Place:Downton, Wiltshire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Downton is a village and civil parish on the Hampshire Avon river in southern Wiltshire, England, about 6 miles (10 km) southeast of the city of Salisbury and on the county boundary with Hampshire. It includes the villages of Wick and Barford and formerly (see below) the hamlets of Morgan's Vale and Woodfalls.

In 1934 Downton absorbed the neighbouring parish of Standlynch with Charlton All Saints which also included the hamlet of Witherington. The built-up part of Standlynch has been erased with the building of the Trafalgar House esate.

Downton village is on the east bank of the river. Wick lies on the opposite bank, and is linked to Charlton by the A338 road Poole-Oxfordshire road which accompanies the river north-south through the parish.

The ancient parish of Downton covered a large area, extending north to Nunton and southeast beyond Redlynch as far as Hamptworth. Downton was probably the principal village in the 7th and 8th centuries, and became important as the centre of the manor belonging to the Bishop of Winchester. Nunton with Bodenham and Standlynch became civil parishes in the 19th century, then as the population grew and churches were built, Downton was reduced in size. In 1896 its eastern part became Redlynch civil parish, in 1897 Charlton and Witherington were united with Standlynch to form the civil parish of Standlynch with Charlton All Saints, and in 1923 the hamlets of Morgan's Vale and Woodfalls within Downton parish were taken to form a new civil parish. Finally, in 1934 Standlynch and Charlton were reunited with Downton, and Morgan's Vale and Woodfalls were added to Redlynch. The Ordnance Survey map of Wiltshire of 1900 is best for understanding the geography of the area.

The parish is is close to the New Forest. The parish church, Trafalgar House and two more houses are Grade I listed. Downton had a population of 3,073 in the UK census of 2011.

The name Downton is familiar to many because of the television series Downton Abbey, but Downton gave nothing to the series except its name. The "stately home" used in the series for exterior shots and most of the interior filming was Highclere Castle in north Hampshire and the fictional venue was North Yorkshire.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Downton, Wiltshire.

Research Tips

• Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 11, pp19-77 - Parish: Downton". British History Online. University of London. This very long chapter is presented online without breaks between the pages. Within the chapter there are sections on the villages of Redlynch (immediately following Downton), Barford (Downton), Charlton, Hamptworth, Nunton with Bodenham, Standlynch, Wick (Downton) and Witherington. (Downton suffixes have been added when the name of the hamlet has been repeated elsewhere in Wiltshire.)
• 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.