Widham

Widham is a small hamlet which is now encompassed within the village and parish of Purton, Wiltshire.

Originally Widham was a few houses along the Highway and parts of Witts Lane and the Toll House at Collins Lane, with Widham Common in the centre. Purton eventually engulfed the hamlet and only one small area is now left known as Widham, and this was split in two during the mid 19th century when the railway line was built between Swindon and Gloucester.
Widhill, in the parish of Cricklade, can be found approximately 4 miles to the north near to the A419 at Blunsdon.

During the Enclosure Act the Common at Widham was Awarded to the Earls of Shaftsbury, with 'foot rights' to the cottages around the common to the highway which had been a private road with tolls collected at the Toll House. The highway at this time became a public road. However tolls continued to be collected into the 1800's.

Pincocks Orchard, being one of the last remaining private Orchards in Purton and dating from the 1700's lies behind the houses on the south of the railway. Originally Thomas Rincock's Orchard and now reduced in size to around half an acre. Planted with Greengage and other fruit trees.

Widham is shown current Ordnance Survey maps and maps dating back to the 1700’s, such as Andrews’ and Dury’s Map of Wiltshire, 1773, Andrews’ and Dury’s Map of Wiltshire, 1810 and the 1896 OS map.

Etymology

Meaning of the word ‘Widham’ could come from two words - Druid and Hamlet.

The word 'Dru- wid' means 'oak-knowledge' and 'Ham' meaning homestead or peninsula. (On the Andrews & Drurys Maps, 1773 & 1810, of Wiltshire, Widham can be seen within the centre of two small rivers/streams, which lead into the River Ray, which feeds into the River Thames at Cricklade.)The English word 'wisdom' traces its origins to the Primitive German word Wid, meaning 'to know'. Wid in turn, is derived from the Sanskrit word Veda, meaning 'External Knowledge'

References

* Enclosure's Acts 1744 – not available on line however the Act for Purton is available from Wiltshire County Council records office.

* Widham appears on maps up to the current OS maps. Need to search under Purton. 1887 Ordnance Survey Map – http://www.old-maps.co.uk/ Andrews’ and Dury’s Map of Wiltshire, 1773 and 1810, 1896 OS map http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/getcom.php?id=186.

* http://www.forestweb.org.uk/timerlandtrailpurton.pdf - Widham is shown, plus info on Collins Lane, Toll House.

* http://www.oodwooc.co.uk/ph_purton_vil.htm - pictures of Purton and the Toll House.

* http://www.media.wiley.com - more info on word ‘Wid’.

* http://www.krysstal.com/wordname.html - ‘Ham - Anglo Saxon word – Homestead/village.

* http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Shoreh10.htm - Meaning of place names – ‘Ham' - probably from the Saxon 'hamm', a geographical feature roughly corresponding to a peninsula surrounded on three sides, usually by marsh. Later the marsh may have been drained to become a meadow. Also a bend in a river or a river meadow?’. Also from the same site ‘ from the MLG word hamme, OE ham, hom, referring to the thigh (joined to the buttock like a peninsula) and the origin of the word ham for the joint of pigmeat.’

* http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/getprinted.php?id=1034 - Information on Widhill.

* http://www.1881-census.co.uk - under Purton, Wiltshire, records of who lived at Widham, and number of houses.

* Pincock Orchard – can only be found in records relating to the 1744 Map – Copy of which, with legend, can be found at Purton Parish Council and on the Conveyance of the land. Photos are on line of the Orchard but within a private collection.