Orcheston

The manor is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book with the spelling Orcestone in three entries and Orchestone in a fourth.{{OpenDomesday|SU0545|orcheston|Orcheston}}

The two civil parishes of Orcheston, based on the two Church of England parish churches of St Mary and St George, were united into a single civil parish in 1934 and into a single ecclesiastical parish in 1971.Frederic A. Youngs, Guide to the local administrative units of England (1980), [https://books.google.com/books?id=_iRnAAAAMAAJ&q=Orcheston page 546]

The parish gives its name to the 'Orcheston long grass' (Agrostis stolonifera), also called 'Creeping Bent', the most commonly used species of Agrostis.William George Maton, [https://openlibrary.org/b/OL19450663M/Observations_on_the_Orcheston_long_grass Observations on the Orcheston long grass] in Transactions of the Linnean Society, v. 5 (1800), pp. 28-31William Bingley, Useful knowledge: or, A familiar account of the various productions of nature (1831) [https://books.google.com/books?id=gh4AAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA33 page 33] online at books.google.comWilliam Withering, An arrangement of British plants (1796) [https://books.google.com/books?id=sfwnAAAAYAAJ&dq=Orcheston&pg=PA144 page 144] at books.google.com The Rough-Stalked Meadow Grass (Poa trivialis), is also called Orcheston Grass,Martin John Sutton, Permanent and Temporary Pastures (1929), p. 60 and in the early 19th century there was something of a controversy among botanists as to which was the true Orcheston Grass.'An Account of the Grasses and Produce of the Orcheston Meadow in Wiltshire, by

Mr Tanner', in The Farmer's Magazine (1813)'Fiorin Grass', in Retrospect of philosophical, mechanical, chemical, and agricultural discoveries (volume for 1815) [https://books.google.com/books?id=gNw4AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA174 page 174] at books.google.com

The source of the River Till is near the village; the entire river is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).{{Cite web|url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/sitedetail.aspx?SiteCode=S2000431&SiteName=&countyCode=19&responsiblePerson=&unitId=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea=|title=River Till SSSI|last=|first=|date=August 2000|website=Natural England|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-10-10}}

As of 2009, Orcheston contains about sixty-five houses, of which twenty-six are listed buildings, and has a single parish council.{{cite web|title=Orcheston|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Community/Index/179|website=Wiltshire Community History|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=27 March 2015}} Almost all local government services are provided by the Wiltshire Council unitary authority.

St Mary's Church dates from the 13th century and is Grade II* listed.{{NHLE|num=1181876|desc=Church of St Mary, Orcheston|access-date=27 March 2015}}{{cite web|title=Church of St. Mary, Orcheston|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Church/Details/1365|website=Wiltshire Community History|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=27 March 2015}} In 1971 the benefice was united with those of Chitterne and Tilshead;{{London Gazette

| issue = 45435

| date = 19 July 1971

| page = 8137

}} today the church is part of the Salisbury Plain benefice, which also includes the churches at Shrewton.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Orcheston|url=https://salisburyplainbenefice.com/orcheston/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-06-13|website=Salisbury Plain Benefice|language=en-US}}

St George's Church is also from the 13th century and also Grade II* listed.{{NHLE|num=1024021|desc=Church of St George, Orcheston|access-date=27 March 2015}}{{cite web|title=Church of St. George, Orcheston|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Church/Details/1366|website=Wiltshire Community History|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=27 March 2015}} Having been declared redundant in 1982, it is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.{{cite web|title=St George, Orcheston|url=http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/findachurch/st-george-orcheston/|publisher=Churches Conservation Trust|access-date=8 October 2010}}

Maurice Roy Ridley (1890–1969), writer and poet, Fellow and Chaplain of Balliol College, Oxford, was born in Orcheston. Dorothy L. Sayers is reputed to have based the appearance of her fictional detective Lord Peter Wimsey on him.

Mick Channon, footballer and racehorse trainer, was born in the village.

• 'Orcheston St George' in A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume XIX (work in progress)
• Peter Daniels, Around Amesbury in old photographs (1990)

{{Reflist}}

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• [https://www.orchestonparishcouncil.com/ Orcheston Parish Council]
• {{Cite book |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol15/pp227-234 |series=Victoria County History |title=A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 15 |chapter=Parishes: Orcheston St Mary |pages=227–234 |editor-first=D. A. |editor-last=Crowley |author-first1=A. P. |author-last1=Baggs |author-first2=Jane |author-last2=Freeman |author-first3=Janet H. |author-last3=Stevenson |date=1995 |via=British History Online |publisher=University of London |access-date=16 May 2022}}
• [https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/WIL/OrchestonStMary/ Orcheston St Mary] at genuki.org.uk
• [https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/WIL/OrchestonStGeorge/ Orcheston St George] at genuki.org.uk
• [http://www.sdgr.org.uk/branchlist/towers/tower_page.php?id=178 Salisbury Diocesan Guild of Ringers, Orcheston, St George] at sdgr.org.uk

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Category:Villages in Wiltshire

Category:Civil parishes in Wiltshire