In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Pewsey like this:
PEWSEY, a village, a parish, a sub-district, and a district, in Wilts. The village stands on a head-stream of the river Avon, near the Mid Wilts railway, 1 mile S of the Kennet and Avon canal, and 7 S S W of Marlborough; is a seat of petty sessions; and has a post-office‡under Marlborough, and a railway-station with telegraph. ...
The parish comprises 4, 791 acres. Real property, £9, 828. Pop. in 1851, 1, 921; in 1861, 2,027. Houses, 402. The property is much subdivided. The manor belongs to St. Thomas' hospital and Sir Francis Astley. The vale of Pewsey separates Marlborough downs from Salisbury plain; is a strip of varied colour, flanked by slopes of chalk hills; and is noted for abundance ofgreen-sand fossils. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Salisbury. Value, £1,038.* Patron, the Earl of Radnor. The church is mainly early English, partly perpendicular, with an E tower; and the chancel-was rebuilt in 1861. There are two national schools. The districtworkhouse is here; and, at the census of 1861, had 81inmates.—The sub-district contains also the parishes of Milton-Lilborne, Wootton-Rivers, Easton, Burbage, Ever-ley, Collingbourne-Kingston, and Collingbourne-Ducis. Acres, 28, 784. Pop., 6, 995. Houses, 1, 149. The district comprehends also the sub-district of Netheravon, containing the parishes of Netheravon, Fittleton, Enford, Uphaven, Rushall, Charlton, Wilsford, North Newnton, Manningford-Bruce, Manningford-Abbots, Woodborough, Huish, and Wilcot, and the chapelry of Alton-Priors. Acres of the district, 65, 650. Poor-rates in 1863, £5, 630. Pop. in 1851, 12, 503; in 1861, 12, 466. Houses, 2, 618. Marriages in 1863, 75; births, 454, of which 43 were illegitimate; deaths, 318, of which119 were at ages under 5 years, and ten at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 834; births, 4,037; deaths, 2, 329. The places of worship, in 1851, were 22of the Church of England, with 2, 972 sittings; 7 of Baptists, with 1,013 s.; 6 of Wesleyans, with 1,006 s.; and 3 of Primitive Methodists, with 307 s. The schools were 19 public day-schools, with 1, 263 scholars; 14 private day-schools, with 292 s.; and 23 Sunday schools, with 1, 633 s.
Pewsey through time
Pewsey is now part of Kennet district. Click here for graphs and data of how Kennet has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Pewsey itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Pewsey, in Kennet and Wiltshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/12059
Date accessed: 28th April 2024
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