The Langfords lie in South Wiltshire in the picturesque Wylye Valley with the western boundary almost equidistant between Salisbury and Warminster.
Steeple Langford is on the north side of the river with Hanging Langford and Little Langford on the south side.
The great majority of existing development is between the line of the A36 to the north and the railway line to the south; however, the parish boundary extends to include large areas of farm land and ancient archaeological sites.
Historical Background and Archaeology
Archaeological evidence for the occupation of the landscape, surrounding the villages and within parish boundaries, from the Neolithic period has been recovered from many sites within the parish. Neolithic stone tools, Bronze Age barrows, the Iron Age camp at Yarnbury Castle and field systems show that considerable prehistoric activity in the area. Grims’ ditch is an important monument above the southern boundary. Yarnbury was occupied during the Roman period but it is likely that by this time most settlement was concentrated along the river valley, as it is today.
The earliest documentary evidence to Steeple Langford dates from 943AD and the Domesday Book (1086) provides the first specific reference to the then estate.
From the medieval period sheep and corn farming dominated the agriculture of the parish, in common with most chalk downland parishes. In the early 14th century the land of the manor was separated from that of the tenants whose arable strips were located in three open fields. As was the case on many chalk land manors across Wiltshire and Hampshire, large land holdings were being created as farms were amalgamated. This occurred largely in the parish in the early 19th century.
Recent History
The parish’s early existence was built on farming and employment on the land and trades supporting agricultural work. While agriculture and estate management continues to be important to the local economy and setting of the parish, it provides relatively little employment to today’s parish community. As with similar parishes, employment patterns have changed with modern economic activity and a larger percentage of working people travel outside the parish to their employment.
Notable changes in more recent history have included:
- The opening of the railway in 1856, which resulted in a growth in population in Hanging Langford, although the halt remained open for only a few years.
- Building the first bridge over the River Wylye in Duck Street in the late 19th century.
- The Langfords Parish Hall at the junction of Duck Street and Wylye Road was opened as a new reading room in 1915 to replace the reading rooms in Steeple Langford and Hanging Langford.
- The extraction of gravel in the 1960s created the lakes in the valley bottom, much of which is now part of the Wildlife Reserve.
- The water table was lowered during WW2 by the dredging of parts of the River Wylye as part of the nation’s defences should Great Britain be invaded.
- The recreation ground was opened as a sporting facility after WW2.
- The A36 bypass around Steeple Langford was opened in January 1989.