Atworth is a village in the county of Wiltshire situated between Melksham to the east and the city of Bath to the west. At the turn of the twentieth century a number of Roman coins were discovered in a field. These were identified as belonging to the period A.D. 270 – 390. Over the next few decades more objects were found belonging to the same period. In latter part of the 1930's two local boys took some coins to school and showed them to the Headmaster who in turn contacted the British Museum. During 1937-38 an area about half a mile from the church was excavated by Dr. A. Shaw Mellor and R. Goodchild and the foundations of an L shaped Roman Villa uncovered.

With an abundance of water and building material the village has sustained habitation for well over a thousand years.  Some of the properties in the village were built four to five hundred years ago. For instance, ‘The Old Forge’ was built in 1650 and known as ‘The Three Horseshoes Inn’ it was later renamed 'The Hare & Hounds'. Between 1844 and the early 1900's  the Hampton family ran a blacksmith and wheelright business here and several generations of the family lived in the cottage for more than one hundred years. The date inscribed on the cottage known as 'The Old Vicarage' is 1676.

'King's Stile Cottage' was built over three hundred years ago. Originally two cottages they were probably inhabited by agricultural labourers. The remains of a window can be seen at the top of the front cottage from which grain could be hoisted from the ground into the roof. Both cottages were modernised in the late 20th century. With one needing almost total rebuilding the opportunity was taken to convert them into one dwelling. The ancient King's Stile was moved to the path next to the cottage in 1989 from its old position at the beginning of a footpath where Godwins Close has now been built. The current owners, Mr. & Mrs. Hughes, moved into the property in 1993 and named it after the stile and at the same time decided to use the cottage as a small family run Bed and Breakfast which is offered throughout the year. www.kingsstilecottage.co.uk

Trades & Businesses

Over the centuries the population became almost self sufficient with farming and stone mining. There were numerous trades’ people – butchers, maltsters, bakers, grocers, tiler/plasterers, thatchers, blacksmiths, carpenters, cordwainers (shoemakers) and many more.  Once the village had eleven public houses or beer sellers now there is only one - the White Hart in Bath Road.  In 1880 a widow, Ruth Sealy, opened the first Post Office. After Mrs. Sealy’s retirement the Post Office was taken over by her granddaughter who ran it for the next thirty years.

During the last century many more businesses opened including an electrical shop, hairdressers, builders, plumbers, painter and decorators and two nurseries. Once a week the butcher, Fred Ash, opened his fish and chip shop. About 1907 a forge was opened in a small building just below Lion Place on the Bath Road. Over the years the business grew and today is the site of the Bear Garage. There was a refrigeration company and a small engineering firm. In 1922, George Thatcher moved to the village and sold petrol from a BP pump in the garden of his cottage. It was here he opened The New Mendip Engineering Company later taken over by Dowty Aviation. This grew to be the largest employer in the history of Atworth.  

Education

At the bequest of Bernard Paulet and his sister Jane Browne education was introduced about 1701. The Dame’s School, as it was known, continued educating children for about one hundred and forty years.  In 1828, thanks to the generosity of Robert Hale Blagden Hale, a school and school-house was built. Later in the century the new owner of the Cottles Park Estate, George Pargiter Fuller, made further extensions to the school. Atworth’s longest serving school-master, Henry Inkpen, taught children many skills outside of the normal curriculum. In the early nineteen hundreds he also ran evening classes for young people and adults where he taught a variety of skills including carpentry.

In April 2006 the schools of Atworth, Monkton Farleigh & South Wraxall were federated and re-named 'Churchfields - The Village School'. On September 27^th 2006, the Bishop of Salisbury, the Right Reverend David Stancliffe, performed a ceremony of blessing and dedication. His guest, the Bishop of Sudan, accompanied him. The children, staff, parents and guests all enjoyed the ceremony and afterwards partook in coffee and cakes provided by Atworth PTA. Atworth History Group put together a small exhibition of photographs, documents and school log books going back nearly one hundred years.

Atworth Independent Church website www.atworthindependentchurch.org.uk

             The Chapel Register has been transcribed by Joan Cococzza

             'Atworth - A People's History Atworth Independent Church'