Imber
"IMBER, a parish in the hundreds of Heytesbury and Swanborough, county Wilts, 4 miles N.E. of Heytesbury, its post town, 6 N.E. of Warminster, and 7 S.E. of Westbury railway station. The parish is situated on Salisbury Plain, and surrounded by extensive downs. The substratum is chalk alternated with flint. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £409. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Sarum, value £120. The church is dedicated to St. Giles. In the interior are two stone effigies of Knights Templars of the family of Le Rouse. The parochial charities produce about £2 per annum. The Baptists have a chapel, and there is a National school."[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]
Imber is 4 miles SW of Market Lavington. Grid Ref ST966484. Population 604 in 1831. It is now within a military training area, and has no inhabitants. Around the training area, all about 4 miles away, are Bratton, Tilshead, and Heytesbury; Warminster is 7 miles away. The modern map from Streetmap shows Imber on a current Ordance Survey map.
Bibliography
Sawyer, Rex - Little Imber on the Down. Hobnob Press, Sept 2001.
The first book to be devoted to the history of Imber & its community on Salisbury Plain prior to all leaving in 1943 when Imber was handed over to the Army for Military Training. Published Sept 2001 by Hobnob Press, PO Box 1838, East Knoyle, Salisbury SP3 6FA. Available by credit card from Devizes Books, Handel House, Sidmouth St, Devizes, Wilts, SN10 1LD.
Cemeteries
- St Giles, -, Church of England
Photograph of a board outside the church of Names on War Memorial, a transcript of the memorial inside the church. Duncan and Mandy Ball have a Transcript of names on Imber War Memorial.
Imber Baptist Chapel existed from at least 1839 to 1906 (Wiltshire and Swindon Archives have its minute book for that period). Its graveyard still exists, with access within this military training area a few times a year - see Photo of Imber Baptist graveyard.
Church History
There is an annual service in the church at 10am on New Year's Eve, see the Village of Imber in Wiltshire for other information and links.
Church Records
- St Giles, -, Church of England
- Baptist Chapel, Other
You can also perform a more selective search for churches in the Imber 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 Imber, St Giles:
- WSRO registers: Chr 1709-1942, Mar 1710-1943, Bur 1709-1967
- BTs before surviving registers for 1623-32, 1669-80, 1693-97, 1702-1704, 1709-1710 and on
- WFHS transcript Chr, Mar and Bur 1623-1837
- Wiltshire Index Service Burials 1625-1837
Description and Travel
There is a Photograph of the Church and over 40 other photographs of the village on Geograph.
Duncan and Mandy Ball have Photographs and transcriptions from Imber including the church and its graveyard.
Gazetteers
The transcription of the section for Imber from the National Gazetteer (1868).