The Salisbury Road is also called the A338, running from Poole through to Oxford through Hunderford and Wantage. It is a fairly major link-road, and is often used by the army driving up to the Plain or into Tidworth Camp. In times past, the main road was through the middle of the village (the High Street) but was diverted around seeral hundred years ago. These photographs show what it looked like in the year 2000.
Where 7-Up was originally brewed, this is now used as storage units. As can be seen, a fair amount of work was done to the roof in 2000.
The entrance to Kingfishers and Astor Mews, built on the site of the old army laundry and Astor Flats. The two cottages to the left had been their some time, replacing some older, Hampshire-style thatched cottages. To the right can be seen the local brick-and-flint style building of Garden House.
Parsonage Farm was one of the original five farms in the village (two of the others being the still-surviving Manor Farm, and Gilberts Farm, now only surviving in names and gravestones in the village). Here also are glimsped the Old School (now a wonderful house) and one of the oldest cottages in the village, Bramble Cottage (circa C17).
Hamble House (two together) used to house a tobacconists and, we believe, a milliners: the outlines of the old shop doorways can be seen in the blocked-off archways. The wall to the left clearly shows one of the local wall building styles - brick and flint - the other being chalk (the only surviving example in the village being that around "the Moorings").
Just off the High Street, Kingfishers was built on the site of the Old Laundry. It is the only recently-built road which does not have any reference to a historical name or site within Shipton.
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Page Last Updated: 19th May 2002