Place:Hankerton, Wiltshire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Hankerton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Malmesbury. The parish includes the hamlets of Cloatley, Cloatley End and Bullock's Horn. The population of the parish peaked in the 1830s or 1840s, with 417 recorded at the 1841 census, then declined to 252 in 1901 and has since remained near that level.

Streams which form the Braydon Brook, which becomes the Swill Brook further downstream, flow east and north in the parish. Some of these streams form parts of the northern parish boundary.

Until the Dissolution circa 1535, Hankerton and Cloatley were probably part of the Crudwell Estate which belonged to Malmesbury Abbey.

In 1553 Hankerton Manor was bought by James Stumpe of Malmesbury and Bromham, who also owned Charlton manor. Hankerton and Charlton Manors descended into the Howard family and the Earls of Suffolk, who continued to hold land in Hankerton in the 20th century. Cloatley manor was held separately, being bought in 1706 by Giles Earle of Eastcourt hamlet in Crudwell; his grandson divided the manor c. 1806.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Hankerton.

Research Tips

• Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 14, pp95-104 - Parish: Hankerton. British History Online. University of London.
• 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.