The History of Fovant
Introduction
Geography
Fovant’s history dates from before the Domesday Book, being referred to as Fobbefunta in the Saxon Land Charters of 901 and 904 AD. Much of our knowledge comes from the research of local historian Dr R.C.C. Clay, who practised in Fovant from 1917 until 1971 and was the author of ‘Notes on the History of Fovant’.
Fovant is a small village situated in a valley of the River Nadder, one of the chalk streams flowing through Cranborne Chase in Wiltshire. Successive Earls of Pembroke, from Wilton House, owned most of the village and its surrounding farmland until selling it by auction in 1919.
World Wars
Buildings
Fovant is renowned for its regimental Badges carved into the chalk hillside by some of the 20,000 troops stationed here in training camps during the First World War. The churchyard contains 60 graves of soldiers, mainly from Australia, who died in the WW1 hospitals and camps of Fovant.
Many of Fovant’s buildings, dating from the 16th century onwards, are made from stone mined at local quarries, as was Salisbury Cathedral. In the late 18th century, when the road that is now the A30 was turnpiked, The Pembroke Arms and Cross Keys were built to provide a resting place for stagecoach travellers.
Religion
Groups
The original building of St. George’s Church dates from the 13th century. Its south aisle was added by Lady Cicely Bodenham, last Abbess of Wilton, after she moved to the village with her nuns in 1534 following the dissolution of the monasteries, by Henry V111.
As in many villages, groups hold the community together. The base for the activities of many of these groups is still the Village Hall, originally built in 1885 thanks to fundraising by the then curate, later Rector, Reverend Alfred Earle.
Employment
Services
Employment
Sevices
People
Stories
The census records from 1841 to 1901, plus lists including the Publicans and Rectors that served Fovant
Reminiscences and anecdotes of the first and second World Wars by Fovant residence, including stories about coaches and highwaymen
For Children
Archives
Educational worksheets based around World War One
The Fovant History Interest Group (FHIG) holds many WW1 objects collected by Roy Nuttall, a villager who was instrumental in the restoration of the Fovant Badges after WW2. It also holds the collection of Margaret McKenzie, who was interviewed in 2021 by TV historian Dan Snow about Fovant’s military camps and hospitals. Many postcards, photographs and maps depicting the village’s history have been collated and referenced by Liz and Mike Harden, founder members of FHIG.