Urchfont

Urchfont
Wiltshire
St Michael and All Angels parish church
Location
Grid reference:	SU0457
Location:	51°18’43"N, 1°56’38"W
Data
Population:	1,075  (2011)
Post town:	Devizes
Postcode:	SN10
Dialling code:	01380
Local Government
Council:	Wiltshire
Parliamentary constituency:	Devizes
Website:	Parish Council

Urchfont is a rural village and parish in the Vale of Pewsey to the north of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, about seven miles south-east of the market town of Devizes. The parish includes the hamlets of Wedhampton and Lydeway and lies in the very centre of the county. The population of Urchfont taken at the 2011 Census was 1,075.

History of the name

Urchfont village hall

The name of Urchfont is often thought to derive from the phrase "Church Fountain" and is possibly derived from Latin fons meaning 'spring, fountain, well' (cf. fount), or the first element may be a lost personal name such as Eohric. Over 100 variations of the spelling are recorded; e.g. Lerchesfonte (1086), Erchesfonte(e) (1175, 1605), Erkesfonte (1175), Archesfunte (font) (1179, 1376, 1426), Ur(i)chesfunte (1242, 1289), Orchesfunte (1259), Orcheffunte (1428), Archfounte al. Urshent (1564), Urchefount al. Urshent (1611), Urshent al. Erchfont (1695). Shown to the left is the present-day village hall, erected in 1929-1930 by local villagers, which bears the name "Erchfont". Locally, the colloquial pronunciation of Urchfont is Ushant and in the modern day, it is often known as "Urnt".

Amenities

The 13th-century Anglican Church of St Michael and All Angels is Grade-I listed.

There is a primary school, Urchfont C of E Primary School. From 1947 to 2012 Urchfont Manor, a Grade II* listed building, housed an adult education college, Urchfont Manor College.

There are also many local sports clubs and societies and the village has its own tennis courts, cricket pitch and skittle alley (within The Lamb Inn pub).

Notable people

• Sergeant Thomas Gray VC was born in Urchfont in 1914. An Air Observer/Navigator in the Royal Air Force, he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross after he was killed in action in 1940.
• Singer Elvis Costello has a summer home in the village.
• The cricket scorer Bill Frindall (nicknamed 'The Bearded Wonder') lived there until his death.
• Major Charles Ingram the disgraced cougher from Who Wants To Be A Millionnaire lives nearby and is occasionally spotted enjoying a local ale in The Lamb Inn.

The Urchfont Scarecrow Festival

Urchfont Scarecrow Festival: Ali Baba

The Urchfont Scarecrow Festival (Registered Charity) was the first of its kind in Wiltshire. While other Wiltshire villages, including local rivals Lacock, have now established their own festivals on a similar model, the Urchfont festival predates them, having been established in 1997, and is among the best attended. The idea was first brought to the village by a resident who saw a similar festival in Derbyshire. Apart from being cancelled in 2001 because of the threat from Foot and Mouth disease, the festival has taken place on the weekend of the first bank holiday in May every year, and has grown to become a major local event attracting large numbers of local and national visitors and raising money for local charities and good causes.

Approximately 50 themed scarecrows made by villagers are distributed around the village, and visitors can buy a trail map which provides clues as to the identity of each scarecrow. There is also a popular Plant Sale every year during the festival.

Further reading

• Crittall, Elizabeth (ed.); Baggs, A. P.; Crowley, D. A.; Pugh, Ralph B.; Stevenson, Janet H.; Tomlinson, Margaret (1975). Victoria County History: A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 10: Swanborough hundred; the borough of Devizes. 
• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1975). Cherry, Bridget. ed. The Buildings of England: Wiltshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0 14 0710-26 4. 

References

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Urchfont)