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Poulshot (pronounced Pole-shot) is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. Its nearest town is Devizes, about 2.5 miles (4 km) to the northeast. The parish includes the hamlet of Townsend.

Poulshot
The Raven, Poulshot
Poulshot Location within Wiltshire
Population	370 (in 2011)[1]
OS grid reference	ST970599
Unitary authority	Wiltshire
Ceremonial county	Wiltshire
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DEVIZES
Postcode district	SN10
Dialling code	01380
Police	Wiltshire
Fire	Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	Devizes
Website	Parish Council
List of places UK England Wiltshire 51.338°N 2.044°W / 51.338; -2.044

The A361 Trowbridge-Devizes road forms part of the northern boundary of the parish, while most of the western boundary is the Summerham Brook, a tributary of the Semington Brook.

Religious sites

The Anglican church of St Peter is 0.6 miles (1 km) southwest of the village green, at Townsend. The building has 13th-century origins and a tower from 1853. In 1962 the church was designated as Grade II* listed.[2]

A chapel of ease was built in 1897, in the centre of the village next to the rectory. From 1929 the building became a church hall; it is no longer in use.[3]

A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built in 1886, to designs by C.E. Ponting, north of the Raven Inn. It is now a private home.[4]

Notable people

Distinguished rectors of Poulshot include Thomas Rundle (c. 1688–1743), who became bishop of Derry; and Benjamin Blayney (1728-1801), scholar of Hebrew.

The historian Herbert William Fisher was born at Poulshot in 1826.[5]

In 1775 Thomas Boulter, the village miller, was sentenced to 14 years transportation for theft. His son (also named Thomas), tried to run the mill but gave it up and became an infamous highwayman, committing many robberies in an area stretching from the south coast as far north as Cheshire and as far west as Bristol, before being hanged at Winchester on 19 August 1778. It is said that for many years afterwards, fierce guard dogs in the area were generally called "Boulter" after him.[6]

Amenities

Poulshot has a pub, the Raven. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the northwest corner of the parish and the Caen Hill flight of locks is nearby.

There is no school in the parish. A National School was built in the village in 1884 and closed in 1974; the building became the village hall.[7]

Historical reputation

John Aubrey wrote in his Natural History of Wiltshire[8]:

At Poulshot, a village neer the Devises, in the spring time the inhabitants appeare of a primrose complexion; 'tis a wet, dirty place.

References

External links

• "Poulshot". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
• poulshot.org.uk – Parish website

Media related to Poulshot at Wikimedia Commons

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