OS grid reference SU2082 Unitary authority Region South West Population 2,069 (in 2011) Dialling code 01793 | Civil parish Wanborough Ceremonial county Wiltshire Country England Local time Sunday 10:23 AM Postcode district SN4 | |
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Weather 17°C, Wind S at 13 km/h, 64% Humidity | ||
Wanborough is a large village and civil parish in the borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The village is about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southeast of Swindon town centre. The settlement along the High Street is Lower Wanborough, while Upper Wanborough is on higher ground to the southwest. The parish includes the hamlets of Horpit (a short distance north of Wanborough) and Foxhill, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the southeast.
Contents
Map of Wanborough, Swindon, UK
History
There was a Roman settlement, Durocornovium, slightly northwest of the current village, at a road junction mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary. Being the last vicus on Ermin Way or Ermin Street before the scarp slope of the Marlborough Downs, Durocornovium was a site where horses were watered before the steep climb off the Oxfordshire plain.
Wanborough was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as Wôdnes-beorg which later became Wodnesborough before becoming Wanborough.
Wanborough is just off the Ridgeway National Trail. Development in a strip along the road frontages characterised the village, which reached maximum development in the 4th century.
Parish church
The Church of England parish church of Saint Andrew is unusual in having a spire at one end and a tower at the other. There are only three parish churches with this feature in the UK. The others are at nearby Purton and at Ormskirk, Lancashire.
Amenities
The village has a primary school and a small post office. The village has five public houses: The Brewers Arms; The New Calley Arms; The Cross Keys; The Harrow; and The Plough. There was also a sixth pub called The Black Horse which closed down early in 2012.
Foxhill had one public house, The Shepherd's Rest which has re-opened as a restaurant serving Indian cuisine and renamed "The Burj".
There is a monthly farmers market in the village hall on the 3rd Saturday of every month, except August where is replaced by the Wanborough Show
Redlands Airfield is a base for microlight aviation and skydiving parachute training.