Charlton, Pewsey Vale

St Peter's Church

Charlton, in full Charlton St Peter, is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey in the English county of Wiltshire. The United Kingdom Census 2001 recorded a parish population of 88.^[1]

Local government

Charlton shares a parish council with the parish of Wilsford. It is in the area of Wiltshire Council and is represented there by Brigadier Robert Hall. The two councils are responsible for different aspects of local government.

Location

Position: grid reference SU115560

Traditions

The Charlton Cat. The current building dates from about 1821, a replacement for an eighteenth-century alehouse.^[2]

The village inn is The Charlton Cat, "a solitary little inn at the foot of the downs".^[3] This establishment was originally called the Red Lion, later the Poores Arms after Edward Poore, lord of the nearby manor of Rushall in the eighteenth century, but the villagers had long known it as "The Cat", from the ill-painted lion of the original sign. This name was formally adopted in 1921.^[4][2]

Charlton and the neighbouring village of Rushall hold an annual village cricket match each year in June. It used to be played in each village alternately, but in recent years since the Village Lunch has been established in Rushall Village Hall, the match has been played in a field behind the Old Barns. In the last few years a "tug-of-war" competition has been started, only seriously between the men for the trophy, but there are a women's and children's tug-of-war as well.

Notable people

• Stephen Duck, 18th century poet. The "Duck Feast", held annually at the Charlton Cat in the first week of June, commemorates his life and work. The cost is met from the rent of "Duck's Acre", a field in Rushall donated for the purpose by Lord Palmerston.^[3][5]

See also

• List of places in Wiltshire

References

1. ^ "Area selected: Kennet (Non-Metropolitan District)". Neighbourhood Statistics: Full Dataset View. Office for National Statistics. http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do;jsessionid=ac1f930b30d8251a33137b414aacb8d5d1a9029f24bf?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=4&containerAreaId=790549. Retrieved 10 June 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Crittall (1975)
3. ^ ^{a b} Bradley, Arthur Granville (1907). Round About Wiltshire. London: Methuen. pp. 34–5. OCLC 4256175. 
4. ^ "The Poores Arms at Charlton". Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine (Devizes: Wiltshire Archaeological & Natural History Society) 99: 226. 2006. 
5. ^ "What is the Duck Feast in the village of Charlton in the Vale of Pewsey?". Wiltshire Community History. December 2002. http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/getfaq.php?id=39. Retrieved 19 April 2011. 

Further reading

• Crittall, Elizabeth (ed) (1975). "Parishes—Charlton". A History of the County of Wiltshire. Victoria County History. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=102777#n27. Retrieved 19 April 2011. 
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Cherry, Bridget (revision) (1975). The Buildings of England: Wiltshire. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. p. 164. ISBN 0 14 0710.26 4. 

External links

• Wiltshire County Council Website page on Charlton, retrieved 15:30 Oct 5, 2004 (UTC)

Coordinates: 51°18′11″N 1°50′11″W / 51.30301°N 1.83642°W / 51.30301; -1.83642