CONSERVATION FOR THE FUTURE

The Civic Amenities Act of 1967 allowed for geographical areas as well as individual buildings to be conserved for the future, recognising that much of our historic fabric is a major resource which in the past has not been fully appreciated.

In 1972, Easton Royal was included in the newly created North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and three years later became one of 225 conservation areas designated in Wiltshire.

Although the village is no longer a self-sufficient agricultural community, many of its characteristics survive and have adapted well to modern life. The former existence of the medieval Trinitarian priory and past connections with the Seymour family also provide great historic interest.

There are 29 grade II listed houses in Easton, the majority are, or have been, thatched, with the exceptions of Easton House, Old Rectory and Home Farm. In addition, there are five other listed edifices – Holy Trinity church, the 18th century timber framed cart-shed of a remarkable nine bays at Manor Farm and three sets of chest tomb monuments in the churchyard.

Both Easton and Manor farmyards have examples of quality 19th century estate buildings designed along the lines of ‘model farms’ that were in vogue at that time. Although not listed, these groups are deemed worthy of preservation as part of the agricultural history of the village.

A number of the building materials traditional in the village have been grown, excavated or quarried from ground in the locality. Sarsen is a very hard and impervious quartz sand stone, ideal for foundations. Found in boulders on the chalk north of the Pewsey Vale, grey sarsen stones are sometimes known as ‘wethers’ - a name given to castrated male sheep - because stones lying in fields can resemble a resting flock.  Sarsen stones may also be brown tinted by ferrous oxide.

Brick was manufactured in the Vale and on Savernake estate from the 17th century. Initially used sparingly for chimney stacks and impervious base-walls, brick became more readily available in the 18th century for complete walls.

Thatch was the roof covering for most buildings in the village until the 19th century. Wheat grown over large areas of the parish produced vast quantities of straw, meaning roofs could be regularly re-thatched at low cost. Few examples remain of the traditional ‘long straw’ and thatch about the village now is mainly of combed wheat reed.

Most plain clay roof tiles were replaced from the early 19th century when Welsh slates were brought into the Vale by canal via Bristol, offering a low cost, durable and incombustible alternative to thatch.

Easton Royal is classified as a village limited to infilling of small sites within the existing settlement framework. Any proposals for development must be of a high standard in design and use materials which harmonise with local traditional methods.

The sloping grass banks along the street are an intrinsic part of the rural character and should not be excavated back to form a wider carriageway or breached for additional vehicular access. Native species of trees, hedgerows and shrubs are also a major part of the scene and should be maintained in a controlled manner.

Under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, the local planning authority has a duty to manage conservation areas, paying special attention to preserving and enhancing their character and appearance for the benefit of this and future generations.

The last word in this book comes from Sir Henry Bashford who in the 1950s wrote:

‘So Easton remains, with its less than three hundred inhabitants, looked down upon by its Clump and by reminders on its downs of a people older than its own first settlers.

Its ploughs and harrows and binders are no longer pulled by horses. Its farmers no longer drive in their pony and traps or dog carts on a Thursday morning to Devizes market.

But all these changes are relatively minor. If its Saxon, Norman or Elizabethan forbears could revisit the village today, they would still be able to find their way about and its Tudor ancestors, at any rate, would find it very much the same as in their own days.’

Victorian Farm Buliding

Easton village street scenes 2021