Figheldean

"FIGHELDEAN, a parish in the hundred of Amesbury, county Wilts, 4 miles N. of Amesbury, its post town, and 12 N. of Salisbury. It is situated on the river Avon, which is here a clear and rapid stream, abounding with trout. The parish includes the hamlets of Ablington and Alton. It is mentioned in Domesday Survey as Fisgledene, and is situated within the borders of Salisbury Plain. The land is chiefly a light loam on a substratum of chalk, and is divided into large sheep and corn farms. The chalk is extensively quarried for agricultural purposes, and for burning into lime and whiting. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Salisbury, value £310, in the patronage of the bishop. The church is a massive structure of about the 12th century, dedicated to St. Michael. It contains the remains of an ancient rood-loft, a piscina, and a stoup; besides monuments of the Poores, and some effigies. There is a National school. E. D. Poore, Esq., is lord of the manor."

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

Figheldean is 4 miles North of Amesbury. Grid Ref SU152475. Postcode SP4 8JL. Population 531 in 1831, 977 in 1951. It includes an area called Ablington.