Place:Foxley, Wiltshire, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

Foxley and Bremilham were separate parishes in Wiltshire, England. They were the central two parishes out of four (Norton (near Malmesbury), Foxley, Bremilham and Brokenborough) that sat in order south to north on the southeast side of a straight line, the Fosse way (a Roman road), which stretched diagonally across Malmesbury Hundred. In 1893 Bremilham was united with Foxley. In 1934 the resulting parish of Foxley (including Bremilham) was transferred to the civil parish of Norton (near Malmesbury).

All three places have extremely small populations, even today.

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

Foxley

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

"FOXLEY, a parish in Malmsbury district, Wilts; on Akeman-street, near the boundary with Gloucester, 3 miles WSW of Malmsbury, and 8 N by W of Chippenham [railway] station. Post town, Malmsbury, under Chippenham. Acres: 750. Real property, with Bremilham and Westport: £6,335. Population: 65. Houses: 14. The manor belonged to the Berkeleys; passed to the Ayliffes and the Foxes; and gave the title of Baron Foxley to Lord Holland. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value: £261. Patron: Lady Holland. The church is ancient, and contains some old monuments."

Bremilham

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

"BREMILHAM, or Cowage, a parish in Malmesbury [registration] district, Wilts; on the river Avon, near Akeman-street, 2 miles SW by W of Malmesbury, and 9 WSW of Minety [railway] station. Post Town: Malmesbury, under Chippenham. Acres: 433. Real property, with Westport and Foxley: £6,335. Population: 29. Houses: 5. The property is all in one estate. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value: £121. Patron: the Hon. and Rev. R. Bowles. The church is good."

From the 16th century the principal farm in Bremilham parish was called Cowage. That name became an alternative name for the parish, and after the parish was dissolved the name Bremilham was little used. (Source: Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 14, pp9-13 - Parish: Bremilham)

Research Tips

• Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 14, pp9-13 - Parish: Bremilham. British History Online. University of London.
• Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 14, pp83-89 - Parish: Foxley. 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.