John Aubrey travelled around Wiltshire in the 1660s visiting churches and manor houses. He kept notes of
his travels, which were later updated and published. Below is the text John Aubrey wrote about Chiseldon.
Page 162
CHISELDEN.
By the Communion table a gravestone of marble, with brasse, with this inscription, viz.
"Here lyeth the bodye of Francis Rutland, Esquier sonne and heire to Nycolas Rutland of
Micham in the countie of Surrye, Esquier, who marryed the daughter of Thomas Stephens, Esqr.
and had 4 sones and 2 daughters; he died the XXVII of August, 1592."
The escutcheon is lost; he was a courtier and dyed in the Progresse.
On the Chancel N. wall hangs, in a table, the escutcheon of CAWLEY impaling BOWER, (No. 238).
Cawley's Crest is a demi lyon O. surcharged with a bend G. with 3 mullets A. holding a battle-ax,
the top A. [1]
In Nave Acclesiae. "Here lieth the body of Richard Harvey, Gentleman, who departed this
life Jan. 16, and was buried Jan... 1668, aet. suae. 80."
In the Chancell, by the North wall, near the altar, is an altar monument of freestone, with
blanke escutcheon, nomine Ridforn: he was Lord of Badbury, in this parish.
On the hill above this Badbury is an ancient fortification, and the Clark tells me that he
has seen it written in ancient writings Battle-bury. [2]
John Aubrey died before was able to research and publish the notes he made during his journey
around Wiltshire. Some two hundred years later John Jackson undertook this task, and below
is his corrections and updated information.
[1] The Boundaries of "Ceosel-den" are given in Codex Depl. No. 730. They mention
Holcombe, A stone cist, and Blackman's barrow, as ancient places of interment. Ceosel
is Anglo-Saxon for gravel or sand, (hence the "Chesil-bank,") and dene, vale or
plain. "Chesel-dene" is reckoned in Domesday Book among the manors of the Abbey of St.
Peter of Westminster: but in 1316 it belonged to the Abbey of Hyde near Winchester.
A small portion was held (Edw. I.) by the Foliots under the Honour of Wallingford. In
Hen. IV. Wroughton, and Roche, had some interest here. The Abbot of Hyde had the
great Tithes and presented to the Rectory. The Rector presented to the Vicarage. At
the Dissolution Sir Thomas Brydges of Keynsham purchased the Manor and Advowson. Between
1581 and 1616 it was bought by .. Stephens. Of this family there is a short pedigree in
Wilts Visit. 1623. The effigy on brass of Francis Rutland, who married Mary Stephens and
died in one of Queen Elizabeth's Progresses, together with a Pedigree of his family from the
Herald's Visit. of Surrey A.D. 1623 (Harl. MS. 1561) is given in Kite's Wiltshire Brasses, p. 73.
The next and present owners, by purchase, were the Calley family. The arms on the escutcheon
mentioned in the text were those of William Calley Esq. and his wife Anne daughter and coheir of
William Bower of Fiddington in West Lavington. Mr. Calley was involved in trouble by his
opposition to the Royal cause in the Civil Wars, and hence for a long time was traditionally
believed to have been the "Will: Cawley" whose signature was affixed to the Warrant for King
Charles's execution. But Mr. Waylen in his History of Marlborough p. 248 has shown that
the real Regicide was of quite a different family. That person was of Chichester, and
was buried at Vevay in Switzerland in 1666.
BURDROP is properly Bury-thorp. Thorp is a Danish word for village: and in
Denmark is often corrupted into "trup" or "drup," as Norup for North-thorp, Moldrup for
Mill-thorp. Burdrop belonged to Hyde Abbey, to which it was given 34 Edw. I. partly
by Agnes de Cardeville, her grant being dated at Cardeville-wyke. Sir Thomas Brydges
at the Dissolution, and Stephens, were successive owners. Now Mr. Calley. In
the Cartulary of Hyde Abbey (Harl. MS. No. 1761, pp. 104, 109) are many deeds relating to
Chiselden, Hoddesden and Burithorp: including a "Consuetudinarium de Chiselden."
The Arms of Calley of Burdrop are the same as those of Caley of Yorkshire.
[2] Battlesbury is a camp near Warminster. That at Badbury, now more
commonly called Liddington Castle, is described in Sir R. C. Hoar's Anc. Wilts. ii. p.39.
The Manor of BADBURY was given by King Edred to Abbot Dunstan of Glastonbury, A.D. 955.
The Charter, printed in New. Mon. I. 51, contains the Anglo-Saxon boundaries, in which
mention is made of "The Ten Stones." During the great dispute with the Abbey, the
Manor was assigned to the Bishop of Bath from 1204 to 1218, when it reverted to Glastonbury.
Folyot held under the Monks in Edw. I. Aubrey names Redfern as an owner after the
Dissolution.
HODSON in this parish was formerly spelled "Horderes-ton, or Hoddesdon." It also
belonged to Hyde Abbey. In Hen. VI. John Wroughton had some lands both here and at
Burithorp.
This crest is less than three centimetres wide, so the quality may appear
distorted, depending on the size of the screen you are viewing it on.
This text and image are from the book Wiltshire Collections
by John Aubrey and John Jackson. It was published by the Wiltshire
Archaeological and Natural History Society in 1862. The book is
no longer covered by copyright regulations and the Society is happy for
information from the book to be copied, although ask that an
acknowledgement to the Society is placed with the reproduction.
The copyright of this image from the book is owned by Mandy
Ball so is covered by copyright regulations - see our
copyright conditions
of use. The Society can be contacted at: The
Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, Long Street,
Devizes, Wiltshire. Telephone: +44 (0)1380 727369.
