Place:West Overton, Wiltshire, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

West Overton is a village in the English county of Wiltshire, about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of Marlborough. The River Kennet runs immediately north of the village, separating it from the A4 road. The parish had a population of 637 in the UK census of 2011.

The parish elects a joint parish council with the adjacent parish of Fyfield; the council is named Fyfield and West Overton. Since 2009 it has been within the area of the Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which is responsible for all significant local government functions.

Until the 19th century (probably 1866) the parish of Overton had chapelries at Alton Priors and Fyfield, and tithings of East Overton, Lockeridge, Shaw, and West Overton. In the 19th century Alton and Fyfield became separate civil parishes while East Overton ceased to be used as a place name. The village of Shaw, southwest of West Overton, was apparently deserted in the 15th century; Lockeridge continues as a village in West Overton parish.

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

"OVERTON, a village in Marlborough [registration] district, and a parish partly also in Pewsey district, Wilts. The village stands on the river Kennet, 4 miles W by S of Marlborough [railway] station; and is a small place. The parish comprises the township of West Overton and the tything of Lockeridge, in Marlborough [registration] district, and the chapelry of Alton-Priors, in Pewsey [registration] district. Acres, with Fyfield parish, and with Overton-Heath and Clatford-Park extra-parochial tracts: 8,030. Real property, with Fyfield: £6, 156. Population of [Overton] parish alone, in 1851: 1,025; in 1861: 910. Houses: 194. Overton House is a chief residence. Most of the land is disposed in sheep farms. The living is a vicarage, united with the chapelry of Alton-Priors and with the vicarage of Fyfield, in the diocese of Salisbury. Value: £319. Patron: the Duke of Marlborough. The church is ancient, and has a pinnacled tower."

Research Tips

• Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 11, pp181-203 - Parish: Overton. 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.