Wishford Magna, or Great Wishford, a village 7 miles north-west of Salisbury, 90 from London, situated in the Hundred of Branch and Dole, and Wilton Union. The river Wily passes through it. The acreage is 1,609 acres 2 roods 26 perches, and the population in 1841 was 358. Earl of Pembroke, lord of the manor.
The living is a rectory, value £466 10s. The Rev. Frederick Decker Williams, M.A., incumbent.
The church is dedicated to St. Giles, and is in a mixed style of architecture, the greater part Gothic, with a square tower and 5 bells; near the communion table is a splendid monument to Sir Richard Grobham, and his wife, who died in 1629; the figures are represented lying at full length, the faces being upwards; the knight is in armour, except the helmet; his head rests on a marble pillow, richly gilt, and his hand across his breast, clasping a book; there is a boar’s head at the foot; the arch, made in the wall, as well as the base, is composed of a splendid stone, supported by black marble pillars, and surrounded by cherubin; the Lady is enveloped in a black mantle, leaving the face and hands exposed; it is said to have cost upwards of £2,000, and was thoroughly repaired in 1805 by the executors of the Right Hon. John, Lord Chedworth, then lord of the manor. The knight to whom this was erected, left 60 acres of land for the endowment of almshouses for four poor persons chosen out of the parish.
In the nave of the church is a great marble stone, bearing the dates 1469 and 1473, and the name of an ancestor of one of the Bonhams; some years back their portraits, in brass, were on the head of the stone; beneath the inscription are the small figures of nine children, also in brass. There are also two stone monuments in the nave of the church to him and his lady.
There is a school for 20 boys and 20 girls endowed by Sir Richard Howe.
Rev. Frederick DeckerWilliams, M.A.
John Boon, butcher.
John Bracher, farmer.
Robert Saunders, farmer.
Emanuel Shergold, carrier.
Frederick Shergold, Royal Oak and brewer.
Josiah Trubridge, farmer.
Thomas Trubridge, farmer.
Letters received from South Newton.
Carrier to Salisbury – E. Shergold, Tuesday and Saturday.