Ashton Keynes

Bruderhof members at Ashton Fields

In 1936, a German pacifist group known as the Bruderhof bought 200 acres (80 ha) at Ashton Fields, near Ashton Keynes,[13] to serve as a mission post. In 1937 this became the group's main home, when it was forced to leave Germany. The membership grew to over 350, with many young English conscientious objectors joining. However, even before the Second World War, the group was boycotted locally. In 1940, the Bruderhof was given the choice of leaving England as a group or having its Germans interned and its Englishmen conscripted, and decided to leave.[14] Most members left for Paraguay, but a few stayed in England, bought a 182-acre (74 ha) farm near Ludlow, and moved there in March 1942.[15]

Church of the Holy Cross

The Church of England parish church of the Holy Cross has stood since the late 12th century at what is now on the northwest edge of the village. Of coursed limestone, it has a west tower, nave with narrow aisles, and chancel with north chapel.[16] It was altered in later centuries, and restored to designs by William Butterfield in 1876–77 yet it retains early features: the north arcade was built in two phases from the late-12th century to the mid-13th after the south arcade – built around 1200. The chancel arch has three carved orders; Butterfield made this wider and taller but keeping stonework from the late 12th century.[17]

The north chapel is from the early 13th century. In the next century the three-stage tower was built, the walls of the aisles were rebuilt and the clerestory (outer superstructure) was added; altogether giving the form close to that of today.[5] The north and south porches were added in the 15th century, and the nave roof is from then. Some windows were renewed in the 19th century, and Butterfield's work embellished the east end of the chancel using polychrome brickwork and floor tiles. The building, little altered since then, was designated as Grade I listed in 1955 – the rarest and highest grading of three.[16]

The 12th-century tubular font is decorated with carved leaves and chevrons.[17]

The ring of bells was increased from five to six in 1994,[5] and includes four cast by Abraham I Rudhall of Rudhall of Gloucester in 1707 and 1713.[18]

All Saints Church at Leigh, built in the 13th century, was a chapelry of Ashton Keynes. Baptisms and marriages took place there but lacking right of burials alongside until 1865. Leigh in secular matters became a separate civil parish in 1884. As to ecclesiastical parish this and the benefice continued as 'Ashton Keynes with Leigh'[19][20] however the two separated in their parochial church council some time after 1978.[21] For a few years from 1982 the vicar also served Minety parish.[22] Today the parish is part of the Upper Thames group uniting the Anglican clergy of Ashton Keynes, Leigh, Latton, and Cricklade around St Sampson's, Cricklade.[23]

A Congregational chapel (Bethesda Chapel) was built in 1838 and closed in 1970.[24] A Primitive Methodist chapel was opened in 1840 and closed in the early 1930s.[25]

The Thames is mainly in two channels, forming a square, in the parish; shown with the buildings and land of the 1880s. In this map only the south-western channel is marked alongside, prominently, liable to floods.

The river forms two channels – making a large square – in the parish, enclosing the western half of the village and in the past powering mills of a modest nature.[31] The south-western channel is joined by the Swill Brook and smaller tributaries join, particularly at the re-convergence of the channels. The Thames' north-eastern channel, the village channel, is deeply entrenched at the places it has frontage to more than 30 of the village's homes and where it is crossed by many flat-deck bridges, some of brick or stone arch. One public bridge, Gumstool Bridge, is not quite flat.[32] Made of limestone it is "probably medieval"; it has two arches, vertical sides rising to form a parapet 80cm high, triangular copings and a raised, squared apex.[32] Two other bridges are consistent with a slightly pre-1800 date.[33] The manor house and adjacent church farm enjoy the vestige of a moat, its southern limb; the rest was intact for many centuries, as seen in maps of the 19th century.

Parts of the parish see periodic flooding, and the village channel along beside High Road was prone to washing down to the school and beyond on its near banks. Such villagers expected parts of their grounds or even home to be flooded every winter, although the channel could be controlled to directed to the other, considerably, by opening and closing 'hatches' and ideally pre-emptively by raising of the main sluice after the point of divergence took place.

Some riparian residents talked of opening their doors for a flow of water, and 1 foot (0.30 m) of water indoors for weeks. As late as 1924 there were 23 children absent from school in June when flooding in the Derry (south of the Horse and Jockey public house) stranded them in their bedrooms after a night of storms. An aggravating factor was soiling of the flow of the village channel with rubbish and/or privy waste especially after the demise of the night soil industry, causing a frequent and serious public health problem from rats and water contamination, particularly in Gosditch between the two branches of the river.

Two Sites of Special Scientific Interests are in the parish. Pike Corner is a naturally-drained, wet ("unimproved") flood meadow by the Swill Brook.[34] Upper Waterhay Meadow, frequently flooded by a Thames channel itself, hosts such species as snakeshead fritillaries – managed by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust as a nature reserve.[35]

The Cotswold Community, 250 acres (100 ha) in the western fields was the home of the Bruderhof (see above).[36] It later hosted the Cotswold School, a therapeutic community for children from complex backgrounds, operated by the National Children's Home charity which became Action for Children. It closed in 2012[37] and the charity vacated in 2013, leading to a proposal for housing.[38]