OS grid reference SU002795 Region South West Sovereign state United Kingdom Shire county Wiltshire Civil parish Lyneham | Unitary authority Country England Police Wiltshire Local time Saturday 6:49 AM | |
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Weather 4°C, Wind S at 6 km/h, 95% Humidity | ||
Bradenstoke is a village in Wiltshire, England situated to the north of the former RAF Lyneham airbase and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of Lyneham. Originally lying within Braydon Forest, the "stoke" means "settlement".
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Map of Bradenstoke, Chippenham, UK
Largely consisting of a long and narrow main street, the village has a church, two chapels, a village hall and a pub. The Post Office closed in 2008.
Local government
The civil parish elects a parish council called Lyneham and Bradenstoke Parish Council. The parish is in the area of Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which is responsible for all significant local government functions.
Bradenstoke is the oldest community in the parish. Lyneham was first mentioned in 1224 and appears to be included under "Stoche" in the Domesday Book. In the 19th and part of the 20th centuries, the village and ecclesiastical parish were called Bradenstoke cum Clack. The name Bradenstoke was revived in the mid-twentieth century and is now used exclusively.
Priory
The former Bradenstoke Priory was founded in 1142 by Walter D’Evereaux, sheriff of Wiltshire, for the Augustinians. Having fallen into disrepair after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it was dismantled in 1930 to provide building material for the renovation of St Donat's Castle in Wales, which had been bought by William Randolph Hearst. Most of the priory, including the roof, was unused and its whereabouts is now unknown.
Clack Mount
Close to the priory are earthworks known as Clack Mount ("clack" meaning "hill"). The moated site was probably fishponds for the priory; its earlier history is uncertain.