Introduction:
Lyneham (pronounced Line-ham) is situated in the peaceful and scenic county of Wiltshire. The village lies in the north western part of the county, among the undulating hills, just north of the escarpment of the Marlborough Downs. The village sits on a slight plateau about 156 metres / 511 feet above sea level, overlooking the picturesque and far reaching Avon Vale.

Maps:
Lyneham can be found cornered on three separate Ordnance Survey Explorer maps 156 (ISBN 0319 21781-7), 157 (ISBN 0319 21782-5) and 169 (ISBN 0319 21793-0) all at grid reference SU0278 - Scale 1:25 000 (4 cm to 1 km, 2½ inch to 1 mile). Alternatively, Lyneham is centered on the Ordnance Survey Landranger map 173. (ISBN 0319 227731) Scale 1:50 000 (1 cm to 0.5 km, 1 inch to 0.8 miles) again at grid reference SU0278. The Global Grid for Lyneham is Latitude: 51.50°N Longitude: 1.90°W. Finding Lyneham click here

Location:
The village is located approximately 3¾ miles (6 kms) south-west of Royal Wootton Bassett and 5½ miles (8.8 kms) north of Calne. The parish covers about 3442 square acres and is roughly rectangular in shape. It measures 4 miles (6.4 kms) from east to west at its widest point and is 2¾ miles (4.4 kms) from north to south. Lyneham is very accessible to many of the neighbouring towns of Chippenham, Calne, Swindon and Royal Wootton Bassett and is located on the primary transport network of Wiltshire. The surrounding land is mainly arable but some dairy farming exists.

Origins
Lyneham is mentioned for the first time in 1224, and was probably included in the Domesday holding of "Stoche". West Tockenham, which lies a mile east of Lyneham village was known in 1198 simply as "Tockenham", but in 1293 the area, which contained several small estates, was also known as "West Tockenham" to distinguish it from East Tockenham.

The area has always been agricultural, with several farms scattered around the hamlet all responsible for working the land. In earlier times the land had belonged to the priory at Bradenstoke-cum-Clack and together was the centre for growing flax.

Lyneham's name originated from this crop; Linen is a material made from the fibers of the flax plant. The village name started off as Linen Hamlet, the place where flax is grown. The last syllable, 'ham,' means enclosure by the river; the river Braydon.

There is clear evidence of a possible mediaeval pottery site at Lyneham, kiln ash, iron slag, and quantities of mediaeval sherds of the 13th and 14th centuries date were discovered when the foundations were being dug for a bungalow to be built in Farthing Lane Lyneham. In the first part of the 20th century most of the village population worked in local pursuits such as agriculture or the sawmills, some went to work for the Great Western Railway in Swindon, and others went down to Calne to work for the Harris bacon factory.

The western and southern parts of the parish are located on the Corallian ridge, which runs from Wheatley to Calne. The northern part of the ridge determines the northern, western and part of the southern boundaries of Lyneham. The two villages and Preston all lie on a part of the ridge formed of Coral Rag. To the west and south of the parish the Corallian ridge can rise to heights of 400 feet and west of Bradenstoke up to over 475 feet. The dip slope of this ridge gradually falls away to the south-east.

It is due to its elevated status that the parish has an open outlook with little tree growth, except in the north where Lilly Brook has eroded the sand beneath Coral Rag at a place called Blind Mill. This has resulted in the formation of a steep gully that is thickly wooded.

The Lyneham Estate Sale 1905
The Lyneham Estate was put up for sale by auction on Thursday 5th October 1905. Messrs. Walton and Lee from Grosvenor Square London held the auction at Lansdowne Arms Hotel in Calne at 2pm and we have managed to obtain a copy of the particulars, plan and conditions of sales. The document, including a very detailed map, has been reproduced here, as it brings a lot of fascinating facts about the estate and who rented the various lots, their acreage and rent at time of sale. Described as an 'Extremely Valuable Freehold Agricultural and Sporting Property The Lyneham Estate', embraces an area of about 2,016 acres lies in a ring fence and is divided up into nine dairy and pastoral holdings, all holding extremely convenient positions in and around our village and neighbouring Tockenham and Preston. To find out more, with illustrated maps particulars of sale click here

The first World War had quite an impact on the villages of Lyneham and Bradenstoke in that many of its men folk either volunteered, or were later conscripted, for service in the forces. We are proud to those solders and airman that lost their lives serving for the country. some never came back. There is a memorial stone which still lies in the village library commemorating the brave heroes.