Portrait of a Village: Brinkworth, Wiltshire
On the B4042 road between Royal Wootton Bassett and Malmesbury in Wiltshire lies England’s longest village. The parish of Brinkworth encompasses two tithings: Brinkworth to the north and the hamlet of Grittenham to the south. Claimed to be the longest village in England, it is just over four miles between boundary posts. Another claim to fame for the village is that Hill End Farm is the only cheesemaker in North Wiltshire. Curiously, the outline of the parish is similar in shape to the continent of Africa.
The only transportation link to the village is by road, the railway station having been closed in 1961. Passing along the southern tip of Brinkworth is the Wilts and Berks Canal which is undergoing an ambitious restoration by a group of volunteers.
Brinkworth appears in the Domesday Book where it is listed as having nine villagers, three slaves, 18 cottagers and 13 other population. The name Brinkworth probably derives from the Old English “Brynca’s farmstead”, and Grittenham is believed to mean “gravelly enclosure”. Brinkworth may have a name in common with Brinklow in Warwickshire which is thought to have derived from “Brynca’s Low” — a motte-and-bailey castle site.
Nowadays, Brinkworth is a well-to-do semi-rural village consisting of typical village buildings, several farms and a mix of housing built in recent centuries. It has a population of 1,300. And yet, a little over 200 years ago half the people in the parish were paupers. Consequently, there was a lot of poor relief in the parish during the first half of the 19th century; the parish helped over 100 people emigrate to Quebec in Canada.
Most of the village buildings and amenities are clustered on a stretch of the B4042 from which there’s an expansive view south to the M4 motorway and beyond. My first job after leaving university was in Malmesbury. On the daily commute from Swindon, passing through Brinkworth an occasional but memorable sight was a Hercules transport aircraft from nearby RAF Lyneham (now closed as an airbase) flying low over fog-shrouded land below the escarpment.
Only one pub remains in the village. The Suffolk Arms, not far from Callow Hill, recently closed and stands abandoned. In contrast, the Three Crowns which has stood for over two centuries still thrives thanks to its reputation for good food. Outside this pub a red telephone box has been given an ingenious new use as a book exchange where people can borrow, donate or swap books.
Two village residents started a weekly market in 2009 as a place for people to meet and buy goods as Brinkworth doesn’t have a shop — not even a post office. The market has been very successful, even attracting stallholders and shoppers from neighbouring villages.
One of the largest buildings in the village is Brinkworth House which was built on land owned by Malmesbury Abbey for several centuries. Built over a 10-year period beginning in 1871, it was originally known as Clitchbury House and had three storeys. A fire in the early 20th century reduced it to two storeys. In recent times it was extended, incorporating a glass atrium between the original building and the extension. It operates as a business centre providing offices and meeting rooms.
Across the road from Brinkworth House can be found Woodbridge Park Golf Club (formerly Brinkworth Golf Club). The golf course, which sits in 150 acres, comprises an 18-hole course and a six-hole pitch and putt course. Along with the village itself, the golf club is situated on land that until the year 1300 was known as Braydon Forest — a royal hunting forest. Over the next 300 years the forest shrank substantially as sections were sold off; a few woods
scattered around the area are the remnants.
Turning off the main road and heading south over the railway one comes to Brinkworth Brook, known locally as Thunder Brook, a tributary of Bristol’s River Avon. Here anti-invasion measures from the Second World War can be found in the form of concrete cylinders designed to hinder invading German tanks. These cylinders were part of a series of defences in the south of England (pillboxes, tank traps, tank obstacles) called stop lines. Stop Line Red, of which the Brinkworth defences are part, ran from Great Somerford in Wiltshire to Tilehurst in Berkshire.
In 1824 the preacher Samuel Heath brought Primitive Methodism, an offshoot of Wesleyan Methodism, to Brinkworth. Meetings were first held in houses until a chapel could be built a few years later, by which time Brinkworth was the centre of a circuit. Despite persecution — it’s reported that in nearby Malmesbury windows of a preaching room were repeatedly broken — this form of Methodism spread in Wiltshire.
Two Primitive Methodist chapels can be found in Brinkworth, though neither are in use as places of worship anymore. The larger of the two is in Barnes Green on the B4042 opposite a farmhouse. Built of stone, the chapel dates back to 1828 and originally seated 22 people. Later renovations to the floor and the addition of a gallery in 1839 multiplied the seating capacity tenfold to 230. For some time the building has been a private house, as has the adjacent rectory.
The Grittenham chapel fared less well. A small structure made from corrugated iron, it has been derelict and overgrown for many years. It was well attended until the Second World War, but fell out of favour after the war and closed in the 1950s.
The Anglican church of St. Michael and All Angels is the main church in the village. Dating back to 1360, with evidence of a building from 1151, it holds regular Sunday services and hosts the weekly market.
The longest village in England is more than just a pleasant place to drive through between its larger and more well-known neighbours. Visitors to the area should give this village, with its strong sense of community and history, a second look.