West Dean, Wiltshire

West Dean is a village, civil parish and former manor in Wiltshire (historically in Hampshire),[2] England, situated on the Wiltshire/Hampshire border. The village is on the River Dun, about 7 miles (11 km) east of Salisbury.

West Dean

Cottages, West Dean
West Dean
Location within Wiltshire
Population252 (in 2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSU257273
Civil parish
  • West Dean
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSalisbury
Postcode districtSP5
Dialling code01794
PoliceWiltshire
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament

History

A Roman villa site straddles the present-day Wiltshire/Hampshire border.[3] The village was mentioned in the Cartularium Saxonicum for the year 880 as (æt) Deone, and may have formed part of the inheritance of Aethelweard, youngest son of King Alfred. It is mentioned as Duene in the Domesday Book of 1086 (one of the 51 holdings of Waleran the Hunter), as Westdone in 1265, and as Westdune in 1270.[4]

Dean House, which straddles the border with Hampshire, is a Grade II* listed former rectory from the late 17th century, enlarged in the 18th.[5]

The Salisbury and Southampton Canal was opened through the parish in 1802 or 1803 but was never completed as far as Salisbury; it closed in 1806. The Wessex Main Line railway was built through the village in 1847, with Dean station where it crosses the road at a level crossing. The station is still in use.

From 1941 to 2003, chalk caverns under Dean Hill to the south of the village were used as a Royal Naval Armaments Depot for munitions storage and maintenance.[6]

Religious sites
Main article: Borbach Chantry

Borbach Chantry was built in 1333. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building[7] and is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[8]

The Anglican Church of St Mary was built in 1866 and is Grade II listed.[9][10]

A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built c.1870 and closed in 1971.[11]

Woodland

Much of the northern half of the parish is woodland, including Bentley Wood which contains a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.

References
  1. "Wiltshire Community History - Census". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  2. Victoria County History, Vol.4: Hampshire, 1911, pp.519-524, Parishes: West Tytherley with Buckholt, Manors: West Dean
  3. Historic England. "Roman villa at West Dean (222998)". PastScape. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  4. Ekwall, Eilert, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 4th edition, 1960. p. 140. ISBN 0198691033.
  5. Historic England. "Dean House (1093674)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  6. "Site Records - Dean Hill Royal Naval Armaments Depot". Subterranea Britannica. 5 December 2003. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  7. "Borbach Chantry". historicengland.org.uk. Historic England. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  8. "West Dean, Salisbury". Churches Conservation Trust. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  9. Historic England. "Church of St Mary, West Dean (1135718)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  10. "New Church of St. Mary the Virgin, West Dean". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  11. "Methodist Chapel, West Dean". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 16 June 2015.

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