1. Castle Combe
England
University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, MIEADR,
IMAPA
Coord. teacher:
Lect. Univ. Dr. Mihai
Daniel Frumușelu
Student:
Popa Marian
Alexandru
2. • Castle Combe is a village and civil parish in
Wiltshire, England, about 5 miles (8 km)
northwest of the town of Chippenham.
• The village has two parts: one is in the narrow
valley of the By Brook, while Upper Castle Combe
is on higher ground to the east, on the B4039
road which links Chippenham with Chipping
Sodbury. A motor racing circuit is to the south of
the upper village.
3. History
• The village takes its name from the 12th-century castle
which stood about 1⁄3 mile (500 m) to the north.
• The 14th-century market cross, erected when the
privilege to hold a weekly market in Castle Combe was
granted, stands where the three principal streets of the
lower village converge. Next to the cross is one of
Castle Combe's two village pumps. Small stone steps
near the cross were for horse riders to mount and
dismount, and close by are the remains of the
buttercross, built in the late 19th century from old
masonry.
4. Religious sites
• The Church of England parish church of St
Andrew is a Grade I listed building. Part of the
chancel is 13th-century while most of the rest
of the building is from the 15th, reflecting the
prosperity of the local wool and cloth industry.
The tower was begun in 1434 and completed
in 1576. In 1850–51 nearly all of the building,
except the tower, was taken down and
reconstructed to almost the same plan.
5.
6. • A motor racing venue, Castle Combe Circuit, is
located on the site of the former RAF Castle
Combe airfield near the village.
• The village has twice played host to the Combe
Sunday event, a music festival which attracted
4,000 visitors to the village in 2006.
• Castle Combe is represented in Parliament by
James Gray, and in Wiltshire Council by Jane
Scott, both Conservatives.
