Brinkworth is one of the largest parishes in North Wiltshire, encompassing the village of Brinkworth itself, the hamlet of Grittenham to the south, and several outlying farms. The village stands on the ridge running from Malmesbury to Wootton Bassett, and looks over the vale through which flow the Avon and its tributaries.
Brinkworth
manor was given to Malmesbury Abbey by the nobleman Leofsige, sometime before the Domesday survey. The Abbey held the land until the dissolution, at which time it was granted to William Stumpe. It then passed into the family of the Earl of Berkshire and Suffolk, until it was sold privately between 1858 and 1960. It is likely that the other estate of Brinkworth mentioned in the Domesday, that held by Tochi, survived through the ensuing centuries as separate, smaller estates within the northern section of the parish (probably including Clitchbury, Waldron's and Whitehouse Farms). Grittenham is mentioned separately in the survey and was held at the time by Malmesbury Abbey. Following the dissolution it was granted to John Ayliffe, from whom it descended to the Lords Holland, who sold it privately at the end of the nineteenth century.
The
parish registers of Brinkworth survive from around 1653. The earlier books are in reasonable condition, although there is a strong suspicion that many entries are missing, particularly during the early 1700's. Some Bishop's Transcripts have also survived, dating back to around 1570, but those for the early years are in an extremely poor condition. All originals are kept at the County Record Office in Trowbridge, and I hold a transcript of the parish registers, up to the mid-nineteenth century.
The
court records for the manor of Brinkworth are quite scarce before the dissolution, and can be found at the PRO in London. Court sessions were often held in conjunction with surrounding parishes (Lea & Cleverton, Garsdon etc), and not many records of these have survived. The picture after the dissolution is, however, very different. Detailed proceedings of court sessions have survived from 1544, and a number of full surveys of the manor were carried out during the period 1578 - 1625, with a later one in 1704. Most of these records are in Latin, up to around 1730, and all can be found in the Suffolk collection at the County Record Office in Trowbridge, under accession number 88. I hold copies of many of these records, and have deposited a number of transcriptions at the CRO.
Brinkworth records which I hold are as follows:
Parish Registers
Christenings1653 - 1856
Marriages1653 - 1839
Banns1754 - 1809
Burials1653 - 1883
Wessex Charters11th century
Manorial Survey1578See Index
Manorial Survey1587
Manorial Survey1602
Manorial Survey1603
Manorial Survey1612
Manorial Survey1625
Abstracts of leases1700 - 1750
Manorial Survey1704See Index
Various wills - 1800See Index
Tithe Apportionment1840See Index
Records for the surrounding area which I hold are:
Parish Registers of Dauntsey
Christenings1653 - 1812
Marriages1665 - 1790
Burials1653 - 1812
Muster Rolls, Malmesbury hundred1539
Ship Money payments, Kingsbridge hundred1635
3 Censuses of Hilmarton1696 - 1701
3 Censuses of Lydiard Tregoze1697 - 1701
3 Censuses of Lyneham1697 - 1701
3 Censuses of Tockenham Wick1697 - 1701
3 Censuses of Cliffe Pypard1697 - 1701
Survey of the manor of Lyneham & Preston1713See Index
Registers of Westbury Leigh Baptist Church1742 - 1958
Calne manor, list of tenants1776
Survey of Calne Town & Parish1828
Various willsvarious
I
am quite happy to search through the information I hold, and to attempt to answer any specific questions you may have. If you wish to email me, please click here: email author. Over the next few months I intend to make indexes to these documents available online.
See also Brinkworth families.