Winterbourne Earls


Winterbourne Earls is a village in Wiltshire, England. The village is in the Bourne valley on the A338 road, about northeast of Salisbury.
The village adjoins Winterbourne Dauntsey. It is part of the civil parish of Winterbourne, formed in 1934 by amalgamating the three ancient parishes of Winterbourne Earls, Winterbourne Dauntsey and Winterbourne Gunner.

History

The name "Earls" came from the Earls of Salisbury who were Lords of the Manor in the thirteenth century. Since then, the parish of Winterbourne Earls has only changed hands twice; in 1551 it was leased to the Nicholas family, by its owners, the Bishops of Salisbury, then in 1799, the Fort family took the lease, and remained at the property until the mid-twentieth century.

Churches

A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built in 1843 at Hurdcott, immediately to the south of Winterbourne Earls. The chapel closed in 1967 and the community is served by Bourne Valley Methodist Church at Winterbourne Dauntsey.
The Church of England parish church of St Michael and All Angels serves the village and Winterbourne Dauntsey. It was built in 1867-8 by T.H. Wyatt and replaced an older church, probably built in the 12th century. The church is Grade II listed.

Facilities

Winterbourne Earls CofE Primary School serves the village and surrounding communities. The school was built in 1992 on a new site to replace a National School dating from 1872.
There is a pub at Hurdcott and another at Winterbourne Dauntsey.

Notable people

lived in the village, and Matthew Nicholas was buried at Winterbourne Earls.