Over the years, roads in the parish
have changed comparatively little since the 18th century.
The main focal point of the area was at the junction at The
Green Lyneham where the Swindon to Chippenham road was adjoined
by the Lyneham to Calne Road. In 1773 the Swindon Chippenham
road entered the parish from Dauntsey to the east of Bradenstoke
Priory and ran eastwards forming the village street of Bradenstoke.
Advances in road haulage and distribution methods provided
us with unparalleled consumer choices, 24-hour shop opening
hours and just-in-time deliveries. In fact, efficient and
flexible freight distribution services become such an integral
part of modern living that it is difficult to imagine life
without them. The volume of larger vehicles travelling down
the Dauntsey Banks route, namely the B4069, accompanied with
geological under surface problems led to the escarpment hugging
road to subside and make the route dangerous.
The way in which freight distribution supports economic vibrancy
and growth in this case at the expense of the environment,
Wiltshire County Council recognised the long term problems
of routing freight vehicles along this unsuitable road and
decided to achieve a more sustainable distribution of freight
by routing the heavy vehicles from junction 17 of the M4 south
along the A350 to Chippenham, then east along the A4 to Calne
and then north on the A3102 to Lyneham and Wootton Bassett.
The Barrow End Road was probably of some importance during
the Middle Ages, when it led to the priory and to Clack spring
and fall fairs. On leaving Bradenstoke the road skirted Lyneham
Green and then ran north-eastwards to Tockenham, leaving the
parish to the north of Shaw Farm.
By 1887 a bypass to the north of Bradenstoke was built and
from this day forward that part of the road which formed Bradenstoke
High Street became relatively unimportant. In 1968 the Swindon-Chippenham
road was the only main road in the parish.
Bradenstoke
Although flanked to the south by the airfield,
the hamlet of Bradenstoke remained relatively unchanged in
1968, still resembling the compact medieval village, which
had been dominated by the buildings of Bradenstoke Priory
to the south-west. Most of the priory buildings were removed
c. 1930. The village
consists of a single narrow street, closely built up on both
sides.
In a widening near the middle of the street on its south
side stands the base and part of the shaft of an ancient cross
first mentioned in 1546-7. South of this the church of St.
Mary was built in 1866. On the opposite side of the street
is Providence Chapel, dating from 1777. A few of the houses
have exposed timber framing while others, although altered
and refronted, show traces of their timber construction. It
is probable that several are of medieval origin, among them
a partly refronted house at the corner of the road to Dauntsey,
which has heavy curved braces to its framing.
A house to the west of Providence Chapel, now three dwellings,
has a jettied upper story with a continuous moulded bressummer,
probably dating from the early 16th century. Two brick houses
carry date-stones of 1762 and 1788. Several thatched roofs,
and others of stone slate, add to the picturesque appearance
of the street.
Lyneham's development since the Second World War has been
limited for the most part of an area directly west of Church
End. Here, in 1968, stood the new schools surrounded by an
R.A.F. housing estate. An extension of the estate lay in the
apex of the Preston and Hilmarton roads.
The airfield covered over 1,200
a. in 1968 and was made up of land formerly belonging to Lyneham
Court Farm, Church Farm, Cranley Farm, and Bradenstoke Abbey
Farm. In 1968 the station was the principal employer of labour
within the parish. |
