| Shipton Bellinger |
| Shipton Bellinger
is a village lying on the Hampshire/ Wiltshire borders, about 7 miles
from the Stonehenge and near to the small towns of Tidworth and
Amesbury, on the edge of Salisbury Plain. It is not a pretty chocolate
box village and there has been some modern development around the
village, largely influenced by the nearby army camps of Bulford and
Tidworth. The barracks at Tidworth being build during the two world
wars. The church is dedicated to St Peter and is from the 14th century, the village store also incorporates the post office and there are a number of thatched cottages situated in the main street and also the village pub. Evidence of an earlier Bronze Age settlement and also some Roman artefacts have been discovered and around 500AD the village had the name of Sceap Tun which is Saxon for sheep farm, in the Domesday Book it is Sceptune and in 1297 the lord of manor was Ingram Berenger and he added his name to the village and the name has gradually become known as Shipton Bellinger. During the first part of the 1900s it was decided to build a village hall and in 1910 a working men's club was built and the idea of a village hall was dropped. But in 1983 the village had grown considerably and the discussion was started again and this was taken to the County Council and the Test Valley Borough Council in the hope of receiving some grants, The Parochial Church Council also promised some financial help but still £20,000 was short. The villagers then began a fund raising campaign and soon raised the money, a year and a half later, in 1985, after the initial discussion the vilage centre was opened
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