Stanton St Bernard | |
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Corner Cottage, The Street |
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Stanton St Bernard shown within Wiltshire | |
Population | 189 (in 2011) |
OS grid reference | SU093623 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Marlborough |
Postcode district | SN8 |
Dialling code | 01672 |
Police | Wiltshire |
Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
Ambulance | South Western |
EU Parliament | South West England |
UK Parliament | |
Website | Parish |
Stanton St Bernard is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. Its nearest town is Devizes, about 6 miles (10 km) away to the west.
The parish is tall and narrow, extending north onto the Marlborough Downs where it includes Milk Hill, the highest point in Wiltshire.
Evidence of prehistoric activity in the area includes earthworks on Mill Hill. The Wansdyke early medieval earthwork crosses the north of the parish. The boundaries of the parish were defined in Saxon times and remain largely unchanged.
The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded 46 households at Stantone, held by Wilton Abbey, and the manor continued to be held by the abbey until its dissolution in 1539. The manor was granted to Sir William Herbert in 1544, who was created Earl of Pembroke in 1551, and the estate remained with the Pembrokes until 1917. Tenants of the demesne farm included the Prater family. Anthony Prater (1545-1583) was subject to litigation for extortion and was excommunicated from the Catholic church.
The manor house and Mill Farmhouse (a former watermill) are from the 17th century; Church Farmhouse is from the late 18th.
The Kennet and Avon Canal was built through the parish in 1807. The wharf at Honeystreet, just over the eastern boundary, served the area.