Coombe Bissett

Coombe Bissett

A354, Coombe Bissett
Coombe Bissett
 Coombe Bissett shown within Wiltshire
Population 675 (in 2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSU109264
Civil parishCoombe Bissett
Unitary authorityWiltshire
Ceremonial countyWiltshire
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Salisbury
Postcode district SP5
Dialling code 01722
Police Wiltshire
Fire Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK ParliamentSalisbury
Websitewww.coombebissett.com
List of places
UK
England
Wiltshire

Coordinates: 51°02′13″N 1°50′46″W / 51.037°N 1.846°W / 51.037; -1.846

Coombe Bissett is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire, 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Salisbury on the A354 road towards Blandford Forum. The parish includes the village of Homington; both villages are in the River Ebble valley.

History

Fragmentary records from Saxon times indicate that the Ebble valley was a thriving area, the River Ebble also being known as the River Chalke. The Domesday Book in 1086 divided the Chalke Valley into eight manors, Chelke (Chalke - Bowerchalke and Broadchalke), Eblesborne (Ebbesbourne Wake), Fifehide (Fifield Bavant), Cumbe (Coombe Bissett), Humitone (Homington), Odestoche (Odstock), Stradford (Stratford Tony and Bishopstone) and Trow (circa Alvediston).[2] The Domesday Book recorded Cumbe as a royal manor with 85 households,[3] while Humitone had just two households.[4]

A medieval packhorse bridge, now a footbridge, crosses the Ebble close to the newer road bridge at Coombe Bissett.[5]

Coombe Bissett and Homington were separate parishes, each with its own church, until they were united in a joint benefice in 1885.[6] Homington was absorbed into Coombe Bissett civil parish in 1934.[7]

Religious sites

Both Anglican churches are today served by the Chalke Valley team ministry.[8]

St Michael's, Coombe Bissett

Church of St Michael and All Angels

The oldest part of St Michael's, the south aisle, is from the 12th century. The chancel was built in the 13th and the tower (with stair-turret) added in the 14th; the nave and north transept are 15th-century. Restoration in 1845 by T.H. Wyatt included the rebuilding of the west front, reducing the length of the building.[9] The church is a Grade I listed building.[10]

St Mary's, Homington

A 14th-century church, possibly with earlier origins. The tower is from the early 17th century and there was extensive restoration in the 1860s. The church is a Grade II* listed building.[11]

Nonconformist

A Primitive Methodist chapel was built in 1841 at the west end of Homington village, then rebuilt in 1877. The chapel closed in 1967 and is now a private house.[12]

In 1895 a Baptist chapel was opened at Coombe Bissett, on the road to Homington. In 2012 the building was in use by the Coombe Fellowship.[13]

Amenities

Coombe Bissett has a pub, the Fox and Goose, a village hall, and a shop with a Post Office.

A primary school was built at Shutts Lane in the 1960s, replacing a small National School on the Homington road which was built in 1845.[14]

Homington and Coombe Bissett Downs is a nature reserve on nearby chalk downland.

References

  1. ↑ "Coombe Bissett Census Information". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Ebbesbourne Wake through the Ages by Peter Meers
  3. ↑ Coombe Bissett in the Domesday Book
  4. ↑ Homington in the Domesday Book
  5. ↑ Historic England. "Packhorse Bridge over River Ebble (1375630)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  6. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 25456. pp. 1459–1460. 31 March 1885.
  7. ↑ "Homington". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Our Churches". Chalke Valley Church. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  9. ↑ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) [1963]. Wiltshire. The Buildings of England (2nd ed.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 190-191. ISBN 0-14-0710-26-4.
  10. ↑ Historic England. "Church of St Michael (1023802)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  11. ↑ Historic England. "Church of St Mary the Virgin (1023807)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "Homington Primitive Methodist Chapel". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Baptist Chapel, Coombe Bissett". Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  14. ↑ "Coombe Bissett Church of England Primary School". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
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