Draycot Foliat
| Draycot Foliat | |
|---|---|
 Sheppards Farm, Draycot Foliat |
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 Draycot Foliat
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| Draycot Foliat shown within Wiltshire | |
| OS grid reference | SU184776 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Swindon |
| Postcode district | SN4 |
| Dialling code | 01793 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Draycot Foliat is an hamlet in Wiltshire, England, on the back road between Chiseldon to the north and Ogbourne St. George to the south. The nearest major town is Swindon which is about 5 miles (8 km) north. A notable feature is the small airstrip with its model helicopter instruction centre. There is one smallholding, called Draycot Farm, and a larger farm, Sheppard's Farm, which comprises some 750 acres (300 hectares). Attached to Sheppard's farm is a small set of industrial buildings, most notably the Intellectual Property Law offices of Berry Davies LLP. In addition there are between ten and twenty other houses. The Og, a tributary of the River Kennet (itself a tributary of the Thames), flows for about half of the year down the centre of the hamlet, forcing the road into a sharp hairpin bend.
In 1086 it was recorded that Draycot had enough land for six ploughs, and at the time, there were two ploughs and a serf on five hides held in the demesne while there were three ploughs, four villeins and seven bordars on the remaining hides. There were in total 40 acres (160,000 m2) of pasture and eighteen of meadow at the time of the Domesday Survey. By 1842 there were 605 acres (2.45 km2) of arable land, 76 acres (310,000 m2) of meadow and 2 acres (8,100 m2) of woodland within the parish, split among the three farms, Draycot, Sheppard's and King's. In 1849, King's farm was offered for sale and was bought by Draycot farm, giving the situation found today.
In 1894 the ancient parish of Draycot Foliat was added to the civil parish of Chiseldon.
Since the earliest mentions of the settlement the name has been spelt in many ways including combinations of Draycot, Draycote, Draycott, Dreycot, and Dreycott with Foliat, Folliatt, Foliatt and Folyat and occasionally just Crawecot or just Draycote. The preferred spelling currently is Draycot Foliat and that name appears on a local signpost, however many maps and similar resources give the spelling of Draycott Foliat, considered incorrect by the inhabitants.
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Wikipedia