Great Cheverell
| Great Cheverell | |
|---|---|
 Village centre |
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 Great Cheverell
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| Great Cheverell shown within Wiltshire | |
| Population | 987 (in 2011) |
| OS grid reference | ST982543 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Devizes |
| Postcode district | SN10 |
| Dialling code | 01380 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | www |
Great Cheverell is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Devizes. In some sources the Latinized name of Cheverell Magna is used, especially when referring to the ecclesiastical parish.
The parish includes Great Cheverell Hill, a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest consisting of unimproved species-rich chalk grassland on the northern edge of Salisbury Plain.
A large settlement of 111 households was recorded at Chevrel in the Domesday Book of 1086. There were 73 taxpayers in 1377. Population of the parish peaked around the time of the 1841 census, which recorded 295; then fell as agricultural employment decreased, reaching 174 at the 1951 census. Subsequent increases reflect housebuilding and employment at HM Prison Erlestoke.
Two manors, Cheverell Burnell and Cheverell Hales, came into the ownership of the Hungerford family in the 15th century and were given as endowments to Heytesbury almshouse until 1863, when much of the parish was acquired by Simon Watson Taylor as an addition to the Erlestoke estate begun by his father, George. After Simon's death in 1902 the holdings were divided and sold.
Small streams meet in the northeast corner of the parish to form a tributary of the Semington Brook. A water-powered corn mill was recorded here in 1449; in the 16th and 17th centuries the mill was used for fulling. Edge-tools were made here in the early 19th century, and later a flour mill and an iron mill were in operation. A three-storey 19th century mill building is still standing.
The Manor House, next to the church, dates from c. 1690 with enlargement and alteration in the 18th century. Southwest of the house is a Grade II* listed game larder and gazebo of similar date. Glebe House, a former farmhouse north of the church, is from the late 17th century and early 18th.
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Wikipedia