Pewsey

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Not to be confused with Pusey, Oxfordshire.
Pewsey
240px
High Street, Pewsey
Pewsey is located in Wiltshire
Pewsey
Pewsey
 Pewsey shown within Wiltshire
Population 3,634 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid reference SU1660
Civil parish Pewsey
Unitary authority Wiltshire
Ceremonial county Wiltshire
Region South West
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Pewsey
Postcode district SN9
Dialling code 01672
Police Wiltshire
Fire Wiltshire
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK Parliament Devizes
Website Parish Council
List of places
UK
England
Wiltshire

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Pewsey is a large village and civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Marlborough and 80 miles (130 km) west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and is served by Pewsey railway station on the London to Taunton line.

The parish includes these small settlements:

  • Kepnal - east of the village, south of the Burbage road
  • Pewsey Wharf - north, where the A345 crosses the Kennet and Avon canal
  • Sharcott - west, by the Avon; marked on some maps as East Sharcott as distinct from West Sharcott, a short distance downstream in Manningford parish
  • Southcott - close to the southeast of the village

History

File:Green Drove, Pewsey - geograph.org.uk - 506507.jpg
Green Drove, Pewsey, with the Pewsey White Horse ahead

Archaeological excavations on Pewsey Hill show evidence of a settlement in the 6th century. In the Tudor era the Manor of Pewsey belonged to the Duchess of Somerset. Several of the village's houses were built in this era: the timber framed cruck house at Ball Corner, Bridge Cottage on the Avon and the Court House by the Church.

In 1764 the founder of the Methodist movement John Wesley (1703–1791) preached at Pewsey's Church of England parish church. The rector at that time, Joseph Townsend, was responsible for building of the first bridge over the River Avon.

The Kennet and Avon Canal reached Pewsey in 1810. Of more lasting effect for the village was the arrival of the Great Western Railway in 1862 which allowed fast travel to London and to the West Country.

In 1898 Pewsey Carnival was first held, a tradition that flourishes today with a fortnight of events, including The Feaste, culminating in an illuminated procession in mid to late September.[2]

A prominent statue of King Alfred the Great, the former Anglo Saxon King of Wessex and a local landowner, stands in the middle of the village.

Pewsey White Horse

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Main article: Pewsey White Horse
File:Farmland near Pewsey Hill - geograph.org.uk - 506511.jpg
The Pewsey White Horse from a distance

The Pewsey white horse hill figure is located on a steep slope of Pewsey Hill about a mile south of the village and can be viewed from several places in the surrounding area. It was cut in 1937 and is one of the smaller Wiltshire white horses. It replaces an earlier one which was possibly cut in 1785.

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. The ward starts in the west at Pewsey and stretches east to Easton Royal. The total population of the ward at the 2011 census was 4,649.[3]

Education

Pewsey has a state secondary school, Pewsey Vale School, an Academy which is a specialist Arts College. It is adjacent to the village's leisure centre and indoor swimming pool.

It has a state Primary Academy, Pewsey Primary School. The OFSTED [1] of 2012 rated it as good with scope to use mathematics more across the school. It has achieved good Key Stage Two SATS results for Wiltshire.[4] It appeared in the 100 Most Improved Schools table for its 2013 results and its 2014 results put it in the top 100 schools nationally.[5]

St. Francis School, an independent preparatory school, is just outside the village.

Churches

The Anglican Church of St John the Baptist is Grade I listed.[6] It was built in the 12th and 13th centuries with many later additions, culminating in an 1890 restoration by Charles Ponting.[7]

A Methodist chapel was built in 1873 and became a church in 1932.[8]

The Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family was built in 1964.[9]

Amenities

The village has doctors, dentists, an osteopath, numerous hairdressers and beauticians, a vet and a dog grooming salon, interior designers, picture framers, carpet shop, cabinet makers, furniture maker, art gallery and jeweler, a petrol station, car repair businesses, Post Office, hardware store, charity shops, butcher, curry house, Chinese take-away and a kebab shop, micro-breweries (on the Salisbury road industrial estate and at the Crown Inn), a Co-op supermarket and three convenience stores, including the petrol station.

There is one restaurant/wine bar, 6 pubs (the Royal Oak, the Crown Inn, the French Horn, the Moonrakers, the Coopers Arms, The Shed Alehouse micropub[10]), The Waterfront Bar and Bistro at Pewsey Wharf.

There are two main public parking areas: at the Co-op and around the village's Bouverie Hall, near the Post Office. There is a public convenience (toilet) at the latter parking area.

The Wiltshire Council run Pewsey Leisure Centre is next to Pewsey Vale School, its amenities include a 25m heated indoor swimming pool, squash courts and a large multi-sport hall.

Jones's Mill is a wetland nature reserve by the Avon.

Notable residents

Sport and leisure

Pewsey has two rugby teams and a junior club. Pewsey Vale 1st XV plays in the SSE South West Division, Dorset & Wilts 1 North League; the 2nd XV in Dorset and Wilts 3 North.

Pewsey has a Non-League football team Pewsey Vale F.C. who play at The Recreation Ground. There is a Youth Football Club with over 100 children playing football each week.[citation needed] In July 2014 Pewsey Vale Youth FC was awarded 'FA Chartered Standard' Club of the year by the Wiltshire Football Association.

A Bowls Club is located next to the Tennis club. A swimming pool and gym offer a range of courses including spinning and aqua-aerobics.

The Bouverie Hall offers a range of music events and a monthly mobile cinema service showing recent films.[citation needed]

Pewsey Music Festival, established in 2007, is a celebration of live music held each August in Cooper's Field, behind the Cooper's Arms pub.[12]

The Wiltshire Council run Pewsey Leisure Centre is next to Pewsey Vale School, its amenities include a 25m heated indoor swimming pool (used for activities including: swimming,float play, kayaking, snorkeling), squash courts and a multi-sport hall which is used for activities including: Badmington, indoor cricket/football/rugby, basket ball, volley ball, martial arts (including Judo, Taekwondo and kung fu), circuit training, archery.

Pewsey and Marlborough Judo Club is affiliated to the British Judo Association and meets at Pewsey Leisure Centre.

Pewsey has a running club.

References

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Further reading

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External links

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