The History of Downton...

Downton in a Nut Shell...

The village of Downton dates back hundreds of years and it's surroundings have a far older history.

Evidence of Early Man have been found and it's believed that Downton and it's surroundings have a history that dates back more than 7,000 years... When game was plentiful and the water full of fish and easy to cross.

Although Downton had always had a history of farming, with fertile soil and the abundance of water from the River Avon. The river was a highway for travel between early destinations as well as a frontier between early tribes.

By 500 BC the main tribe of Early Man were Celts from the Belgae Tribe, followed in time by the Romans, the Saxons and Normans.

By the time of the Norman invasion in about 1066, Downton was already a long established community. It was a "Hundred" that stretched from No Man's Land to Nunton.

Throughout the history of Downton, Bishops of the Saxon Church, followed by those of the Norman Church occupied a home in Downton. Vast changes were made and over the centuries towns and hamlets that were originally part of Downton were added to or separated from the main community of Downton. Modern day Downton consists of the towns of Wick, Charlton, Bradford Park and Trafalgar Park (once known as Standlynch). The earlier Downton originally contained all of modern day Redlynch civil parish and nearly half of Odstock civil parish.

Over the centuries, Downton saw the rise and fall of various different industries. Some industries particularly lace making, paper making and basket weaving were discontinued in the early 1900s. The Tanning Company ceased in 1998 and the Bacon Curing Company had closed it's doors in 1968. In 1934 Downton Engineering began as a garage on Mesh Lane and later became famous for their Cooper version of the Mini car... The Cooper Mini as we know it today.

In the 1950s and 1960s Council and private housing was developed at Moot Lane along with housing estates on the western side of the Salisbury road to Wick. More recent development has seen the building of an industrial estate which is now used my numerous small companies working with advanced technology.

The site that once held the Tanning Factory has been rebuilt into luxury housing apartments for the over 55s along with a new village library.

In 1980 the Cuckoo Fair was given a new lease on life in the Borough and has since become a well-established annual event.

Although the early population of Downton has not been established, between 1901 and 2001 the village's citizens grew from 1,786 to 2,869.

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