Editing Castle Combe (section)

==History==
A [[Roman villa]] once stood about three miles from the village, indicating Roman occupation of the area. The site has been excavated on at least three occasions, the first by George Poulett Scrope in 1852 and the most recent in 2010. Some reports refer to the site as the [[North Wraxall]] or the Truckle Hill villa. Evidence of a bath house and corn drying ovens were found, the latter from the 4th century.<ref>{{cite web |title=Truckle Hill Roman Villa |url=https://www.archaeological-surveys.co.uk/article/5/Truckle-Hill-Roman-Villa/ |access-date=17 March 2021}}</ref> The villa itself apparently contained 16 rooms, and there were additional buildings and a cemetery.<ref>{{cite web |title=Historic England MONUMENT NO 208315 |url=https://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=208315 |access-date=17 March 2021}}</ref> Neolithic flint tools and Iron Age brooches were also discovered not far from the villa, in 1985.<ref>{{cite web |title=North Wraxall |url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Community/Index/172 |access-date=18 March 2021 |website=Wiltshire Community History |publisher=Wiltshire Council}}</ref>

The settlement was listed in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, with 33 households; the Lord was Humphrey de l'Isle.<ref>{{OpenDomesday|ST8477|castle-combe|Castle Combe}}</ref>

The village takes its name from the [[Castle Combe Castle|12th-century castle]] which stood about {{convert|1/3|mi|m|-2}} to the north. The site where the castle once stood now only contains the old earthworks and masonry, which are estimated to date from the 12th century. It is believed that the castle was constructed as the seat of the Barony of Combe under [[Reginald de Dunstanville, 1st Earl of Cornwall|Reginald de Dunstanville]] either during the reign of [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] or [[Henry II of England|Henry II]]. Reginald was thought to support [[Empress Matilda]] during [[the Anarchy]], and the castle was constructed during the wave of castle buildings of the Anarchy period.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=3 March 2016 |title=Castle Combe |url=http://www.archaeological-surveys.co.uk/castle-combe/ |access-date=17 May 2022 |website=archaeological-surveys.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222648/http://www.archaeological-surveys.co.uk/castle-combe/ |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Castle Combe the market cross (8105991948).jpg|thumb|left|The market cross within the town buttercross]]
The 14th-century [[market cross]], erected when [[Market right|the right to hold a weekly market]] in Castle Combe was granted, stands where the three principal streets of the lower village converge.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1019387|desc=Medieval market cross immediately east of St Andrew's Church|access-date=21 March 2016}}</ref> The Market Cross, a [[scheduled monument]], reflects "the significance of the cloth industry in this area".<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Root|first=Jane|date=March 2017|title=The Market Cross, Castle Combe: History of Repairs|url=https://castlecombepc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2019/02/Documentary-research-report-J-Root-updated.pdf|access-date=18 March 2021|website=Castle Combe Parish Council}}</ref> Next to the cross is one of Castle Combe's two [[village pump]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Wiltshire|url=http://www.villagepumps.org.uk/pumpsWilts.htm|url-status=live|access-date=18 March 2021|website=villagepumps.org.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105171352/http://www.villagepumps.org.uk/pumpsWilts.htm |archive-date=5 January 2009 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1283541|desc=The Butter Cross|access-date=21 March 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref> This structure, also known as Weavers' Steps and 'the stone', is another scheduled monument.<ref name=":1" />

During the 14th century, the seat of the Barony was transferred to the Manor House within Castle Combe village and a deer park was created next to the castle.<ref name=":2" /> The market town prospered during the 15th century when it belonged to Millicent, the wife of Sir Stephen Le Scrope and then of [[John Fastolf|Sir John Fastolf]] (1380–1459), a [[Norfolk]] knight who was the effective lord of the manor for fifty years. By 1340, the village had a fulling mill,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2PXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT95|title=Medieval England: Towns, Commerce and Crafts, 1086-1348|date=17 June 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9780582485495|location=|page=95}}</ref> confirming the importance of wool by that time. Scrope promoted the woollen industry, supplying his own troops and others for [[Henry V of England|Henry V's]] war in France. The parish was in the ancient [[Hundred (county division)|hundred]] of Chippenham.<ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10024237 Vision of Britain: Chippenham Hundred], accessed February 2017</ref><ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10400727/relationships Vision of Britain: Castle Combe], accessed February 2017</ref>

[[File:Castle Combe - The Dower House (geograph 3648905).jpg|thumb|The Dower House]]
By the 17th century, [[John Aubrey]] stated that a market was held on the site of the old castle.<ref name=":2" /> At some time in the late 1700s, the level of the [[Bybrook River]] fell, so it could no longer be used to power mills. The cloth industry began leaving the area during that century; "industrial prosperity was over and the population decreased".<ref name="wch">{{cite web|website=Wiltshire Community History|title=Castle Combe|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/Community/Index/46|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=18 March 2021}}</ref> Notable houses include the Dower House, from the late 17th century is now Grade II listed.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England|num=1199036|desc=The Dower House|access-date=21 March 2016|fewer-links=yes}}</ref>

The village was owned by the Scrope family for over five centuries, until 1866 when it was sold to the Gorst family and Edward Chaddock Lowndes (who was previously also known as Gorst). The latter spent a great deal of money on improving the manor house and the estate.<ref name="wch"/>

A [[National school (England and Wales)|National School]] was built in 1826, on a site between the upper and lower villages. The school was taken over by the county council in 1909, and educated children of all ages until 1956 when older pupils were transferred to secondary schools in Chippenham. It closed in 1998 on the opening of a new primary school at [[Yatton Keynell]].<ref>{{cite web|website=Wiltshire Community History|title=Castle Combe School|url=https://apps.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityhistory/School/Details/977|publisher=Wiltshire Council|access-date=21 March 2016}}</ref>

During the Second World War, the [[RAF Castle Combe]] airfield was built east of the village, with runways, hangars and a control tower. Between 1946 and 1948 the airfield buildings were used as temporary housing for former military from Poland. The property was sold in 1948,<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1390950|title=Castle Combe Airfield|access-date=23 March 2021}}</ref> and was later modified for motor racing; the tower is still used during races at [[Castle Combe Circuit]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date= |title=About Us |url=https://castlecombecircuit.co.uk/about-us/ |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=Castle Combe Race Circuit |language=en-GB}}</ref>

For decades the village had a number of gristmills and sawmills but all went out of business; [[Nettleton Mill]] closed before 1916 and Gatcombe Mill closed circa 1925; both are Grade II listed. The Long Dean Mill shut down in 1956; the Lower mill is now Grade II listed; Colham Mill was demolished in 1962. The last remaining stone tower of the castle stood for centuries, but it too was demolished, in 1950.<ref name="wch"/><ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=The Castle|url=https://sites.google.com/site/castlecombehistory/home/the-castle|url-status=live|access-date=17 March 2021|website=Castle Combe Historical Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909151145/https://sites.google.com/site/castlecombehistory/home/the-castle |archive-date=9 September 2016 }}</ref>