To a casual visitor, Chippenham might seem to be in a time warp. On the surface it seems little changed from the days when the village existed only to house workers on the estate. The lovely row of pink and yellow William and Mary cottages are still there on the High Street. Next to them is the beautiful Georgian building that used to be the village school. Opposite is the 11th Century Church of St Margaret, and at the junction of Palace Lane with the High Street in its own little shelter is the village pump.

The village pub (Tharp Arms) is the centre of the village, its name drawn from the family of Tharp who still live at Chippenham Park. This is however not the original name, until late in the 19th Century it was called the Hope Inn.

History of Chippenham

The history of Chippenham can be traced back to William the Conqueror who gave the manor of Chippenham to one of his Knights - Geoffrey de Mandeville. In turn Geoffrey's son William gave it to the Order of Knights Hospitalers of St John of Jerusalem in 1184, and they were the Lords of Chippenham for the next 300 years. The Order was founded to protect a hospital in Jerusalem, and then to help sick and needy pilgrims to the Holy Land. Its Preceptory at Chippenham on the site of the Queen Anne School, opposite the Church was one of the most important in England. The churchyard contains the graves of at least two of the Knights.

The Order of St John was suppressed in England in 1540, but take a look at the village sign - a knight in armour can be seen riding past the Church.

With the departure of the knights, the manor passed to the Russell's who were baronets of Chippenham for the next century. Chippenham hall was built in the mid 17th Century and the estate became a park in the early 18th Century. In 1792, the estate was sold to John Tharp, the great-great-grandson of one of the first settlers in Jamaica.

Chippenham Hall was rebuilt and enlarged around 1890, about the same time as the Public House formerly the Hope Inn, was renamed the Tharp Arms. The pub sign shows the coat of arms of the Tharp family surmounted by the mysterious Tharp lady. A stone image of the Tharp lady stands over the magnificent gateway that framed the start of the 3 mile drive from the old Bury - Newmarket road. Legend has it that on New Year's eve at midnight the lady comes down and dances. The driveway was however severed years ago by the A14 road.

During the early 1900's the Tharps and Chippenham Hall played host to many of the Aristocracy. and often Royalty. The growing popularity of racing at nearby Newmarket brought many of the titled up from London, and Chippenham also became popular for shooting. In these days over 100 people worked on the estate, the entire working population of the two villages of Chippenham and Snailwell. Today that number is down to a handful. The huge post war social and economic changes combined with mechanisation of farming almost killed villages such as these which existed only to serve the great estates.

Through lack of work, housing and modern amenities the population of Chippenham dropped leading the Vicar in the 1970's to lament "the village is dying". In 1978 the school closed, with only 11 pupils and 2 teachers it was no longer viable.

Rebirth of Chippenham

Mrs Anne Crawley, a fifth generation descendant of John Tharp inherited the estate, and still lives in part of the Hall with her husband Eustace. The two wings are now let out to tenants, and the farming is done in partnership with local farmers. However the estate is now 3000 acres, less than half its peak.

The estate had suffered over the years, and much had fallen into disrepair. To pay for renovation parts of the estate had to be sold off. The old stable block has been converted into houses and flats, and the estate buildings in the village renovated or rebuilt. More than half the High Street consists of listed buildings, and where there were once cowsheds and pig sheds there are houses. Everything possible has been done to create a thriving community living in modernised homes, but retaining the unique character of Chippenham.

The new housing estate at Scotland End divided the village, and is still a bone of contention to some. The renovation of the old William and Mary houses merged what had been 2 or 3 tiny cottages into single dwellings, as a result the total number of homes in the village had reduced. To maintain a viable population, new homes were needed. The money from the sale of land for Scotland End was used to finish renovation of the last cottages and to build a new village hall.

The village continues to thrive, and this is demonstrated by the Cricket Pitch with a thriving cricket club, Tennis Courts, and Bowling Green built by villagers on land provided by the Chippenham Estate. Money was provided by grants, and labour was provided by volunteers.

Sourced from an article that appeared in the Cambridgeshire Journal in December 1999.