Cricklade lies 8 miles to the north west of Swindon, very close to the source of the Thames, one of England's major rivers which eventually flows through London.   It is a Saxon town and has several places of historical interest nearby, including Cirencester.   There is a small museum in Cricklade which, although only open a few hours per week, is well worth a visit - the curator is very helpful and full of knowledge about the history of the locality.   Hours when we visited were Wednesdays 2-4pm and Saturday mornings from 10am to noon.

The parish church is St. Sampson's and it is now the only parish church in the village.   Previously there was also St. Saviours (which closed many years ago), and St. Mary's (which is now a Catholic church).

You may find the following websites interesting:

Village:     Cotswold Gateway
St. Mary:     Friends Of St. Mary
St. Sampsons:     Wiltshire County Council


Our Kemble family appear in the Parish registers of both St. Sampson's and St. Mary's, although we mainly have information about the members that moved to nearby Stratton St. Margaret in the 1600s.

All photographs taken February 2001 unless shown otherwise.

Click on thumbnail to see full size picture

St. Sampsons March 2000 (751k)

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Inscription on flying buttress (90k)

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In the porch (41k)

This was part of a cross (79k)

Sepulchral slab (75k)