South Marston
| South Marston | |
|---|---|
 Church of St Mary Magdalene |
|
 South Marston
|
|
| South Marston shown within Wiltshire | |
| Population | 836 (in 2011) |
| OS grid reference | SU194879 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Swindon |
| Postcode district | SN3 |
| Dialling code | 01793 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Parish |
South Marston is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The village is about 3 miles (5 km) northeast of central Swindon.
The earliest documentary evidence for continuous settlement in the parish is from the 13th century, but there is fragmentary evidence for earlier occupation from as far back as the Bronze Age. It is claimed that there were Roman remains just outside South Marston on a field of Rowborough Farm, which have long disappeared. Ermin Way, the major Roman road linking Silchester and Gloucester, ran close to the southwest side of the village, separating it from Stratton St Margaret. There was a Roman station at Durocornovium (now Covingham) one mile south of the village.
The name "Marston" derives from a common Old English toponym meaning "marsh farm". This suggests the village was founded prior to the Norman conquest of England in 1066, but it is not recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. Documentary evidence exists from about 1280, when the village is mentioned as part of Highworth Hundred.
Early in the Second World War, a Ministry of Aircraft Production shadow factory and airfield were built for Phillips & Powis Aircraft Ltd, and 1,090 Miles Master training aircraft were built there. Short Brothers Ltd also used another part of the airfield for final assembly and testing of locally-built Short Stirling bombers. Vickers-Armstrongs-Supermarine acquired the site later in the war and produced Supermarine aircraft including Spitfire, Seafire, Attacker, Swift and Scimitar there until the early 1960s.
...
Wikipedia