Key facts

OS Grid Reference: SU147496
What3words: ///butterfly.investors.hazy
Postcode: SP4
Post Town: Salisbury
Unitary Authority: Wiltshire Council

Fittleton

Fittleton, and its hamlet of Haxton, is a traditional parish set in glorious downland around the River Avon and with Salisbury Plain close by. From the downland, over the east of the village, there are magnificent views over the hill fort of Sidbury Hill.

Although a peaceful village, it’s also well-connected. It’s close to the A345 and around 15 miles – a drive of around 35 minutes – from Salisbury with its shops, bars, restaurants, heritage, culture and amenities as well as its train station. Pewsey (a 15-minute drive) has a train station with a service going to Paddington in 70 minutes. Devizes is also around 15 miles away and only 15 minutes from Amesbury and Tidworth.

Thatched cottages dot the winding lane down to the village green known as The Pound in Haxton. A tall wall of brick and flint masks Haxton Farm behind it, an historic farmhouse approached through an avenue of limes.

Salisbury Reds operates a bus route through the village which has a warm, local community with a website and newsletter, and the village hall, The Phoenix, as its hub. There are organised Village Tidy Days as well as Christmas lights and a carol and mince pie evening.

All Saints Church has a memorial stained glass window of HMS Fittleton, a RN minesweeper that sank in the North Sea in 1976. A memorial service for the 12 men who died on board is held at the church every 10 years.

The Parish includes Netheravon Airfield created in 1913 for the Royal Flying Corps, now a parachute centre.

History

Several barrows evidence that there was a settlement at Fittleton in prehistoric times, and on Coombe Down there was an early Iron Age settlement that later became A Romano-British settlement.

The Domesday Book recorded 24 households at ‘Vitelstone’.

Much of the downland was bought by the War Office at the end of the 19th Century and still forms part of the Tidworth ranges within Salisbury Plain Training Area.

The Grade II listed Church of All Saints was started in the 13th Century – the chancel arch is from that original.

Walking and cycling

The area around Fittleton cum Haxton is stunning.

If you want to explore it on foot, try this walk of less than three miles from Komoot, The Stonehenge loop from Larkhill.

Explore our
Patch

It’s safe to say that we live in one of most beautiful places in the British Isles, with everything from the culture and heritage of a city and the buzz of a market town, right down to the quietest rural villages. Each area has its own unique charm, so explore our patch to uncover where is perfect for you.