Sopworth

Sopworth
Sopworth  Sopworth shown within Wiltshire
Population	103 (in 2011)[1]
OS grid reference	ST827863
Unitary authority	Wiltshire
Ceremonial county	Wiltshire
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Chippenham
Postcode district	SN14
Dialling code	01666
Police	Wiltshire
Fire	Wiltshire
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	North Wiltshire
List of places UK England Wiltshire

Coordinates: 51°34′30″N 2°15′05″W / 51.575°N 02.2513°W

Sopworth is a small village and civil parish in northwest Wiltshire, England, on the county's border with South Gloucestershire. The village lies about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) west of Sherston and 6.5 miles (10 km) west of Malmesbury. The parish is within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The poet Thomas Yalden (1670-1736) was briefly rector of the parish.^[2]

The parish registers survive in the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre for christenings (1697-1991), marriages (1698-1992), and burials (1697-1992).^[3]

Domesday entry

Sopworth's Domesday book entry falls under section XXXII The Land of William Deu. It reads:

Hugh holds SOPWORTH of William. Ælfric held it TRE, and it paid geld for 5 hides. There is land for 6 ploughs. Of this 3½ hides are in demesne, and there are 2 ploughs, and 6 slaves; and 3 villans and 5 bordars with 3 ploughs. It was worth £6; now £4.phrase

— Domesday Book, Domesday Book A Complete Translation, Penguin, ISBN 0141439947, pg 185.

Local government

The civil parish does not elect a parish council; instead the first tier of local government is a parish meeting, which all electors are entitled to attend.^[4] The parish is in the area of Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which is responsible for all significant local government functions.

Notable buildings

The Church of England parish church of St Mary the Virgin is Grade II* listed.^[5] Probably begun in the 13th century, it was altered and extended in the 15th century, and restored in 1871 by T.H. Wyatt. Pevsner describes the church as "drastically restored".^[6] Today the church is part of the Badminton Benefice, a grouping of largely Gloucestershire churches.^[7]

The Old Manor House is from c. 1700, altered c. 1840.^[8]

References

1. "Wiltshire Community History - Census". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
2. 'Yalden, Thomas (1670-1736), poet', in Dictionary of National Biography.
3. Sopworth at genuki.org.uk
4. "Sopworth Parish Meeting". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
5. Historic England. "Church of St Mary (1283124)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
6. Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) [1963]. Wiltshire. The Buildings of England (2nd ed.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 473. ISBN 0-14-0710-26-4.
7. "St. Mary The Virgin, Sopworth". The Badminton Benefice. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
8. Historic England. "Old Manor House (1023262)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 January 2016.

External links

Media related to Sopworth, Wiltshire at Wikimedia Commons