original chancel has been demolished and replaced with one built of brick. There
986-517: The nearby hamlet of Honeystreet on the Kennet and Avon Canal . It lies in the Vale of Pewsey about 6 miles (10 km) east of Devizes . The north of the parish is on the Marlborough Downs and includes part of Milk Hill , which is the highest point in Wiltshire at 295 metres (968 ft). The Woodborough Stream, a tributary of the Hampshire Avon , rises at Alton Priors and separates
1020-462: The project became a partnership between the county council (later Wiltshire Council ) and the University of the West of England , employing a county editor and an assistant county editor, with offices at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham . Beyond writing the history itself, the staff promoted local history by giving talks and presentations to local societies. The chairman of
1054-490: The two villages as it flows south. The area has prehistoric sites including the Knap Hill earthwork and Adam's Grave , a Neolithic long barrow . A hoard of Roman coins was discovered at Alton Barnes. The boundaries of Alton Barnes parish were established in the early 10th century, and the ancient parish became a civil parish in 1866. Alton Priors was a chapelry of Overton parish, now West Overton , and became
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1088-576: Was a filming location for a 1998 episode of Inspector Morse , an adaptation of The Wench Is Dead . In 2013 the white horse, Adam's Grave and the Barge Inn featured in an episode of Walking Through History , presented by Tony Robinson on Channel 4 . The Barge Inn at Honeystreet is the sole pub in the parish. Alton Barnes has a village hall, the Coronation Hall, which was built in 1953 and extended in 2000. The nearest primary school
1122-437: Was added in the 14th century. The original chancel was as wide as the nave, but it was demolished and replaced with a brick one in 1748. The two bells are dated 1626 and 1788, and were rehung in the west gable in 1904. There was a Saxon chancel arch but this was removed in 1832. There was a Victorian restoration in 1875, and a further restoration in 1904 directed by the local architect Charles Ponting . Pevsner assesses
1156-546: Was united with Stanton St Bernard in 1928, with the parsonage house at Stanton St Bernard to be sold, taking effect on the next vacancy (which occurred in 1932). At the same time, Honeystreet hamlet was brought into the parish from Woodborough and West Stowell hamlet was transferred to Wilsford . A team ministry was established for the area in 1975, and today the parish is part of the Vale of Pewsey group, alongside 15 others. The former Alton Barnes glebe house, now called
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