Castle Combe

A Roman villa once stood about three miles from the village, indicating Roman occupation of the area. The site has been excavated on at least three occasions, the first by George Poulett Scrope in 1852 and the most recent in 2010. Some reports refer to the site as the North Wraxall or the Truckle Hill villa. Evidence of a bath house and corn drying ovens were found, the latter from the 4th century.{{cite web |title=Truckle Hill Roman Villa |url=https://www.archaeological-surveys.co.uk/article/5/Truckle-Hill-Roman-Villa/ |access-date=17 March 2021}} The villa itself apparently contained 16 rooms, and there were additional buildings and a cemetery.{{cite web |title=Historic England MONUMENT NO 208315 |url=https://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=208315 |access-date=17 March 2021}} Neolithic flint tools and Iron Age brooches were also discovered not far from the villa, in 1985.{{cite web |title=North Wraxall |url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Community/Index/172 |access-date=18 March 2021 |website=Wiltshire Community History |publisher=Wiltshire Council}}

The settlement was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, with 33 households; the Lord was Humphrey de l'Isle.{{OpenDomesday|ST8477|castle-combe|Castle Combe}}

The village takes its name from the 12th-century castle which stood about {{convert|1/3|mi|m|-2}} to the north. The site where the castle once stood now only contains the old earthworks and masonry, which are estimated to date from the 12th century. It is believed that the castle was constructed as the seat of the Barony of Combe under Reginald de Dunstanville either during the reign of Henry I or Henry II. Reginald was thought to support Empress Matilda during the Anarchy, and the castle was constructed during the wave of castle buildings of the Anarchy period.{{Cite web |date=3 March 2016 |title=Castle Combe |url=http://www.archaeological-surveys.co.uk/castle-combe/ |access-date=17 May 2022 |website=archaeological-surveys.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222648/http://www.archaeological-surveys.co.uk/castle-combe/ |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}

File:Castle Combe the market cross (8105991948).jpg

The 14th-century market cross, erected when the right to hold a weekly market in Castle Combe was granted, stands where the three principal streets of the lower village converge.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1019387|desc=Medieval market cross immediately east of St Andrew's Church|access-date=21 March 2016}} The Market Cross, a scheduled monument, reflects "the significance of the cloth industry in this area".{{Cite web|last=Root|first=Jane|date=March 2017|title=The Market Cross, Castle Combe: History of Repairs|url=https://castlecombepc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2019/02/Documentary-research-report-J-Root-updated.pdf|access-date=18 March 2021|website=Castle Combe Parish Council}} Next to the cross is one of Castle Combe's two village pumps.{{Cite web|title=Wiltshire|url=http://www.villagepumps.org.uk/pumpsWilts.htm|url-status=live|access-date=18 March 2021|website=villagepumps.org.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105171352/http://www.villagepumps.org.uk/pumpsWilts.htm |archive-date=5 January 2009 }} Small stone steps near the cross were for horse riders to mount and dismount, and close by are the remains of the buttercross, built in the late 19th century from old masonry.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1283541|desc=The Butter Cross|access-date=21 March 2016|fewer-links=yes}} This structure, also known as Weavers' Steps and 'the stone', is another scheduled monument.

During the 14th century, the seat of the Barony was transferred to the Manor House within Castle Combe village and a deer park was created next to the castle. The market town prospered during the 15th century when it belonged to Millicent, the wife of Sir Stephen Le Scrope and then of Sir John Fastolf (1380–1459), a Norfolk knight who was the effective lord of the manor for fifty years. By 1340, the village had a fulling mill,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2PXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT95|title=Medieval England: Towns, Commerce and Crafts, 1086-1348|date=17 June 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9780582485495|location=|page=95}} confirming the importance of wool by that time. Scrope promoted the woollen industry, supplying his own troops and others for Henry V's war in France. The parish was in the ancient hundred of Chippenham.[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10024237 Vision of Britain: Chippenham Hundred], accessed February 2017[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10400727/relationships Vision of Britain: Castle Combe], accessed February 2017

File:Castle Combe - The Dower House (geograph 3648905).jpg

By the 17th century, John Aubrey stated that a market was held on the site of the old castle. At some time in the late 1700s, the level of the Bybrook River fell, so it could no longer be used to power mills. The cloth industry began leaving the area during that century; "industrial prosperity was over and the population decreased".{{cite web|website=Wiltshire Community History|title=Castle Combe|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Community/Index/46|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=18 March 2021}} Notable houses include the Dower House, from the late 17th century is now Grade II listed.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1199036|desc=The Dower House|access-date=21 March 2016|fewer-links=yes}}

The village was owned by the Scrope family for over five centuries, until 1866 when it was sold to the Gorst family and Edward Chaddock Lowndes (who was previously also known as Gorst). The latter spent a great deal of money on improving the manor house and the estate.

