Rowley, Wiltshire
Rowley alias Wittenham is a deserted mediæval village in the far west of Wiltshire, adjacent to Farleigh Hungerford in Somerset.
Wittenham was mentioned as being on the border of the Bradford land that was given to Shaftesbury Abbey in 1001 and appears in Domesday Book as Withenham where it was rated for 5 hides of land. It was named in 1315 as a vill of the Bradford Hundred.
Rowley was noted in 1320, like Wingfield, Wittenham, Trowle and Westwood, as a vill within the Forest of Selwood. It was often referred to as Rowley alias Wittenham and gradually became the more important of the two. It was a parish in its own right, with a church dedicated to St Nicholas. It is said by tradition to have stood in Rowley Lane about half way between Farleigh and Westwood at a spot where the lane widens into an open green, traditionally called Holy Green.
After Rowley came into the hands of the Hungerford family, an Act of Annexation was passed in 1428 to amalgamate the parish of Rowley with that of their land at Farleigh Hungerford, across the River Frome in Somerset. After this date the extended parish of Farleigh Hungerford now lay in both Somerset and Wiltshire.
Although the ecclesiastical parishes were joined, the people of Rowley, who were very few in number, were to look after their own church and were excused from contributing to the church of Farleigh.
Over time, the village of Rowley became completely depopulated and all that remains today are earthworks in fields either side of Rowley Lane. Various small parcels of land of Wittenham were scattered throughout the neighbouring parishes, especially it seems around Midway in Wingfield.
