Beechingstoke
| Beechingstoke | |
|---|---|
 St Stephen's Church, Beechingstoke |
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 Beechingstoke
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| Beechingstoke shown within Wiltshire | |
| Population | 157 (in 2011) |
| OS grid reference | SU087592 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | PEWSEY |
| Postcode district | SN9 6 |
| Dialling code | 01672 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Beechingstoke is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Pewsey about 5 miles (8 km) west of Pewsey and the same distance east of Devizes. The parish includes the hamlet of Broad Street and the northern part of the village of Bottlesford.
The River Avon and its small tributaries form parts of the west, south and northeast boundaries of the parish.
Marden Henge, a large Neolithic earthwork, is just over the southwest border of the parish. The Domesday Book of 1086 records Beechingstoke as held by Shaftesbury Abbey. In 1541 the king transferred the land to the Dean of Winchester, who held it until 1845.
In 1862 the Reading to Taunton railway was built close to Beechingstoke village and became the northern boundary of the parish. There was a station at Woodborough, just outside the parish to the north of Broad Street, but it closed in 1966 making Pewsey the nearest station.
The earliest known record of the Church of England parish church of Saint Stephen is from 1291. Of the mediaeval church building only the 14th century chancel arch and surrounding wall survive. The nave was rebuilt in 1693 and the chancel in 1791. In 1848 the 1791 east window was moved to Wilsford school and a new 15th-century style one was inserted in the chancel in its place. The church was largely rebuilt again in 1861 under the direction of the architect S.B. Gabriel of Bristol, who altered the east window to a 14th-century style and inserted a new west window. The church is Grade II listed, as is the nearby Old Rectory of c. 1830.
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Wikipedia