Bremilham
Former civil parish in Wiltshire, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bremilham, also known as Cowage or Cowich, is a small settlement and former civil parish in north Wiltshire, England. It is near the hamlet of Foxley in the parish of Norton. The nearest town is Malmesbury, about 2 miles (3.2 km) away to the north east.[1]
| Bremilham | |
|---|---|
Bremilham Church, Cowage Farm | |
  Bremilham Location within Wiltshire | |
| OS grid reference | ST903860 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MALMESBURY |
| Postcode district | SN16 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
The place-name 'Bremilham' is first attested in 1065, as Bremelham, and means 'village where brambles or blackberries grew'.[2] In 1881 the parish had a population of 25.[3] On 25 March 1884 the parish was abolished and its land divided among Foxley, Westport St Mary and Brokenborough parishes.[4] In 1934 Foxley (with Bremilham) was transferred to the civil parish of Norton.[5] On some present-day maps, only Cowage Farm is shown.[6]
Bremilham was a small ecclesiastical parish[7] until 1893 when it was united with Foxley.[8]
Church
There was probably a chapel at Bremilham in 1179, when Amesbury Priory was granted the tithes; by 1289 there was a rector.[7] In 1874 the benefice was united with Foxley,[9] and from 1951 Foxley with Bremilham was held in plurality with that of Corston with Rodbourne.[10] Today the parish is part of the Gauzebrook group of churches.[11]
Bremilham's tiny Church of England church claims to be the smallest in England, measuring ten feet by eleven feet. It is either the surviving part of a 15th-century church (Historic England)[12] or a mid-19th century rebuild on the site of the chancel of the demolished church, for use as a mortuary chapel (Victoria County History).[7] The building was recorded as Grade II listed in 1986.[12]
One service is held each year.[13] The church has no dedication and the parish registers go back only to 1813.[14]
On 26 or 27 February 2020 the church bell, which used to hang on an oak beam inside the church, was stolen.[15] The bell was originally from the church in Foxley which swapped its bell for Bremilham's in the 1870s.[16]