Hide

National Gazetteer (1868) - Britford

hide
Hide

The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

"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."

"EAST HARNHAM, a tything in the parish of Britford, hundred of Cawden, county Wilts, 1 mile S. of Salisbury."

"LONGFORD, a hamlet in the parish of Britford, county Wilts, 2 miles S.E. of Salisbury. It is watered by the river Avon. Here is Longford Castle, a seat of Earl Radnor, in which is a collection of paintings by the old masters, including some portraits of eminent persons. There is also a steel chair, with about 130 bas-reliefs taken from Roman history, and a triangular house erected by Lord Coleraine, both of the 16th century."

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