and member of Parliament. The house has two storeys and an attic, with nine bays at the front; to the south is a courtyard of servants' cottages. It stands in parkland to the west of the village, on the north bank of the Kennet, which has been dammed to form a lake. At the park's main entrance are Grade II* listed gates and lodges. Also Grade I listed is Axford Farmhouse, built in the 17th century and altered in the 19th, with an attached 13th-century chapel. There are three Grade II* listed houses: Riverside House, Axford (16th and 17th centuries, part timber-framed); Parliament Piece, Ramsbury (five bays, 17th century, extended 19th); and Crowood House, north of Ramsbury (also five bays, late 17th and early 19th). Governance Ramsbury has an elected parish council and also falls within the area of the Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which is responsible for all of the most significant local government services. Previously the parish was part of Ramsbury Rural District from 1894 until 1934, Marlborough and Ramsbury Rural District until 1974, and Kennet District until the creation of the unitary authority in 2009. The Tree For centuries, Ramsbury was known for its Tree – a large wych elm which stood in the Square at the heart of the village. The Tree was first mentioned in a report in 1751, by which time it must have already been well established. In its prime, its spread was said to have touched the buildings on all sides of the Square. Photographs from the early 20th century show the Tree in apparently fine health, although perhaps reduced from its former size. But, by the 1920s, the Tree was in noticeable decline. It gradually succumbed to old age, eventually dying in 1983 by which time it would have been well over 230 years old. The gnarled stump remained in the Square for several years while a replacement was discussed. Many villagers wanted to keep the old tree, dead or not, where it had stood for so many centuries. However, after a referendum which threatened to split the village, it was eventually agreed that it should be replaced. Over the course of the second half of the 20th century, Dutch elm disease had ravaged the native populations of elm species and so an oak sapling (sponsored by Portman Building Society) was sourced from Epping Forest and planted to replace the old