Wiltshire Community History

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Dinton

Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre, Chippenham

Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre, Chippenham

This is a corrected and updated edition of the 1773 map that includes the recently built canals.

1896
Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre

From the Ordnance Survey 1896 revision of the one inch to one mile map. The modern civil parish boundary has been superimposed.

Thumbnail History:

The oldest surviving settlement site in Dinton is the isolated mound of Wick Ball Camp, an Iron Age hill fort, overlooking the River Nadder, which forms the southern boundary of the parish. Grim's Ditch marks the northern boundary and a short distance away is the Roman Road which led from Old Sarum to the Mendip lead mines. The ancient Ox Drove, along which cattle were driven to Wilton and Salisbury markets, cuts across the north eastern corner of the parish. The New Inn, lying on the Ox Drove, once provided accommodation for passing drovers and travellers. Grim's Ditch, the Roman Road and the Ox Drove converge at Dinton Beeches, an area of ancient woodland.

By the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086 Dinton had become a possession of Shaftesbury Abbey, the country's largest nunnery. The nunnery itself had been founded in c. 888 by Alfred the Great. Shaftesbury Abbey's holdings at Dinton probably date back to the 8th and 9th centuries and included Teffont Magna. Throughout the Middle Ages Teffont Magna was a mere chapelry of Dinton and before 1925 the dead of Teffont Magna had to be taken to Dinton for burial. The route taken, the so-called 'Coffin Path' which ran across Teffont Common (then wooded) and Dinton Park, measured a mile and a half in length. The bier, which was used to carry the coffins, still resides in St. Mary's Church. The Back Lane, linking Dinton with Teffont was turnpiked in 1760 while the present east/west main road through the village became the new turnpike road when it was built in 1837.

Shaftesbury Abbey's period of ownership ended in 1540 with the dissolution of the monasteries. Seven years later Dinton was acquired by Sir William Herbert (later Earl of Pembroke) and it remained a Pembroke possession until 1918 when it was sold in lots. Several new freeholds were then created as former tenants bought up the farms on which they had worked as tenants. It was at this stage that Manor Farm (564 ac.) East Farm (377 ac.) Jesses Farm (132 ac.) and Fitz Farm (84 ac.) came into their own as separately run farming enterprises.

Meanwhile the Wyndham family had purchased considerable land in Dinton by the late 17th century and by later acquisitions created the Dinton Park estate. By 1829 most of Dinton's land was held either by the Earl of Pembroke (about 1500 acres) or the Wyndham family (1000 acres).The Dinton Park estate was sold to Bertram Erasmus Philipps in 1916 and in 1943 he granted Dinton House (renamed Philipps House) and its surrounding park of 200 acres to the National Trust. Following the sale of the Wyndham's Dinton estate in 1948, Marshwood, Oakley and Wrights Farms were each purchased by sitting tenants.

Farming

Until the twentieth century the chalk lands of the parish were dedicated almost entirely to sheep and arable farming. Water meadows were the great new development of the seventeenth century. Formed by the artificial flooding of meadow land they improved grass yields and greatly increased the amount of fodder for dairy cattle. In the early 1900s around 140 acres of Dinton's meadow land were still being regularly flooded. With the high labour costs of maintaining water channels and hatches and the availability of artificial fertilizers, water meadows declined and became extinct from the late 1930s. Today nearly all of the meadows near the Nadder are scored with traces of the old irrigation channels.

By the end of the eighteenth century Dinton had thriving orchards and market gardens. A traveller to the area in 1795 noted that when its orchards were in bloom a stranger might suppose he was in Devon or Hertfordshire. Apples were included among the main crops of the parish in the early twentieth century but large-scale market gardening and commercial orchards had disappeared by 1962. A successful tobacco crop was grown in the parish in 1910 and Jesses Farm acquired a vineyard in 1977 which now produces wine in partnership with Fonthill Vineyard. At the end of the nineteenth century there were still considerable numbers of sheep grazing on the downs but their numbers declined considerably by the turn of the century. In 1900 there were three flocks (at Manor Farm, East Farm and Fitz Farm) but by then cows were rapidly replacing sheep.

While the late nineteenth century had been a period of severe agricultural depression economic conditions improved considerably from the early 1900s. A. J. Hosier's invention of the portable milking parlour was a key turning point. By taking milking machines to the cows, labour costs were reduced and milk production increased rapidly. With the opening of the railway line in 1859 Dinton became the only station between Wilton and Tisbury. It was this development together with the expansion of dairy herds which was to prove to be so crucial to Dinton's prosperity. This was Dinton's golden age. It had dairy produce to sell and, with a regular rail service, it could be sold as far away as London. And as their markets developed, Dinton's dairy farmers increased their herds and the village prospered. With the coming of mechanization Dinton ceased being an agricultural community and today only a tiny percentage of Dinton's inhabitants work on its farms. The railway station closed in 1966.

Buildings and Famous People

St. Mary's, Dinton's Anglican Church, is an unusually large building for a relatively small village, having started life as an attachment to Shaftesbury Abbey. Much of the building dates back to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries although a great deal of restoration work was carried out in Victorian times under the supervision of William Butterfield, the well-known church architect. The Methodist Chapel on the Hindon Road, which was built in 1895 and closed in 1986, now lies derelict. The Rev. Engelheart's wife, Mary, who lived with her Anglican husband at Little Clarendon on Hindon Road, converted a bakery in the grounds of the house to create her own Roman Catholic chapel in 1921. This very small chapel, which was part of the Roman Catholic parish of Tisbury, served Dinton and the surrounding are until 1934. It is still used occasionally for mass at major festivals and by special arrangement.

