Milston Explained

Official Name:Milston
Static Image Name:St Mary's, Milston - geograph.org.uk - 457186.jpg
Static Image Caption:St Mary's, Milston
Coordinates:51.207°N -1.767°W
Os Grid Reference:SU164453
Label Position:top
Population:130
Population Ref:(in 2011)[1]
Civil Parish:Milston
Unitary England:Wiltshire
Shire County:Wiltshire
Region:South West England
Country:England
Post Town:Salisbury
Postcode District:SP4
Postcode Area:SP
Dial Code:01980
Constituency Westminster:Devizes

Milston is a hamlet and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 10miles north of Salisbury and separated from Durrington by the River Avon. The parish covers two hamlets, Milston and Brigmerston, along with farm buildings on Salisbury Plain. The population in 2011 was 130 – the same as in 1861.[1]

Heritage

The name Milston derives from the Old English midlest tūn, meaning "middlemost farm/settlement".[2] Milston Down Wood has earthworks including bowl barrows. The Nine Mile River rises on Brigmerston Down and is joined by the Damson Brook.

Milston hamlet contains a small Grade II* listed church dedicated to St Mary, erected in the 13th/14th centuries and restored in 1806 and 1906. The single bell in the bellcote dates from about 1209 and the font probably from the 13th century. It is one of seven Church of England parishes currently covered by the Avon River Team ministry.[3] [4]

The Old Manor House at Milston, dating from 1613, is a Grade II* listed building.

Notable residents

Milston was the birthplace of the writer and politician Joseph Addison (1672–1719), whose father Lancelot Addison, writer and cleric, was Rector of Milston from 1670 to 1681, when the Rectory burnt down.[5]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wiltshire Community History – Census. Wiltshire Council. 11 March 2015.
  2. Web site: Milston, Wiltshire . University of Nottingham . Key to English Place Names . August 2, 2012.
  3. Web site: St Mary, Milston . A Church Near You . Church of England . 11 March 2015.
  4. Web site: All About St Mary's Milston . Avon River Team . 11 March 2015.
  5. ODNB: Pat Rogers, "Addison, Joseph (1672–1719)"http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/156; Alastair Hamilton, "Addison, Lancelot (1632–1703)" Retrieved 1 May 2014