Orcheston

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Village in Wiltshire, England

title: "Orcheston" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["villages-in-wiltshire", "civil-parishes-in-wiltshire"] description: "Village in Wiltshire, England" topic_path: "general/villages-in-wiltshire" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orcheston" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village in Wiltshire, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]

FieldValue
countryEngland
official_nameOrcheston
static_image_nameFlood Cottages, Orcheston - geograph.org.uk - 373142.jpg
static_image_captionFlood Cottages, Orcheston
population327
population_ref(in 2021)
unitary_englandWiltshire
lieutenancy_englandWiltshire
civil_parishOrcheston
regionSouth West England
constituency_westminsterEast Wiltshire
post_townSalisbury
postcode_districtSP3
postcode_areaSP
dial_code01980
coordinates
os_grid_referenceSU059453
website
::

| country = England | official_name = Orcheston | static_image_name = Flood Cottages, Orcheston - geograph.org.uk - 373142.jpg | static_image_caption = Flood Cottages, Orcheston | population = 327 | population_ref = (in 2021) | unitary_england = Wiltshire | lieutenancy_england = Wiltshire | civil_parish = Orcheston | region = South West England | constituency_westminster = East Wiltshire | post_town = Salisbury | postcode_district = SP3 | postcode_area = SP | dial_code = 01980 | coordinates = | os_grid_reference = SU059453 | website =

Orcheston ) is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, lying on Salisbury Plain less than a mile north-west of neighbouring Shrewton. The present-day parish combines the two former parishes of Orcheston St Mary and Orcheston St George and includes the hamlet of Elston. In 2011 the parish had a population of 327.

History and description

The manor is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book with the spelling Orcestone in three entries and Orchestone in a fourth.

The two civil parishes of Orcheston, based on the two Church of England parish churches of St Mary and St George, were united into a single civil parish in 1934 and into a single ecclesiastical parish in 1971.

The parish gives its name to the 'Orcheston long grass' (Agrostis stolonifera), also called 'Creeping Bent', the most commonly used species of Agrostis. The Rough-Stalked Meadow Grass (Poa trivialis), is also called Orcheston Grass, and in the early 19th century there was something of a controversy among botanists as to which was the true Orcheston Grass.'An Account of the Grasses and Produce of the Orcheston Meadow in Wiltshire, by Mr Tanner', in The Farmer's Magazine (1813)

The source of the River Till is near the village; the entire river is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

As of 2009, Orcheston contains about sixty-five houses, of which twenty-six are listed buildings, and has a single parish council. Almost all local government services are provided by the Wiltshire Council unitary authority.

Churches

St Mary's Church dates from the 13th century and is Grade II* listed. In 1971 the benefice was united with those of Chitterne and Tilshead;{{London Gazette | issue = 45435 | date = 19 July 1971 | page = 8137

St George's Church is also from the 13th century and also Grade II* listed. Having been declared redundant in 1982, it is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.

Notable people

Maurice Roy Ridley (1890–1969), writer and poet, Fellow and Chaplain of Balliol College, Oxford, was born in Orcheston. Dorothy L. Sayers is reputed to have based the appearance of her fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey on him.

Mick Channon, footballer and racehorse trainer, was born in the village.

Bibliography

  • 'Orcheston St George' in A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume XIX (work in progress)
  • Peter Daniels, Around Amesbury in old photographs (1990)

References

References

  1. "Orcheston (Parish, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location".
  2. {{OpenDomesday. SU0545. orcheston. Orcheston
  3. Frederic A. Youngs, ''Guide to the local administrative units of England'' (1980), [https://books.google.com/books?id=_iRnAAAAMAAJ&q=Orcheston page 546]
  4. [[William George Maton]], [https://openlibrary.org/b/OL19450663M/Observations_on_the_Orcheston_long_grass Observations on the Orcheston long grass] in ''Transactions of the Linnean Society'', v. 5 (1800), pp. 28–31
  5. William Bingley, ''Useful knowledge: or, A familiar account of the various productions of nature'' (1831) [https://books.google.com/books?id=gh4AAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA33 page 33] online at books.google.com
  6. William Withering, ''An arrangement of British plants'' (1796) [https://books.google.com/books?id=sfwnAAAAYAAJ&dq=Orcheston&pg=PA144 page 144] at books.google.com
  7. Martin John Sutton, ''Permanent and Temporary Pastures'' (1929), p. 60
  8. 'Fiorin Grass', in ''Retrospect of philosophical, mechanical, chemical, and agricultural discoveries'' (volume for 1815) [https://books.google.com/books?id=gNw4AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA174 page 174] at books.google.com
  9. (August 2000). "River Till SSSI".
  10. "Orcheston". Wiltshire Council.
  11. {{NHLE
  12. "Church of St. Mary, Orcheston". Wiltshire Council.
  13. "Orcheston".
  14. {{NHLE
  15. "Church of St. George, Orcheston". Wiltshire Council.
  16. "St George, Orcheston". [[Churches Conservation Trust]].

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villages-in-wiltshirecivil-parishes-in-wiltshire