Hilmarton
| Hilmarton | |
|---|---|
 Former Post Office, Hilmarton |
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 Hilmarton
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| Hilmarton shown within Wiltshire | |
| Population | 746 (in 2011) |
| OS grid reference | SU020752 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Calne |
| Postcode district | SN11 |
| Dialling code | 01249 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | www |
Hilmarton is a village and civil parish in North Wiltshire, in the west of England. The village lies on the A3102 between the towns of Calne and Wootton Bassett, and 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Lyneham. The parish includes the village of Goatacre and the hamlets of Catcomb, Clevancy, Highway and New Zealand.
Cowage Brook, a tributary of the River Marden, crosses the parish in a southwesterly direction and forms part of its western boundary.
There is evidence of Roman presence within the parish, including a Romano-British well at Corton, in the northeast. A settlement of 21 households was recorded at Helmertone in the Domesday Book of 1086.
By the 14th century there were a number of scattered hamlets, with Hilmarton and Goatacre the largest. Others assessed for taxation in 1334 were Clevancy, Corton, Witcomb, Littlecott and Beversbrook; by the 20th century these five had few buildings other than farms. The ground-level remains of the medieval settlement at Littlecott are a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
The manor was bought in 1813 by Thomas Poynder, and on his death in 1856 passed to his sons: Thomas Henry Allen (died 1873) and then William Henry (died 1880). The elder Thomas enlarged the estate, purchasing farms as they became available, including Catcomb, Goatacre, Lower Littlecott, Beversbrook and Cowage. By 1880 the estate extended to some 3,500 acres (1,400 ha). The Poynders built or rebuilt several farmhouses, cottages for estate workers, a school and almshouses; in most cases the architect was Henry Weaver. Thomas H.A. Poynder also bought the Hartham Park estate, some 10 miles (16 km) to the east near Corsham.
On William Poynder's death in 1880, the estate passed to his nephew John Poynder Dickson, army officer, later Member of Parliament, Baron Islington, and Governor of New Zealand 1910-1912. By royal licence he took the surname Dickson-Poynder in 1888; he lived at Hartham. Dickson-Poynder divided and sold the Hilmarton estate in 1914, when several of the farms were bought by their tenants.
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Wikipedia