Britford

"BRITFORD, (or Burford), a parish and village in the hundred of Cawden and Cadworth, in the county of Wilts, 2 miles S.E. from Salisbury. It is situated on the river Avon, and includes the hamlets of East Harnham and Longford. It is supposed to have been a Roman settlement. The manor, which before the Norman Conquest was held by King Harold, now belongs to Viscount Folkestone, whose seat is Longford Castle. This mansion, which is a triangular structure with an inner court, having circular turrets at each angle, was built in 1591 by Sir Thomas Gorges.

The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Salisbury, of the value of £281, in the patronage of the dean and chapter. The church, a spacious edifice in the form of a cross, with a tower at the centre, is dedicated to St. Peter, and contains an ancient altar-tomb, sometimes said, but on doubtful authority, to be that of Henry Duke of Buckingham, who was beheaded by Richard III. Attached to the church is the mausoleum of the Bouverie family. In addition to the parish church there is a neat chapel of ease, built of flint and stone, recently erected. There is a National school, built in 1853. The chief residence is Britford Moat House. A fair for sheep is held in the village on the 12th August."

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