Inglesham


Inglesham is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The village is just off the A361 road about south-west of Lechlade in Gloucestershire. Most of the population lives in the hamlet of Upper Inglesham, which is on the main road about south of the village.
The parish forms the extreme north-east corner of the Borough of Swindon and County of Wiltshire, and is bounded to the west and north by the River Thames, and to the east by the county boundary with Oxfordshire. The River Cole forms part of the eastern boundary.
As the parish's population is small it has a parish meeting instead of a parish council.
Inglesham's Roundhouse are often used by boaters as a navigation point to denote the westernmost point most cabin cruisers and narrowboats can travel along the Thames, as beyond Inglesham the river becomes too clogged with vegetation and too shallow to effectively navigate.

Parish church

The 13th century Church of England parish church of St. John the Baptist was restored in 1888–89 and is listed Grade I. It is now redundant and is cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust.
In the churchyard is a Grade II* listed 15th-century stone cross. The base and column survive but the cross itself has been lost.
Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries the Cistercian Beaulieu Abbey held the manor and benefice.

Secular history

Until 1844 Inglesham was a detached part of Berkshire. It was transferred to Wiltshire by the Counties Act 1844.
Church Farmhouse is a former watermill that was rebuilt in the 17th century. It is listed Grade II*. Several other houses in the parish are listed Grade II, as are the late 18th century Halfpenny Bridge that carries the A361 across the Thames and a Cotswold stone rubble barn at College Farm built in about 1800.
Inglesham lock is at the eastern end of the Thames and Severn Canal and the Cotswold Canals Trust is currently raising funds to restore its structure and part of the canal. The Round House was the lock keepers cottage.