Upper Upham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Upper Upham |
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 Upham House |
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 Upper Upham
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| OS grid reference | SU226771 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority |
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| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MARLBOROUGH |
| Postcode district | SN8 |
| Dialling code | 01672 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament |
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Upper Upham is a small village, also known as a hamlet, located in the English county of Wiltshire. It is part of the Aldbourne area. This quiet place is also known as a deserted medieval village, meaning it was once a busy village in the Middle Ages but is now mostly empty.
Upper Upham is about 5.6 miles (9 kilometers) southwest of the town of Marlborough. You can reach it by a small road that turns off the main B4192 road, which connects Aldbourne and Swindon.
History of Upper Upham
To the northwest of Upper Upham, you can still see signs of a medieval village. These include old paths, flat areas where houses once stood, and clues about how people farmed the land long ago.
The village was first mentioned in old records in the year 955. Back then, it was called Upammere. By the year 1201, its name had changed to Upham. In 1377, there were 40 people who paid taxes here, which means it was a fairly active community. However, the number of people living in Upham slowly decreased during the 1400s and 1500s.
Who Owned the Land?
From around 1249, the land in Upper Upham was owned by Lacock Abbey. An abbey is a type of monastery, a place where monks or nuns live. This continued until the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, which was when King Henry VIII closed down many monasteries in England.
In 1540, a man named John Goddard bought the land. The Goddard family owned Upper Upham for many years, until the early 1700s. There is even a special brass plaque in Aldbourne parish church from 1495. It remembers an earlier Richard Goddard of Upham and his wife. The church tower was also built around 1460, possibly by the same Richard Goddard or someone else with the same name.
Lower Upham
There is also a place called Lower Upham, which is located further west. It has a farm and a couple of cottages. The road that used to connect Upper Upham and Lower Upham is now just a farm track.
Upham House
Upham House is a very old and important building. It is listed as a Grade II* listed building, which means it has special historical or architectural importance. The house has a beautiful front with five sections, and it was built in 1599 by the Goddard family.
Between 1909 and 1922, the house was repaired, changed, and made bigger for a lady named Lady Currie. At the same time, beautiful formal gardens were created north of the house. The garden walls on the east side of the house and the gatehouse that led into the courtyard are also listed as historic buildings.
After 1965, Upham House was divided into three separate homes. Some of its other buildings were also sold and turned into houses.
