Broughton Gifford is a village and civil parish about west of Melksham in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Norrington Common and The Common. History Formerly much of Broughton Gifford and the surrounding area was covered with woodland. Much of this was felled during the First and Second World Wars. Villagers long used the common to graze their livestock and grow their crops. Although the common was not included when the rest of the parish's lands were inclosed in 1783, eventually its agricultural uses died out. Railway The Wessex Main Line railway was opened across the southeast of the parish in 1848, following the Avon valley. In October 1905 a small station, , was opened for the newly introduced steam railcar service between Chippenham and Trowbridge. The halt was southeast of the village at the Mill Lane bridge, near the road between Melksham and Bradford-on-Avon; it was closed on 7 February 1955 but the line remains open. Geography The village has two parts. The lower village has the church, the school and the village hall. There are also two housing estates and some detached houses in this part. The higher part, The Common, is a large area of open land with houses around it. As at 2008 there were three ponds on the common, inhabited by a paddling of ducks in their breeding season. At one end of the common is the Bell public house, and the football pitch and bowling green. The River Avon forms a natural boundary to the south and east of the parish. Local government The civil parish elects a parish council. It is in the area of Wiltshire Council unitary authority, which is responsible for most significant local government functions. Unusually the parish shares some land in common with the parish of Melksham Without. Religious sites Parish church The Church of England parish church of St Mary the Virgin, at the south end of the village, is from the 13th century and is a Grade I listed building. Additions in the 14th century included the south chapel, and the tower was added in the 15th. The rectory was built in 1848 to designs of T.H. Wyatt, and the church was lightly restored by G.G. Scott in 1878. St Mary's is part of the united benefice of St Katherine's at Holt, together with All Saints at Great Chalfield. Chapels A Particular Baptist chapel was