History

The Bell Family Estate. The 1840 Tithe Map and Apportionments List which can be viewed at the Wilts and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham names all landowners and tenants and…

The Roman Empire in Europe came under attack and the Romans left Britain in the Fifth Century. The Britons who remained were over time raided by Saxons from Germany who…

A flint from a flintlock gun, found in a field to the north of the village centre. Dated to approximately 1740 +/- 80 years.   The Southby Family and North…

Hunter-gatherers smelted bronze for tools and formed farming settlements. https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk shows finds around South Marston as people settled in the fertile River valleys below the Ridgeway. There is a possible…

World Wars, Spitfires and the demolition of the Manor. The Census population figures are: 1911 – 387 1921 – 363 1931 – 396 1951 – 374 1961 – 540 1971…

Documentary Record and The National Archive. The Church Records indicate a village population of about 125 in 1603 and the village is mentioned as prosperous in the Wiltshire Inquisitions Post…

The Wiltshire Archaeological Society’s “The Rolls of Highworth Hundred 1275-1287” and “Accounts And Surveys of the Wiltshire Lands of Adam de Stratton” and the Wiltshire Record Society’s “Court Rolls of…

Currently, there is little evidence of Iron Age activity within the parish. This is probably due to a typical lack of evidence for Iron Age sites, the small time frame (less…

The Church Records and the Hungerford, Brynd and Cusse families. South Marston Church Records 1539-1840 list all baptisms, marriages and burials in the village for that period and indicate a…

During the Jurassic period (about 200 million years ago to 140 million years ago), Soutton was beneath a warm shallow sea. At this time the Corallian Beds were deposited. Unsurprisingly…