Laverstock and Ford

"LAVERSTOCK, a parish in the hundred of Alderbury, county Wilts, 1 mile N.E. of Salisbury, its post town. The parish, which is situated on a branch of the river Avon, contains the tything of Ford. It formerly belonged to the good Duke Humphrey. The village is small, and wholly agricultural. The land is fertile and the scenery picturesque, including the adjacent city of Salisbury, with its venerable cathedral. The tithes have been commuted for agent-charge of £680. The living is a rectory not in charge, annexed to the commonalty of the vicars-choral of Salisbury.

The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a modern structure with a turret containing two bells. It is built of flint, with stone dressings, and cost £2,350. The interior of the church is neatly fitted up, and has richly-painted S. and E. windows. A portion of the old church still remains standing in the churchyard, containing monuments of the Bathurst family and other tablets. There is a National school for both sexes. Laverstock House, formerly the seat of the Dyke family, is now converted into a private lunatic asylum. It is fitted up with every accommodation for above 100 patients. The Hill is a mansion situated in a commanding position. John Henry Campbell Wyndham, Esq., is lord of the manor."

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

Laverstock is 1 mile East of Salisbury. Grid Ref SU160309. Postcode SP1 1SD. Population in 1831 including Milford and Ford was 817; 1,610 in 1951 including Ford. Ford is 1 mile North of Laverstock.