The Dinton Church of England School, built in brick, was constructed in 1875 and it replaces an earlier stone building which still stands in the village near to St. Mary's Church. It functioned as a school from 1845 although Dinton had a public school for boys and girls from as early as 1783.

Philipps House (formerly Dinton House), an imposing mansion designed by Jeffry Wyatt and completed in 1816, is surrounded by the beautiful rolling countryside known as Dinton Park. Edward Hyde, who was born at the Old Rectory (later Hyde's House) in 1609, became the first earl of Clarendon and rose to become Lord Chancellor under Charles II. Both Philipps House and the nearby Hyde's House are now the property of the National Trust, having been granted by the Philipps family for the good of the village. This bequest enabled the Dinton Recreation Ground to be formed. It is now the focal point for cricket matches, football games and many other sporting and play activities.
Little Clarendon and Hyde's House, both stone-built houses, date from the sixteenth century. Lord Pembroke's manor house, situated on the east side of the village (now Manor Farm) contained a chapel in 1567, providing strong evidence that this had been on or near to the site of the Abbess of Shaftesbury's former manor house. Further stone houses, including Speargate Cottage, Cotterells, Jesse's Farm and Lawes Cottage, were built in the 17th century. Lawes Cottage was later given to the National Trust.

The oldest buildings in the village are to be found near St. Mary's Church, especially along Snow Hill and St. Mary's Road. Some still retaining their thatched roofs. Lawes Cottage is believed to be the birthplace of Henry Lawes, a contemporary of Edward Hyde who became 'Master of the King's Musick' and was one of the outstanding composers and Court musicians of his day. His brother, William, was also a gifted musician and both brothers are commemorated in the large 'Royal Coat of Arms' which is located opposite the organ in St. Mary's Church.
Little Clarendon was purchased by the Rev. George Engleheart, a retired Anglican vicar, in 1901. The house and lands were later passed on to the National Trust. Known his lifetime as 'the daffodil maker', Rev. Engleheart introduced many of the most popular daffodils grown today. He bred his daffodils over a period of 50 years first at Appleshaw in Hampshire and then in Dinton. He was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour in 1900 by the Royal Horticultural Society for his achievements and some of his daffodils are still to be seen in the fields behind Little Clarendon and in the nearby wooded area known as 'The Hangings.'

A 'Victory Hall', acquired in 1920 by converting a surplus army hut, was central to the village's social life. More recently. it has been replaced by the splendid purpose-built Village Hall which is located on Bratch Lane. Dinton's railway hotel, the Wyndham Arms, now a private house, functioned briefly while Wheatsheaf Cottage on Snow Hill, now a private residence, had once been a pub. The East End Inn, later renamed the Swordsman, then the Waggoners Rest, and today known as the Wyndham Arms, is a thriving village pub.

Dinton in War-time

The two world wars had an enormous impact on Dinton. During the First World War Dinton provided the mainline railway station link with the branch line which had been built to transport troops to the large army camp at Fovant. Included in the camp were large numbers of Australian servicemen who were befriended by Miss Constance Henrietta Louisa Penruddocke, who became known as 'the mother of the Aussies'. She kept up a regular correspondence with her ex-soldier friends in all parts of the world and would send several hundred letters and cards at Christmas time.

Dinton experienced a considerable influx of American troops during the Second World War. The US Army Air Force built large hangars which are still standing and are currently being used as warehouses. In readiness for the D-Day landings some 1,800 men were moved to Dinton and accommodated in tents and Nissen huts which were erected in Dinton Park. The 'tented village' has disappeared without trace although a small number of Nissen huts remained for a few years at Catherine Ford Road. Because of the severe housing shortage following the war, the huts initially accommodated local people but in later years new houses were built to replace the huts. Various war-time huts and buildings remain at Oakley Farm , having been used in the past to accommodate the needs of a poultry farm.

Dinton Today

Following the decline of its agricultural way of life, Dinton acquired a number of new building estates and two business parks which now give it a more modern appearance. Today Dinton is a lively village with a busy commercial life, largely due to its thriving primary school, pub, village store, post office and numerous small businesses. Its most spectacular yearly event is the fireworks display staged by the Dinton Bonfire Boys, a group which has its origins in the 19th century.

Churches: Information on both current and disused churches and chapels.

Population 1801 - 2001

Photographs: If images have been added for this community they are available here.: We hold a collection of over 50,000 photographs of places in Wiltshire in the County Local Studies Library. These may be viewed at this library and copies of out of copyright material may be purchased. We can search for a picture of a building or event if you e-mail us with details.

Historical Sources: A select list of books and articles is listed in 'Printed material'. You may go directly to the actual text from some of these.

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Newspapers from 1738: These newspapers covered this community at different times. Newspaper titles in bold text are either the ones you should check first for information about this community.

Maps: listed are maps on which you can find this community. All maps are Ordnance Survey maps.

Archaeological Sites: A Sites and Monuments Record (opens new window) is maintained by the County Archaeology Service and covers some 20,000 sites. The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society was formed in 1853 and have been publishing an annual journal since 1854. The journal contains both substantial articles and shorter notes on archaeological excavations, finds, museum objects, local history, genealogy and natural history.

Folk Arts:

Folk Songs from Dinton

Folk Biographies from Dinton

Folk Plays from Dinton

History of Buildings: The collections of the Wiltshire Buildings Record are housed in the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre at Chippenham’.

English Heritage and National Monuments Record

Local Authors: There could be an author who was born or has lived in this community.

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