Mildenhall, Wiltshire
| Mildenhall | |
| Wiltshire | |
|---|---|
 The Horseshoe, Mildenhall | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU2169 |
| Location: | 51°25’26"N, 1°41’56"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 457 (2001) |
| Post town: | Marlborough |
| Postcode: | SN8 |
| Dialling code: | 01672 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Wiltshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Devizes |
| Website: | Mildenhall, Wiltshire |
Mildenhall (ˈmaɪnəl) is a village in the Kennet Valley in Wiltshire about a mile east of the town of Marlborough.
History
The name of the village is Old English, but the site has been occupied since the Roman occupation of Britain, when the fortress town of Cunetio stood at an important road junction on approximately the same site.[1] No remains of this fortress are now standing, but are clearly visible on aerial photographs. The Cunetio Hoard of Roman coins was discovered here in 1978. The name of the River Kennet, which runs through Mildenhall, is thought to have been derived from the Roman name, which is also used on the village's coat-of-arms.
Cunetio was deserted as a Romano-British site in about AD 450, but the site was reoccupied in the Anglo-Saxon era and a West Saxon charter drawn up between 803 and 805 refers to this settlement in its first recognisably modern form as Mildanhald,[2] meaning "a nook of land of a woman called Milde or a man called Milda".[3] The village is again mentioned in Domesday Book in 1086 as Mildenhalle and the name has since undergone numerous subtle changes in spelling and pronunciation.
Parish church
The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist originates from before the Norman Conquest. Some parts of the tower are undoubtedly Anglo-Saxon in date. However, much of the present building dates from the thirteenth century. In 1816 the interior was refurbished by the villagers. Of particular note are the box pews and the twin pulpit and reading desk.
Sir John Betjeman refers to St. John's as "a church of a Jane Austen novel".[4]
Simon Jenkins includes it in his England's Thousand Best Churches.[5]
St John's parish is now a member of the Marlborough team ministry.[6]
About the village
The village has a public house, The Horseshoe Inn. Until a few years ago Mildenhall had a post office and village shop. The village hall was built in 1988.
Mildenhall usually holds a village fete, usually in mid-September on the village playing field (weather permitting), as well as a Guy Fawkes Bonfire Night and a Duck Race (using plastic ducks). Mildenhall publishes a monthly newsletter called The Parish Pump, now a joint publication with the neighbouring village of Axford.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Mildenhall, Wiltshire) |
References
- ↑ "Cvnetio Romano-British Town Mildenhall, Wiltshire". www.Roman-Britain.org. 28 September 2010. http://www.roman-britain.org/places/cunetio.htm. Retrieved May 2010.
- ↑ Birch, page not cited
- ↑ Mills & Room, 2003, page 328
- ↑ Betjeman, John (1952). First and Last Loves. Murray. p. 183.
- ↑ Jenkins, Simon (1999). England's Thousand Best Churches. Allen Lane. p. 734. ISBN 0-7139-9281-6.
- ↑ Studdert-Kennedy, Rev. Andrew (20 October 2009). "St. John The Baptist Church, Mildenhall (Minal), Wiltshire". St. Mary's Anglican Church, Marlborough, Wiltshire teamed with St. George's and St. John The Baptist. Marlborough Anglican Churches. http://www.marlboroughanglicanteam.org.uk/st-john-the-baptist-church.html. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
Books
- Birch, Walter de Grey, ed (2010) [1885]. Cartularium Saxonicum. volume not stated. Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger Publishing. p. not stated. ISBN 1-165-28065-5.
- Crowley, D.A. (ed.); Baggs, A.P.; Freeman, Jane; Stevenson, Janet H. (1983). A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 12: Ramsbury and Selkey hundreds; the Borough of Marlborough. Victoria County History. pp. 125–138.
- Miller, G.M., ed (1971). BBC pronouncing dictionary of British names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. not stated. ISBN 0-19-431125-2.
- Mills, A.D.; Room, A. (2003). A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 328. ISBN 0-19-852758-6.
- Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975) [1963]. Wiltshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 348–352. ISBN 0 14 0710.26 4.
