South Newton

There is scant evidence of significant prehistoric habitation in South Newton. There has been a settlement in the village since Saxon times and South Newton is largely a 10th-century estate which stretched from the River Wylye to the ridge of the hills to the north-east. The village originated at about the same time as its three neighbours Stoford, Chilhampton and Little Wishford, each village having a strip of land down to the river and up onto the downland of the drainage area. In 1086 the Domesday survey recorded 42 households at Newenton or Newentone. The ancient parish had a detached part at North Ugford, on the other side of the Wylye and bounded to the south by the Nadder. This area (now farmland, and the hamlet of Ugford on the A30) was by 1884 divided between Burcombe and Wilton parishes. The railway between Salisbury and Westbury, completed in 1856, runs on the opposite side of the Wylye. Wishford station at Great Wishford was about north-west of South Newton. The station was closed in 1955 but the railway remains open as part of the Wessex Main Line. ==Parish church==

The Church of England parish church of Saint Andrew is at the east end of the village and is constructed largely of rubblestone with ashlar dressing, and some flint and stonework chequering. In 1861–2 the church underwent radical reconstruction to designs by T.H. Wyatt but the chancel retains some 13th-century features. The three-stage west tower was rebuilt in the 14th century. In 1553 it had four bells, two of which are survive as the current tenor and second bell. They were cast by the Salisbury foundry, one in about 1400 and the other in about 1499. The present tenor bell was cast by John Wallis of Salisbury in 1610. which is today a group of eight village parishes. ==Local economy==

The village has a small light industrial estate containing about 10 businesses. Nearby is a large building and maintenance company. The village also has a large neuro-physiological rehabilitation nursing home. These companies provide significant local employment. ==Social amenities==

The village has a public house, The Bell Inn. South Newton has a cricket club and a junior football club. ==References==