Welcome to the Atworth Village website!
 

 

THE LATEST:

1. Police & Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire (Rcvd. 2022/03) (please scroll for the complete message)

We have received the following policy message from the Police & Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire & Swindon:
Since starting in this role, my mission has always been to make Wiltshire a safer place to live, work and visit. Now is the time for Wiltshire Police, and my office, to go back-to-basics and deliver exactly what our residents want: a quality, frontline, policing service which tackles the crimes which matter most to them. Making Wiltshire Safer sets out the direction for policing focus and priorities until 2025 as well as showing you the funding I receive and how it will be spent during my first term in office.
Priority 1: A police service that meets the needs of its communities
I am prioritising:
 - Increasing public confidence, trust and our policing engagement with communities;
 - Provide a quality of police service to all our communities;
 - Giving the Police the right tools for the job.
 Priority 2: Reduce violence and serious harm
I am prioritising:
 - Violence reduction and domestic abuse;
 - Violence Against Women and girls;
 - Child abuse and Child Exploitation;
 - County Lines and Serious Organised Crime and exploitation.
 Priority 3: Tackle crimes that matter most to local communities
I am prioritising:
 - Anti-social Behaviour;
 - Road safety;
 - Rural crime and heritage crime;
 - Fraud, cyber crime and hate crime.
Priority 4: Improve the experience of victims and deliver justice
I am prioritising:
 - Victim care and Support;
 - Mental Health;
 - The criminal justice system;
 - Restorative Wiltshire;
 - Reduce re-offending.
From the start, I was determined my police and crime plan - and the strategic policing blueprint for Wiltshire Police - would be informed by Wiltshire and Swindon's residents, to deliver a service that you told me is important and that you deserve. This is what has happened.  I consulted widely with the people of Wiltshire and Swindon via Use Your Voice and opportunities for you to download copies of the draft plan and participate in public discussions on social media. I listened to our key stakeholders and partners using Focus Group sessions, and heard what the Chief Constable and colleagues within the Force telling me what needed to be included, during several internal meetings, before publishing my Police and Crime Plan - approved by Wiltshire and Swindon's Police and Crime Panel. Our new police and crime plan is as closely aligned with your concerns and aspirations as possible and this has been balanced with advice from the Chief Constable as well as national policing strategies.
My finalised police and crime plan was supported at the latest meeting of Wiltshire and Swindon's Police and Crime panel as the cross-party councillors unanimously ratified the document. I'm pleased thousands of you took this opportunity with many councillors, MPs, charities and third sector organisations engaging on our community's behalf. I listened to our key stakeholders and partners using Focus Group sessions, heard the operational policing advice from the Chief Constable, as well as considering national policing priorities and threat, harm and risk assessments. Our new police and crime plan is as closely aligned with your concerns and aspirations as possible - and this has been balanced with advice from the Chief Constable, as well as from those national priorities. It is now time for us to work together to ensure our delivery is impactful and makes the difference we all want to see - a safer Wiltshire for all.
Making Wiltshire Safer can be downloaded from the PCC's website: Police and Crime Plan 2022 - 2025 (wiltshire-pcc.gov.uk).
Or you can use the interactive version here: Making Wiltshire Safer - Wiltshire and Swindon Police and Crime Plan 2022-2025 (office.com).

Contact Information:
Emma Morton
 Head of Communications and Engagement
Wiltshire OPCC
07384 820760
emma.morton@wiltshire.police.uk

2. A little local history comes to the fore! (please scroll for the complete message)

Many long-term Atworth residents will remember New Mendip Engineering, and their role in WWII in connection with the famous Spitfire aeroplane. The company was acquired by the Dowty Group in 1948.
Oscar la-Gambina of the BBC, has sent us details of a new booklet by Martin Robins, which has been produced in co-operation with Dowty Heritage, entitled: "Dowty Days Reemembered" on the history of the Dowty Group. The booklet can be obtained from the Dowry Heritage website HERE.
The booklet will be of interest to local historians and other residents.
Martin was interviewed for the BBC by Kate Justice on the subject of the booklet and Dowty Heritage in general, and a link to the interview, which was sent via Oscar la-Gambina, is provided below (scroll):
Just click on the solid arrow to hear the interview:   

3. Atworth's Events Diary
This site receives in excess of 120,000 hits and over 60,000 visitors per annum. In order to make it of maximum use to residents and to potential visitors, and following the demise of the village magazine, I am trying to restart the Events Diary as a service to the village - naturally since ceasing production of the magazine myself, I was no longer in receipt of event details.
Please send in your ad-hoc event details, as well as your annual programme of talks and meetings, to help restart the diary. There are forms for submission of your details on the Events Diary page - see the scrolling panel to the left.
I have had some of the Atworth WI and Atworth History Group programmes; see the Events Diary page by clicking on the link in the left hand sidebar.
NB.: there was a recent change in the History Group programme. See the Events Diary page for details.

