Winterbourne Stoke

Especially in its east part, the parish is rich in archaeological remains, beginning in the Neolithic period. The easternmost part of the parish (beyond the A360/B3086) is within the Stonehenge section of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage site. This area includes the Lesser Cursus earthwork and adjacent barrows, and the western tip of the Greater Cursus (which predates Stonehenge) and the nearby Cursus Barrows. North of the village, on the slopes of the Till valley, are two cemetery sites with round barrows and later earthworks. A Romano-British settlement, medieval earthworks and a field system have been identified on Winterbourne Stoke Down, northeast of the village; in her 1930 survey of Romano-British Wiltshire, Maud Cunnington noted this settlement to be well preserved. The Domesday survey in 1086 recorded a settlement at Wintreburne with 50 households, a church and a mill, on the king's land; Edward of Salisbury held two small estates. The Wiltshire Victoria County History traces later owners of Winterbourne Stoke manor, including John Maltravers, 1st Baron Maltravers (d.1364) and the earls of Arundel in the 15th and 16th centuries. The church was linked to Jumièges Abbey, Normandy, from the mid-13th century, then became an endowment of Sheen Priory, Surrey, on its foundation in 1414. The road from Amesbury to Mere, now the A303, was turnpiked in 1761. A schoolroom was built in 1818, and by 1871 the school was affiliated to the National Society and had up to 50 pupils. From 1941 to 1945, the RAF had a grass airfield at Oatlands Hill in the east of the parish. It was a satellite site of Old Sarum and was used mainly for training. ==Geography==

The parish of Winterbourne Stoke mostly consists of downland, with chalk outcrops in places. It is bisected from north to south by the River Till, which rises to the north on Salisbury Plain, and which was originally called the River Winterbourne. The village is located at the junction of the B3083 road, running north and south, and the A303 trunk road, running east and west. The land is gently sloping; level areas near the river have been used as meadowland and slightly sloping land for arable cropping since the Middle Ages. == Parish church ==

The Church of England parish church of St Peter is at the south end of the village. The earliest parts of the building are the 12th-century north doorway and blocked south doorway of the nave; the nave (which has no aisles) is from later in that century. The crossing, transepts and chancel were added in the 13th century and at that time the central tower was probably square, although the present tower is from the 14th or 15th century and rectangular. The nave and tower are built in flint with some ashlar dressings. Two windows were added to the nave in the 15th century, and its west end was rebuilt with a large window in the 16th. Two of the four bells were cast at Salisbury around 1400; the peal is said to be unringable. The font is on a 12th-century base although the bowl may be later. and some of the pews are from the 17th century. A new vicarage was built c.1850 and sold in 1938, from which time the role of vicar was held by the incumbent of the united benefice of Shrewton, Maddington and Rollestone. == Amenities ==

The Bell Inn, built as a house in the mid 19th century The manor estate is a venue for weddings and corporate events. == Road ==

The A303 which passes through the village is a primary route linking London and central southern England with the southwest. Plans to reroute the road north of the village, as part of the Stonehenge tunnel project, received Development Consent Order approval in 2020. ==References==