A National School was built in 1826, on a site between the upper and lower villages. The school was taken over by the county council in 1909, and educated children of all ages until 1956 when older pupils were transferred to secondary schools in Chippenham. It closed in 1998 on the opening of a new primary school at Yatton Keynell.{{cite web|website=Wiltshire Community History|title=Castle Combe School|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/School/Details/977|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=21 March 2016}}

During the Second World War, the RAF Castle Combe airfield was built east of the village, with runways, hangars and a control tower. Between 1946 and 1948 the airfield buildings were used as temporary housing for former military from Poland. The property was sold in 1948,{{citation|url=https://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1390950|title=Castle Combe Airfield|access-date=23 March 2021}} and was later modified for motor racing; the tower is still used during races at Castle Combe Circuit.{{Cite web |last= |date= |title=About Us |url=https://castlecombecircuit.co.uk/about-us/ |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=Castle Combe Race Circuit |language=en-GB}}

For decades the village had a number of gristmills and sawmills but all went out of business; Nettleton Mill closed before 1916 and Gatcombe Mill closed circa 1925; both are Grade II listed. The Long Dean Mill shut down in 1956; the Lower mill is now Grade II listed; Colham Mill was demolished in 1962. The last remaining stone tower of the castle stood for centuries, but it too was demolished, in 1950.{{cite web|title=The Castle|url=https://sites.google.com/site/castlecombehistory/home/the-castle|url-status=live|access-date=17 March 2021|website=Castle Combe Historical Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909151145/https://sites.google.com/site/castlecombehistory/home/the-castle |archive-date=9 September 2016 }}

Castle Combe parish has 107 listed buildings; nearly all are in the Grade II category.{{Cite web|title=Listed Buildings in Castle Combe, Wiltshire|url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/england/castle-combe-wiltshire|access-date=17 March 2021|website=britishlistedbuildings.co.uk}}

{{Main|St Andrew's Church, Castle Combe}}The Church of England parish church of St Andrew is a Grade I listed building.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1022864|desc=Church of St Andrew|access-date=9 February 2020|fewer-links=yes}} Part of the chancel is 13th-century; in 1850–51 nearly all of the building, except the 15th-century tower, was taken down and reconstructed to the same plan.{{cite web|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Church/Details/851|title=Church of St. Andrew, Castle Combe|website=Wiltshire Community History|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=9 February 2020}}

The first chapel was built in 1757 and extended with a schoolroom in 1846.{{cite web|website=Wiltshire Community History|title=Congregational Chapel, Castle Combe|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Church/Details/852|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=20 March 2016}} The current church, opened in 1914, is in the upper part of the village on what is now the B4039 road. The building is a former malt house and is attached to an 18th-century house which became the manse.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1199215|desc=The Manse and Congregational Chapel|access-date=20 March 2016|fewer-links=yes}} The church continues in use.{{cite web|title=Castle Combe Congregational Church|url=http://cc-cc.org/|access-date=20 March 2016|archive-date=23 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323101551/http://www.cc-cc.org/|url-status=dead}}

The village was a location for the 1967 film musical Doctor Dolittle.{{cite web|url=https://www.cotswolds.info/places/castle-combe.shtml|title=Castle Combe Tourist Information Guide|access-date=17 March 2021}} Its frequently rainy summer climate frustrated production, as did attempted sabotage – including by British Army officer (and future explorer) Sir Ranulph Fiennes - because of residents' irritation at the producers' modifications of the area for shooting.{{Cite web|url=https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/sir-ranulph-fiennes-admits-narrowly-1818913|title=How famous explorer avoided jail over movie set explosion|last=Petherick|first=Sam|date=24 July 2018|website=SomersetLive|access-date=10 June 2019}}Harris, Mark. Pictures at A Revolution. Penguin Press, 2008, p. 199-202 Other productions include "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", an episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot, The Shell Seekers (1989) and the films Stardust{{Cite web|title=Filming Locations for Stardust (2007), in Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Wiltshire, London, Scotland, Wales and Iceland.|url=http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/s/Stardust-2007.php|access-date=20 June 2020|website=The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations}} and The Wolfman. Throughout September 2010, the village was a filming location for Steven Spielberg's production of War Horse.{{cite web |url=https://www.wiltshirelive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/wiltshire-village-became-set-steven-6512875 |title=When Castle Combe became the set of Steven Spielberg blockbuster War Horse |last=Doyle |first=Dave |date=23 February 2023 |website=wiltshirelive.co.uk |publisher=Wiltshire Live |access-date=11 January 2024}}

