Place:Draycot Foliat, Wiltshire, England

the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Draycot Foliat is a hamlet in Wiltshire, England, on the back road between Chisledon to the north and Ogbourne St. George to the south. The nearest major town is Swindon which is about 5 miles (8 km) north. The Og, a tributary of the River Kennet (itself a tributary of the Thames), flows for about half of the year down the centre of the hamlet, forcing the road into a sharp hairpin bend.

In 1086 it was recorded that Draycot had enough land for six ploughs, and at the time, there were two ploughs and a serf on five hides held in the demesne while there were three ploughs, four villeins and seven bordars on the remaining hides. There were in total 40 acres (160,000 m2) of pasture and eighteen of meadow at the time of the Domesday Survey. By 1842 there were 605 acres (2.45 km2) of arable land, 76 acres (310,000 m2) of meadow and 2 acres (8,100 m2) of woodland within the parish, split among the three farms, Draycot, Sheppard's and King's. In 1849, King's farm was offered for sale and was bought by Draycot farm, giving the situation found today.

In 1894 the ancient parish of Draycot Foliat was added to the civil parish of Chisledon.

Since the earliest mentions of the settlement the name has been spelt in many ways including combinations of Draycot, Draycote, Draycott, Dreycot, and Dreycott with Foliat, Folliatt, Foliatt and Folyat and occasionally just Crawecot or just Draycote. The preferred spelling currently is Draycot Foliat and that name appears on a local signpost, however many maps and similar resources give the spelling of Draycott Foliat, considered incorrect by the inhabitants.

The Foliat suffix is from the Foliot family, who held the manor in the late 13th century.

Research Tips

• Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 9, pp43-49 - Parish: Draycot Foliat. 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.