Liddington

Liddington is a village and civil parish near Swindon in Wiltshire, England. The settlement lies southeast of Swindon town, close to junction 15 of the M4 motorway, which is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) away via the B4192.

Liddington

All Saints' churchyard
Liddington
Location within Wiltshire
Population376 (in 2011)[1]
OS grid referenceSU207815
Civil parish
  • Liddington
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSwindon
Postcode districtSN4
Dialling code01793
PoliceWiltshire
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
WebsiteParish Council

The parish has been an area of settlement since the earliest times. The ancient Ridgeway traverses the parish just north of the village and the Iron Age hill-fort known as Liddington Castle overlooks the present-day village. Liddington is recorded in the late Saxon period, around 940 AD. The Domesday Book of 1086 refers to the settlement as Ledentone. Records indicate that Liddington was a fairly prosperous parish in the 14th century. The population of the parish peaked at 454 in 1841 and then gradually declined.[1]

'Starfish' decoy control bunker

Liddington Hill is the site of a control bunker for a World War II 'Starfish' bombing decoy site. This would have been used to control fires, which would have acted as a decoy to enemy planes targeting the town of Swindon to the north.

The bunker had a hatch in its concrete roof and consisted of two rooms off a central passage; the room on the right housed generators, while the control room was on the left.

References

  1. "Wiltshire Community History - Census". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 15 August 2015.

Media related to Liddington at Wikimedia Commons


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