Monkton Farleigh

"MONKTON-FARLEIGH, a parish in the hundred of Bradford, county Wilts, 4 miles N.W. of Bradford, its post town, and 2 S. of Box railway station. The village, which is small, is situated near the line of the Great Western railway and river Avon, and is chiefly agricultural. There are ruins of a Cluniac cell to the priory of Lewes, founded by Humphrey de Bohun in 1125. It flourished till the Dissolution, when its revenues amounted to £217 0s. 4d. The site was then given to the Seymours. Stone is quarried here. The hamlet of Farleigh Wick is situated in this parish.

The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Sarum, value £169, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, has an old tower containing three bells. The nave and chancel are of recent construction. The charities consist of a fuel allotment. There is a free school for children of both sexes, also a Sunday-school. The trustees of the late Wade Brown, Esq., are lords of the manor. The manor-house is the principal residence. Near the ruins of the convent a silver seal of exquisite workmanship, supposed to have been that of the last abbot, was discovered."

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

Monkton Farleigh is 4 miles NW of Bradford and just across the Avon from Bath (Somerset). Grid Ref ST806653. Postcode BA15 2QJ. Population 396 in 1831, 516 in 1951.