Key facts
OS grid ref: SU189271
What3words: ///unspoiled.hotdog.hidden
Postcode: SP5
Post town: Salisbury
Unitary Authority: Wiltshire
Parliamentary Constituency: Salisbury
Alderbury
Alderbury is a pretty village complete with a village green and elegant country manor house. It’s bordered by the River Avon in the south of Wiltshire and includes the village of Whaddon and the hamlet of Shute End.
Although this is a peaceful, country village, it’s only around three miles from the city of Salisbury, a 15-minute drive, so the village benefits from all of the facilities, culture and heritage of this ancient city on the doorstep.
The village has a vibrant, local community with a village hall, primary school, pub, Post Office and newsagent, along with a village shop. The Parish Council has a website featuring community news and events.
In traditional English village fashion, on the green is a limestone water trough built in 1902 to mark the coronation of Edward VII.
History
There’s evidence that Alderbury was inhabited as far back as Mesolithic times and it’s mentioned in The Domesday Book as a settlement of 13 households at Alwarberie or Alwaresberie.
The medieval church was replaced with a larger, now Grade II listed, church of St Mary, in 1857 – complete with an octagonal tower – and commands a beautiful view over the Avon Valley.
In the Cold War years, the village was the location of a Royal Observer Corps monitoring bunker, to be used in the event of a nuclear attack.
Alderbury House sits above the Avon Meadows, close to the church. A Grade II listed farmhouse, dating from the late 18th Century and designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who was known for his work on the White House, was described as “one of Wiltshire’s most elegant Georgian country houses” a few years ago when it came to the market for around £5 million.
Walking and cycling
This lovely village enjoys an enviable location, surrounded as it is by breathtaking countryside and tranquil riverside walks.
If you’d like to explore the area on foot, try this lovely country walk of just over three miles, starting from the village hall.
