Houses

Although our village was first settled in Saxon times, it was not until the early 17th century, when the earliest stone cottages were built, that the Fovant seen today began to take shape. From that time until the early 20th century much of the parish belonged to successive Earls of Pembroke and Montgomery. However, following the death of the 14th Earl (Sidney Herbert), the Estate was severely hit by death duties and was forced to sell property in several outlying villages, including Fovant

The conjunction of the Pembroke sale, which made available plots of land, with the closure of Fovant Camp, also made building materials available at knock down prices and constituted a bonanza for local builders. Undoubtedly many of them attended ‘ … a sale of dismantled hut timber, corrugated iron, and a selected assortment of floorboards, doors, windows, and various timbers’ from the Camp, which was advertised in the Salisbury Journal.

What was not mentioned in the sale advertisement, was that complete huts must also have been for sale, for many were set up in parts of the locality for use as dwellings.

Notwithstanding the increased house building that then took place, or the infilling that continues to the present day, the overall shape and size of the village has changed little over the centuries. Considerable care has been taken to harmonise the building materials of the new with the old, resulting in an interesting mix of the ancient and modern.

S.M.
January 2006

Content last updated
24 January 2006

© 2002 Design - dingo web design. Text - Fovant History Interest Group

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