Our villages
The hall serves three villages on the edge of the Marlborough Downs: Broad Hinton, Uffcott and Winterbourne Bassett. This page gives a short introduction to each, with links to the people who look after village life.
Broad Hinton
Broad Hinton sits 630ft above sea level in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the edge of the Marlborough Downs, about eight miles north-west of Marlborough, below Hackpen Hill and the Ridgeway. It's part of the West Selkley Ward of Wiltshire Council.
Before the Norman Conquest the village was held by the Anglo-Saxon Wulfgar, and the church of St Peter ad Vincula still has Saxon work in it. By 1086 the land belonged to the Norman Gilbert de Breteuil, who built Bincknoll Castle, a motte and bailey you can still make out today.
Two landmarks can be seen for miles: three clumps of beech trees on the Ridgeway, visible from almost 30 miles away, and the White Horse on Hackpen Hill, cut in the chalk in 1838 by Robert Witt and Henry Eatwell to mark Queen Victoria's coronation. In the Second World War it was covered with turf so that German aircraft couldn't use it to find their way.
The population was 550 in 1801, peaked at 714 in 1851 and fell to 304 by 1931. New housing at Fortunes Field and Pitchens End (a pitchen is an old cobbled path), built from 1986 to 1988, took it back up to about 640 by 2009, counting Uffcott. The village school was founded in 1743.
The village pub is The Crown on the High Street, and La Strada, an Italian restaurant, now stands on the A4361 where The Barbury Inn used to be. In 1880 the vicar opened a Coffee Tavern as teetotal competition, but it didn't last long.
Before the Norman Conquest the village was held by the Anglo-Saxon Wulfgar, and the church of St Peter ad Vincula still has Saxon work in it. By 1086 the land belonged to the Norman Gilbert de Breteuil, who built Bincknoll Castle, a motte and bailey you can still make out today.
Two landmarks can be seen for miles: three clumps of beech trees on the Ridgeway, visible from almost 30 miles away, and the White Horse on Hackpen Hill, cut in the chalk in 1838 by Robert Witt and Henry Eatwell to mark Queen Victoria's coronation. In the Second World War it was covered with turf so that German aircraft couldn't use it to find their way.
The population was 550 in 1801, peaked at 714 in 1851 and fell to 304 by 1931. New housing at Fortunes Field and Pitchens End (a pitchen is an old cobbled path), built from 1986 to 1988, took it back up to about 640 by 2009, counting Uffcott. The village school was founded in 1743.
The village pub is The Crown on the High Street, and La Strada, an Italian restaurant, now stands on the A4361 where The Barbury Inn used to be. In 1880 the vicar opened a Coffee Tavern as teetotal competition, but it didn't last long.
Uffcott
Uffcott is a small village within Broad Hinton parish, at the head of a gently sloping valley watered by a head stream of the Kennet. The houses gather east of the stream and the pond it feeds, and the pattern of settlement has changed little since the 17th century.
A brick house east of the pond and a row of thatched cottages north of it are probably 18th century or older. Most of Uffcott House and most of the cottages are 19th century, though part of the east end of the house dates from the 17th. There was an inn called the Harrow at the east end of the village in the late 18th century, but it closed after 1836.
The manor was probably held by the Lovel family from the 13th century or earlier, and passed to the Crown in 1485. In 1611 it became one of the endowments of the Charterhouse hospital, whose governors sold it to Wiltshire County Council in 1919.
Uffcott's claim to fame is the crop circles that often appear in the wheat field behind the village, along the Marlborough road, below Hackpen Hill. The photo below was taken on 15 July 2013.
A brick house east of the pond and a row of thatched cottages north of it are probably 18th century or older. Most of Uffcott House and most of the cottages are 19th century, though part of the east end of the house dates from the 17th. There was an inn called the Harrow at the east end of the village in the late 18th century, but it closed after 1836.
The manor was probably held by the Lovel family from the 13th century or earlier, and passed to the Crown in 1485. In 1611 it became one of the endowments of the Charterhouse hospital, whose governors sold it to Wiltshire County Council in 1919.
Uffcott's claim to fame is the crop circles that often appear in the wheat field behind the village, along the Marlborough road, below Hackpen Hill. The photo below was taken on 15 July 2013.
Winterbourne Bassett
Winterbourne Bassett is a separate parish about six miles north-west of Marlborough, where one of the head streams of the Kennet begins. Its church of St Katherine and St Peter has a 13th-century font and a tower added in the 15th century.
It is the most northerly of three rectangular parishes, with Winterbourne Monkton and Berwick Bassett, that lie across the valley of the upper Kennet. By about the year 970 its eastern edge had been fixed at Hackpen Hill. The name comes from the small streams at the head of the Kennet, and by the 13th century the Bassett had been added, after the lords of the manor.
The streams that feed the Kennet sometimes disappear underground. Chalk lies under the whole parish, and on the ridge of Hackpen Hill it is covered with clay-with-flints.
The village pub is The Winterbourne, a freehouse with a coffee shop and a beer garden, popular with people from all three villages.
It is the most northerly of three rectangular parishes, with Winterbourne Monkton and Berwick Bassett, that lie across the valley of the upper Kennet. By about the year 970 its eastern edge had been fixed at Hackpen Hill. The name comes from the small streams at the head of the Kennet, and by the 13th century the Bassett had been added, after the lords of the manor.
The streams that feed the Kennet sometimes disappear underground. Chalk lies under the whole parish, and on the ridge of Hackpen Hill it is covered with clay-with-flints.
The village pub is The Winterbourne, a freehouse with a coffee shop and a beer garden, popular with people from all three villages.
Parish Council
Broad Hinton and Winterbourne Bassett Parish Council covers Broad Hinton, including Uffcott, and Winterbourne Bassett. Its website has meeting minutes, finances and policies: bhwbparishcouncil.org.uk.
Churches
St Peter ad Vincula, Broad Hinton
The parish church of Broad Hinton, a short walk from the hall down the High Street. It has its own choir and bellringers, and a Queen Elizabeth II window dedicated in June 2022. Church page on the Upper Kennet Benefice website
St Katherine and St Peter, Winterbourne Bassett
The parish church of Winterbourne Bassett. Church page on the Upper Kennet Benefice website
Post Office
A Post Office counter runs in the village hall on Tuesday mornings. For services and opening times, see our branch on the Post Office website.
Allotments
Broad Hinton has twenty-six allotment plots, set up in 2008 and run by a management committee for the Parish Council. To join the waiting list, contact the Parish Clerk at clerk@bhwbparishcouncil.org.uk.
New to the area
The Parochial Church Council's welcome booklet for new residents of Broad Hinton, Uffcott and the surrounding area. Download the welcome booklet (PDF)