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Introduction

Surnames

Ancestral GenSite(s)

Populated Places

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Wiltshire Flag

Introduction

Wiltshorse Flag

     Wiltshire (also abbreviated Wilts) is a ceremonial county in the south west of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers 3,485 km² (861,162 acres). The ancient county town was Wilton, but since 1930 Wiltshire County Council and its successor Wiltshire Council have been based at Trowbridge.

     Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys. Salisbury Plain is famous as the location of the Stonehenge stone circle and other ancient landmarks and as the main training area in the UK of the British Army.

     The city of Salisbury is notable for its medieval cathedral, and important country houses open to the public include Longleat, near Warminster, and the National Trust's Stourhead, near Mere.

     The county, in the 9th century written as Wiltunscir, later Wiltonshire, is named after the former county town of Wilton, itself named after the river Wylye, one of eight rivers which drain the county.

Source: Wikipedia

The following are surnames of persons, found within our databases,

as having been either born, married or died at this location.

Bassington;    Clare;    Comyn;    Mauduit;   Provence

To find out more about each surname listed above click on the corresponding LINK.

Additional information regarding these surnames may also be found at:

  Surname Locator Resources

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Ancestral GenSite(s)

FAMILY HISTORY NOTES

GEN-SITE PROFILE(s)

Amesbury;   Fonthill Gifford;   Somerford Mauduit;   Warminster

Amesbury

LOCATION: Map Link

Sovereign state: United Kingdom;   Constituent country: England;  

Region: South West England;  Shire county: Wiltshire 

51° 10′ 0.12″ N, 1° 46′ 59.88″ W

DESCRIPTION:  Amesbury is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is most famous for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is in its parish, and for the discovery of the Amesbury Archer – dubbed the King of Stonehenge in the press – in 2002.  Amesbury is located in southern Wiltshire, eight miles north of Salisbury. It sits in the River Avon valley on the southern fringes of Salisbury Plain and has historically been considered an important river crossing area on the road from London to Warminster and Exeter. Originally the town developed around the water meadows next to several bends in the river, but in time has spread onto the valley hillsides and absorbed the military airfield at Boscombe Down.

ANCESTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GEN-SITE:  Alianore (de) Provence died here  24 Jun 1291. 

INTERNET WEB LINK(s):  Amesbury - Wikipedia;   Time Travel Britain: Amesbury; This is Amesbury; 

The Stonehenge Chamber of Trade;  Vision News - Amesbury

Fonthill Giffard

LOCATION: Map Link

Sovereign state: United Kingdom;   Constituent country: England;  

Region: South West England;  Shire county: Wiltshire;  

52° 53′ 14.1″ N, 0° 24′ 21.46″ W  

DESCRIPTION:  Fonthill Gifford is a small village in Wiltshire, England.  Fonthill-Gifford, is also the name of a parish in Tisbury district.  It is located 1½ mile SE by E of Hindon, and 2 NNW of Tisbury.  The Fonhill-Giffard manor belonged, about the time of the Conquest, to the Giffards.  Later it was passed to the Maundevilles, the Manduits, the Molyns, the Hungerfords, the Mervyns, the Cottingtons, and the Beckfords.  In 1823 it was eventually divided and sold.  

ANCESTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GEN-SITE:  William Comyn was born here Abt. 1085.

INTERNET WEB LINK(s):  Fonthill Gifford - Wikipedia;   Fonthill Gifford CP/AP;  Giffard of Fonthill Giffard;  GENUKI: Fonthill Gifford, Wiltshire, England; 

Somerford Mauduit

LOCATION: Map Link

Sovereign state: United Kingdom;   Constituent country: England;  

Region: South West England;  Shire county: Wiltshire;  

51° 33′ 0″ N, 2° 3′ 0″ W

DESCRIPTION:  During the Middle Ages Somerford Mauduit was the name of Little Somerford.  The village is located in a bend of the Bristol Avon about 4.5 km. south-east of Malmesbury.  The suffix of Somerford Mauduit was the surname of the lords of the manor.  The prefix “Little” of Little Somerford came into use during the 16^th century to distinguish the parish from Great Somerford.  In the early 1630s, after Braydon forest was enclosed, the men of Little Somerford were allotted Somerford common, 204 acres of the forest located about 6 km. north-east of the village.  This land eventually became part of the parish. It was transferred to Brinkworth parish in 1884. Under an Act of 1882 some of the land to the north-west were transferred to Lea and Cleverton, and small areas were transferred to Little Somerford from Great Somerford and from Lea and Cleverton. Thereafter Little Somerford contained a land area of about 1,210 acres.  About half the boundary of Little Somerford is marked by the Avon and its feeder Brinkworth brook. To the north-west the Avon divides Little Somerford from Malmesbury and to the south from Great Somerford. Between those two stretches the Avon divided Little Somerford from Rodbourne in Malmesbury in the late 9th century, but land on the west bank was allotted to Little Somerford at an enclosure in 1281.

ANCESTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GEN-SITE:  The following members of the Mauduit  family were born here: Alice Mauduit (nee?)1258;  John Mauduit 1281;  John Mauduit 1140;  Robert Mauduit 1252;  Robert Mauduit 1221.  Robert Mauduit (1138-1191) died here.   

INTERNET WEB LINK(s):  Parishes - Little Somerford | British History Online;  GENUKI: Little Somerford, Wiltshire, England;   

Warminster

LOCATION: Map Link

Sovereign state: United Kingdom;   Constituent country: England;  

Region: South West England;  Shire county: Wiltshire;  

51° 12′ 32.4″ N, 2° 10′ 46.56″ W

DESCRIPTION: Warminster is a town in western Wiltshire, England, near Frome and Westbury. It has a population of about 17,000. The town's name is believed to be derived from the name 'Were-minster'. The River Were runs through the town and can be seen running through the middle of the town park. The Minster church of St Denys sits on the River Were. The name Warminster first occurs in the early 10th century.  The town was first settled in the Saxon period, though there are the remains of numerous earlier settlements nearby, including the Iron Age hill fort Battlesbury Camp and Cley Hill, the latter a site operated by the National Trust.    The town's prosperity following the growth of the wool trade in the Late Middle Ages caused the erection of many magnificent structures, including the Minster Church of Saint Denys, in a yew grove sacred from pre-Christian times.

ANCESTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GEN-SITE:  The following ancestors were born here: Johanna de Bassington:  1328;  Robert Mauduit 1186.  Thomas Mauduit was born here in 1324 and died here in 1364. 

INTERNET WEB LINK(s):  Warminster - Wikipedia;  Warminster - An Online Guide;  A Chronology of Warminster;  Historic Warminster photos at BBC Wiltshire;  Warminster Website  

The red star in the map at the left designates the location of the Wilton the ancient seat of

government for this shire.   A marker shows the location of identified ancestral Gen-Sites.

For  a better view of this map set your windows  ZOOM  feature  (lower right corner of screen) to 150%

The list below will assist in your research regarding the matching of your ancestor’s birth, marriage, death dates and the locality within this county at which these events may have occurred. 

Wiltshire has twenty-two towns and one city

Amesbury;   Bradford on Avon;   Calne;   Chippenham;   Corsham;   Cricklade;   Devizes;   Durrington;   Highworth;   Ludgershall;   Malmesbury;   Marlborough;   Melksham;   Mere;   Salisbury (city);   Swindon;   Tidworth;   Tisbury;   Trowbridge;   Warminster;   Westbury;   Wilton; 

Wootton Bassett

A list of settlements is at List of places in Wiltshire.

Web resources

General Resources

·      Website & Webpages We Like

·      United Kingdom and Ireland - rootsweb.com

·      GENUKI: UK & Ireland Genealogy

·      UK Genealogy (Portal for UK Family Research)

·      Street Map UK

·      The Gazetteer of British Place Names

·      Ordnance Survey, Britain’s mapping agency

·      Cyndi’s List - United Kingdom & Ireland Index

·      IGI Batch #’s (British Isles & North America)

·      Genealogy SiteFinder: United Kingdom

·      A vision of Britain (a library for local history)

·      UK Genealogy Archives of Family History

·      List of places in the United Kingdom

·      Directory of Cities and Towns in the UK

Locality Specific Resources

·      Wiltshire - Wikipedia

·      Wiltshire Community History

·      Wiltshire Libraries

·      Wiltshire Tourist Office

OUR GENEALOGY REFERENCE LIBRARY

The following Link will take you to our library of genealogy reference books that pertain to Wiltshire.   Here you will find books about the history and records of this county and other places such as towns and churches. 

 British Isles & Ireland Research Library

Countries, Counties, & Localities

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Stonehenge

If you have any photographs or other images relating to this ancestral

 location we would greatly appreciate hearing from you.

Use the following LINK to ascertain whether we have any images that pertain to this location.

ANCESTRAL LOCATION PHOTOGRAPHS and IMAGES

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