Erlestoke is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire.

History

The current form of the village of Erlestoke is largely due to Joshua Smith, MP for Devizes, who, during the 1780s through the 1810s was responsible for replacing the existing Elizabethan house with one higher up the hill east of the village, landscaping the park, and moving the village's cottages to the current High Street where he added picturesque estate cottages incorporating pieces of sculpture and architectural fragments from the old mansion.

The mansion was seriously damaged by a fire in 1950 and is now part of Erlestoke Prison, with many modern buildings.

Local Government

Erlestoke is a civil parish with an elected parish council. It falls within the areas of Kennet District Council and Wiltshire County Council. All three councils are responsible for different aspects of local government.

In the 2002 census, the parish had a population of 522.

Note that the Wiltshire County Council website (see Sources below) indicates that Erlestoke is in West Wiltshire District rather than Kennet Distict, which contradicts both Kennet District's own website, the ONS website and the Explorer map (all also see Sources).

Location

Grid reference: ST961538 (http://getamap.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/getamap/frames.htm?mapAction=gaz&gazName=g&gazString=ST961538)

Nearby towns and cities: Devizes, Salisbury

Nearby villages: Great Cheverell, Coulston, Marston

See also

• List of places in Wiltshire
• List of civil parishes in England

Sources

• Wiltshire County Council Website page on Erlestoke (http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/getcom2.php?id=93), retrieved 23:00 Oct 24, 2004 (UTC)
• Kennet District Council Website page on Erlestoke Parish (http://www.kennet.gov.uk/leg_dem/web_comm_minutes.nsf/9055528f2a958b9d8025687f00608fad/0759e234531ce728802567310033f64f?OpenDocument), retrieved 23:00 Oct 24, 2004 (UTC)
• Office of National Statistics (ONS) - List of English parishes (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/geography/geographic_area_listings/downloads/19_11_02_E&W_parish_and_community_names_and_codes_as_at_31_12_03.xls), retrieved 14:00 Oct 3, 2004 (UTC).
• Map 'Explorer 143', published by the Ordnance Survey, ISBN 0319235572, revised 2004.