Place:Cricklade, Wiltshire, England

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NameCricklade
Alt namesCrickladesource: from redirect
Cricklade St. Marysource: parish from which it was formed in 1899
Cricklade St. Sampsonsource: parish from which it was formed in 1899
Calcuttsource: hamlet in parish
Chelworth Lower Greensource: hamlet in parish
Chelworth Upper Greensource: hamlet in parish
Hailstone Hillsource: hamlet in parish
Horsey Downsource: hamlet in parish
TypeParish (ancient), Civil parish
Coordinates51.633°N 1.85°W
Located inWiltshire, England
See alsoHighworth Cricklade and Staple Hundred, Wiltshire, Englandhundred in which it was located
Cricklade St. Mary, Wiltshire, Englandcivil parish from which it was formed in 1899
Cricklade St. Sampson, Wiltshire, Englandcivil parish from which it was formed in 1899
Cricklade and Wootton Bassett Rural, Wiltshire, Englandrural district, 1894 - 1974
North Wiltshire District, Wiltshire, England1974-2009
Wiltshire District, Wiltshire, England2009--
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Cricklade is a small town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first town on the Thames as it flows towards London. The parish population at the 2011 UK census was 4,227.

From 1866 (when most civil parishes were formed) until 1899, Cricklade was made up of two civil and ecclesiastical parishes: Cricklade St. Mary and Cricklade St. Sampson. Outlying hamlets in Cricklade parish are Calcutt, Chelworth Lower Green, Chelworth Upper Green, Hailstone Hill and Horsey Down. All these places are redirected here.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Cricklade.

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

"CRICKLADE, a town, two parishes, a [registration] sub-district, and a [registration] district in Wilts. The town stands on Ermine-street and the river Isis, adjacent to the North Wilts canal, near its junction with the Thames and Severn canal, about a mile from the boundary with Gloucester, 3½ miles N by E of Purton [railway] station, and 7¼ NNW of Swindon. It dates from very early times; was known to the Saxons as Crocgelad; and was plundered in 905 by Ethelwald, and in 1016 by Canute. It had a preceptory of the Knights Templars, a small ancient hospital, and a ten-pillared town hall of 1569; and it has now a head post office, two chief inns, two churches, two dissenting chapels, and charities £289.
"St. Sampson's church is a cruciform structure, with a pinnacled tower; was built by the Earls of Warwick; and has an aisle belonging to the Radnors, armorial shields, and a curious clock. St. Mary's church is partly Norman; consists of nave, north and south aisles, and chancel, with low ivy-clad tower: and has a sculptured cross in the churchyard.
"Markets are held on Saturdays; and fairs on 21 March, the second Thursday of April, 15 Aug., 21 Sept., 11 Oct., and 8 Dec.
"The town is a borough by prescription; and has sent two members to parliament since the time of Henry VI. Its borough limits were so vastly extended in 1782, for punishment and prevention of bribery, as to make it practically but the centre of a representative district, with Swindon and Brinkworth for other polling-places: and they were not altered by the Reform bill. They include all the parishes of Cricklade [registration] district; the parishes of Inglesham, Highworth, Castle-Eaton, Hannington, Stanton-Fitzwarren, Blunsdon-St. Andrew, Rodborne-Cheney, Stratton-St. Margaret, Wanborough, Liddington, Chisledon, Draycot-Foliatt, Swindon, and part of Wroughton, in Highworth district; the parishes of Oaksey, Crudwell, Hankerton, Brinkworth, Dauntsey, Norton-Coleparle, and part of Minety and Hullavington, in Malmsbury [registration] district; the parishes of Stanton-St. Quintin, Draycot-Cerne, Sutton-Benger, Seagry, and part of Kington-St. Michael in Chippenham [registration] district; the parishes of Kemble, Poole-Keynes, Somerford-Keynes, Shorncote, Poulton, and Marston-Maisey, in Cirencester [registration] district; the parishes of Long Newton and Ashby in Tetbury [registration] district; part of Hillmarton in Calne [registration] district; part of Broad-Hinton in Marlborough [registration] district; and part of Coleshill in Faringdon [registration] district. Direct taxes in 1857: £26,857. Electors in 1868: 2,094. Population of the [parliamentary] borough: 36,893. Houses: 7,676.
"The two parishes are [Cricklade] St. Sampson and [Cricklade] St. Mary; and the former includes the tythings of Whidhill and Chelworth. Acres of [Cricklade St. Sampson]: 5,998; of [Cricklade St. Mary]: 121. Real property of both: £13,775. Population: 1,453 and 367. Houses: 326 and 91. The property is much subdivided. [Cricklade St. Sampson] is a vicarage, and [Cricklade St. Mary], a rectory, in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value of the former: £365; of the latter: £83. Patrons of the former: the Dean and Chapter of Salisbury; of the latter: the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol.
"The [registration] sub-district contains also the parishes of Purton, Eisey, Latton, and Ashton-Keynes. Acres: 21,337. Population: 5,795. Houses: 1,287.
"The district comprehends also the [registration] sub-district of Wootton-Bassett, containing the parishes of Wootton-Bassett, Cliffe-Pypard, Lyneham, Tockenham, Liddiard-Tregooze, and Liddiard-Millicent. Acres: 41,566. Poor-rates, in 1862: £6,892. Population in 1841, 13,195; in 1861, 11,470. Houses: 2,501. Marriages in 1860: 75; births: 385, of which 40 were illegitimate; deaths, 207, of which 67 were at ages under 5 years, and 7 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60: 796; births: 3,713; deaths: 2,294. The places of worship in 1851 were 13 of the Church of England, with 4,322 sittings; 4 of Independents, with 674 [sittings]; 2 of Baptists, with 224 [sittings]; 8 of Primitive Methodists, with 875 [sittings]; and 1 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 47 attendants. The schools were 15 public day schools, with 1, 148 scholars; 15 private day schools, with 217 [scholars]; 20 Sunday schools, with 1,445 [scholars]: and 1 evening school for adults, with 12 [scholars] The workhouse is in Purton."

The descriptions of the parliamentary boroughs and registration districts are not usually copied from Wilson's Gazetteer, but in this case the details are unusual. Cricklade ceased to be the name of a parliamentary constituency in 1918 when it joined with [[Place:Chippenham, Wiltshire, England|Chippenham]. The Isis is another name for the upper River Thames, still in use.

Research Tips

  • Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 18, pp13-20 - Parish: Cricklade. British History Online. University of London. This is an introductory chapter. It is followed by two more: one entitled "Cricklade Borough" and one entitled "Outer Cricklade".
  • 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.
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Cricklade. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.