West Knoyle

A prehistoric bowl barrow, 8 metres in diameter, lies on high ground northeast of the village.^[2] A Romano-British pavement was found at Willoughby Hedge during widening of the A303.^[3] The Domesday Book recorded 23 households at Chenvel in 1086, on land owned by Wilton Abbey.^[4]

Wilton Abbey held the manor until the dissolution; later landowners include Christopher Willoughby (c.1508–1570), a Member of Parliament.^[5]

Past names for the parish include Knoyle Hodierne or Odierne – after Hodierna of St Albans, wet nurse of Richard I of England, who had an estate at Chippenham^[6] – and Little Knoyle.^[7]

Manor Farmhouse, with 16th-century origins, altered in the 17th and 19th century, may have material and fittings from the manor house which stood north of the church and was demolished in 1745.^[8]

The parish church of St Mary the Virgin, in the north of the present village, is a Grade II* listed building. It has 13th-century origins but was heavily restored in 1876–78, except for the 15th-century west tower.^[9]

Four of the five bells are from the 17th century; they are said to be unringable and out of tune.^[10]

The parish was a chapelry of North Newnton, over twenty miles to the northeast (another holding of Wilton Abbey),^[11] until the two parishes were separated in 1841.^[7] The benefice was united with Mere in 1929, and a curate was appointed to live at West Knoyle;^[12] in 1976 Maiden Bradley was added to the united benefice, which continues today.^[13][14]

The Victorian former school is used as the village hall.^[15]

The Monarch's Way long-distance footpath passes through the village. Hang Wood, to the southeast, is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest.