Luckington
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Luckington is a village in north-west Wiltshire, England, on the road linking Old Sodbury and Malmesbury — the B4040. Its name means a settlement connected with (someone named) Luc(c)a.
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[edit] People
The village has a population of about 550 people (this is a 2011 pre-census estimate) who support, along with a pub, a single village shop. This was described by Sheila Hancock in Room 101 as an example of an outstandingly good Post Office and community hub.
Luckington has a primary school with fewer than fifty pupils taught by three full-time teachers and two teaching assistants. There are good playing fields and a village hall, each run by committees.
The farms which surround Luckington are both dairy and arable; some are owned by the Badminton Estate. The Beaufort Hunt and the proximity of Badminton have a bearing on village culture. Luckington holds its own fête each year, usually early in July.
The village has a Church-of-England Church and a Methodist Chapel; it has no Mosque. Luckington is a largely unspoiled little patch of rural England.
[edit] Census Data
| Census Year | Population | Number of Houses |
|---|---|---|
| 1881 | 336 | 81 |
| 1891 | 394 | 90 |
| 1901 | 390 | 89 |
| 1911 | 356 | not recorded |
| 1921 | 293 | 84 |
| 1931 | 348 | 89 |
| 1951 | 470 | 135 |
| 1961 | 466 | 148 |
[edit] Connections in Popular Culture
The local Luckington Court Gardens used to be open to the public. The Queen Anne style house at its centre was used as the location for ‘Longbourn’, the home of the Bennet family in the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice.
The actor John Thaw owned a house in Luckington and died there in February 2002. His widow, Sheila Hancock and family are still occasionally resident.
Luckington inspired the English composer Basil Harwood when writing the hymn tune of that name, often used for Let all the world in every corner sing.
Walkers and cyclists frequent its popular pub, the Old Royal Ship Inn. The Beaufort Hunt also meets there occasionally.
[edit] The Sources of the Avon
The seasonal springs which are the sources of the Bristol Avon are in the valley to the south of the village. There is a concrete-slab footbridge which takes the MacMillan Way over the river. This crossing point is on the site of a long-vanished tannery.
[edit] Around Luckington
Just a mile beyond this valley is the village of Alderton, to the south-east. Badminton is a little over two miles away to the south-west. Abutting Luckington to the west is the locale of Cherry Orchard. This comprises one house and a derelict barn, both owned by the Beaufort Estate. After Cherry Orchard, the west-heading road becomes a track as it crosses the county border into Gloucestershire.
[edit] History
In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Luckington as:
A village and a parish in Malmsbury district, Wilts. The village stands near the boundary with Gloucestershire, 7 miles WSW of Malmsbury, and 10 NW of Chippenham r. station; and has a post office, under Chippenham. The parish comprises 1,625 acres. Real property, £3,101; of which £10 are in quarries. Pop., 316. Houses, 78. The property is much subdivided. The manor belonged to King Harold, and passed to the Seymours. There are barrows and a cromlech. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value, £382.,* Patron, the Rev. J. F. Goggin. The church is ancient, with a tower; and was, still recently, in bad condition. Charities, £16.
[edit] Historical Maps
Coordinates: 51°33′N 2°15′W / 51.55°N 2.25°W
[edit] Luckington in about 1900
[edit] Luckington in about 1870
[edit] Luckington in about 1825
[edit] External links
Media related to Luckington at Wikimedia Commons
