Longbridge Deverill, Kelly’s Directory 1848
Longbridge Deverill with Crockerton, a parish in South Damerham Hundred and Warminster Union, 3 miles south from Warminster, 4 miles west from from Heytesbury, and 8 south-east from Frome. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Salisbury, and the patronage of the Marquis of Bath, to whom the manor belongs; the Hon. And Rev. Lord Charles Thynne, M.A., is the present incumbent. The church, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, is very ancient, and consists of nave, aisles, and chancel; in it is a mausoleum, the burial-place of the Bath family. Here are also National schools for boys and girls, a place of worship for Primitive Methodists, and almshouses for six men and two women.
Longleat House, in this parish, was erected on the site of a priory of Black Canons, by Sir John Thynne; the foundation was laid in January, 1567, and 12 years were spent before it was completed; it is traditionally asserted that the model was obtained from Italy, and that John of Padua was the architect. The house is spacious and magnificent, standing in a park 12 miles in circumference, watered by a branch of the river Frome, well-stocked with timber, amidst pleasant woods and scenery, with wide prospects over the adjacent country. Sir John Thynne, the founder, died in 1580, and was buried in the church of this parish, where a monument was erected to his memory in the chancel; at the time of his decease part of the interior was left unfinished, and his son did not live to complete the works; his descendant, Thomas Thynne, who was shot in his coach in Pall Mall in 1682, formed the road to Frome, which is planted with elms, and the whole was completed by the first Viscount Weymouth. Alterations were made in the disposition of the grounds by Thomas, third Viscount Weymouth, when the gardens were remodelled by Brown. The late Marquis of Bath built the northern front, from designs by Sir Jeffery Wyatville, and the mansion now forms a parallelogram, 220 feet by 180 in dimension, built entirely of freestone, and with a principal entrance on the southern front; the hall is grand and imposing in appearance, rising to the height of two stories; the ceiling is flat, with spandrel brackets and pendants, and at the lower end is a richly-carved screen; the staircase contains a central flight of oaken steps, ten feet wide, with two returns, and is adapted to the style and magnitude of the building; it is lighted by an octagonal lantern, 15 feet in diameter, rising from a covered ceiling, enriched with arabesque foliage. The height of the ground floor is 15 feet, the next 18, and the third storey 12 feet. A fine collection of family portraits adorns the principal apartments.
Population of Longbridge Deverill, with Crockerton, in 1841, 1,352; area in acres 4,142. Crockerton shear water lake 40 acres in extent, is on the domain of the Marquis of Bath.
GENTRY:
The Most Hon., the Marquis of Bath, Longleat House.
Rev. T. Carey (Curate).
The Hon. and Rev. Lord Charles Thynne, M.A. (Vicar).
TRADERS:
John Charlton, farmer and shopkeeper.
Thomas Charlton, farmer.
William Charlton, “George’.
George Dyer, butter dealer and carrier.
George Lampard, farmer.
Thomas Maxfield, farmer.
Thomas Millard, farmer.
George Mitchell, farmer and shopkeeper and post office.
William Noakes, tailor.
Mrs. Susannah Parker, blacksmith.
Thomas Payne, shopkeeper.
Andrew Pearce, farmer.
John Pitman, boot and shoe maker.
John Randall, farmer.
Egbert Smith, blacksmith.
Henry Smith, builder and carpenter.
George Snelgrove, farmer.
Stephen Snelgrove, farmer and shopkeeper.
Philip Stride, farmer.
John Turner, tailor and beer retailer.
Post Office – George Mitchell, receiver. Letters arrive by messenger from Warminster at 9 a.m., are dispatched at 5 p.m.
National School, Samuel Mifflin, master; Miss Susan Dunford, mistress.
Carrier – Dyer’s cart to Trowbridge, through Warminster and Westbury, Monday and Friday; Wincanton Wednesday; Shaftesbury, Saturday.
