- Purton Stoke
Purton Stoke is a small village in north
Wiltshire , situated within thecivil parish ofPurton . The village is located along a side road off of thePurton toCricklade road, approximately one mile north ofPurton village. A small country lane gives access to the nearby hamlet of Bentham, to the south.Amenities
Purton Stoke has a
Methodist chapel. The current building opened in 1868, complete with outbuildings for stabling visitors' horses. There was aQuaker Meeting House in the village during the late 17th century and early 18th century. The village also has apublic house by the name of 'The Bell', which is a property of theArkells Brewery . The village'sPost Office has closed. Until relatively recently Purton Stoke had its own primary school. It opened in 1894; and at its peak had 100 pupils. However, numbers dropped continually from the 1930s when older pupils were educated inPurton , until there were only around 30 pupils left in the 1970s. The school closed in 1978. The building is now used for the Jubilee Gardens Project and is situated on thePurton toCricklade road.1Stoke Common Meadows The
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust nature reserve ,Stoke Common Meadows , can be found in the vicinity. Situated at the end of Stoke Common Lane in Purton Stoke,Stoke Common Meadows consist of a small wood andgrassland s, with ancienthedgerow s andditch es Wildlife found here includes mainly wildflowers:Pepper-saxifrage ,sweet vernal-grass ,heath-spotted orchid , adder’s-tongue fern(Ophioglossum) , bugle,ox-eye daisy andcommon knapweed . Some of the fields are designated as aSite of Special Scientific Interest .Grid reference : SU 070 904.3'Purton Spa' or the 'Salt Hole'
To the west of the village there is a spring, whose
mineral water s supposedly carry medicinal properties. Thewater has a high concentration of limephosphate . Locals had used the water for centuries for its health benefits; however, when the wealthy landowner, Dr Samuel Champernowne Sadler, MRCS, contracted an illness in the mid-19th century, he tried the water and became markedly better. After this, he erected a pump and pump house in the 1850s and the water was sold commercially, in the 1920s selling for 8d. This continued until the Second World War 1, when petrol rationing made the business uneconomical2. Another reason that has been suggested about the decline of the business is that free medical treatment became available from the NHS, after the Second World War.4References
* 1 "Purton's Past", A. Robbins, 1991, Purton Historical Society.
* 3 [http://www.wiltshirewildlife.org/ Wiltshire Wildlife Trust website:]Further Information
* [http://www.purtonstoke.com/ Purton Stoke village website]
* 2 [http://people.bath.ac.uk/liskmj/living-spring/journal/issue1/indepth/kjorspa3.htm Detailed information about 'Purton Spa']
* 3 [http://www.wiltshirewildlife.org/ Wiltshire Wildlife Trust website]
* 4 [http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/getcom.php?id=186 Wiltshire County Council entry on 'Purton Spa']
* [http://www.purtonmuseum.com/graphics/t0284.gifLabel showing composition of water from 'Purton Spa', from the 1920s]
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