All Cannings
All Cannings (pronounced "Allcannings") is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey in the English county of Wiltshire, about east of Devizes. The parish includes the nearby smaller settlement of Allington. The southern part of the parish lies in the Vale of Pewsey, and in the north the parish extends some onto the Marlborough Downs and includes Tan Hill, which is (by a small margin) the second highest hill in Wiltshire. Etchilhampton Water, a tributary of the River Avon, forms part of the southern boundary of the parish. Moor Brook flows south through Allington and All Cannings villages to join it. History Prehistoric sites in the north of the present parish include Rybury Camp, a Neolithic causewayed enclosure overlaid by a late Bronze Age or early Iron Age hillfort, occupying some 2 hectares on a prominent ridge near Tan Hill. All Cannings Cross is an Iron Age site further south, which was investigated by Ben and Maud Cunnington from 1911; they made important finds of pottery. The Wansdyke earthwork crosses the parish in the far north. The name is believed to be a derivation of "Old Canning". A village probably existed on the current site by the tenth century, as the invading Danes at that time referred to Canning marsh. In 1086, Domesday Book recorded land held by St Mary's Abbey, Winchester at Caninge, with 58 households and a mill; and land held by Amesbury Abbey at Allentone, with 32 households. There was a church from early in the 13th century and the earliest features in the current Church of England parish church are late Norman. By the 14th century the village had a water mill, but this had disappeared by the 18th century. In 1499, the Winchester abbey was granted the right to hold an annual fair near Wansdyke on Tan Hill (at the time known as Charlborough Down) which became a large sheep and horse fair, with amusements including horse racing. The fair continued to be held until World War II. The Wiltshire Victoria County History traces the ownership of All Cannings manor from 1536, when it was granted to Edward Seymour, later Duke of Somerset. The land was sold as separate farms from 1909. Allington was held alongside Lydiard Tregoze until 1300, when it was allotted to John la Warr, 2nd Baron De La Warr (d.1347). Again the Victoria County History has the later owners, culminating in breakup and sale in 1907. The Kennet and Avon Canal was built across the parish, passing just north of the village, and opened in 1810. The parish population peaked in the middle of the 19th century with the 1841 census showing 663 inhabitants. The ancient parish had three tithings, All Cannings being the largest. Allington, a narrow strip to the west, was deemed a separate civil parish in 1881 and was united with All Cannings parish in 1934; its population in 1931 was 70. The third tithing was Fullaway (or Fullway), a small detached part between Stert