Welcome to the Atworth Village website!

MSN Search

 

LATEST:
1. A meeting to discuss traffic issues in Atworth has been arranged for Wednesday 15th September at 7:00om in the village hall. This follows the strong feelings on the subject expressed at the Parish Assembly in April.
2. Wiltshire Council are inviting nominations for the six categories of the Voluntary Sector  Community Awards Scheme. Full details can be read here.
3. Atworth Parish Plan - the V2 draught can be read here. Send comments to the Parish Clerk here.
4. The 2010 programme for Atworth WI is now on the Events Diary page.


You are now viewing the Atworth Village website, which in August 2006, replaced the original Atworth website created by Martin Beta.

This website was created by Kenneth Spencer of KA Spencer (Software). The site is maintained in close co-production with the Atworth Village Magazine which Kenneth has also produced since August 2006.

The Atworth Village website contains information on all aspects of village life in Atworth, serving all equally, not just one group, not just one organisation. If your organisation is not represented, simply use the email link below or at the foot of the page to start the process of getting your organisation onto the site.

If you live in Atworth, or have an interest in the village, then it is your site. You will find links to the various sections of the site in the scrolling pane on the left of the page. Just scroll up or down and click on the section that is of interest to you.

Please tell us what you think (webmaster@atworth.org.uk), and what you would like to see on the site.

Need a new computer?
Look at these Fujitsu PCs, or 'phone KA Spencer (Software) on 0843 289 9728 for help.

Need computer help?
Telephone 0843 289 9728 for help with broadband, wireless/wired networks, PC faults, supply of PCs, laptops & components

 

Anti-virus
Award-winning Software from AVG identifies and stops threats before they become a problem
Download now  

 

Email and Domain names
Get your own email and Internet
domain name!
Click here for details

If you are interested in Atworth from the point of view of your family history, you might like to read the Family History note below.

If you are interested in Atworth from an historical perspective, you might like to read the Historical Notes below. These notes were extracted from various communications between the website author, Kenneth Spencer and Mr David Webb of Atworth, and with others.

Atworth
village is situated in the west of the county of Wiltshire, approximately equidistant from the town of Melksham which is to its east, and the magnificent Georgian City of Bath, in the county of Somerset, to its west. With a population of about 1300, it lies along the A365 as it passes east from Box to Melksham.

Although Atworth nestles in a rather idyllic rural setting, it is within easy reach of the Wiltshire market towns of Devizes, Chippenham, Trowbridge, Bradford on Avon, Westbury, Warminster & Frome.

The M4 motorway can be accessed eastwards to/from London via the A350 just north of Chippenham, or westwards to/from Bristol and Cardiff via the A4 and A46 north of Bath.

Family History

If you have questions concerning your family history, or are researching your family connection with Atworth, please feel free to email Gemma Jay (email address gemmajay@btinternet.com) who will be pleased to try to help. Her site at www.atworth-familyhistory.co.uk may also be of assistance.

Historical Notes

The famous mapmaker and cartographer John Speed (1552 - 1629) shows Atworth on his maps of Wiltshire. However, it appears with the name "Atford". Later, in 1773, the mapmakers Andrews and Dury, published a map of Wiltshire in which Atworth appeared as both "Atford" and as "Attworth".
The "At" component of the name has been associated with the word "oat", which may imply a role in the service of grain markets of the time.
When or where there may have been a ford in the village seems not be known at present.

Atworth (Atford) 1817Atworth 2005By the time the Ordnance Survey produced its first maps in the early 19th century, the name "Atworth" was almost exclusively used as the name for the village.
The change in Atworth ("Atford") between 1817 and 2005 can be seen on the two maps: the first is an extract from Edward Mogg's Survey of the High Roads of England and Wales published in 1817, and the second derived from the satellite image shown on Google Maps. View them more clearly here.


 

Further Information:
ATWORTH A Little History (Atworth History Group)
The Church of St Michael Atworth A Short History (Prof WH Dowdeswell)


Suggested Links:

Sponsor's website British Towns & Villages

[20100401]


This site, and its contents, except where otherwise stated, are copyright KA Spencer (Software), from August 2006 on.
No part of the site may be used elsewhere for any purpose whatsoever without permission in writing.
Comments to:
webmaster@atworth.org.uk
[20060801]