Semington Village
The village of Semington is just over a mile south of Melksham. It lies west of the A350 and the A361 Trowbridge to Devizes road, runs between Semington village and Little Marsh. Most of the housing and village amenities are clustered around or near the original A350 road.
The Kennet & Avon Canal, and Semington Brook form the northern boundary of the village. There are many well-used village footpaths in and around the village, with the canal towpath being particularly popular. It has a social club, a meeting room, and a skittle alley, and hosts a wide range of social and cultural activities, and the parish council.
According to the 2011 Census, 930 people lived in the parish in 389 households.
Semington History
Semington is an old settlement and people have lived here since the 12th century. St George’s church dates from around 1300, and records of Littleton Mill (which was burnt down in 1802 during a protest against the use of machinery) go back to these times. The village is surrounded by farmland and its farmhouses date from the 1500s. The parish has a number of notable houses built in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The village school began in 1859 but now has modern buildings. The Wilts & Berks Canal started at Semington until its closure in 1914, and a new connection with the Kennet & Avon is now proposed. The village Hall, built in 1933 and recently refurbished, is the heart of the village, both geographically and socially. A brief history of the development of the village over the past 120 years can be found on the Wiltshire Council planning portal.