Place:Britford, Wiltshire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Britford is a village and civil parish beside the River Avon about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southeast of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The village is just off the A338 road. The 2011 UK Census recorded a parish population of 592.

Little Woodbury and Great Woodbury, both within a mile of Britford are the sites of Iron Age settlements.

The ancient parish of Britford included the tithing of East Harnham, which became a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1855 after a church was built there in the previous year. East Harnham continued as part of Britford civil parish until 1896, when it became a separate parish; in 1904 it joined the borough of Salisbury and is now part of Harnham suburb.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Britford.

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Britford from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"BRITFORD, or Burford, a village, a parish, and a [registration] subdistrict in Alderbury [registration] district, Wilts. The village stands adjacent to the Salisbury and Southampton canal, near the Bishopstoke and Salisbury railway, 1½ mile SE of Salisbury; and has a fair on 12 Aug. The parish includes also the tything of East Harnham, and the hamlet of Longford; and its Post Town is Salisbury. Acres: 3,148. Real property: £6,980. Population: 872. Houses: 157. The property is divided among a few. The manor belonged anciently to King Harold; and belongs now to the Earl of Radnor. Longford Castle, the seat of the Earl, occupied by Viscount Folkestone, was built about 1591 by Sir Thomas Gorges; is a curiously constructed edifice, of triangular form, with inner court; and possesses a very fine picture gallery.

"The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Salisbury. Value: £281. Patrons: the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury. The church is cruciform; and contains a mausoleum of the Bouveries, and a curious, sculptured altar-tomb, usually, but erroneously, said to be that of the Duke of Buckingham who was beheaded by Richard III. East Harnham vicarage is a separate benefice. The parish contains Alderbury workhouse."

Research Tips

• From this Ancestry page you can browse the Wiltshire parishes which have parish register transcripts online, quite often from very early dates. However, reading the early ones requires skill and patience. Transcriptions should also be in FamilySearch.
• A further collection of online source references will be found on the county page for Wiltshire.