Semley
| Semley | |
|---|---|
 Semley Church |
|
 Semley
|
|
| Semley shown within Wiltshire | |
| OS grid reference | ST8926 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | SP7 |
| Dialling code | 01747 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Semley is a village in Sedgehill and Semley civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of Shaftesbury in neighbouring Dorset.
Semley seems to have been part of an estate that King Eadwig granted to the Benedictine Wilton Abbey in AD 955. The Abbey retained the manor of Semley until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, when it surrendered all its lands to the Crown. In 1541 Henry VIII granted Semley to Sir Edward Bayntun and his wife Lady Isabel, but in 1572 their son Francis restored it to the Crown.
In the same year Elizabeth I granted Semley to Matthew Arundell or Wardour Castle, who was knighted in 1574. Sir Matthew's son Thomas Arundell was created Baron Arundell of Wardour in 1605. The Wardour estate has held land at Semley ever since, but between 1806 and 1820 the 9th and 10th Barons sold off 882 acres (357 ha) of the manor. By 1839 about 550 acres (220 ha) at Semley remained in the Arundell family. In 1962 Mr. R.J.R. Arundell sold Legatt's Farm and in 1985 he owned about 440 acres (180 ha) at Semley.
Hook Manor is a Jacobean manor house built in 1637-37. It is built of local stone quarried about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) away at Tisbury. the south porch may have been added in 1655 and the hall had been divided into a smaller room and two passages by 1815. In 1935 the house was remodelled to designs by the architect T. Lawrence Dale, who reunited the hall and added a neighbouring room to enlarge it. Dale also removed the porch, added a staircase and a service wing.
...
Wikipedia