Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for PEWSEY

PEWSEY, a village, a parish, a sub-district, and a district, in Wilts. The village stands on a head-stream of the river Avon, near the Mid Wilts railway, 1 mile S of the Kennet and Avon canal, and 7 S S W of Marlborough; is a seat of petty sessions; and has a post-office‡under Marlborough, and a railway-station with telegraph. The parish comprises 4, 791 acres. Real property, £9, 828. Pop. in 1851, 1, 921; in 1861, 2,027. Houses, 402. The property is much subdivided. The manor belongs to St. Thomas' hospital and Sir Francis Astley. The vale of Pewsey separates Marlborough downs from Salisbury plain; is a strip of varied colour, flanked by slopes of chalk hills; and is noted for abundance ofgreen-sand fossils. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Salisbury. Value, £1,038.* Patron, the Earl of Radnor. The church is mainly early English, partly perpendicular, with an E tower; and the chancel-was rebuilt in 1861. There are two national schools. The districtworkhouse is here; and, at the census of 1861, had 81inmates.—The sub-district contains also the parishes of Milton-Lilborne, Wootton-Rivers, Easton, Burbage, Ever-ley, Collingbourne-Kingston, and Collingbourne-Ducis. Acres, 28, 784. Pop., 6, 995. Houses, 1, 149. The district comprehends also the sub-district of Netheravon, containing the parishes of Netheravon, Fittleton, Enford, Uphaven, Rushall, Charlton, Wilsford, North Newnton, Manningford-Bruce, Manningford-Abbots, Woodborough, Huish, and Wilcot, and the chapelry of Alton-Priors. Acres of the district, 65, 650. Poor-rates in 1863, £5, 630. Pop. in 1851, 12, 503; in 1861, 12, 466. Houses, 2, 618. Marriages in 1863, 75; births, 454, of which 43 were illegitimate; deaths, 318, of which119 were at ages under 5 years, and ten at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 834; births, 4,037; deaths, 2, 329. The places of worship, in 1851, were 22of the Church of England, with 2, 972 sittings; 7 of Baptists, with 1,013 s.; 6 of Wesleyans, with 1,006 s.; and 3 of Primitive Methodists, with 307 s. The schools were 19 public day-schools, with 1, 263 scholars; 14 private day-schools, with 292 s.; and 23 Sunday schools, with 1, 633 s.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a village, a parish, a sub-district, and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: Pewsey CP/AP       Pewsey RegD/PLU       Wiltshire AncC
Place: Pewsey

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