Raymond Austin set the action of his book Find me a Spy, Catch me a Traitor in the village and at the Manor.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/9470587.wiltshire-village-set-for-war-horse-boost/|title=Wiltshire village set for War Horse boost|date=13 January 2012|website=Wiltshire Times}} The house of Alice Cartalet in the manga and anime series Kiniro Mosaic was based on Fosse Farmhouse, a guesthouse near Castle Combe.{{cite web|title=On location at Fosse Farm – Alice Cartalet's house from Kinmoza|url=http://www.otakunews.com/uk/article.php?story=2085|website=Otaku News|date = 7 July 2013|access-date=7 April 2015}}

The village was a filming location for the fantasy adventure movie Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box in 2012, and later for a series of Downton Abbey.{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/buying-mortgages/the-downton-abbey-effect-new-tv-drama-doctor-thorne-is-set-to-put-wiltshire-s-castle-combe-on-the-map-a99906.html|title=The Downton Abbey effect: new TV drama Doctor Thorne is set to put Wiltshire's Castle Combe on the map|date=17 March 2016|access-date=17 March 2021}}

The Apple TV+ spy thriller series Slow Horses filmed several episodes of its second series in Castle Combe and the nearby airfield, referring to the village as 'Upshott'.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetrainline.com/en-us/via/europe/uk/england/where-was-apple-tv-s-slow-horses-filmed|title=Where was Slow Horses filmed? Check out these explosive season 4 locations|website=Trainline}}

Castle Combe has a car park at the top of the hill, and toilet facilities over the bridge at the bottom of the village. A small museum closed in 2012.{{cite web|last1=Winter|first1=Alex|title=Castle Combe's mini museum shuts|url=http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/9563401.Castle_Combe_s_mini_museum_shuts/|website=Gazette & Herald|access-date=21 March 2016|date=1 March 2012}}

The Manor House was built in the 17th century and rebuilt in the 19th.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1199055|desc=The Manor House Hotel|access-date=21 March 2016|fewer-links=yes}} It has 48 rooms and {{convert|365|acre}} of gardens. During World War II, the house was used as a hospital. In 1947, the owner of the Castle Combe estate sold the houses and the estate and the Manor House became a country club. After 18 months, the club left the premises, and the house was shortly thereafter sold to Bobbie Allen, an amateur hotelier, and her husband. Mrs Allen wrote a book of her experiences, From Claridge's to Castle Combe.{{Cite book|title = From Claridge's to Castle Combe|last = Allen|first = Bobbie|publisher = The Mendip Press|year = 1968|location = Bath}} The property was owned by the Allen family for some time,{{when|date=December 2022}} and they sold the Manor House to Mr and Mrs Oliver Clegg{{cite book |last=Fielding |first=Dodge |date=1976 |title=Fielding's Selected Favorites: Hotels & Inns, Europe 1976 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PGKBnIoakuYC&q=manor++castle+combe+Oliver+Clegg, |location= |publisher=Fielding Publications |page=90 |isbn=0688611834 |author-link= }} who (some time after 1976) sold it to the corporation which now owns the property. By the time it was listed as a Grade II property in 1960, it was already operating as a hotel.

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{{Wikivoyage}}

• [https://castlecombepc.org.uk/ Castle Combe Parish Council]
• [https://www.castle-combe.com/ Castle Combe village website]
• [http://www.visitwiltshire.co.uk/explore/towns-and-villages/castle-combe-p462723 Castle Combe at VisitWiltshire]
• [https://sites.google.com/site/castlecombehistory/ Castle Combe Historical Society]

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Category:Villages in Wiltshire

Category:Civil parishes in Wiltshire