East Kennett

History

Evidence of prehistoric activity includes a Neolithic long barrow, probably a communal burial site, on a hillside south of the present village; this monument is part of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site. Further south, a circle of sarsen stones is possibly from the Bronze Age. The Ridgeway, an ancient trackway, passes through East Kennet village. Some 600 metres north of the village, at Overton Hill, the trackway becomes the Ridgeway National Trail which runs northeast as far as Buckinghamshire.

The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded holdings in Chenete, the area which later became East and West Kennett. There was a church at East Kennett in the 12th century and by 1291 it was a separate parish.

A schoolhouse was built opposite the manor house in 1857 with support from Maria and Ann Mathews, daughters of the owner of the house. Maria gave a large endowment in 1878 and the school became known as Miss Mathews' School. After her death in 1882 it became a Church of England elementary school, and pupils of all ages attended until 1924 when older children transferred to Avebury or West Overton. In 1990 the school federated with the school at Lockeridge, as numbers at both schools were low; the combined school was named Kennet Valley and the East Kennet site housed the upper years, in buildings behind the original. This site closed in 2011 after accommodation at Lockeridge was increased.

The church benefice was united with Avebury in 1923; a further rearrangement in 1929 formed the benefice of Overton and Fyfield with East Kennett.

Notable buildings

Manor Farmhouse, opposite the church, is dated 1630 with extensions added in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The older part is constructed from the local sarsen sandstone.

East Kennett Manor House is a three-storey brick house from the late 18th century, extended in the 19th century and again in 1925.

The Church of England parish church, Christ Church, was built in 1864 on the site of a 12th-century church. Today the parish is part of the Upper Kennet benefice.

References

References

1. "East Kennett Census Information". Wiltshire Council.
2. Kelly, Edward Robert. (1875). "Wiltshire".
3. {{Google maps. link
4. Draper, Simon. (January 2006). "Landscape, Settlement and Society in Roman and Early Medieval Wiltshire". Archaeopress.
5. {{National Heritage List for England
6. {{National Heritage List for England
7. (1983). "Victoria County History - Wiltshire - Vol 12 pp119-125 - Parishes: East Kennett". University of London.
8. Davison, Steve. (5 March 2013). "The Ridgeway National Trail: Cicerone Press". Cicerone Press Limited.
9. {{OpenDomesday. XX0000. east-and-west-kennett. Kennett
10. (31 August 2011). "Closed but not forgotten: a worthy history of East Kennet school".
11. "Kennet Valley C. of E. VA Primary School". Wiltshire Council.
12. {{London Gazette. (1 June 1923)
13. {{London Gazette. (10 May 1929)
14. {{National Heritage List for England
15. {{National Heritage List for England
16. {{National Heritage List for England
17. "Christ Church, East Kennett".