Liddington
Liddington is a village and civil parish near Swindon in Wiltshire, England. The settlement lies southeast of Swindon town, close to junction 15 of the M4 motorway, which is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) away via the B4192.
Liddington | |
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All Saints' churchyard | |
Liddington Location within Wiltshire | |
Population | 376 (in 2011)[1] |
OS grid reference | SU207815 |
Civil parish |
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Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Swindon |
Postcode district | SN4 |
Dialling code | 01793 |
Police | Wiltshire |
Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Website | Parish Council |
The parish has been an area of settlement since the earliest times. The ancient Ridgeway traverses the parish just north of the village and the Iron Age hill-fort known as Liddington Castle overlooks the present-day village. Liddington is recorded in the late Saxon period, around 940 AD. The Domesday Book of 1086 refers to the settlement as Ledentone. Records indicate that Liddington was a fairly prosperous parish in the 14th century. The population of the parish peaked at 454 in 1841 and then gradually declined.[1]
'Starfish' decoy control bunker
Liddington Hill is the site of a control bunker for a World War II 'Starfish' bombing decoy site. This would have been used to control fires, which would have acted as a decoy to enemy planes targeting the town of Swindon to the north.
The bunker had a hatch in its concrete roof and consisted of two rooms off a central passage; the room on the right housed generators, while the control room was on the left.
References
- "Wiltshire Community History - Census". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 15 August 2015.