    
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All three books are available by clicking on the "look" link.
All about your Computer and All about Haupterk are also available from retail booksellers, and Amazon.

THE ATWORTH VILLAGE WEBSITE

You are now viewing the Atworth Village website, which in August 2006, replaced the original Atworth website created by Martin Beta. The onset of Social Media and the demise of the Atworth Village magazine has made village websites less significant in communities. However, one problem with Facebook and other social media systems is that posts very rapidly travel down, and then off, the visible page, so these are very very limited in ready availability. So if you have something to say, and you want it to stay in public view, a village website still has a role.

This website was created by Kenneth Spencer of KA Spencer (Software) (NB.: that business is now retired!).
The site is paid for by Kenneth, and was maintained in close co-production with the Atworth Village Magazine which Kenneth also edited and published from August 2006 to the end of 2012.
The Atworth Village website contains information on all aspects of village life in Atworth, serving all equally, not just one group, not just one organisation. If your organisation is not represented, simply use the email link below or at the foot of the page to start the process of getting your organisation onto the site.
If you live in Atworth, or have an interest in the village, then it is your site. You will find links to the various sections of the site in the scrolling pane on the left of the page. Just scroll up or down and click on the section that is of interest to you.
Please tell us what you think (webmaster@atworth.org.uk), and what you would like to see on the site.
Messaging service: As we receive a great many emails from persons who once either lived in Atworth, or had a family connection with the village, we have set up a new arrangement for simple messaging . You can leave a brief message, and residents who may regularly read this website may reply to you and provide help in answering your question. You will find the link to the Old Friends pages in the scrolling panel on the left. This service replaces the Family History link, as that can no longer be serviced.

If you are interested in Atworth from an historical perspective, you might like to read the brief Historical Note below. The note was extracted from various communications between the website author, Kenneth Spencer and Mr David Webb of Atworth, and with others.

The Village of Atworth is situated in the west of the county of Wiltshire, approximately equidistant from the town of Melksham which is to its east, and the magnificent Georgian City of Bath, in the county of Somerset, to its west. With a population of about 1300, it lies along the A365 as it passes east from Box to Melksham.
The co-ordinates of the Atworth Clock Tower, which is Atworth's most prominent monument are: N:53°23'33.45" W:2°11'57.27" A:73m.

Although Atworth nestles in a rather idyllic rural setting (somewhat spoiled by the busy A365), it is within easy reach of the Wiltshire market towns of Devizes, Chippenham, Trowbridge, Bradford on Avon, Westbury, Warminster & Frome.

The M4 motorway can be accessed eastwards to/from London via the A350 just north of Chippenham, or westwards to/from Bristol and Cardiff via the A4 and A46 north of Bath.

Historical Note

The famous mapmaker and cartographer John Speed (1552 - 1629) shows Atworth on his maps of Wiltshire. However, it appears with the name "Atford". Later, in 1773, the mapmakers Andrews and Dury, published a map of Wiltshire in which Atworth appeared as both "Atford" and as "Attworth".
The "At" component of the name has been associated with the word "oat", which may imply a role in the service of grain markets of the time.
When or where there may have been a ford in the village seems not be known at present.

Atworth (Atford) 1817Atworth 2005By the time the Ordnance Survey produced its first maps in the early 19th century, the village was almost exclusively referred to as "Atworth".

The change in Atworth ("Atford") between 1817 and 2005 can be seen on the two maps: the first is an extract from Edward Mogg's Survey of the High Roads of England and Wales published in 1817, and the second derived from the satellite image shown on Google Maps.
 
View the maps more clearly here.

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Further Information:
ATWORTH A Little History (Atworth History Group)
The Church of St Michael Atworth A Short History (Prof WH Dowdeswell)

Suggested Links:

Sponsor's website British Towns & Villages

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This site, and its contents, except where otherwise stated, are copyright KA Spencer (Software), from August 2006 on.
No part of the site may be used elsewhere for any purpose whatsoever without permission in writing.
Send any comments, or details of issues to: webmaster@atworth.org.uk [20060801]