Derry Hill - History

History

Derry Hill has grown out of the ancient settlement of Studley. In the 18th century, there were several small settlements along the London to Bristol road, near the north-west corner of Bowood House Park; among them, a settlement known as Red Hill, possibly squatters' cottages. Most houses now standing in the village are built in the 19th or 20th century, with some 19th-century ones built on 18th-century house sites.

The village traditionally provided houses for the Bowood estate workers. The estate's Christ Church has helped the village develop in the early 19th century. Later, in 1843, the school was built, again with help from the Bowood estate. Previously to the school being built, classes for the village children were held in various locations around the village. In addition to these facilities a village hall and reading room was built. The street lighting was installed in 1878.

The main development has taken place since the early-1970s, when a new housing estate, consisting of about 220 houses, was built in the fields immediately to the north of village—between the old road, leading to the Devizes road, and the present A4 road. Until then, the village was essentially one road; as a result, the population grew sharply, requiring the school's extension. A new school building was added to the existing one, providing three new classrooms and a school hall. Further stages of development took place around the village in the 1990s. More recently, an extension known as the 'Davis Building' was added to the school, providing two new classrooms.

In order to meet the needs of the village a new village hall was built in 2000, and named the Lansdowne Hall in memory of the 8th Lord Lansdowne, who had died in 1997.

A small building called the Well House was restored by the Wiltshire Historic Buildings Trust in 2002–2003.

In late-2006 a new housing development of 25 new homes commenced on village land adjacent to the A4 national route, and a small number of large, individual new homes were also built during 2005–2006.

Today, Derry Hill is considered as one of most prosperous villages in the northwest Wiltshire area. The original hamlet of Derry Hill, now known as 'Old Derry Hill', lies at the foot of the hill, between the A4/A342 junction and the Lysley Arms, previously known as the Swan.