Durnford

"DURNFORD, a parish in the hundred of Amesbury, in the county of Wilts, 22 miles S.W. of Amesbury, and 6 N. of Salisbury, its post town and nearest railway station, It is situated on the river Avon, and contains the hamlets of Little Durnford, Netton, Newtown, Salterton, and Normanton. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Salisbury, value £131, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is an ancient edifice, with tower. It contains a curiously carved Saxon font, and tombs of the Yonges. The register commences in 1574. James Harris, the author of "Hermes", formerly occupied the rectory. The Wesleyans have a chapel. There is a National school at Netton. In the neighbourhood is a large earth-work called Ogbury Camp, and several barrows. Durnford House and Little Durnford House are the principal residences. The Earl of Malmesbury is lord of the manor of Great Durnford; Sir Edmund Antrobus, of the manor of Normanton; John Swayne, Esq., of Netton; John Davis, Esq., of Salterton and Newtown; and Edmund Hinxman, Esq., of Little Durnford."

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