Key facts

OS grid ref: ST969327
What3words: ///published.skidding.shorts
Postcode: SP3
Post town: Salisbury
Unitary Authority:  Wiltshire
Parliamentary Constituency: South West Wiltshire 

Chilmark

Chilmark is a pretty, historic Wiltshire village in the beautiful Nadder Valley, and includes the hamlets of Mooray, Portash and Ridge. Unsurprisingly, it’s within Cranborne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (National Landscape). 

It’s quintessentially Wiltshire with many of the homes made from its own buttery Chilmark Stone, quarried since medieval times until the 1930s – the same stone that was used to build Salisbury Cathedral. It also has a stream bubbling through the village before it joins the River Nadder.  

Although this is a peaceful, rural village, it has easy access to the A303, and sits just 11 miles, a drive of around half an hour, from the cathedral city of Salisbury with its shops, restaurants, bars, heritage, culture and amenities. The train from here to Waterloo takes less than 90 minutes.  

The market town of Shaftesbury is about a 25-minute drive, and Tisbury, the liveliest of the villages in the Nadder Valley with plenty of facilities, is just 10 minutes away. Salisbury Reds operates a bus stop through the village. 

There’s a thriving local community here, with a village hall called the Reading Room that hosts exercise classes and community events, the Black Dog Inn pub, St Margaret’s church, a pre-school nursery and a good primary school, The Chilmark and Fonthill Bishop C of E School (VA). 

History

There has been a church in the village since the 12th Century, and the current Anglican church is Grade II listed, while the churchyard has Grade II listed chest tombs from the 17th and 18th Centuries. 

Chilmark Quarry, and the land around it, was bought by the Air Ministry in 1936 and became a Munitions Store, RAF Chilmark. It became the largest ammunitions depot in the south, with a matrix of train lines taking munitions into woodland at Dinton and Grovely Wood for storage, as well as into underground bunkers created by the quarrying. 

An underground bunker was built in 1985 for use in a nuclear attack. Infamously, the bunker was raided by police in 2017 to stop a massive cannabis farm that was reported to be producing £2m worth of cannabis every year using £250k of stolen electricity.  

The abandoned site is a draw to urban explorers and a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a European Special Area of Conservation for its bat population. A Planning Brief from Salisbury District Council said reuse of the site was limited because of the importance of the habitat. 

Walking and cycling

The Nadder Valley is stunning, rolling downlands and big skies. It’s perfect for walking, cycling and horseriding, and the nearby Fonthill estate offers country sports such as deer stalking, shooting and both fly and carp fishing. 

This walk, The Fonthill Lake Loop from Komoot is around six miles long and starts close to the village, taking you around the beautiful Fonthill Lake on the Fonthill estate. 

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.