Broughton Gifford

"BROUGHTON GIFFORD, a parish in the hundred and union of Bradford, in the county of Wilts, 2 miles to the W. of Melksham, its post town (which is also a station on the Great Western railway), and 3 N.E. of Bradford. It is situated on the W. bank of the river Avon, and was a fortified station in the Roman time. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Salisbury, of the value of £355, in the patronage of the lord chancellor. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an ancient structure of the time of Henry VII., built with the materials and on the site of a more ancient edifice. It has recently been entirely restored, and contains a monumental brass of the year 1620.

The Baptists have a chapel in the village, and there is a National school, recently erected on the most approved plan: it has an endowment of £20 per annum; and the other charities for the benefit of the poor amount to about £12 per annum. Lord Broughton, who takes his title from this village, is lord of the manor. An elaborate memoir of this parish has been published in the "Wilts Archaeological and Natural History Magazine", by the present rector, the Rev. John Wilkinson, M.A."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]