Rowde is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire.

History

The village now mainly consists of modern brick built houses, but a number of 17th century buildings still remain in the centre of the village including the George & Dragon public house. The George & Dragon was predated in the village by another pub, a timber framed and thatched building that was destroyed by fire in 1938, a replacement The Cross Keys now stands in its place.

On the outskirts of Rowde is the site of the Caen Hill flight of locks of the Kennet and Avon Canal. The canal rises 237 feet by means of 29 locks, 16 of them in a straight line at Caen Hill The Kennet and Avon Canal was constructed between 1794 and 1810 and served to link Devizes with Bristol and London. The canal fell into disuse after the coming of the railway, but has been restored, and is now used for leisure purposes.

Amenities

The village and parish church is dedicated to St. Matthew

Local government

Rowde is a civil parish with an elected parish council. It falls within the areas of Kennet District Council and Wiltshire County Council. All three councils are responsible for different aspects of local government. In the 2001 census, the district ward of Bromham & Rowde had a population of 2,880 persons.

Location

Position:

Nearby towns and cities: Devizes, Calne, Melksham, Chippenham, Swindon

Nearby villages: Bromham, Seend

See also

• List of places in Wiltshire
• List of civil parishes in England

External links

• photos of Rowde and surrounding area on geograph