Winterbourne Bassett is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about southwest of Swindon and northwest of Marlborough. The village lies just west of the A4361 road between Swindon and Devizes, about north of Avebury. The minor road through the village continues west to Clyffe Pypard. History The remains of a Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age stone circle lie largely hidden on a low ridge, about northwest of the village. The ancient trackway known as The Ridgeway crosses the east of the parish. In 1086, Domesday Book recorded 37 households at Wintreburne, and land held by Amesbury Abbey. The name Winterbourne refers to seasonal streams in the area, which meet to form the upper waters of the River Kennet. The Bassett suffix is from lords of the manor in the 12th and 13th centuries, and distinguishes the parish and village from Winterbourne Monkton, close by to the south. Winterbourne manor was granted in 1194 to Alan Basset (d.1232/3), whose name appears in Magna Carta as an advisor to the king. The manor was inherited in turn by his sons Gilbert (d.1241), Fulk (later bishop of London, d.1259) and Philip (Justiciar of England, d.1271). Philip's daughter Aline married Hugh le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer (d.1265) and thus the manor was inherited by her son Hugh Despenser the Elder (advisor to Edward I, executed 1326). The manor reverted to the Crown; the Wiltshire Victoria County History traces its later ownership. The present manor house, just north of the church, was built in brick in the late 18th century. There were further settlements at Rabson (southeast of Winterbourne Bassett) and Richardson (southwest). Rabson probably dwindled to a single farmstead by the 16th century; the house known as Rabson Manor, 400m south of the church and now surrounded by farm buildings, dates from the early 17th century. Richardson (Ricardestone in 1242) was further south. The site of the deserted village – a scheduled monument – survives as building platforms, enclosures and tracks, one leading to a ford across the river. A country house here was demolished in the 19th century. Local government Winterbourne Bassett and the larger adjacent parish of Broad Hinton elect a joint parish council called Broad Hinton and Winterbourne Bassett. It falls within the area of the Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which is responsible for all significant local government functions. Parish church There was a church by