Fonthill Gifford

"FONTHILL-GIFFORD, a parish in the hundred of Dunworth, county Wilts, 1 mile S.E. of Hindon, its post town, and 16 miles W. of Salisbury. The suffix to its name is derived from the ancient family of Gifford, who once held the estates. The village is small, and wholly agricultural. In this parish was the famous Fonthill Abbey, belonging to William Beckford, Esq., the author of "Vathek". It was built by Wyatt, but shortly after its completion was crushed to ruins by the fall of the immense tower, which rose to a height of 270 feet. It is said never to have been opened to the public but once, when it was lit up to receive Nelson and Lady Hamilton. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Salisbury, value £351. The church is a handsome structure dedicated to St. Nicholas. There is a National school. The Marquis of Westminster is lord of the manor."
[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]

Cemeteries
Church Records
Gazetteers

History
Population

You can also perform a more selective search for churches in the Fonthill Gifford area that are recorded in the GENUKI church database. This will also help identify churches in nearby townships and/or parishes. You also have the option to see the location of the churches marked on a map.

If you keep this page loaded for a very long time and the database is updated since loading it, the church links above may become stale and may display the wrong church. If this happens, reloading this page will correct them.

Common to all parishes is a Key to Abbreviations and a description of Church Records and Indexes for Wiltshire, including a complete Marriage Index for the county.
Indexes and registers of the parish church of Fonthill Gifford, Holy Trinity:
- WSRO registers: Chr 1661-1865, Mar 1695-1837, Bur 1661-1891
- IGI Mar 1661-1837 Batch M153301
- VRI Chr 1661-1865, Mar 1661-1837 and 1625-1837 BTs

Gazetteers

The transcription of the section for Fonthill Gifford from the National Gazetteer (1868).

History

Jill Waterson on her History Pieces website (see "other") has a photo of the church and an article Fonthill Gifford in the mid nineteenth century (pdf file). It includes names of heads of households in the 1851 census.

Population

Population was 442 in 1831, 220 in 1951.