Goatacre

Goatacre is a village in the southwestern English county of Wiltshire situated 8 km (5 miles) north of Calne and 1 km south of Lyneham on the A3102 road. It is in the parish of Hilmarton and the closest major town is Swindon, some 19 km (12 miles) to the northeast. The adjacent hamlet, west of the main road, called New Zealand is considered part of Goatacre.

Goatacre is known for its village cricket team which won the Cricketer National Village Knockout competition in 1988 and 1990. [ cite web|url=http://content-www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/72657.html |title=The Village Knockout |accessdate=2008-01-03 |work=CricInfo News ]

As well as a famous cricket club there is also a village hall that plays host to both private and community events, as well as a small members bar. There are also facilities for playing football including a pitch and changing facilities shared with the cricket club. A variety of public footpaths offer pleasant walks in all seasons and there is also a post box and phone box situated by the main road. A bus service runs between Chippenham and Swindon by way of Goatacre on a regular basis.

Etymology

Although it is popularly thought that the name of the village was given by Quakers, it was recorded as far back as 1242 as Godacre, in 1348 as Gatacre and in 1408 as Gotagre. The name is derived from the Old English word gat-aecre meaning, literally, goat-acre. (Source: 'Wiltshire Place Names' by Richard Tomkins, published 1983 by Redbrick Publishing.)

Evidence of the Quaker settlement can be seen in the name of the road called 'Quakers Lane.' Fact|date=February 2007

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