Conservation areas in Swindon Borough Liddington Conservation Area Appraisal Ridgeway Ward * Liddington/Wanborough Parish
Liddington Conservation Area Appraisal
Historic rural village
designated as a conservation area on 30 April 1990 re-designated on 5 June 1995
Conservation areas in Swindon Borough Liddington Conservation Area Appraisal Ridgeway Ward * Liddington/Wanborough Parish
Liddington Conservation Area Appraisal
Contents
Introduction 1 Location 2 Origins of the settlement 2 Landscape setting and views 2 Designation as a conservation area 3 Boundary and extent of the conservation area 4 Present day 5 Summary of general character 6 Highways and streetscape 7 Local details and features 9 Architectural and historic character 10 Key buildings of interest 12 Archaeological interest 12 Negative factors 13 Scope for enhancement 13 Useful publications 14 Management Plan 15 Map of Liddington Conservation Area End
Should you require information in another format, please contact Customer Services on telephone number 01793 463725.
Conservation Areas in Swindon Borough Liddington Conservation Area Appraisal Ridgeway Ward Liddington/Wanborough Parish
Introduction
This document assesses the special interest, character and appearance of Liddington Conservation Area. Prepared by Swindon Borough Council's Design, Conservation and Development Section, it should be read in conjunction with policies in the current Swindon Borough Local Plan and with national planning policy guidance, especially Planning Policy Guidance 15: Planning and the Historic Environment.
The information in this appraisal was collected during late 1999. To be concise and readable, it does not record all features. The omission of a feature from the text or accompanying maps does not, therefore, mean that it must not be of interest or value.
The appraisal and map has been prepared in collaboration with Liddington Parish Council and was adopted by Swindon Borough Council as “a proper assessment of the special interest, character and appearance of Liddington Conservation Area” on 28th March 2000 and readopted on 4th April 2006
Conservation & Design Team Environmental Services Directorate Swindon Borough Council Premier House, Station Road, Swindon, Wiltshire SN1 1TZ Telephone 01793 466325
1 Conservation Areas in Swindon Borough Liddington Conservation Area Appraisal Ridgeway Ward Liddington/Wanborough Parish
Location
The small village of Liddington is located in rural surroundings in Liddington Parish, within the Borough of Swindon. The settlement lies south east of Swindon town, close to the M4 motorway, junction 15 of which is only about 1.5 kilometres away via the B 4192 - known as Purley Road where it passes through Liddington village. A small part of the conservation area, at the north-east, is in Wanborough Parish.
Origins of the settlement
The parish as a whole has been an area of settlement since the earliest times. The ancient Ridgeway traverses the parish just north of the village and the Iron Age hill- fort known as Liddington Castle overlooks the present-day village. Liddington is recorded in the late Saxon period, around 940 AD. The Domesday Book of 1086 refers to the settlement as Ledentone. Records indicate that Liddington was a fairly prosperous parish in the 14th century. Population of the parish was 454 in 1841 but gradually declined thereafter.
A detailed history of the parish can be found in the Victoria County History (Wiltshire); volume ix.
Landscape setting
Liddington is a small village surrounded by open countryside, nestling in a semi- elevated position on the northern escarpment of the Marlborough Downs.
The village lies on the gently rising Upper Greensand belt between low lying clays in the north and chalk downlands to the south. South of the village the chalk scarp rises sharply to Liddington Castle and to the North Wessex Downs. Liddington, like Wanborough and Bishopstone, is a "spring-line" settlement located at a point where water courses emerge from this chalk scarp.
2 Conservation Areas in Swindon Borough Liddington Conservation Area Appraisal Ridgeway Ward Liddington/Wanborough Parish
The whole of the conservation area lies within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)1 which is one of the most extensive and least spoiled downland tracts in southern England.
There are significant views from within the village to the surrounding landscape. Liddington Castle, an iron age fort, is prominent on the skyline and a well known local landmark. Good views of the hill-fort can be gained from the churchyard and from the public footpath and road that marks the conservation area's southern boundary. To the east, Upper Wanborough's church with its unusual combination of tower and spire can occasionally be glimpsed from The Street and Lidenbrook. From The Street west of Street House Farm there are commanding views of Swindon and the Upper Thames valley.
These, and other, views out of the conservation area to local landmarks and the wider landscape reinforce the conservation area's distinct identity as a historic settlement between chalk downland and low lying plain.
Designation as a conservation area
The Liddington Conservation Area was designated by Thamesdown Borough Council on 30 April 1990 because it was considered desirable to preserve and, where necessary, enhance the special architectural and historical interest of Liddington village. On 5 June 1995 the conservation area was enlarged to include an area of archaeological interest on the edge of the village. On the 4th April 2006 the character appraisal was readopted with a number of minor revisions to the document.
1 As designated under section 87 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, 1949 3 Conservation Areas in Swindon Borough Liddington Conservation Area Appraisal Ridgeway Ward Liddington/Wanborough Parish
Boundary and extent of conservation area
The conservation area encompasses the whole of the built form of the village including the environs of Liddington Manor and Liden brook. Within the boundary can be found four distinct parts that each contribute to the overall area's special interest, namely: