Idmiston

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Idmiston
Wiltshire
Idmiston - The Old School House - geograph.org.uk - 782863.jpg
The Old School House
Location
Grid reference: SU197373
Location: 51°8’6"N, 1°43’12"W
Data
Population: 2,130  (2011)[1])
Post town: Salisbury
Postcode: SP4
Dialling code: 01980
Local Government
Council: Wiltshire
Parliamentary
constituency:
Salisbury
Website: Parish Council

Idmiston is a village and parish in the Alderbury Hundred of Wiltshire. The village is about three miles south-east of Amesbury and six miles north-east of Salisbury. The parish includes the villages of Porton and Gomeldon; all three villages are on the River Bourne and are linked by the A338 road.

Porton Down military science park is in the parish, separated from Idmiston by the railway line. It is home to the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and related businesses.

History

The Port Way, a Roman road towards Sorviodunum (Old Sarum), followed the Bourne valley and passed close to the present settlements.[2]

Notable buildings

Idmiston Manor is a house from c. 1600 with 17th-century interior features[3] and an arched gateway from the same period;[4] both house and gateway are Grade-II* listed. The Old Rectory, opposite the church, also dates from the early 17th century and is also Grade II*.[5]

The Church of England parish church was built in the 12th century. It has been designated as a Grade-I listed building[6] and is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[7]

Railway

In 1857 the London and South Western Railway company opened its line from Andover to Milford station at Salisbury, following the Bourne valley through the parish. There was a station at Porton from the beginning; between 1943 and 1968 a halt at Idmiston served Porton Down military camp.[8] The railway remains in use as part of the West of England Main Line but there are no local stations.

Amenities

The local primary school for Idmiston village is St Nicholas CofE (VA) Primary School, Idmiston Road, Porton. Idmiston had its own school from 1833, replaced by a new building in 1869; it was closed in 1972 after the new school was opened at Porton, to cater for the increased local population.[9]

References

  1. "Wiltshire Community History - Census". Wiltshire Council. http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/getcensus.php?item=Idmiston. Retrieved 17 December 2015. 
  2. Codrington, Thomas (1903). Roman Roads in Britain. London: The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. p. 302. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/Topics/Engineering/roads/Britain/_Texts/CODROM/9*.html#p302. Retrieved 19 December 2015. 
  3. National Heritage List 1355682: Idmiston Manor
  4. National Heritage List Idmiston: Front gateway to Idmiston Manor and abutting walls
  5. National Heritage List 1135690: Old Rectory
  6. "Church of All Saints". historicengland.org.uk. English Heritage. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1023956. Retrieved 2 October 2010. 
  7. "All Saints, Idmiston". Churches Conservation Trust. http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/findachurch/all-saints-idmiston/. Retrieved 2 October 2010. 
  8. Oakley, Mike (2004). Wiltshire Railway Stations. Wimborne: The Dovecote Press. p. 72. ISBN 1904349331. 
  9. "Idmiston C. of E. Aided Primary School". Wiltshire Council. http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/getschool.php?id=1034. Retrieved 17 December 2015. 

Outside links

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about Idmiston)